She sat back, going over the exchange in her mind, wondering whether she should tell Ross about it and what action he would take if she did.
Chapter Ten
Ross walked briskly back to his rooms, barely conscious of the biting cold eating into the exposed flesh of his face, despite the fact that he had pulled his hat down low over his brow. His thoughts dwelt upon the lively and stimulating exchange with Sophia, an exchange that had brought him alive for the first time since his return to the country of his birth. The better he got to know her the more he admired her courage, spirit and determination. This situation couldn’t be easy for her since she must feel torn between family loyalties and the desire to help Ross. Why she still wanted to help him when everything they discovered showed her sister in a less and less flattering light was less obvious.
He had told Sophia more than he had intended to, unsure what had made him do so.
Knowing very well.
There was something about her that made him trust her and throw caution to the wind. Suspicious by nature, he never confided in relative strangers, but Sophia was just as involved in this business as he was, and deserved to know the direction his speculations had taken. If Andrew had deliberately impregnated Maria Kennard then Emily must be aware of the fact. But then again, if Andrew was planning something so underhand, why had be asked Ross to come home at a time when the fraud might easily have been exposed? Emily could have hidden herself away and pretended to be increasing. Casual acquaintances wouldn’t have questioned the situation. But Ross would have been residing with them at Ravenscroft and noticed the deception.
Or would he? He had no experience of ladies in a delicate state and tended to avoid Emily’s company whenever possible. He would not have allowed himself to be caught alone with her, so she need only have worn padding and he would have been none the wiser. Andrew’s urgent summons may not fit in with Ross’s latest theory, but that wasn’t to say the theory was wide of the mark.
Perhaps Maria’s condition had not been planned, and had been the result of an illicit liaison. Perhaps Maria had somehow been blackmailing Andrew as a result of it. If he had made her promises that he then reneged upon, it could be possible. Probable even. If Maria had been astute enough to produce a witness to assurances that Andrew had been incautious enough to offer whilst in his cups then he would have had to pay up and Maria would have no reason to arrange his murder. Unless, of course, he had grown tired of paying, in which case Ross was well acquainted with the vindictive natures of women scorned. He would have a better idea if Maria was such a woman when he made her acquaintance and judged her evasiveness for himself.
Who would Andrew turn to if there was a danger of the family name being dragged through the mire?
Ross ground his jaw. Andrew had been older than Ross by five years, but Ross had always been the sensible one, and if money was required to purchase Maria’s silence then Ross would have had to provide it. If that was the case then at least Maria was unlikely to have been involved in the plot to do away with Andrew. Once he was dead, her hopes of refilling her coffers and salving her wounded pride would have died with him. He was glad about that, if only for Sophia’s sake.
Shortly after reaching his rooms, Ross had Tanner bring round the carriage and the two men set off for Blake’s abode a short distance away. They could have walked, but in situations such as this Ross believed in making an impression. His vehicle was of the finest quality and the latest design. The matching blacks conveying it were high-steppers that never failed to draw attention. Ross took the ribbons and drove himself, expertly steering his team around the various obstacles clogging roads that were slick with sleet. As he did so, he articulated his latest thoughts about Maria’s condition and the possibility of her attempting to blackmail Andrew.
‘Seems as likely as anything else we’ve come up with,’ Tanner said, having taken a moment to consider the matter. ‘Andrew tried to tap you for handouts often enough, and you failed to oblige him. But if it was a case of family honour, presumably he assumed you would feel more generously inclined.’
‘Or sort out the mess on his behalf so that he didn’t have to get his hands dirty,’ Ross countered. ‘Andrew was very good at swaggering around and living up to his reputation as a highfalutin’ duke, but he preferred to leave others to sweep up behind him.’
‘It’s a shame we can’t find Greenacre,’ Tanner said after a short, reflective pause.
‘Not for the want of trying. The man’s disappeared off the face of the earth.’
‘Or met the same fate as Andrew.’
Ross grimaced, the same possibility having crossed his mind on more than one occasion. Greenacre had been Andrew’s secretary since before Andrew had assumed the dukedom. Fiercely loyal, he knew where all the bodies were buried, figuratively speaking. He covered up Andrew’s frequent lapses in judgement and guarded his door tenaciously. But no one had seen him since Andrew’s death. His room had been cleared out and Emily claimed not to know where he had gone. Nor did any of the other long-standing servants at Ravenscroft, and despite Tanner’s diligent enquiries, no one seemed to know what had become of him.
His abrupt disappearance was one of the reasons why Ross felt increasingly convinced that Andrew had been deliberately targeted by the murderer. It was too much of a coincidence to accept that Greenacre, so solid and reliable, would up and leave his position at a time when his presence had never been more urgently needed. Presumably, Greenacre was aware of the particulars of whatever farrago Andrew had got himself involved in that had also got him killed and was afraid for his own life.
‘This is it.’
Ross pulled his team to a halt outside of a tall boarding house in Saville Street. He noticed a curtain twitch at the front room window on the ground floor and knew that their arrival had been witnessed. His team attracted the attention of the anticipated crowd of urchins. Ross tossed a coin to the biggest boy and told him there would be as much again if he minded the horses.
‘You can depend on me, mister,’ the lad replied with a toothy grin and a tug of his forelock.
‘Good man.’
Before Ross and Tanner could mount the front steps, the door was opened by a smartly uniformed footman.
‘We’re expected,’ Tanner muttered.
‘So it would appear.’
It also appeared that Ross had misinterpreted the use that these premises were put to. The moment he stepped into the entrance hall it became obvious that the house was not split into separate dwellings for gentlemen who didn’t spend their entire time in London and didn’t want to go to the expense of maintaining a house in the capital all year round. Blake, it seemed, had leased the whole house, as became obvious when he emerged from the drawing room, hand outstretched, to greet Ross in person.
‘Alton,’ he said affably. ‘Thought it had to be you as soon as I saw that smart equipage. Do come in and get warm.’
Ross raised a brow when he walked into a very elegantly appointed and comfortably furnished drawing room and discovered Swinton sprawled in a chair in front of the fire. He gave Ross a mildly superior look before springing athletically to his feet and also offering his hand.
‘We share the place,’ Blake explained. ‘Saves on expenses and we dislike the thought of occupying premises with strangers.’
Ross shrugged as he took a seat, unsure why they felt the need to explain. And why two single men required so much space, come to that. He glanced at Tanner, who remained standing at the back of the room, and could see that the same suspicious thoughts had occurred to him.
‘Refreshments?’ Blake asked, when an awkward silence that Ross made no effort to fill was in danger of becoming embarrassing.
‘Thank you, no.’
Ross sensed that his verbal economy and their inability to impress him with their living arrangements had unsettled the two men, just as Ross had intended it should. He noticed them sharing sideways glances as he speculated upon their living beneath the same ro
of, wondering if there was more to their relationship than mere friendship.
‘My brother’s debt to you,’ Ross finally said, breaking the silence.
Blake flapped a hand. ‘As I have already told you, there is no debt.’
‘And yet vowels were in Andrew’s possession.’ Ross frowned, not having to feign confusion. ‘How did that situation occur?’
‘It’s really quite simple. Andrew settled his debt and we returned the vowels to him.’
‘How?’
Swinton sat up a little straighter. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Did the question confuse you? My apologies. How did Andrew repay such a large sum? His coffers, as you will be aware if you were such close confidants, were empty, and I know he didn’t borrow.’
‘Confidants who encouraged a man who couldn’t meet his obligations to gamble for high stakes,’ Tanner remarked from his position at the back of the room.
Both men turned in his direction, clearly surprised that an underling had dared to voice an opinion in their hearing. Blake opened his mouth, presumably with the intention of issuing a reprimand. He glanced at the rigid set to Ross’s features and wisely closed it again without speaking.
‘Andrew didn’t require encouragement,’ Swinton said, a defensive edge to his voice. ‘Quite the reverse. He couldn’t pass a game without joining it.’
Ross nodded abruptly, aware that much was true. ‘Andrew didn’t repay you in monetary terms,’ he said. ‘He could not have done. So I shall be interested to know what service he provided in lieu.’
The two men again shared a prolonged look, and some sort of unspoken communication passed between them. They were like an old married couple who knew one another so well that they could each anticipate the other’s thoughts, Ross decided.
‘You two are reputed to be wealthy, but in actual fact neither of your families are especially well situated,’ Ross said into the ensuing silence.
‘You have been checking up on us?’ Swinton’s face flooded with colour. ‘I say!’
‘Your families live modestly in the country and struggle to make their respective estates profitable. That is common knowledge and it wasn’t hard for me to discover when I realised how closely my brother’s recent activities had been linked with your own. A few questions in your neighbourhood taverns produced all the answers I needed. Lady Carpenter is your only relative who lives in town and is free from financial constraint. And yet the two of you reside here in the lap of luxury. You pay lip service to the eligible females whose paths you cross but your names haven’t been linked with any of them. You are both very circumspect in that regard.’
‘What the devil are you implying?’ Blake demanded.
‘I am not implying anything, I am merely speculating.’ Ross hardened his expression and his tone. ‘Forgive me if I find the entire situation highly suspicious. I don’t especially care about the nature of your friendship, nor am I interested in how you fill your coffers, unless those activities have some bearing on my brother’s murder. If that is the case, gentlemen, then whatever it is that you do becomes very much my affair.’
The two men shared another loaded glance and after a few tension-filled seconds Swinton gave an imperceptible nod.
‘We are not interested in buggery, if that is what you mean to imply,’ Blake said. ‘Gentlemen cannot be close friends without exciting scurrilous speculation?’ He sent Ross a smug grin. ‘As to not being interested in feminine company, perhaps Miss Kennard failed to mention that we implored her to accompany us to a party last night.’
Ross didn’t allow his reaction to show, aware that he was being taunted. Sophia should have mentioned something, and he would have taken pleasure in reminding these two scoundrels of their manners. But still, at least she’d had the sense not to accept their invitation.
‘We are sporting gentlemen,’ Swinton said, clearly feeling the need to justify himself. ‘You are right to say that our families struggle to make ends meet. Taxation, the corn laws and labour costs, amongst other things, combine to make farming an increasingly uphill struggle to profit from, but the pater can’t see it. We, on the other hand, see no future in it so we are required to diversify. We have had some success, but we don’t shout about the source of our income. Since our families seldom come to town, the impression that we are independently wealthy hasn’t been questioned.’
‘We dress well and play the part,’ Blake explained.
‘And acquire your wealth through sporting endeavours.’ Ross fixed them with a non-accusatory look. ‘You are glorified bookmakers.’
‘Something of that nature. Gentlemen gamble—it’s rather expected of them,’ Swinton said. ‘We have observed how often they lose, but losing only encourages them to become more reckless in the hope of regaining what they have lost, so we decided to facilitate their requirements. Besides, debts of honour can’t be ignored, so we are assured of payment.’
‘There are plenty of gentlemen’s sporting clubs in London,’ Ross remarked.
Swinton offered up a thin smile. ‘Not ones that cater for more extreme tastes.’
Ross shifted his position in his chair and crossed one foot over his opposite knee. ‘Explain,’ he demanded succinctly.
‘Why in God’s name should we?’ Blake demanded. ‘You cannot just sail in here and start throwing your weight about, Alton. We do not answer to you.’
‘But you will tell him anyway because his grace asked you nicely,’ Tanner growled, moving forward with a menacing expression that gave Ross pause despite it not being directed at him. ‘Of course, if you’d rather not then he will have to conclude that you have something to hide. That you are somehow responsible for his brother’s murder. The examining magistrate won’t be able to disregard the suspicions of a man of his stature, which will make life very difficult for the two of you.’
‘I hadn’t considered you suspects in Andrew’s killing,’ Ross added, ‘mainly because I mistakenly thought he was in debt to you and debts can’t be paid if the debtor is dead. Then it occurred to me that the vowels were in Andrew’s possession but not torn up. The implication was that the debt had been settled, so why not destroy the notes? I decided that perhaps Andrew had kept them as some sort of insurance; proof that the debts had been incurred by nefarious means.’
‘Andrew was murdered by ruffians when he stupidly walked home alone after midnight,’ Swinton said, effecting a yawn. ‘Everyone knows it’s not safe for men of quality to venture abroad at such a time.’
‘Murdered very close to this address,’ Ross said mildly.
‘If we intended to kill our partner,’ Swinton replied with a cocky grin, ‘we are not mutton-headed enough to do so on our own doorstep.’
‘Andrew wrote and begged me to return home as a matter of urgency. My brother was an arrogant devil and had never begged for anything, especially not from me. We did not get along well. The fact that he was desperate enough to implore me for my help ensured that I boarded the next vessel bound for England, but he had been dead for three months by the time I arrived. I don’t know why he wanted me here, or whether sending for me sealed his fate, but I intend to find out.’ Ross returned his feet to the floor and leaned forward. ‘Now then, gentlemen, tell me all about your sporting endeavours and Andrew’s involvement in them.’
The superciliousness appeared to drain out of them when they realised they had met their match and had no choice but to comply with Ross’s demands.
‘Andrew owed us a great deal of money, as you know,’ Blake said. ‘He admitted that he couldn’t pay, and that he couldn’t borrow against Ravenscroft. It was already mortgaged to the hilt and his bank wouldn’t extend him further credit, so we suggested another way in which he could work off the debt.’
‘He has connections in Southampton, where the boats from America and the Indies sometimes dock,’ Swinton explained.
Ross curled his upper lip, thinking that some of the cryptic documentation he had found in Andrew’s desk now made mor
e sense. ‘He encouraged released slaves coming to this country to find a better life to participate in your sporting occasions.’
Swinton lowered his head, having the grace to look ashamed. ‘Our clients have distinctive tastes. Extreme tastes.’
‘There are plenty of bare-knuckle fighters for hire roaming the country,’ Ross pointed out.
‘Willing ones,’ Blake replied.
‘Ah, I see. Your customers wanted fights to the death, and you were happy to arrange them.’
‘We didn’t realise what we had got ourselves into until it was too late to extricate ourselves,’ Swinton said. ‘We simply took wagers on the outcome. Once a man was knocked out we assumed that would be it, but the customers weren’t satisfied and made side wagers we knew nothing about. One of the combatants did die, which is when Andrew said he wanted no further part in it.’
‘And nor did we,’ Blake added.
‘Who are the men behind this murderous sport?’ Ross asked, suppressing the urge to flatten these two popinjays with his bare hands.
‘If we were to tell you that, we’d be dead men ourselves,’ Swinton said, not having to feign fear.
‘If you do not then his grace will have you taken in charge,’ Tanner growled.
‘On what charge? Nothing can be proven,’ Blake pointed out. ‘And I can assure you that no witnesses will come forward for fear of implicating themselves.’
‘You still claim that Andrew was murdered by an opportunist?’ Ross asked, scowling at the two men.
They couldn’t meet Ross’s gaze, but nothing he said and none of the threats issued by Tanner could persuade them to reveal the names of the men involved with the deadly combat.
‘They must be powerful individuals,’ Tanner said once they had left the premises and reclaimed the carriage from the lad who’d guarded it with enough diligence to earn him the additional promised coin. ‘Those two are terrified.’
A Duke in Turmoil: Dangerous Dukes Vol 9 Page 12