‘Where was your sister?’ Charles asked. ‘If she was four years older than you, presumably she was married by then.’
‘To one of Edward’s friends, who treated her abominably. She died in childbirth at about the same time I discovered the extent of Edward’s debauchery.’ Jake shook his head. ‘Parker was a footman here at the time and saw everything that went on, in the way that observant servants always do. I sensed I could trust him so I asked him if he knew why the estate was being drained of its assets one by one.’ Jake chuckled, a dry, mirthless sound. ‘Oh, he knew and was glad to speak to a member of the family willing to hear the truth. Edward and some of his well-heeled friends had formed their own version of the Hell-Fire Club, for want of a better description. Unimaginably cruel things happened at those meetings, according to Parker, who had spied on one. Innocent girls were beaten and defiled. I tried to warn Edward that he’d gone too far but he laughed in my face and accused me of being weak.’
‘Christ!’ Charles swallowed.
‘I wasn’t in the business of righting all the world’s wrongs at that point, but I couldn’t remain in any of my parents’ properties either. So I decided I would speak to some of my contacts in government circles, people I had met during my university years when I visited the families of friends during the holidays. Anything was preferable to returning to Torbay.’
‘Is that how you made the acquaintance of Thorndike?’ Charles asked.
‘Not then, but soon after. I had spent the day being interviewed by a Home Office mandarin for a position within that department. The interview had been exhaustive and I was tired when I returned to this house, wanting only a good meal and an early night. But I could tell from the look on Parker’s face that something was amiss.’
‘A meeting of your brother’s friends?’
‘Taking place in the main bedchamber. Parker and I joined forces and entered the room. Edward’s servants were under instructions, on pain of dismissal, never to disturb their activities. But I was not one of his servants.’ Jake inhaled a shuddering breath. ‘They had a young woman tied to the bed, naked and obviously not there willingly. Edward just laughed when he saw how affronted I was and asked why I cared about a nameless orphan from the workhouse. She was being paid the equivalent of a year’s wages to entertain them. But I could tell from the girl’s terrified expression and pleading eyes that she had not known what she was letting herself in for. I told my brother to release her himself or I would do it for him. He laughed in my face and ordered me to get out. I told Parker to cut the girl free. Edward’s friends looked as though they wanted to stop him but Edward called them off. He said it was his fight and that it wouldn’t last long. I was an ungrateful snivelling excuse for a brother who would soon be put in his place. I didn’t disagree when he said the dispute between him and I was long overdue for settlement.’
‘Was the girl all right?’ Charles asked.
‘Yes. She told me later that the overseer at the workhouse had sold her to Edward’s people. Suffice it to say, I ensured that he was no longer in a position to do anything like that again, and the girl now works on the estate in Torbay as a maid.’ Jake reached for the coffee pot, thought better of it and stood to pour whisky for them all. ‘Edward and I fought it out with our fists, brawling like dockers in my father’s sumptuous bedchamber. Edward was bigger and heavier than me, but he was also in his cups. I think he expected…well, I don’t know precisely what he expected but he became overconfident and let his guard down. I caught him with a right hook and it knocked him out cold. He hit his head on the marble mantel as he fell.’ Jake’s entire body vibrated at the memory. ‘That is what killed him.’
Charles shook his head. ‘I suppose you feel responsible, but your brother instigated the fight and there were witnesses to confirm it. Although, I suppose, they would have taken your brother’s part.’
‘Not when they saw how the fight had ended and their thoughts then turned to their own situations. I had Parker to attest to the fact that they were about to rape the girl. All of them were titled, or set to inherit titles, and couldn’t afford the scandal. One of them knew Thorndike, who was influential even then, and I agreed that he should be called in to help cover the situation up which, as we now know, is what he excels at. My parents would never have believed Edward was capable of doing what he did, and would have ostracised me for killing the favoured son. I didn’t care about being estranged from them, but I did care about the family name and the future of the estate.’
‘How did Thorndike fix matters?’
Jake shrugged. ‘Edward’s body was found outside a gaming club in St. James’s Street. He had been robbed of his possessions and it was generally believed that he had been set upon in the early hours by ruffians, had fought back and died in the attempt to protect himself.’
‘And since then Thorndike has played upon your guilt and sense of honour to have you clear up for him,’ Charles said in a disdainful tone. ‘Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.’
‘I didn’t see it as coercion at the time. I was just grateful that matters had been resolved.’
‘But you see it differently now,’ Charles said. ‘You realised he had the power to damage your reputation, twist the facts to suit his convenience or have your father discover the truth, simply by whispering a word or two in the right ears. We both know he is a master of manipulation and I’m willing to wager he’s not ready to dispense with your services. You’ve made yourself too useful to him.’
Jake took a large slug of his drink and shrugged. ‘Perhaps.’
‘Has it occurred to you, Jake, that one of the other men in the room that night might have enlightened Miranda?’ Isaac asked. ‘She’s an attractive woman and if one of them came across her in Paris…well, she’s another mistress of manipulation.’
‘I had considered it,’ Jake replied, ‘but think it unlikely. One of them is dead, one’s the Indies overseeing his family’s plantation and one has taken holy orders.’
‘My money’s on the priest,’ Charles said, making them all laugh and lightning the mood.
‘It has to be Thorndike,’ Jake said pensively. ‘He approached me a week or so ago with just one more project that he beseeched me to take on, but I made it clear to him that my resignation from his service was irrevocable. He was not best pleased.’
‘And doesn’t care to be gainsaid,’ Isaac added. ‘But how did he know about your history with Miranda?’
Jake lifted his shoulders in a negligent shrug. ‘How does he know about anything? His business is built upon trading in information. But it only occurred to me as I was making my way to see him today that Miranda is staying with the Hepplewaites.’
Isaac and Charles both nodded.
‘Of course,’ Charles said. ‘Lord Hepplewaite is one of Derby’s closest advisors.’
‘It can’t be a coincidence,’ Isaac said, looking angry and upset on Jake’s behalf. ‘Presumably you turned back because you knew Thorndike’s price would be your agreeing to take on his latest assignment.’
‘And it wouldn’t end there. Like all blackmailers he would be back every time a delicate situation arose,’ Jake said bitterly.
‘What shall you do?’ Charles asked.
‘Confront him. He won’t have told Miranda much, and certainly won’t have mentioned his involvement. But he’ll be at that ball tonight, I’ll bet my fortune on it, and probably has Miranda primed to make a spectacular denouncement at my expense if I haven’t agreed to her terms…or, more accurately to his, at which point she will be called off.’
‘No one will believe her,’ Isaac said in a tone that lacked conviction.
‘Unfortunately, they will. And even if they don’t, my reputation—and by association Olivia’s—will be tarnished forever. Miranda was involved with Edward just before all this happened and Edward did to her what he attempted to do to that girl in this house.’
‘Bloody hell!’ Charles said. ‘But still, she’s hardly likely to admit to
being raped. Is she?’
‘She has plenty of reason to bear your family a grudge,’ Isaac said, ‘especially if she’s jealous about your engagement to Olivia and regrets passing you up.’
‘Well, gentlemen,’ Jake said, draining his glass and standing. ‘Forewarned is forearmed. Thorndike isn’t the only one who can be devious and I took a few precautions of my own that night which he knows nothing about.’
‘What did you do?’ Charles asked.
Jake told them. As the story unfolded he saw the tension leave his friends’ bodies and by the time he ran out of words they were both smiling. But those smiles didn’t endure.
‘I strongly advise you against telling Thorndike that your lawyer holds the sworn testimony of the men who were with your brother that night,’ Isaac said, his legal training coming to the fore.
‘I’d still like to know how you managed to make them sign it,’ Charles added, admiration in his voice. ‘You’re not a complete numbskull nowadays but you were only one-and-twenty at the time and had just seen your brother die under violent circumstances. I know you despised one another, but still…’
‘I have often wondered the same thing,’ Jake replied, absently flicking a speck from the cuff of his coat. ‘Survival instincts, I suppose. Or perhaps I didn’t entirely trust Thorndike even then. He would have found a way to twist the facts if it suited his purpose, just as I suspect Miranda is currently doing at his behest.’
‘Even so…’
‘You want to know how I did it?’ Both men nodded. ‘Well, I took the other three aside individually, told them we needed to cover our own backs by putting our names to our account of events whilst they were still fresh in our minds.’
‘That would be perjuring themselves,’ Isaac said. ‘Why would they do that?’
‘We left out all mention of the girl being forced into what she was doing and made it appear as though she was a willing but unidentifiable whore from the streets. Her name wasn’t mentioned so if the report ever came to light there wasn’t the slightest possibility of her being tracked down and asked for her account. Since the other three weren’t involved in the actual fight that killed Edward they were more than willing to confirm that his death had been accidental. None of us knew how his body appeared outside that club, other than that Thorndike had taken care of the arrangements.’
Charles let out a low whistle. ‘Dynamite,’ he said softly. ‘That sort of scandal could bring down the entire government.’
‘I am aware of that.’ Jake gave a grim nod. ‘I had Parker to corroborate my version of events but I knew that wouldn’t have been sufficient to exonerate me if questions were asked. Edward’s aristocratic friends would have closed ranks to save themselves and it would be their word against mine—a brother who was known to despise and supposedly resent his elder sibling against the word of three supposedly neutral witnesses. It would have hung over me like the sword of Damocles for the rest of my days if I’d not taken action to protect myself. So I asked the others if they thought they could depend upon Thorndike if the going got tough.’ Jake allowed himself the hint of a smile. ‘That got them to thinking and whilst they were feeling vulnerable I might also have suggested to each man that the others had already agreed to sign.’
‘Very devious.’ Charles barked on a laugh. ‘I thoroughly approve.’
‘Even so, Jake,’ Isaac said frowning. ‘You really don’t want to be responsible for causing more political upheaval than the country’s already experiencing. Luke won’t be the only one to meet with an untimely accident if you attempt such a thing. Thorndike hasn’t survived in the shark-infested political mainstream without ruthlessly disposing of any perceived threats to his position of power.’
‘Which is precisely why I’ve done his bidding for so long and never alluded to the existence of that document.’
‘Take Thorndike aside and advise him in the strongest possible terms to call Miranda off,’ Isaac said. ‘Don’t even hint at the evidence you hold against him. It could prove to be a fatal error.’
‘I agree,’ Charles said.
‘If you call Thorndike’s reputation into question, tempting though it must be, you can only do so at the expense of your own.’ Isaac paused, looking seriously grim. ‘And Olivia’s.’
‘Quite.’ He smiled at his friends. ‘But unless I find a way to stop Miranda, she will destroy mine and Olivia’s reputations without any help from Thorndike.’
‘I’m sure you’ll think of an alternative way to resolve the matter between now and tonight,’ Charles said. ‘You have one advantage over Thorndike.’
‘Only one?’ Jake asked indolently. ‘You insult me.’
Charles laughed. ‘Your mind is even more devious than his, which is why you’ve made yourself so invaluable to him.’
Jake stood. ‘Well, there is that,’ he said, laughing. ‘Now, shall we take ourselves to Cheyne Walk and check on the ladies?’
Chapter Fourteen
Charles had no further opportunity during the course of the day to discuss the astonishing revelations Jake had made regarding the nature of his brother’s death. He was deeply troubled because that dark period in his friend’s life had returned to haunt him at a time when he ought to be anticipating his nuptials. He frowned, disliking the timing and highly suspicious of it. Was it Thorndike playing his games, was Miranda Southcott sufficiently deluded to imagine such an underhand method of persuasion would encourage Jake to leave Olivia for her, or was she simply seeking revenge?
His money was on Thorndike. As a diplomat he had mixed with politicians of all persuasions over the years and had yet to find one who, when the chips were down, didn’t put his own interests ahead of the constituents he had been elected to serve. Thorndike had not been elected and had no one to answer to. His own non-existent conscience made him unpredictable. He had survived on his wits, guile and ruthless determination to serve the Tories, in or out of office. Charles, who feared few men, had the good sense to avoid Thorndike and to be very careful what he said when their paths did cross.
Dressed in evening attire, Charles walked the short distance from his rooms in Battersea to Cheyne Walk at a brisk pace through a pea-souper. The fog thickened as he crossed the bridge to the north side of the foul-smelling river, swirling in noxious clouds that made it impossible to see his hand in front of his face. The gas lighting fought a losing battle against the invading fog, reflecting halos of eddying moisture that mingled with chimney smoke and choking emissions from the factories lining the wharf.
It was the sort of night in which gangs of fleet-footed pickpockets thrived and so Charles increased his pace, keeping a sharp lookout for shapes emerging from the shadows. The tip of his swordstick hit the cobbles with a satisfying clip, a sound that the ne’er-do-wells would recognise and which would hopefully make them think twice before attacking him. Charles was well able to take care of himself, but didn't relish the prospect of spoiling his pristine evening attire in an unnecessary brawl. Megan hadn’t seen him dressed for a ball before and he was keen to make a favourable impression.
The nature of his thoughts brought him up short and his steady footsteps momentarily faltered.
‘Damn it!’ he muttered aloud. ‘Mustn’t be thinking that way.’
Thus resolved, he managed to complete his journey without permitting his thoughts to stray into forbidden territory and without being set upon. They had taken a late luncheon with the ladies, but Charles had a few matters to attend to on behalf of the Foreign Department that afternoon and had declined Olivia’s invitation to dine. Jake clearly had not. His conveyance was outside her residence, the Torbay crest emblazoned on the doors dimly visible through fog that seemed patchier in this area. The horses’ quarters were covered with rugs and Parker and Franklin ostentatiously stood in full livery at their heads.
The plan, Charles knew, was to ensure that anyone watching the premises would see Olivia and Megan leave for the ball. Parker and Franklin would be seen leaving with them,
giving the impression that Sebastian had been left in the care of a few female servants and an elderly butler. In actual fact, Parker and Franklin would change places with two of Jake’s other footmen when the conveyance was safety out of sight, and would then double back and return to Olivia’s house through the back entrance, joining Finch who was already installed within. Charles tried not to think of all the things that might go wrong, reminding himself that Parker or Franklin alone would be more than a match for any would-be intruder.
‘A foggy night, my lord,’ Green said, admitting him to the house and accepting Charles’s outdoor attire.
‘Indeed, Green. The sort of night to remain indoors in front of a roaring fire with a good book and a decent glass of claret.’
He took a brief look in the nearest mirror and attempted to push his disorderly russet locks into some semblance of order, wondering why he was bothering. His hair always did whatever it liked and its propensity to please itself had never troubled him before. Like Jake, he shied away from the popular Rowlands Macassar Oil that was supposedly guaranteed to keep a gentleman’s hair and whiskers bright. He’d tried it once and it had taken him a week to get rid of the traces of grease. Charles didn’t sport much facial hair anyway and kept his moustache unfashionably trim.
‘Getting old?’ Jake asked as Charles walked into the drawing room, clearing having overheard his comment to Green. Jake was also splendidly attired, looking every inch the aristocratic earl. He stood in front of the fire sipping a glass of whisky. Green poured one for Charles without asking if he would like one, and Charles gratefully accepted.
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