by Anne Perry
“You had the power to see,” she said, moving a step away from him. “You had the words, the vision—and you knew you were stronger than he was. You destroyed his idols, without thinking what would happen to him without them.”
He opened his mouth to protest again, but it was a cry of loneliness and the beginning of a new and bitter understanding. Slowly he turned away and looked at Josiah, who was now regaining his senses and being hauled to his feet by Pitt and Jack Radley. Somewhere in the hallway Emily was bringing Constable Murdo in, carrying handcuffs.
Shaw still could not face Angeline and Celeste, but he held out his hands to Prudence.
“I’m sorry,” he said very quietly. “I am truly sorry.”
She stood motionless for a moment, unable to decide. Then slowly she extended her hands to him, and he clasped them and held them.
Charlotte turned away and pushed between the crowd to find Great-Aunt Vespasia.
Vespasia sighed and took Charlotte’s arm.
“A very dangerous game—the ruin of dreams, however foolish,” she murmured. “Too often we think because we cannot see them that they do not have the power to destroy—and yet our lives are built upon them. Poor Hatch—such a deluded man, such false idols. And yet we cannot tear them down with impunity. Shaw has much to account for.”
“He knows,” Charlotte said quietly, raw with regret herself. “I told him so.”
Vespasia tightened her hand on Charlotte’s. There was no need for words.
If you enjoyed this exciting Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel, why not go back to the beginning?
THE CATER STREET HANGMAN
THE FIRST CHARLOTTE AND THOMAS PITT NOVEL
by Anne Perry
While the Ellison girls were out paying calls one afternoon, a maid in their own house hold was strangled to death. Quiet young Inspector Pitt found no one above suspicion—and his investigation at the staid Ellison home caused many a composed façade to crumble into panic.
But it was not panic beating in the heart of Charlotte Ellison, and something more than brutal murder was on Inspector Pitt’s mind. Yet a romance between a society girl and a common policeman was impossible—especially during an investigation of murder …
Published by Fawcett Books.
Available at your local bookstore.
Don’t miss the next Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel:
BEDFORD SQUARE
by
ANNE PERRY
Another matchless Victorian mystery of men and women who embrace the best and the worst of human nature, where vicious lies become weapons of destruction—and dead men tell no lies.
Published in hardcover by Ballantine Books.
Available at a bookstore near you.
Immerse yourself in the mysterious world of Anne Perry’s Victorian London. Look for the this thrilling William Monk novel, now available in hardcover!
A BREACH OF PROMISE
An Inspector William Monk Novel
by Anne Perry
Stripping away the pretty masks that conceal society’s darkest transgressions, Anne Perry unflinchingly exposes the human heart’s deepest hiding places—and creates the most mesmerizing courtroom drama of her distinguished career.
Published in hardcover by Fawcett Books
Available at your local bookstore.
