Just how evil was Gerard at this point in 1840?
I remember having a bit of a discussion toward the end of 1840 last time, when Happybat and I were butting heads a bit over Gerard's character.
I'm not sure now, but I think I was arguing that Gerard was not too bad a guy before JZ entered the picture, and Happybat said he was awful from the beginning. I remember referring to a quote from Leticia Faye that had stuck in my mind, when Leticia says "Gerard was an opportunist" but not a murderer (?). If I was basing my opinions on Leticia's statement, I must have been forgetting this early portrayal of Gerard ...
Let's see, embezzling in Paris, gun running in Sicily, smuggling in North Africa, and held on suspicion of murder in Portugal. That's quite a track record. Add to that an interest in the occult, which seems to be a bond between him and Leticia. (Well, maybe an interest in the occult isn't bad per se.) It's been established that he and Leticia are after the Collins' money, and he's obviously two-faced in his dealings with Flora and the rest of the family. Now, he contracts for murder for 10 percent of the Collinwood estate.
Not a very upstanding man even before a certain "head" comes into the picture. In fact, I could even believe he might have had something to do with the deaths -- or disappearance -- of Quentin and Tad...