by Darcy Burke
A horse whinnied and hooves pounded over the earth. All three of them pivoted toward the commotion. Miranda cringed and felt Jasper’s muscles tighten beneath the sleeve of his coat.
Her brother turned blazing green eyes on her. “You let Foxcroft go?”
“He escaped, my lord.” Freddie’s voice trembled, making it seem more like a question.
Miranda squeezed her brother’s forearm. “Jasper, Fox didn’t steal anything, and he’s not the highwayman.”
Jasper’s lip curled. “Actually, Norris found a great deal of money in Fox’s cloak, and the same amount went missing from his office. I’m afraid your lover lied to you.”
Miranda stumbled backward at the derision in Jasper’s expression and tone. He’d assumed the roles of judge and jury, and would no doubt like to be executioner. Anxiety curled in her stomach. Had she really expected to spend the night with Fox without anyone finding out? The truth brought a wash of shame to her face: yes.
Jasper targeted Miranda with a merciless stare. “Now, tell me where Foxcroft went.”
She shivered and not because of the predawn chill. She had to make Jasper understand that Fox wasn’t a criminal. At least not today. “He didn’t steal anything from Norris. Norris planted that money in his cloak. And what’s more, Norris never paid for the tapestries he bought at the auction. Fox came here tonight to take the money Norris owes the orphanage!”
“He told you this?” At her nod, he continued, “And you believe him? Of course, you believe your lover. Where did he go?”
She had to give Fox time to convince Stratham to help him. “I don’t know.”
“Horseshit!” Jasper grabbed her arm. “This is not some mindless dalliance, Miranda! The man is a criminal. You ruin all of us with this! Where is Foxcroft?”
Miranda recoiled. Could she ruin their entire family? Her mind churned, trying to sort out how she could preserve her family’s reputation and still help Fox.
“Christ.” Jasper thrust her away and she just managed to keep her balance. He rounded on Freddie then. “I assume you helped Foxcroft escape, though I’ve no idea why. If you want to avoid prosecution for aiding a criminal, you’ll tell me right now where he’s gone.”
Freddie cast an apologetic glance at Miranda, but she knew he had no alternative. “Stratham Hall.”
Jasper pulled his head back, a look of confusion quirking his mouth and narrowing his eyes. “Why would he go there? He’s not trying to escape?”
“No.” Miranda put her hands on her hips. “I told you he’s innocent. He’s gone to prove it.”
Jasper spun about and walked toward the house. “I’m going to rouse Norris, and then we’re off to Stratham Hall.”
Miranda hurried after him. Fox’s plan had better work. She started to say, “I’m going with you,” but realized Jasper would never allow it. She’d follow at a reasonable distance, for she’d no intention of staying behind.
Chapter Nineteen
DAWN had fully broken over the east when Fox drew Stone to a halt in the drive at Stratham Hall. He hoped Miranda hadn’t gotten into too much trouble and wished he’d been able to help her. For now, escaping the hangman’s noose had to be his first priority.
He ran up the steps and pounded on the front door. Almost immediately a footman greeted him. “Mr. Stratham is not accepting visitors at this hour.”
Fox pushed past him into the foyer. “I’m not a visitor. Go wake your employer and tell him to meet Foxcroft in his office.” Fox already stalked toward the corner of the house. Once Stratham learned he’d arrived and had already gone to his office, Fox wagered he’d be down in a hurry.
The footman followed Fox for a moment. “I’m afraid I can’t allow this.”
Fox swung and faced the shorter, slighter retainer. “I don’t think you understand. I’m not asking for your permission. Now fetch Stratham.” Fox spun back around and quickened his pace. Anxiety curled up his spine as he wondered if the footman would do as he bade or instead raise the alarm. Part way through the Gold Room, he heard the pursuit. He looked over his shoulder. Two liveried men rushed after him. Alarm then.
Fox broke into a dead run for the office. Heaving, he pushed inside and slammed the door behind him before the footmen caught up. He turned the lock and hoped they wouldn’t try to break in.
Milky gray light spilled across the large mahogany desk from the windows. Fox opened drawers, aware of the footmen outside the door speaking in low tones. Then the hammering started.
“Sir, you need to come out!”
Fox ignored them as he rifled through the contents of first one drawer and then another. Frustration mounted as he tossed estate papers and other worthless—at least to him—documents to the floor.
Finally in the next to last drawer, he found a locked wooden box. He’d seen a key in the first drawer he’d searched. Was Stratham simple enough to keep the means to open the box so close? Fox located the key on the desktop where he’d cast it haphazardly and inserted it into the lock. Nothing. Apparently Stratham lacked that amount of stupidity, at least.
The pounding stopped, replaced with more talking he couldn’t discern. Then a knock. “Fox? Open the door.” Stratham.
Fox looked wildly through the piles of paper on the floor. No key. More knocking. “Fox! I’m going to send for the mayor if you don’t open the door!”
In desperation, Fox threw the box against the expensive marble fireplace. The wood splintered and fell to the floor in a tangled mess.
“What was that?” Stratham pounded on the door.
Fox dropped to his knees and sorted through the ruined box. Quickly, he scanned the papers. Yes.
He stood and opened the door. Stratham and three footmen rushed inside.
Fox held up the papers. “There’s no need to call the mayor unless it’s for you.”
Stratham’s eyes widened. He turned to his retainers. “Go.” The footmen left and Stratham closed the door.
On the way from Cosgrove, Fox had rehearsed what he might say to Stratham, but the words stuck to his tongue like mud to the bottom of his work boots. How it grated to have to align himself with this man. But what choice did he have if he wanted to save his neck? “I need you to help me.” There, he’d said it.
Stratham cocked his head. “How can I possibly do that?” His gaze barely moved from the papers in Fox’s hand.
“Norris is framing a story in which I stole several thousand pounds from his office last night. You know that story is false.”
Stratham pulled his attention from the sheaf of papers. “He says you stole the tribute money from me on the road? Is that true?”
Fox took a perverse pleasure in revealing the truth. “Yes.”
Stratham exhaled. “Then Norris will do whatever he must to ensure you’re punished for the crime.”
Fox’s heart beat faster as his apprehension increased. “Except you know he can’t report that crime, so he’s fabricated another.”
Stratham’s eyes narrowed and he adopted his annoying, most supercilious tone. “Which doesn’t change the fact you’re a criminal.”
Fury exploded in Fox’s brain. He lunged forward, waving the papers at Stratham as if they were a weapon. “Stealing from criminals! For the sake of my charges!” His chest heaved with his anger. “I’m not proud of what I had to do, but I would do it again.”
Emotions played across Stratham’s face. Fox couldn’t see the man’s thoughts, but he seemed to be wavering. Fox pressed his advantage. “It’s only a matter of time before Norris has to use you to cover his own crimes. He told me he believed you’d stolen the extortion money. That can’t have been pleasant for you. What did he do, make you come up with the money yourself?”
Stratham’s eyes darkened with doubt. “Yes, how’d you know?”
“Because he’s a greedy, selfish son of a bitch. All he cares about is stuffing his house with overpriced relics while everyone else in the district suffers from the worst harvest in over a decade.” Fox tri
ed to breathe out his anger.
Stratham’s shoulders stiffened. “My harvest was poor, too. I’m not completely unaware of your struggles.”
The man knew nothing. So the harvest would mean he went without a new waistcoat or pair of gloves. For Fox and the people who depended upon him, it meant so much more. “Then help me! If I go to prison, or worse, there will be no one to help the orphans or my tenants. You know this is wrong.”
Stratham’s gaze flicked to the papers. “Are you going to use that to coerce me?”
The itemization in Fox’s hand included names and dates, but he hadn’t seen any mention of Norris. “I could, but I need Norris to be the guilty party and only your testimony will ensure that happens. Only you can link him to this list of tributes and the fact you’ve been collecting them for him.”
Stratham’s chest seemed to compress. “How’d you know, anyway? Did one of them tell you?”
Fox clenched his teeth together. He didn’t have time for the familiar anger of their shared past. “Pennymore. After Jane died, her father admitted Norris bargained her hand in marriage to you in exchange for his future support. Norris promised that he and the MPs—including you—would continue to represent Pennymore’s interests in Parliament, and, more importantly, that he would receive preferential treatment in the district.”
Stratham sank into a plush ivory velvet chair. “She didn’t love me?”
Fox shrugged. “I’ve no idea. Perhaps by happy coincidence she did.” Surprisingly, Fox no longer cared.
Stratham shook his head. “I don’t think so. I believed she possessed a reserved nature, but perhaps she masked something instead. When she agreed to marry me after such a short courtship, I assumed her sentiments matched my own.” Stratham had loved her then. He’d been a pawn in Norris’s machinations, just as Fox was now. Stratham looked up at him. “Why would Norris want her to marry me though? I don’t understand.”
Unwanted pity invaded Fox’s array of emotions. “Who knows how the man’s mind works? Maybe he planned to use it against you some day—you wanted something, and he gave it to you. You have to admit it’s a clever way to keep someone indebted.”
Stratham wiped a hand over his face. The clock ticked Fox’s freedom away. Norris would be here soon. Fox’s throat constricted until he feared suffocation. He’d come so close. Too close to watch it all slip away. “Stratham, I need you to tell the truth about this extortion scheme, and I need you to tell the mayor Norris planted the money in my cloak. If you don’t, I’ll lose everything, and I just…can’t.”
In that moment, Fox knew he would fall to his knees and beg if he had to. But he didn’t have to. “You either help me or I’ll ruin you. I’ve got nothing to lose, Stratham. They might not hang you, but you’ll lose your seat, probably go to prison, and perhaps even lose your land.”
A commotion in the hallway drove Stratham to his feet. Both men turned toward the door and waited.
Saxton opened the door while Norris’s wide girth shambled over the threshold. The earl grinned while mopping his brow with an orange handkerchief. “Not much of an escape, eh, Foxcroft?”
Saxton followed Norris into the office. While Norris looked as if he’d just eaten a vastly satisfying meal, Saxton looked as if he wanted to tear Fox’s limbs from his body. He’d seen Miranda and must’ve made his own assumptions. Fox thrust the thought away—he’d deal with it later. Right now, he needed to focus on gaining his freedom. He glanced at Stratham, trying to discern whether the man would help him, but his features were inscrutable.
Norris tucked his handkerchief into his coat. “We’ve got you now, Fox. The mayor is on his way. Never understand why you came here instead of running for parts unknown.”
Fox worked hard to keep his temper in check, a difficult endeavor as the world fell out from under him. His grip tightened around the evidence he’d use to prove Stratham’s crimes, but without Stratham testifying that Norris had planted the money in Fox’s cloak, he would still be prosecuted as a thief.
“I’ve no intention of running from a crime I didn’t commit. Not when you’re the one who’s been extorting money from our district.” Fox looked to Stratham, waiting for him to corroborate his story. The shorter man glanced at Fox and then back to Norris who sank into the chair Stratham had vacated.
Saxton assumed a stance near the garish fireplace. “That’s a strong accusation, Foxcroft. Are you able to substantiate it?” The set of his mouth gave Fox to believe he didn’t think so.
An uncomfortable moment stretched during which Fox wanted to throttle Stratham. Finally, his former foe stood as tall as his diminutive stature would allow. “I’ve collected this money for Lord Norris. Fox is holding a list of the people who have paid us the past four years in exchange for our promise not to adversely affect their properties.”
Norris’s face bloomed a vivid scarlet. His fat lips opened and closed as if he were trying to unloose the hook that would draw him into captivity. “You imbecile! You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re signing your own death warrant. No one will believe an earl extorted money on the word of some simple country MP.”
Stratham rolled his shoulders back. “That may be, but there are four of us ‘simple country MPs’ who have been at your mercy these past years. I’m sure Britt, Walker, and Dawson will be as relieved to be free of your tyranny as I am and will gladly confirm what I’m saying.”
“Insolent half-wit!” Norris turned a darker shade—nearly purple. “That doesn’t change Fox stealing from me last night.”
“He didn’t steal anything.” Stratham looked to Saxton as the only objective party in the room. “Norris had me put the money in Fox’s cloak, and I’ll testify as such. Fox is innocent.”
Norris’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. “But he climbed into my office with a mask! Clearly he had criminal intent!”
Fox had hoped to not have to use this, but didn’t hesitate. “As I told Saxton last night, I had ulterior motives with the mask. Motives that do not involve thievery, and motives I prefer not to disclose.”
Saxton pushed away from the fireplace, his eyes murderous. “Watch what you say, Foxcroft.”
“A pathetic attempt at deflection, Fox!” Spittle dotted Norris’s breeches. “I’ve sent for the mayor and Carmody, who will no doubt identify you as the highwayman who robbed him.”
Fox avoided looking at Saxton. “He might, but Lady Miranda will testify otherwise and with contradictory testimony, I doubt the charges will hold.”
The butler appeared in the open doorway. “The mayor, sir.”
A ruddy-faced gentleman past middle age entered the room. He pulled his hat from his head revealing a scruffy shock of white hair. “Good morning.” He took in the odd assembly and settled a puzzling look on Norris, who still appeared as if he were about to succumb to a fit of apoplexy. “I received your note, my lord.”
Fox stepped forward. “Yes, thank you for coming, Mr. Forth. Unfortunately, we have distressing news to report. Lord Norris has been found to be extorting money from several people within the district.”
The mayor didn’t move. He thrust his lips out in a pensive expression. “This is very surprising. You have evidence?”
Stratham took the papers from Fox and handed them to Forth. “This is a list of everyone we’ve demanded money from, and the dates on which we received it.”
Forth took the papers and glanced briefly at the top sheet before frowning at Stratham. “You’re involved in this as well?”
Stratham didn’t flinch beneath the mayor’s scrutiny. “I and my fellow MPs in the district believed we had no choice but to support this scheme.”
Fox wanted to convey his appreciation to Stratham. “I’d like to note, Mr. Forth, that if not for Mr. Stratham’s testimony and his keen records, we would not be aware of Lord Norris’s crime. I should hope there might be some leniency shown.”
The mayor tightened his grip on the documents. “It’s not up to me, Fox.”
; Saxton’s features had relaxed, but his eyes were as hard as the fireplace marble. “I will ask if my father can speak on Stratham’s behalf when it comes to sentencing.”
Satisfied he’d helped Stratham as best he could, Fox nodded.
Stratham’s shoulders slouched and he seemed to shrink back to his normal height. “Thank you, Lord Saxton.”
Forth tucked the list of tributes into his coat. “I’ll just see these gentlemen out, though I’m confused as to why Norris sent for me in order to report his own crimes. Unless,” he turned to the earl, vainly trying to propel himself out of the chair, “you wished to turn yourself in?”
Norris held up a hand. “Might I have some assistance? I’m afraid my strength’s a bit leached, what with this morning’s excitement. But yes, I reasoned it time to come forward in order to demonstrate to our constituents that we cannot be bought.”
Fox made an inelegant noise, part disbelieving snort and part amused laugh. The earl had no shame at all. Forth shot Fox a questioning look, but he merely shook his head in response. Let Norris try to work himself out of this mess.
The mayor helped Norris out of his chair and Stratham accompanied them from the room. Fox didn’t know where they were going, but neither did he care.
Saxton stepped into the center of the room and fixed an angry glare on Fox. Before he could launch into what would no doubt be a tirade, Miranda rushed into the office. She appeared breathless, but utterly captivating with her riding habit donned in the appropriate manner. The lightness he’d felt earlier threatened to carry him away altogether.
She didn’t seem to notice Saxton as she moved toward Fox. “Have you been cleared of the charges?”
Fox smiled at her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go. “Norris didn’t even make the charges. Stratham did his part.”
She exhaled and then froze when Saxton grabbed her arm. He glowered down at his sister. “You’ve made an absolute mess of this. When Holborn learns what you’ve done—”
Fox broke in. “Lord Saxton, it doesn’t signify since she’s to be my wife.”