Ghost of Christmas Past (24 page)

“
Right, tell me what to do next. Do you want me to summon
Argus to prepare a hot bath? Will that help your legs?”

“
It should,” she barely got the words out before Rupert
marched toward the bell pull and yanked on it several times. He had
no idea where the blasted butler was now but if he had to draw a
bath for Thea himself, then that is what he would do.

“
How long will you be in such pain? Do you need some laudanum
for the discomfort?”

“
Rupert, I am fine,” Thea assured him, but in reality was
anything but. She watched him sit in the chair opposite and brace
his elbows on his knees. He ran frustrated hands through his hair
which lay in tousled abandon on his head. “What has happened has
happened Rupert, there is nothing you can do to change it
now.”

“
I know, but I should have been there Thea.”

“
I should have stayed in the shop like you told me to,” she
replied gently. “It is too late for regrets. Now, tell me, what did
you learn out about the Frenchman you are after?”

“
He came after you,” Rupert sighed. “We think he is waiting
for some kind of contact, whether it is financial or someone who
can help to get him out of the country we are not sure yet, but we
know that we have to move soon if we are to capture him before he
heads toward France.”

“
Do you think he is going to leave England?” Thea fervently
hoped so but it wasn’t for herself. She studied the dark circles
beneath Rupert’s eyes with a frown. She prayed that they could
bring the investigation to a close soon if only for Rupert’s sake.
She had experienced first-hand the kind of things he dealt with on
a regular basis and couldn’t understand just how much strength of
character it took to deal with such matters on a day-to-day basis
and not go quietly out of one’s mind. The activities of this
afternoon had brought forth a new found respect for the man he had
turned out to be. Now, if only she could keep him.

“
Can you tell me about the men he was with? Can you describe
them for me?”

Thea
gave him as much information as she could remember and lapsed into
thoughtful silence. “I hope this comes to an end soon.”

“
I promise you here and now Thea that once this is over, the
first thing we are going to do is work our way through that wish
list of things you want to see in London.” He meant every word of
it and offered her a sorry smile which she returned
readily.

“
There is one other thing I really need right now,” she added
softly.

“
Anything, Thea, just name it.” He felt partly guilty for not
having turned up to collect her, but completely responsible for the
suffering she was experiencing because of her injuries.

“
I could really do with a hug.”

Within
seconds she was swept into a bear hug that chased the shadows away.
For the first time all afternoon she felt safe and knew that it had
nothing to do with her situation; it was purely down to the man who
held her as though he never wanted to let her go.

He held
her until her bath arrived at which time he took his leave of her
and met with Marcus, who was waiting in the hallway. His colleague
nodded toward the Library and waited while Rupert closed the door
before he recounted what the men on watch had witnessed.

“
We have to snatch him the next time we set eyes on him,”
Rupert growled. “He is circling this house like a shark and it is
only a matter of time before he gets bored with waiting. I don’t
want this investigation being brought to a close here,
Marcus.”

“
I know. I have spoken to Sir Hugo, who is readying everyone.
He has said that he wants everyone in position to strike
tonight.”

“
Good,” Rupert fervently prayed that all would go to plan and
they could get this particular Frenchman, and his associates, off
the streets.

“
What I don’t understand is why Fornier is being so visible,”
Rupert sighed before Marcus left.

“
I know. It is almost as if he is waiting for something, or
someone, around here.”

“
It may be me,” Rupert growled. It was a fact that didn’t
bother him in the least but, as far as he knew, he hadn’t had any
previous altercation with the man to warrant some sort of personal
vendetta, and had certainly done no more in the investigation than
everyone else in the Star Elite.

“
What do you think he is after?”

Rupert’s
thoughts turned to John, who continued to regain his strength and
was at least able to sit up for several hours at a time. He was one
of London’s most benevolent philanthropists. Was that the
connection?

“
I don’t know but Fornier isn’t stupid enough to goad us into
taking him down.”

Rupert
barely registered his colleagues’ words. He was busy thinking
carefully over the events of the evening when John had been shot.
Had the bullet really been intended for John? A tendril of
suspicion began to unfurl deep inside and he began to rethink over
every part of his investigation into the French spies.

He was
one of the Star Elite and had done his job in exactly the same way
as the rest of the men he worked with, yet they had been out in the
night on watch all alone. Any one of them could have been taken
out, shot, injured or killed at any time but they had all been
unchallenged. Even Rupert’s journey to Leicestershire to fetch Thea
had gone relatively unnoticed. He knew, because he had doubled back
constantly and seen neither hide nor hare of the Frenchman. He was
confident of his suspicions to declare that nobody had followed him
either to Leicester or back again. So that meant that either
Fornier knew what he looked like and knew of his association with
the Star Elite, which wasn’t implausible but was difficult to
understand given that Marcus was also on watch at Ridings, and came
and went freely and hadn’t been targeted. Or, John Weatherby was
the intended target of the bullet. But why? What had Thea’s uncle
gotten himself involved in? Was he the Frenchman’s financier and
had refused to accommodate the Frenchman’s demands for cash, and
had earned himself a bullet as a warning?

Rupert
hated to think that Thea’s uncle could be involved in such a sordid
crime as high treason, but why else would Fornier shoot the man on
his own doorstep?

One
thing was for certain, he wouldn’t find out sitting on the main
staircase. Having assured himself that Thea was still in the bath,
Rupert made his way to John’s room and moved toward the
bed.

“
John? John? It’s time to wake up,” Rupert shook the man’s
shoulder for several moments until he blearily opened his eyes and
blinked sleepily up at him. “I need to ask you some
questions.”

“
Me?” John yawned and pushed himself onto his elbows. “What is
it? What’s wrong?” He glanced around the room in search of Thea, or
some evidence that something was amiss, but everything was just the
same as it had been when he had fallen asleep. The only thing that
was wrong was the threatening stance of the tall man hovering
menacingly beside the bed.

“
Yes, you.” Rupert refused to be drawn by the befuddled
expression in the man’s eyes. The only reason he stood patiently
beside the bed while John woke up properly was in deference to
Thea’s relationship to him. Otherwise he would have hauled the man
to his feet and shaken him until he had told him everything he
wanted to know.

“
What is it? What’s wrong? Is Thea alright?” John’s voice grew
sharp as sleep left him, however he made no attempt to get out of
bed. Rupert wasn’t a man to hit someone who was already down and
besides, John was no fighter. He knew when to cower for his own
safety. Rather than show his fear though, he took a moment to sit
upright in bed and settle the covers neatly over his
lap.

Rupert
sighed and shifted his weight to capture John’s attention. Once he
was looking at him, Rupert’s face turned hard. “I want you to think
very carefully before you answer me.”

“
Go on.” John’s gaze was steady and without rancour as he
waited.

“
I want you to tell me about what you have paid money toward
of late. Which charities have benefitted from your benevolence? Is
there any particular worthy cause that has captured your
interest?”

John
frowned and studied the covers. “I haven’t been investing in
anything of late. There is an orphanage I support, and a couple of
other organisations, but nothing that would warrant particular
interest.”

“
Has anyone approached you to provide finances for anything
other than a charitable organisation?”

John
frowned at that. “Look, what is this all about? I have nothing to
hide, Rupert. If you wish to look over my financial affairs you are
more than welcome to.”

Rupert
studied the honesty in John’s eyes and knew that he was telling the
truth as far as he believed it. “Do you decide what happens with
your finances, or do you have a man of business?”

John
sighed. “I deal with my own affairs. I haven’t gotten where I have
by relying on anyone to make decisions for me. I am in full control
of my finances, I can assure you.”

“
Have you ever heard of anyone called Fornier?”

John
frowned and considered that. He knew that Fornier was the Frenchman
the Star Elite were after.

“
I am not financing him, I can assure you.”

“
Have you seen or heard anything that might lead you to
suspect that someone in your circles may be financing
him?”

“
What makes you think that he is being financed and not
bankrolling his own activities?”

“
For several reasons, not least the long line of rather large,
and very expensive, houses Fornier and his associates have
purchased between here and Cornwall, and the large number of people
who have been employed to provide paperwork, safe houses and
contacts the Frenchmen have been using while in the
country.”

“
You think it is me?” John’s voice was incredulous. As far as
he was aware he had never done anything to give anyone even the
remotest suspicion that he would consider such a horrifying
criminal act. “I do not know of anyone who would do something so
odious. There are a few suspicious characters around Whites, but
they haven’t done anything that would indicate they would be up to
such nefarious activities. As far as I know, I do not have anyone
who hates me sufficiently enough to want me dead. Are you
suggesting that the bullet was meant for me?”

Rupert
slowly nodded. “I cannot see how Fornier would know what I look
like. I have been working undercover for some time and, with a team
of several men, none of whom have been targeted, it doesn’t look
plausible that Fornier would randomly single me out. Why was he in
the area? As far as we know he has no links to Mayfair.”

“
Do you think he was watching me and followed us back
here?”

“
Yes, but I don’t know why yet.” Rupert sighed and slumped
down into the chair beside the bed. He was fairly confident that
John wasn’t involved in anything to do with the French, and was
immensely relieved about it. He blanked out the small warning voice
that asked him if he was discounting John because of his
association to Thea. “It looks as though someone is out to kill you
John. Unfortunately, now that Thea is in residence, she is also in
danger.” He recounted what had happened to Thea that afternoon and
saw anger flood John’s face.

“
I adore Thea. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her,” John
assured him. “If I thought for one second that she would be in any
danger, I would never have asked her to come here, I promise
you.”

Rupert
fought bitter frustration at the fact that they had been talking
for half an hour and had yet to cover any ground. “Think carefully,
John. Someone in your circles wants you dead for some reason, and
is most probably supporting the Frenchman we are after. Who could
that be? Who do you socialise with who could be so
duplicitous?”

John
felt his head begin to whirl and wondered how in the hell things
could have come to this. He had felt relatively reassured that
Rupert had been the intended target and the gunman had been
connected to his work with the Star Elite. It made him feel
physically sick to think that he had been the one who had been in
the gunman’s line of fire all along. More importantly, that he had
drawn Thea right into the middle of it all on the night of the
shooting by demanding Rupert find Thea and bring her to his
house.

“
The only person I have ever had any altercation with is
Frances, Thea’s mother. She was acutely angry when I threw her out
of Weatherby Hall but I cannot see why she would want me dead after
all this time. I refuse to believe that she could even be able to
afford to purchase a horse or carriage, much less hire a gunman to
kill me. The stipend I give her isn’t worth that much.” He shook
his head for emphasis. “No, it cannot be Frances.”

“
Does Frances have any relatives?”

“
Not as far as I am aware, no. I cannot conceive of why she
would want to abduct Thea either. Frances is nasty but not that
bad, surely to goodness?”

If he
was honest, he couldn’t see Frances wanting to arrange for John to
be shot, or Thea to be abducted, especially after all this
time.