Perhaps he should have expected that the constable would be reluctant to share anything more specific, and offered little more than the beggar had in terms of information about the criminals of Whitby.

The apology earned a frown from Malachi, who replied with, "I am not so delicate, constable. These are awful matters indeed, but it is important for me to understand the extent of the tragedies felt in Whitby."

Even so, he did not push. He sipped now and then at his tea as Crane continued, and only lowered his cup when the other's discomfort proved too obvious to ignore.

"Yes, I suppose," he glanced down at the light amber liquid in his cup. "I do not hold that against any of them, though."

Before he could say anything else, Crane rose from his seat with the excuse of checking on their dinner. Malachi downed the rest of his tea while he waited, and crossed one long leg over the other, to let his now-emptied hands rest upon his knee.

Well, now that Crane was already uncomfortable, he supposed he wouldn't feel guilty about digging into the rest of his questions.