Earl and Fairy: Volume 3 [Parts 1 to 7] by Mizue Tani

Author:Mizue Tani
Language: eng
Format: epub

The Gentleman Spy

“You showed him the sword, my lord?”

“Indeed I did. He seemed very much struck with admiration for it, and that was the end of it.”

Raven stood stock still and considered this. Edgar leaned his elbow against the sofa’s armrest, propping up his chin with one hand.

“I wonder if it was mere coincidence.”

“Even so, the sword’s appearance, and that the real article is held in this estate, are both valuable pieces of information.”

The earl had been racking his brains trying to deduce whether Paul’s desire to see the sword might have had something to do with the threatening letter from Scarlet Moon.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “However, Mr. Firman is of a disposition unsuited to spying. His reaction to seeing the sword appeared to me to be one of perfectly innocent wonder.”

Paul had always been the naive type. He was quick to believe anything that he was told, and it was almost always possible to tell what he was thinking purely by looking at his face. Edgar could not see him being capable of putting on an act that would adequately dupe others. That was true of the boy he had known, and he believed it was still so. But things might have changed.

“I know, Raven, that it is far from uncommon for artists to be attached to secret organizations. I agree with you that this is a matter that requires prudence.”

The largest of such organizations included the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians. These groups attracted a large number of nobles and scholars. Shrouded in secrecy, they could seem extremely sinister from an outside perspective, and one sometimes heard rumors that these groups held machinations of monumental proportions. In reality, however, their goals were rarely anything so unscrupulous.

Meanwhile, there were truly dangerous organizations operating so deeply in the shadows that their names were hidden even from hearsay. If Scarlet Moon were gentlemen thieves, then to the proletariat, they were heroes. Moreover, they were targeting the Prince’s dirty money. The members of the organization likely saw their work as a fight for their ideals rather than anything criminal. To a pure-hearted man like Paul, such an idea might be rather appealing.

“Paul Firman was born in Canada, and his parents divorced at a young age,” Raven began. “He lived with his mother until her passing, which was when he returned to Britain to live with his father, artist Andrew Firman. His father retired while he was attending art school and now lives in Dover. Mr. Firman has been living alone in London ever since. No one has a bad word to say about him, including his former schoolmates and neighbors. He is known only for devoting himself fervently to his art.”

Edgar was frowning intensely as he listened. Raven waited for him to voice the question that was on his mind.

“Andrew Firman? Not O’Neill? Did Mr. Firman’s father adopt a pseudonym for his work?”

“This report suggests nothing of the sort. There were several paintings signed with the name ‘Firman,’ but none for O’Neill.”

When Edgar had

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.