“Don’t be hard on yourself,” Mr. Sutcliffe said. “It was too late for you to have done anything.”

“Had I only known she was here!”

“You couldn’t have,” his friend said. “The sultan himself wouldn’t have known who she was. After all these years, there probably wasn’t anything English left in her.”

“She was my daughter, Theodore.”

“I did not mean to offend. Only to say that even those close to her most likely had no idea of her heritage.”

“They should have known! I had everyone in the empire on alert to find her.”

“She was kidnapped, Richard,” Mr. Sutcliffe said. “Undoubtedly her assailants waited until the furor had died down to... sell her.”

“It’s barbaric, all of it,” I said, relieved to see Colin enter the room and save me from saying more on the subject. He nodded to me and shook our guests’ hands.

“I’ve been to the embassy and arranged for a message to be sent to your son at once,” he said, sitting across from Sir Richard. “He’s sure to come as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you.” The older man placed the glass teacup on its bronze saucer. “Has there been an arrest?” Ottoman justice was swift. Even before we’d left the grounds of the palace, one of the eunuch guards from the harem had been fingered as the most likely suspect in the murder.

“I’m afraid so,” Colin said. “He was standing sentry by her room—”

“She wasn’t killed anywhere near her room,” I said.

“Quite right.” He refused the cup of white coffee I offered him. “But that doesn’t seem to factor into the charges against him. He was responsible for her safety. She’s dead, and everyone seems to agree it’s his fault.”

“But is there any evidence?” I asked.

“None,” Colin replied.

“He’ll be executed,” Sir Richard said. “And the brute who murdered my daughter will never be brought to justice.”