Part III Summary

In London, d'Alembord calls upon Jane and is astonished as the marked change she has undergone in just a few months. Jane is unconcerned about Sharpe and lives in an expensive but repellent house that is kept in squalor. He urges Jane to call upon Lord John Rossendale to intervene on Sharpe's behalf; Rossendale being an acquaintance with considerable connections at court. Jane states she has already spoken to Rossendale and curiously lets the matter drop; d'Alembord departs in much confusion. Later, Jane again calls on Rossendale and it become apparent that they are romantically involved and somewhat intimate—indeed, much of London admires Rossendale for his bravery in the matter as it is widely assumed that Sharpe will return and kill the man before discarding Jane. Yet Sharpe remains in France, hideously wounded and slowly recuperating. Lucille's gun, loaded...