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even when referring to inanimate objects. My mother had tried to train Montgomery in etiquette. Apparently a few things had stuck.
    “You’ve been gone from London too long,” I said. “No one gets upset over mention of a leg these days.” My neck felt increasingly warm. “Besides, you forget that I’m not a lady anymore.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Jul— Miss Moreau.”
    “If you haven’t noticed, Mr. James , I’m alone in my nightdress with two men, after being thrown out into the streets.” I lightly ran my fingertips over my dry lips. My nails had grown so jagged and unkempt that Lucy would have called them claws.
    “What else does Father have you bring?” I asked.
    He laughed, almost a bark. “Four cases of butterscotches. The full collection of Shakespeare, thesame edition as from his library on Belgrave Square; you remember the ones? I had a devil of a time tracking those down. And once he asked for a copper bathing tub. It fell from the crate and sank while we were loading it.”
    “What peculiar things.”
    “Yes, well, he can be very peculiar.” His jaw clenched. “I’m sure you recall.”
    I drew the blanket tighter around my shoulders. A peculiar disposition didn’t make a madman.
    Not that alone.
    “Montgomery, what do you …” I paused. The words were an experiment, and they came out stilted and half formed. “About the accusations …” My throat closed up. I felt his intense gaze but couldn’t bring myself to ask. If I’d still been ten years old, I wouldn’t have hesitated. But there were years between us now.
    “Is it only you and him on the island?” I asked quickly, instead.
    “And the islanders,” he said. Balthazar shifted in the corner. I had almost forgotten he was there. He had a way of settling into the shadows.
    “Don’t you get lonely?”
    “The doctor, he doesn’t mind. Sometimes I think even I’m too much company for him. And he certainly can’t abide their presence.” He glanced at Balthazar, making me wonder who exactly “they” were. “It will be different with you there. At times he can get so distracted that he forgets years are passing.” He lowered the light to the barest hint of a flame. “We’re getting close. Another week or two.”
    I hesitated. “Do you think he’ll be pleased I’ve come?”
    Montgomery brushed back his hair. “Of course he will be.” A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, the smile I remembered as meaning he was lying. I pulled the blanket tighter against the sting.
    The heel of Montgomery’s boot tapped nervously against the floor, as if he knew he was a bad liar. “I can’t say how he’ll take the news at first. He can be unpredictable, but in the end he’ll be glad you came.” He leaned forward, his blue eyes simmering. His boot tapped faster. “ I’m glad you came.”
    His words set every inch of my skin sizzling, and I nearly dropped the blanket in surprise. I’d always idolized him, but I’d been a little girl. The crush I’d had on him then seemed silly now that I knew how the world worked. Servant boys didn’t grow up and marry their masters’ daughters. Instead, women fell from privilege and sold themselves on the streets. Men could be cruel, men like Dr. Hastings. As much as I believed in Montgomery, the fairy tale was gone.
    I sneaked a glance at him. Wondered what his life must have been like, alone on a remote island with only my father and the natives for company. Perhaps he was as hungry as I was to feel that connection we once shared, to get back a little of that fairy tale. I felt myself drifting closer to him as the blanket slipped from my fingers.
    The ship jerked suddenly, and I flew backward. My head struck the wall. Montgomery tumbled out of his chair and would have fallen on top of me if he hadn’t bracedhimself against the wall with quick instincts. I clung to his arms as if I were falling, but we weren’t going anywhere. My fingers tightened. He was a finger’s