‘We were discussing your friendship with my brother,’ Ross said, returning his attention to Maria. ‘I understand that you, he and Lord Purvis were often in one another’s company.’
Maria bit her lower lip as she considered her response. Sophia had seldom seen her so reticent and knew she must be wondering how much Ross actually knew for a fact and how much was mere speculation.
‘Surely your response doesn’t require quite so much contemplation,’ Sophia said. ‘Your friendship with Andrew is common knowledge.’
‘Well yes, we did enjoy one another’s society in the most innocent of manners.’
‘I hadn’t supposed anything to the contrary,’ Ross said in an urbane tone that held conviction, even though Sophia was well aware that he did suspect her of the very behaviour he was at pains to deny, presumably in the hope of winning Maria’s trust. ‘My brother had earned a questionable reputation but as far as I am aware he drew the line at seducing innocents.’ Ross’s gaze dwelt upon Maria’s extended belly as he spoke, causing her cheeks to flush. She hastily draped a shawl across her middle in the futile hope of disguising her condition.
‘Lord Purvis and I are to be married as soon as…’ She elevated her chin as she waved a negligent hand in the direction of her abdomen.
‘Congratulations,’ Ross replied. ‘Is Purvis aware that the child may not be his?’ he went on to ask in a hard voice, negating his earlier assurance regarding his brother’s moral conduct.
‘I beg your pardon?’ Maria’s gaze swivelled between Sophia and Ross. Sophia was treated to an enraged look, but Maria seemed wary of Ross, unsure what to make of him. ‘How dare you? What has my sister been telling you? Whatever it is, it’s all lies. She has always been jealous of me and sees an opportunity to gain revenge. She is spiteful and vindictive and you cannot trust a word she says.’
‘Finished?’ Ross asked mildly.
Maria leaned her elbow on the arm of her chair and the side of her face on her fisted palm, glaring at them both with a combination of anger and uncertainty. ‘I want you to leave,’ she said waspishly. ‘And don’t bother to come back, Sophia. You have betrayed my trust and I have nothing more to say to you.’
‘We will leave when I am satisfied that you have told me the truth—but just so that we are clear,’ Ross replied, ‘your sister has mentioned nothing to your detriment. In fact she is loyal and was most reluctant to bring me here. Following investigations that I myself instigated, I became convinced that you were still in London and threatened to have Sophia followed until she led me to you if she didn’t agree to bring me here herself.’
Sophia glanced at Ross, surprised by the manner in which the lies slipped so easily from his tongue. She knew he had twisted the facts to prevent a serious breach between her and Maria, for which she was grateful, even if the breach in question remained inevitable. Sophia didn’t have the energy to care about her sister’s fit of pique. It felt good to stand up to her, and anyway, hadn’t she already decided that the time had come to put herself and her own interests first?
‘You made enquiries about me?’ Maria’s wounded pride seemed partially restored, although she was still wary of Ross’s interest in her. ‘I expect you have been told untruths.’ She wound a lank curl around her forefinger and fixed Ross with a flirtatious look. ‘A lot of people resent me and would say anything to put me down. You mustn’t believe one word in ten that you have been told.’
‘I have been making enquiries about anyone connected to Andrew recently, and your name came up frequently. Naturally, it made me curious.’
‘Curious how?’ Maria ignored Sophia and focused her entire attention upon Ross. She had seen her use that ploy on more than one occasion when she wished to attract a gentleman’s interest. Her eyes widened, she moistened her lips and gave the impression that the gentleman in question fascinated her. Ordinarily it worked, but Sophia was unnaturally pleased to see that Ross wasn’t taken in by her. ‘We are neighbours of yours in Hampshire. It is a small social circle so naturally our paths crossed with Andrew’s.’
‘And Emily’s?’
‘Oh of course, obviously.’ Maria finally looked away from Ross. ‘Her too.’
‘I am reliably informed that you ran wild with Andrew and Purvis. Drinking and gambling and other pursuits quite unsuitable for a single female—or indeed for any female at all.’
‘There was no harm in it,’ Maria said defensively, a scowl creasing her brow. Sophia recognised the signs and knew that she was on the point of either sulking or throwing a tantrum. ‘Someone has been exaggerating in an effort to harm my reputation. As I’ve already mentioned, other women are jealous of my popularity and wouldn’t hesitate to speak ill of my activities. I find it rather pathetic.’
‘Perhaps.’ Ross allowed a significant pause that Maria seemed reluctant to break. Sophia watched the battle of wills but had no intention of saying anything to ease the palpable tension. ‘When did you enter into the agreement with Andrew and Emily?’ he asked, almost as an afterthought.
‘Agreement?’ Sophia noticed genuine fear pass through Maria’s eyes as she glanced towards her, presumably in the hope that Sophia would spring to her defence as she so often had in the past when someone upset her. Not this time. ‘I have no idea to what you refer.’
‘Then I will speak more plainly.’ Ross leaned forward, his handsome profile cast into fascinating light and shadow by the flickering flames of the fire, emphasising the strong line of his jaw and the sharp angles of his cheekbones. ‘My brother’s wife was desperate to produce a male heir, if only to ensure that I didn’t assume a dukedom that was of absolutely no interest to me. She has gone eight long years without conceiving, which leads me to suppose that she is incapable of bearing more children.’ Ross allowed another of his trademark pauses. ‘But you evidently are not.’
Maria’s throat worked but no sound other than a timid squeak emerged from her mouth, which is when Sophia knew that Ross had got it right. Oh, Maria! Even Sophia hadn’t imagined she could be quite that conniving.
‘I thought as much,’ he said, looking unnaturally grim as he glanced at Sophia and his jaw flexed and hardened.
‘Then you thought entirely wrong,’ Maria countered, finding her voice and her spirit simultaneously. ‘The child I am expecting is Lord Purvis’s. We were already engaged to be married when it was conceived. Don’t glare at me, Sophia. You are my sister. You should be defending me against these scurrilous claims.’
‘They are only scurrilous if they are untrue,’ Ross replied. ‘You can tell me yourself or I will ask Emily. She is now dependent upon me and will have to be truthful or risk starving.’
A significant pause ensued and Sophia could sense Maria’s mind working to full capacity.
‘Oh, all right,’ Maria eventually said, ‘but it is not what you think. I am not that lost to all notions of respectability.’ She glanced away from them and Sophia wondered if her hesitation implied an effort to come up with a story that would paint her as a victim, or at the very least as a character who had been manipulated and misled. Perhaps she had been, but with Maria it was very difficult to be sure.
‘Andrew and I were friends. We grew closer the longer we found ourselves stuck in Hampshire and I did join in with some of his pranks with Purvis. It seemed harmless enough, until Andrew told me that he was in love with me.’
‘In love?’ Sophia stared at her sister in bald surprise.
‘Is it so very hard for you to imagine a gentleman falling in love with me?’ Maria asked defensively.
‘Go on,’ Ross said, briefly touching Sophia’s hand, presumably because he didn’t want Maria’s explanation to become derailed. Maria noticed the gesture. She looked briefly bewildered by it and then fury clouded her eyes.
‘Andrew said that he and Emily were very unhappy, that she was frequently unfaithful to him and was unable to bear him the son he so desperately wanted,’ Maria said, returning to her account. ‘He had decided to gather evidence
of her infidelities and planned to divorce her. I actually tried to persuade him against that course of action, although I don’t suppose you will believe me. It would have created a scandal and made him seem incapable of controlling his wife. But he was adamant and…well, I had got to know him better and returned his feelings by that point. I believed his assurances and we were intimate.’
‘What went wrong?’ Ross asked.
‘Emily found out.’ Maria plucked sulkily at her lower lip. ‘I’m not sure how, but I have always suspected Greenacre. He didn’t like me and advised Andrew against taking up with me but was very attached to Emily, and protective of her interests. Anyway, she told Andrew that she would produce evidence of his infidelities if he made good on his threat to divorce her, and she promised that the scandal would keep the ton in gossip for the next ten years. Andrew knew she would carry through with her threat and was in despair. It was at about that time that I discovered my condition. Emily heard about it somehow. Greenacre again, one supposes, and it was she who came up with the idea of pretending that the baby was hers.’
‘I see.’ Ross nodded, looking unnaturally grim.
‘Andrew was killed just after that, so of course it became impossible to carry on with the scheme.’
‘You and Emily could have perpetuated the plan,’ Ross remarked, looking to Sophia as though he wished that they had. Then he could have continued doing whatever he did in Carolina and not be forced into taking over the duchy when he would clearly prefer not to.
‘I suggested it, but she said she wasn’t willing to take the risk.’
‘What risk?’ Sophia asked.
‘The child could be a girl, and Emily said she already had more daughters than she could cope with.’
Sophia thought it more likely that she had convinced herself that she would be able to ensnare Ross and remain the Duchess of Alton through that means. A much more satisfactory arrangement, and one that a woman so sure of her allure probably didn’t doubt she would be able to orchestrate. No wonder she had called upon Sophia in such an incensed state.
‘So you found yourself in a tricky situation and deceived Purvis into thinking the child was his,’ Sophia finished for her, unable to keep the contempt out of her tone.
Maria simply shrugged, not seeming to care about hoodwinking a decent man.
‘What can you tell me about the bare-knuckle fights that Andrew helped organise?’ Ross asked. Sophia sent him a look of mild surprise. It was the first she had heard of them and she was unsure of their significance. Ross smiled at her and she knew that the question was not founded on idle curiosity. She guessed it was the result of his meeting with Blake and Swinton, details of which he had yet to share with her.
‘I attended a couple with Andrew and Purvis, but they were too violent for my taste.’
‘What did you expect?’ Sophia asked.
‘These were not normal fights, were they, Miss Kennard?’ Ross asked.
‘No.’ Maria shook her head and focused her attention on the rug beneath her feet. ‘Andrew said I wouldn’t like them, that he didn’t much care for them himself, but he was paying off a debt by arranging them.’
Ross nodded, as though her words confirmed something he had already been told.
‘The men didn’t want to fight one another, but they were forced to,’ Maria said.
‘Forced how?’ Sophia asked.
‘They could either fight one another or take their chances with the organisers’ men, who stood by with daggers and cudgels,’ Ross said, disgust in his tone.
‘Surely not.’ Sophia shuddered. ‘The poor men. Why would anyone do such a thing?’
‘Some consider such a practice sport.’ Ross scowled at the opposite wall. ‘So-called gentlemen with more money than sense and nothing to occupy their time will look for more and more extreme forms of entertainment. The men in question are former slaves, and their lives are worth nothing to the men who gamble on the results of the fights.’
‘I only went twice,’ Maria said defensively.
‘Once would have been too often for me,’ Sophia countered.
‘Well, that’s the difference between us.’ Maria tossed her head. ‘I am more open-minded.’
‘Evidently.’ Sophia fixed her sister’s swollen belly with a significant look.
‘Don’t be so mean, Sophia,’ Maria replied petulantly. ‘None of this is my fault.’
‘It never is,’ Sophia replied with a heavy sigh.
‘Who else did you see at these fights whom you recognised?’ Ross asked.
‘Greenacre was always there, and he disapproved of my presence,’ Maria replied. ‘Blake and Swinton were always there as well, but I’m not sure about the others. The fights were held in disused barns that were always packed with people. Andrew shielded me from their view. I wore boys’ clothing but he said I would never pass muster at close quarters.’ She paused, looking pleased by the recalled compliment. ‘Lord Purvis liked to attend. The three of us went together.’
‘My understanding is that Andrew withdrew from the commitment after seeing one of the combatants killed,’ Ross said. ‘Do you know if he actually did?’
‘He told me that was his intention.’ She paused. ‘In fact, he had a big argument at the last fight we attended with a gentleman who was always there, lurking in the background. I don’t know who he was. I asked Andrew but he told me I was better off not knowing.’
‘You think he was the chief organiser?’ Ross asked.
‘Possibly. I never saw him place a wager, or talk to anyone else, other than Greenacre, and on that particular evening to Andrew.’
‘Can you describe him?’ Ross asked.
‘Not really. He was just a man.’ From which Sophia inferred he hadn’t shown any interest in Maria in her boys’ clothing, which would have been a blow to her self-esteem. ‘He was taller than average, and quite muscular. He had dark whiskers and always wore a hat pulled low over his eyes.’
‘How did you feel when Andrew was killed and your opportunity to make money from the sale of your baby died with him?’ Ross asked, his tone brutal.
‘That is a very unkind way of putting it,’ Maria protested, tears sparkling on her lashes. Sophia was surprised it had taken her so long to produce them. Maria always cried when she didn’t get what she wanted and the ploy was usually successful. But on Ross it appeared to have no effect. Maria must have noticed his lack of sympathy too and the tears disappeared as fast as they had arrived. ‘I genuinely loved Andrew, and I was devastated when he was so brutally killed. I was much more upset than Emily. All she cared about was the loss of the baby, but not enough to take a chance of it being a boy.’
‘Well then.’ Ross glanced at Sophia and got to his feet. Sophia did so as well. ‘Thank you, Miss Kennard.’
‘You think Andrew’s killing was planned?’ The reason for Ross’s questions only just seemed to have occurred to Maria.
‘I am sure of it,’ Ross replied, ‘and you have given me more directions in which to look.’
‘Happy to oblige,’ Maria said sullenly.
‘I will call and see you soon,’ Sophia said, offering her sister a kiss.
Maria turned her face away. ‘Don’t trouble yourself.’
Sophia felt relieved to leave the shabby room behind and breathed the crisp air in deeply when Ross opened the door for her. There was no sign of Peg, who appeared to have abandoned her duties.
‘I am sorry if that upset you,’ Ross said, as he guided her towards his conveyance, placing his hand on the small of her back.
Sophia glanced over her shoulder, aware of Maria watching them from the window. She couldn’t see her face but didn’t need to in order to know that she would be frowning at the intimate gesture.
‘She didn’t say anything about her relationship with Andrew that I didn’t already know, or that we didn’t suspect. I wish she hadn’t fallen so low, but she is paying a heavy price for her laxity now.’ Sophia paused, taking a moment to mull over wha
t had been said. ‘If the arrangement over the baby existed,’ she added slowly, ‘then Maria had no reason to want Andrew dead. Quite the opposite, in fact. She still dreamed of becoming his duchess.’
‘If the arrangement existed. I shall need to ask Emily.’
‘Oh lud!’
Ross looked down at her, clearly worried by her reaction. ‘What is it?’
‘Nothing.’ Sophia waved his concerns aside. ‘What about those terrible fights? I assume Blake told you about them, but I’m also surprised that he did.’
Ross chuckled. ‘I’ve already told you, I can be very persuasive.’
‘It is totally appalling. How could anyone find that sort of thing entertaining?’
‘Some men enjoy watching dogs tearing one another apart. I am not one of them, I hasten to add. I am fond of dogs. However, those with such low morals probably look upon men killing one another as an extreme form of stimulation.’
Sophia twitched her nose as they reached the waiting conveyance and they stood close together, discussing what they had learned. Tanner alighted from the vehicle and went to the horses’ heads, a respectful distance away. ‘The whole thing is vile,’ she said.
‘We are in agreement on that score, but if Andrew threatened to withdraw his services… He had warehouses in Southampton and connections there, which is how he got hold of the men. Well I suspect Greenacre more likely did so.’
‘The man whom Maria mentioned and doesn’t like.’
‘Precisely. He disappeared soon after Andrew died.’
Sophia gasped. ‘You think he killed your brother?’
‘The possibility hadn’t occurred to me. Greenacre was devoted to Andrew. I thought he was more likely to be dead himself, but now that your sister has told me how much Greenacre disliked her association with Andrew, and if Andrew really was set upon divorce, it makes me wonder if master and servant argued about her.’
‘Maria mentioned that Emily and Greenacre were on friendly terms. Perhaps Emily knows where he is.’
‘If she does, she is unlikely to tell me. I asked her when I first returned and she claimed ignorance.’
A Duke in Turmoil: Dangerous Dukes Vol 9 Page 14