A Bright Particular Star (41 page)

“T
hey are one and the same,
”
said Grey.
“S
loane
covers his tracks
well
—
he
employs a handful of
accomplices
, no more,
and pays them handsomely to ke
ep their mouths shut.
It
’s
difficult
to believe
,
but
be
neath his
modish exterior
lurks
a
conniving
,
greedy
, dangerous
man
who will stop at nothing to get what he wants
.
”

Theo
gave an incredulous laugh.
“T
he man
’s
a
n arrogant
fop,
I grant you,
but
the idea
he could be involved in anything criminal
…
”
He
sh
ook his head
as he contemplated
this fantastic
notion.
A moment later, he
spoke again
to
Grey.
“S
loane
doesn
’t
seem to possess the
necessary
int
elligence
.
And d
o you suggest
he is
capable of
violent theft
?
”

“T
hat and more
.
Recollect
I have had the opportunity
to study him at close quarters.
He is not a man who naturally turns to viol
ence
—
like most cowards, fear and intimidation
a
re his weapons of choice
—
but
he has a singular determination to achi
eve h
is ends and
a
penchant for
jewels.
One might
call it an obsession.
If
violent
methods are needed
,
he will get others
to carry out the
work on his behalf
or do it himself if pushed
.
”

“
And he
is
getting bolder
.
A footman was lucky not to
get a bullet through the
heart during
the last robbery,
”
Sir Seymour pointed out.
“S
uccess
has
bred
confidence.
Sloane
thrives
on
the subterfuge
,
the incongruit
y of his position in society with
that of
his
criminal alter ego
.
Add
a natural arrogance and a lifetime of indul
gence
,
and you have
a
disturbing
combination
.
”

“
I can scarcely believe
it,
”
muttered Theo.
Then he
said in horrified accents
,
“
You
say Sophie
knows nothing of this?
”

“
Nothing
,
”
confirmed Luc.
“
Neither does Miss S
loane
or, I believe, Sloane
’s
mother
.
I
realize
d
Sloane
, with encouragement from
his mother, was trying to coerce
Miss Devereux
i
nto marriage, but I wasn
’t
sure
why
.
It did not appear
to be for purely monetary reasons
.
Sloane
’s
debts are negligible
and he
’s
a
weal
thy man.
H
ad
I
appreciated
how
fast events were moving and how
desperate Miss
Devereux felt
,
I would have found a
way to intervene
, but it
was too late.
H
er flight
from Ludstone
threw
everything into disarray
.
At first,
when I encountered you at
T
he White Hart,
I thought you migh
t be an accomplice of Sloane
’s
—
”

“S
o you followed us?

Grey confirmed this
, adding,
“
I
t soon became clear
you were not.
Your
demeanour
was not that of a man who meant Miss Devere
ux harm and
she trusted you.
But
Sloane
’s
arrival
at
T
he Pelican
changed
things
.
I
knew then that
if
Miss Devereux was worth going to
such
effort
s
to recover
,
she had
something Sloane
wanted
badly
.
I hoped to discover more
by getting him drunk
, but he proved cleverer
than I
had hitherto given him
credit for
.
Of course, t
here w
as
the possibility he
had begun to suspect
me but
even if h
e had
I could not abandon the investigation
.
To
do so would have placed Miss
Devereux
,
and
possibly
others
,
at
risk.
The intruder in Miss Devereux
’s
room conf
irmed my
fears
…
she had something
Sloane was determined to get
.
”

“
Wa
s
Sloane
the intruder
?
”

“
It could have been an accomplice
, but it
’s
my belief it was him
on that occasion
.
”

“T
he filthy cur!
Did he
intend to harm
her?
”

“
I think not
.
Not at the outset
, anyway.
Unless trapped
, he
’s
cunning rather than bellicose
.
He hoped to find
w
hat he was looking for among Miss Devereux
’s
belon
gings until she
awoke and disturbed his search
.
Seen from his point of view, the venture
was worth the risk.
If he had fo
und what he wanted
,
the theft would never have been attributed to him.
”

“
I know what he wants
,
”
said Theo
grimly
.

“S
o do I
now
—
t
he Devereux Star.
”

Theo raised his brows.
“D
id you learn of it
from
Sloane?
”
he asked,
scrutinising Grey
’s
features
.

“
No
. H
e
was
always
reti
cent with regard to his cousin
.
I found out
another way.
”

“
How?
”

Grey leaned back in his chair
.
“S
loane suggested
continuing on to London in the hope
that
another opportunity
to find what he was looking for
would present itself
.
His mother was easy enough to convince
,
and Miss Devereux and you were hardl
y likely to disagree.
On balance, I decided it would be
for the best
—
at least Miss Devereux would have two of us protecting her
interests
, albeit
you were unaware of my role
.
”
Flushing faintly, he added,
“
I
manipulated the situation to al
low Miss Sloane to accompany us.
You
have
seen how she is treated and
,
following her cousin
’s
flight,
I thought it preferable to prevent
her
from
return
ing
imm
ediately to
an
intolerable
situation at home.
You will, of course, recall the incident in Maidenhead Thicket.
”

“
Yes, but h
ow
could Sloane be involved
?
He was with us
all the time
.
”

“
H
e arranged for his
accomplices
to hold
up our
carriages while he played
the
outraged
victim
.
”

“T
he deuce
he did!
”
cried Theo.
“
H
ow do you know
this
?
”

“
Bowyer follow
ed
Sloane
when he went
to report the incident to the magistrate in Maidenhe
ad.
He didn
’t
see the magistrate, or even the parish
constable
, but
went instead to meet
the two men who had held up our carriages.
They handed ov
er Miss Devereux
’s
reticule and
Bowyer
, watching from his concealed
vantage point,
observed
Sloane
’s
fury when he
realize
d
it
did not contain what he was looking for
.
Sloane
returned to the inn and
Bo
wyer reported back to me.
We arranged for descriptions of the men to be sent ahead to Bow Street
.
”

“
Ah, then I presume the
same
men search
ed
the
room at T
he Bell and Anchor?
”

He nodded.
“T
hey didn
’t
find what they were looking for, but
I only confirmed that
when I spoke to them
earlier
.
”

“
You
spoke
to them!
”

“T
hey were apprehended yesterday
at a tavern in the East End
and taken to Bow Street.
My interview
with them
proved
revealing.
They told me
Sloane
wi
ll stop at nothing to possess the
Star
.
H
is
visits to Brook Street
have increased
in recent days
.
”