And to Margot for having mentioned him to Lord Whitby. And to Red himself for following up on it when other men would have been too proud to chase a lead they hadn’t found for themselves.

He only let his gaze slide once to the window, outside of which no man in a grey overcoat was waiting to be followed.

And he wouldn’t be followed now, even if he came back. Not by Red, at least. “When do you begin work?”

“Monday. I can’t stay long—I need to find some clothes. The suit De Wilde gave me won’t work for business, I suppose. I’ll need something appropriate for daytime. Brown, perhaps, or grey. The advance will cover it. They were quite generous.”

He’d borrowed a suit from Lukas De Wilde? For Margot’s birthday dinner, Drake assumed. Which must have been her doing. And she must have done it subtly, because Dot hadn’t said anything, and it was the sort of thing she would have mentioned, solely as praise for her friend.

Praise she deserved. She hadn’t even known Red then—but she’d gone out of her way to be kind. To help him.

Did she realize she had such a soft heart under that barricade of mathematics? Or perhaps for her it was mathematics. One man in need combined with one man with plenty equaled a fine solution.

“I can’t quite believe it.” Red scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’d almost begun to think . . . but this changes everything. Everything.”

“I’m so glad for you, Red.” And more than a little relieved. He still wasn’t sure where his friend had been living, or if he managed to purchase any meals aside from the ones he shared with them here. “You’re still joining us tonight, aren’t you? You certainly should. We can celebrate.” They’d all agreed last time that they’d make it a habit—the four of them, sharing a meal of an evening. It would guarantee Red got one, that Margot didn’t have to take hers alone, and that Dot and Drake had some extra company to keep from annoying each other.

“I wouldn’t miss it. Though I’d better go and do that shopping now. I had to come by straightaway, though, to tell you. Do you need anything while I’m out?”

“Just a letter to post, if you would.” He nodded toward it and stood. “And actually, if you’re going to be dropping by a haberdasher, I could use a new hat. Fedora, size seven and a quarter.”

Red quirked a brow. “Planning another jaunt out of doors, are you?”

Drake smirked back. “Well, I’m not going to be staying inside forever. The goal’s to get out and about, after all.”

“Were it up to your physician alone, you’d still be in hospital.”