Bendrix’s “desire to tease” Henry serves another purpose, which is to insert himself, once again, into their lives. Henry’s suspicions have awoken Bendrix’s dormant jealousy of Sarah and any potential relationships she might be having with someone else. If he goes to see Mr. Savage, he will have access to the truth, which he can then use to punish Sarah by being the one to expose her current infidelity (if there is one) to Henry. This would hurt Henry, which, as shown by Sarah’s tears whenever Bendrix talked about how he’d characterize Henry in his book, is the most effective way of hurting Sarah.