Game of Dukes, page 16
‘He knew the duchy was in deep financial trouble.’
‘Thanks in part to his never lifting a finger to alter that situation. Mind you, I blame your uncle for that. He seemed perfectly content for Toby to live here without making any contribution to its efficiency.’ She allowed a thoughtful pause. ‘I once heard him say that he had done wrong by his brother—’
Phin jerked forward. ‘He actually made that admission?’
‘Yes, but he did not enlarge upon it. I think though that he was trying to make amends. He had argued with your father to the point that he felt the need to leave the Abbey. He didn’t want his only daughter and her husband to also take off. Not that they ever would have, of course.’ She twitched her nose. ‘That would have required Toby making his own way. As it was, he made do with amusing the old duke and pretending to enjoy his society.’
‘He flattered my uncle?’
‘All the time.’
‘But when he realised that his free ride was coming to an end, he needed to do something about it. He needed ready blunt to support his lifestyle away from the Abbey. I suspect he enjoys the races a little too much, to say nothing of female company. I was considering the ramifications over dinner and it occurred to me that it would not have been too difficult for anyone who wished to know how my father and I had fared in America to discover the extent of our success.’
Celeste’s mouth fell open. ‘You think he killed three innocent people, including his wife’s father and brother, in order to tempt you back to England?’
‘Indirectly. If I am right then he knew I could afford to put matters right here.’
‘Yes, but you have already made it abundantly clear that you will not finance his leisure pursuits, so your being here only makes his situation worse.’
‘Yes and no.’ Phin lifted a hand and rocked it back and forth. ‘The estate will be rejuvenated, repairs to the Abbey carried out and so on. A man with Darwin’s pretentions must have been embarrassed by its decline. And when it is turning a profit again, what if I were to meet with an accident? Who would then become duke?’
Celesta paled and clutched her cheeks. ‘Alvin,’ she replied faintly.
‘Precisely. And who controls him?’
‘Toby. And Alice, of course. But he takes more notice of Toby nowadays—or at least he did before your arrival.’
‘Well, there you are then. Once I have served my purpose there is every possibility that I might meet with an accident too.’
‘He wouldn’t dare!’
Phin chuckled, despite the gravity of the situation. ‘I have made it easier for him by purchasing Malachite, who spends his days trying to dislodge me from the saddle. A burr placed beneath the saddle in question would likely have the desired effect.’ He gave in to temptation, reached forward and took her hand. ‘Don’t look so desolate, my love. I am indestructible.’
‘Which is just the sort of brash attitude that will get you killed,’ she replied with an impatient shake of her head.
‘Not until I have invested most of my wealth in the estate. Darwin can’t be sure of getting his hands on it if he loses patience and acts too soon. He wants to be duke in everything but name, which he will be if Alvin accedes to the title, but he also wants as much of my money as he can get his filthy hands on, too.’
‘We have to do something!’ Celeste cried, snatching her hand from his, looking furious. ‘He cannot be allowed to get away with it.’
‘I have done something. I have deliberately kept you at arm’s length this past day.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Darwin cannot risk my marrying and producing an heir. That would spoil all his plans in this game of dukes that I appear to have become tangled up in.’
‘Yes, I can quite see that, but he’s hardly likely to imagine that you will marry me.’
Phin nodded his understanding. ‘Because you loved Matthew and your heart will never belong to anyone else.’
She gave another impatient shake of her head but didn’t deny his assertion. ‘Because I am your housekeeper.’
‘Hmm, so you are.’ Phin sighed. ‘Darwin watches me like a hawk, without making it apparent. He most likely spies on me, too. I have felt as though I have been watched several times since my arrival. He wants you for himself, my sweet, and—’
‘And is destined for disappointment,’ she said briskly. ‘I have told him so in no uncertain terms.’
‘Good girl!’ He reached forward and gently stroked her cheek. ‘But he will also have observed that you are much more friendly towards me, and that will invoke his jealousy. If he cannot have you then no one will. Besides, he thinks of me as American and probably assumes that I don’t harbour the same class-consciousness as the British aristocracy, so he cannot anticipate what I will do.’
‘Do you think that Alice is involved?’ Celeste asked. ‘She and I have never seen eye to eye, but I would not like to think of her being quite that amoral. To collude in the murder of her brother and nephew…’ She gave an elongated sigh. ‘It is beyond wicked.’
‘She will be secure if Alvin becomes the next duke, but I don’t want to believe that she is aware of Darwin’s plan. She is already dropping not-so-subtle reminders about my duty to marry and secure the future of the duchy, and she would hardly do that if she plans for Alvin to take control one day. In fact, it would be within her best interests to actively discourage me from selecting a wife.’
‘Perhaps she is behaving in the way she things she would be expected to, as your oldest female relation, I mean. She probably senses your contrary nature and assumes you will do the opposite of whatever she suggests.’
‘Hmm, possibly.’
‘What are we going to do, Phin? We can’t live like this. We have to find a way to discover if you are right or not.’
‘Don’t look so frightened. Nothing will happen immediately.’
‘Even so. We are aware that Toby and Frazer are acquainted. You could quiz him on the nature of the relationship.’
‘And force his hand?’ Phin shook his head. ‘He could easily explain that away and I have nothing else to throw at him, expect a handful of rather fanciful theories. It could well be that Darwin did clear out the duchy’s coffers but had nothing to do with the accident. Equally, my uncle might have made those bad investments, just as Frazer said, and in desperation Darwin got rid of him and Matthew. Or he could be innocent of both crimes. The accident could indeed have been an accident, caused by a momentary lack of concentration on Matthew’s part. Or someone else altogether could be responsible.’
‘You uncle had a quick temper and until his mind started to fail him, he was very…well, aristocratic and not always terribly sympathetic to the plight of others. He made his share of enemies and critics but I cannot imagine any of them resorting to murder.’
‘No more can I, which is why I need your help to get to the bottom of things.’
‘Whatever I can do,’ she replied without hesitation.
‘You don’t know what it is that I want of you yet.’
‘Just tell me,’ she said impatiently.
Phin waved a hand towards his uncle’s bureau. ‘All of my uncle’s private papers are in there,’ he said, ‘and in total disarray.’
‘Oh, is that all? He always was untidy. I used to clear up after him in the library, but no one was allowed to touch this bureau. It has remained locked since his death. But I can help you go through it, if that’s what you are asking.’ She paused. ‘Why do you look so wary?’
He avoided looking at her. ‘You will laugh if I tell you that I am afraid of what I might find,’ he said.
*
Celeste hadn’t thought that Phin could do or say anything else to shock her that evening, but by suggesting that she would laugh at him, by showing his vulnerable side, he had managed to do so. He splayed his legs, dropped his elbows onto his thighs and his head into his hands, shaking it from side to side, probably ashamed to display weakness. Men and their silly pride! In a rustle of muslin skirts she moved from her chair and knelt at his feet, gently touching his arm.
‘You are under the most terrible strain,’ she said softly. ‘I can quite see that and will do anything I can to help you.’ She paused, waited for him to lift his head and then met his gaze. ‘Without laughing.’
He looked directly into her eyes, mere inches from his and on the same level. He reached out as if to caress her face with his fingertips, then appeared to change his mind. Celeste couldn’t decide if she was more relieved or disappointed when he managed to retain a modicum of self-control, which was more than could be said for her. If he had attempted to touch her, or to seek a more intimate form of comfort, she would not have found the strength to stop him. A vortex of raw, primal desire for the complex and troubled duke threatened to overwhelm her whenever he let his guard down. It took a supreme force of will on her part to push it aside and not act upon impulses that screamed at her to comfort him.
She took several deep, steadying breaths, just as Phin lifted his head again. Mercifully, he appeared to have regained his self-control.
‘I want to go back to the beginning,’ he told her. ‘I need to know what disagreement forced my father to leave England and everything familiar behind us. Alice says she doesn’t know. Sir Richard probably does, but he pretended otherwise. Short of calling him a liar, there is nothing I can do to make him tell me, so I shall have to find out on my own. Perhaps that knowledge will throw up some answers to events that have occurred sixteen years later and even if they do not, at least I will know.’
‘Of course I will help you.’
She sprang to her feet and sat at the chair in front of the bureau. He pulled up another and sat beside her, close enough for his thigh to brush against hers. She pretended not to notice, or to be distracted by the contact.
‘I will go through the drawers, you concentrate upon the pigeon holes in the top of the bureau. Let’s sort everything into piles, according to the subject matter, without getting too distracted.’
‘You don’t mind doing this now?’
‘Well, we can hardly do so during the daytime without drawing attention to the fact that we are closeted in your bedchamber, which is the very situation you are attempting to avoid.’
‘You are not too tired?’
‘I am barely tired at all now that I don’t have so many duties.’
‘Then thank you.’
At the end of two hours they had methodically extracted every piece of paper from the bureau and had sorted it into several neat stacks. Invoices and personal correspondence with acquaintances formed the majority of their find, but they had unearthed nothing that threw any light upon the dispute with Phin’s father.
‘I had been so sure we would find the answers in here,’ Phin said, thumping his thigh with his clenched fist in frustration.
‘Well,’ Celeste replied, attempting to lighten the mood. ‘At least we know how much your uncle paid for his last horse.’
‘Ha!’
Phin, clearly in no mood to be mollified, banged his fist on the open flat top of the bureau. He glanced at Celeste when the gesture resulted in an answering rattle.
‘The sound came from that bottom drawer,’ Celeste said. ‘The smallest one.’
‘I have already been through it. It’s empty.’
Phin pulled it open to lend proof to his words, and they again heard a faint clink that must have been inaudible when he’d previously opened it, given the rustle of papers that Celeste had been sorting through. He glanced at her with wrinkled brow, looking afraid to search further.
‘We have come this far,’ she said softly.
He nodded once and then pressed hard against the back of the drawer. A spring clicked and a hidden compartment slid smoothly open. Phin took a deep breath, reached inside and pulled out a collection of letters neatly tied together with a ribbon. With Celeste peering round his shoulder, he looked down at the top one and let out a low oath.
‘That is my mother’s hand,’ he said in a bemused tone. ‘Yet it cannot be. The postmark implies that this top letter was sent when she had been dead for over ten years.’
Chapter Eleven
Phin, his heart pounding an irregular beat, stared blankly at his mother’s distinctive cursive. His head span as unpalatable possibilities flooded his brain. Blinking, he decided that he must be more tired than he realised, since clearly he had become delusional. Dead people did not write letters. He took a deep, steadying breath and a second look, ready to laugh at his own stupidity, but found that nothing had changed. He would know that hand anywhere. He glanced helplessly at Celeste and saw a combination of compassion and astonishment fighting for ownership of her expression.
‘Perhaps you are mistaken,’ she said, sounding unconvincing.
‘My mother was an avid correspondent. She wrote to me every week when I was away at school with Matthew. I still have all her letters and re-read them frequently. Her style is very distinctive. The way she loops her letters.’ He pointed to an ‘l’ and a ‘y’. I would know it anywhere.’ He stared off into the distance. ‘You realise what this means, of course. The fact that my uncle, so naturally untidy, kept these letters carefully bundled together…’
She reached forward and squeezed his hand, her eyes moist with sympathy. ‘Phin, I—’
‘Well, at least now we know what he and my father argued about, and why the rift could not possibly be healed.’
She widened her eyes. ‘Your uncle and your mother? Surely not? There must be a more innocent explanation.’
‘Perhaps, but I shall have to read these letters to make sure.’
‘That will be a dreadful ordeal.’ She increased the pressure on his hand. ‘Would you like me to do it for you?’
He shook his head. ‘Thank you, but this is something that I must tackle alone.’
‘I understand.’ She paused. ‘Do you think your mother might still be alive?’
‘I don’t know what to think anymore.’ Phin breathed deeply and exhaled slowly, striving for calm in the hope that rational thought would follow. ‘This last letter came at about the time your mother’s services were engaged and the duke had become unwell. Perhaps he asked her not to write anymore because he couldn’t be sure that her letters wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands once he’d been obliged through financial necessary to dismiss his secretary.’
‘That’s true. I heard him say once that parting with Newton had been a wrench. They’d been together for years and the duke reckoned there were no aspects of his life that Newton wasn’t a-party to. But he also said that Newton’s loyalty was absolute and that he would take his secrets to the grave.’
‘Well then, the letters would definitely have had to stop at that point. There again, perhaps she died herself.’ He shook his head and rubbed his chin in the palm of one hand, angry and confused. ‘My poor father. What a discovery to have made. No wonder the quarrel with his brother was unfixable.’
‘Your mother was very beautiful, I hear tell.’
‘Oh, she was a vision. Perfection, or so I thought. Now I know that she had her flaws, just like the rest of us. The duchess was a bit of a harridan, but still, that is no excuse. If my uncle required comfort away from the marital bed he should have had the decency to look further afield.’
‘I can see that you hold your mother to blame. But the persistent attention of a duke must have put her in an impossible situation.’ Her voice softened. ‘Try not to blame her too much unless—or until—you have heard her side of the story.’
‘Rubbish!’ he replied harshly. ‘It takes two, and the very fact that she continued to correspond with my uncle—presumably after my father cast her out and we left the country—well, that speaks volumes regarding her culpability.’
‘You are angry with her, and rightly so. She turned her back on you and risked everything to find pleasure in the arms of a man who was not her husband.’
Phin gave a harsh laugh. ‘No wonder those who were here at the time haven’t answered my questions about the reason for the estrangement. Sir Richard, Alice, even Mrs Gibson…they must all have had their suspicions, but none of them found the courage to share them with me.’
‘You can’t blame them for that. Besides, I don’t suppose any of them know for sure, and would you have thanked them for passing on unsubstantiated rumours?’
Phin shrugged, inwardly conceding that she made a fair point, but in no mood to offer his mother the benefit of the doubt. ‘Most likely not.’
She sent him a tremulous smile. ‘I will leave you to your reading,’ she said, standing.
‘No, don’t go.’ He put the letters aside, caught her hand and stood also. ‘Stay a little longer.’
Phin hadn’t made a conscious decision to hold her back for any reason other than that he was not ready to be alone, he told himself afterwards. Be that as it may, somehow Celeste finished up in his arms and he kissed her with sufficiently brutal passion to momentarily blot out pictures of his mother in a similar situation with his uncle. Horrified by acting no better than the debauched uncle in question, he abruptly broke the kiss and fell into the nearest chair. He still had hold of her hand and she tumbled into his lap, landing with a soft thud and a small cry of astonishment. Phin dropped his head, overcome with emotion, and sobbed softly on her shoulder.
‘I haven’t cried since I was six and Matthew pushed me out of a tree and broke my arm,’ he said, dropping his head into his splayed hands and shaking it from side to side, wondering if shock had caused him finally to lose his wits. ‘Forgive me, I should not have kissed you so brutishly, or at all, and should certainly not have sobbed all over you. That was not very manly of me.’
‘You have had a terrible shock,’ she replied, stroking his hair. ‘I would think less of you if you were not overwrought.’
