Christopher didn’t immediately respond; he templed his fingers on the table.
‘I know you’re being sarcastic but in a way, it’s true,’ he said at last. ‘He was very good at befriending me when I was young. Very good at convincing me my family couldn’t be trusted. Very good at undermining everything I believed, leaving me confused and vulnerable. I trusted him.’ He let out a long breath. ‘And he’s the last person I should have trusted.’
Allie watched him closely, looking for signs of duplicity. But he seemed entirely candid. He looked like Christopher, the way he used to be.
‘You’re saying he lured you to his side, and you later regretted it?’ Isabelle didn’t sound convinced. ‘Forgive me but, you’ve been with him since you were seventeen. You’re nearly twenty years old now. It took you a long time to decide you made a mistake, didn’t it?’
Colour rose to Christopher’s cheeks. But he met her gaze without flinching. ‘If you’re asking was I stupid? I guess the answer is yes. I wanted Nathaniel to be right. I wanted to believe I was this great, rich guy, who should have the world at his feet. I wanted to believe you were my enemy and Nathaniel was my friend. Instead I learned he was just some messed-up guy who wanted to use me to get back at his family. Just like I was using him to get back at mine.’ He gave a hollow laugh. ‘Ain’t life grand?’
‘Christopher,’ Isabelle leaned towards him. ‘You’re asking us to take a huge leap of faith for no reason other than your word, and Allie’s belief in you.’
His gaze flickered to Allie. ‘I wouldn’t lie to her. Or to you.’ He turned back to Isabelle. ‘I’m truly here because I know how dangerous Nathaniel is now. I’ve seen what he’s willing to do. And the only people in the world I know of who are fighting him are in this room.’
There was a pause. Then Allie cleared her throat.
‘Chris, Nathaniel is holding one of my friends. The one you met in the fight in London, the one who helped me.’
‘I remember him,’ Chris said. ‘Dark hair, lots of muscles?’ He gave a wry smile. ‘I thought for a second he was going to kill me.’ He paused. ‘I’d hoped you guys got away.’
‘We did,’ she said. ‘Nathaniel followed us.’
‘Shit,’ he said, not without sympathy. ‘And now he has him?’
She nodded, unable to hide how miserable this fact made her. ‘He says he’s going to kill him. We’ve got to do something, but we don’t know where he is. And we’re running out of time.’
Christopher held her gaze for a long moment. Then he turned back to Isabelle and Raj. ‘You’ve checked the London townhouse?’
They nodded.
‘It’s been monitored ever since the parley,’ Raj said. ‘He hasn’t been back there.’
Christopher rubbed his hand across his jaw thoughtfully.
‘That leaves two distinct possibilities. The Gilmore’s country place in Surrey or the old St John estate in Hampshire.’
Allie blinked. The Gilmore place – Katie’s parents.
‘We’ve checked the Gilmore place. He’s not there.’ A file folder had lain untouched in front of Raj throughout this meeting. Now he opened it and flipped through the papers. After a second he looked up.
‘We don’t know of the St John place. It’s not on our lists.’
‘That’s strange.’ Christopher’s brow creased. ‘It was the only thing his father left him in his will. Or at least, that’s the way Nathaniel tells it. He says his father left almost everything else to you.’
He addressed the last line to Isabelle.
She frowned. ‘I thought that old place was sold off after my father died. Are you saying it wasn’t?’
Christopher shook his head. ‘I’ve been there many times. Nathaniel goes there a lot.’
Raj and Isabelle exchanged a look – Allie could sense their growing excitement although they were both trying not to give anything away.
‘Where is the St John place, precisely?’ Raj’s expression was studiedly neutral.
‘Farm country. Near some tiny nothing village called Diffenhall,’ Christopher said. ‘It’s just a crossroads, really. If you bring me a map I can show you.’
Raj crossed the room to the door with long quick strides, and yanked open the door. He had a quick, whispered conversation with a guard.
While he was gone, Allie studied her brother surreptitiously. He looked the same as she remembered, and yet… different somehow. More grown up. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was – but the last few years had changed him. He wasn’t a boy anymore. His cheeks bore a fine, golden dusting of whiskers.
When Raj returned, he studied Christopher with new interest.
‘You were right about the old gatehouse. The guards say all the locks had been removed and replaced with imitations, seamlessly.’