"Sir," the man said, giving me his hard stare. "What did the brigadier take away with him?"

Not the question I'd expected. "Take away with him?"

"You helped Brigadier Easton get away to the Continent. What did he take with him when he went?"

No anger, no outrage that I'd thwarted his master. A simple question in an even tone. "Very little," I said. "A change of shirt and a few necessities."

"How large a bundle did it make?" the man asked. "These necessities?"

I measured off about a foot by a foot with my hands. "That large."

"You're sure he had nothing else?"

"Quite sure. He got into a boat with barely enough room for the fisherman and his nets. The brigadier did not have time to pack a trunk nor the room to take it with him. You can be certain that by now, Mr. Denis knows exactly what boat Easton boarded and where he disembarked."

The lackey shook his head. "Mr. Denis don't know he's gone, not yet."

I stopped in surprise. "Why are you here, then, if he doesn't know?"

The man looked uneasy. I'd seen him look so once before, during the affair at the Sudbury School, when he'd offered up information he'd kept to himself, not realizing it was important. Under Denis's stare, this big, mean-looking man had wilted.

"We came last night, as instructed. I was to visit Brigadier Easton and bring back what he took from Mr. Denis. But when we got here, the brigadier had gone off, and there's no sign of the stuff. If you took it, sir, best give it back. Mr. Denis, he likes you, and he might go easier on you if you 'fess up right away."

Took what? "I am afraid you have me at a loss, Mr… I don't believe I've ever learned your name."

"Cooper, sir. Martin Cooper. I know you didn't take the things for yourself, sir. You're not that kind. But you might have done to help the brigadier. It's misguided, sir. The man is a thieving bastard."