Jackal (Regency Refuge 2) (12 page)

Chapter Twenty

As Rupert neared the Stanbury home, he heard voices. Loud voices. He paused a moment to ascertain the cause of the yelling before ascending the steps. Frederick was there to greet him with a harried expression. Rupert, who'd never seen the butler with so much as a flicker of emotion on his face, nodded solemnly to the man as he passed.

The yelling reached a crescendo as he entered Thomas' study.

Rupert took in the scene. Thomas sat behind his desk, head in his hands, probably trying to cover his ears. Eudora and Eleanor were seated by the front window watching the goings-on outside. It seemed a reasonable assumption to believe they'd seen him circling the block, as well as approaching to collect them… yet had said nothing to their older sister about it. Mrs. Burnham sat near the fire and appeared to be dozing – quite a feat with all the yelling. Grace and Juliana, the cause of the great noise, stood in front of the desk trying to outdo each other in the volume of their concern for him.

"You need to get over there and help him!"

"Rupert might be in danger!"

"How can you sit here as if nothing's amiss?"

"Do as I say!"

"If anything happens to Rupert, I'll never forgive you!"

He'd always known Grace was fond of him, but to hear Juliana's upset gave him hope. Every time he thought they were making progress, he did or said something that made her pull away. What would she do if he ignored all the rules they'd both been raised with and actually told her how he felt? How would the prim and proper Juliana Clairmont handle that?

Rupert bit back a smile, something he found himself doing more and more of late. "I say, good man, you look like you could use a tonic. Shall I send for the doctor?"

Thomas jumped out of his seat and rushed over to Rupert. "What the devil took you so long?"

Eleanor ran to greet him, circling him in a hug. "We were worried, Cousin. Are you alright?"

Rupert, who wasn't remotely used to being hugged, let alone hugged effusively, hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around Eleanor to return the embrace. "I'm well, Eleanor. No need to worry about me."

Juliana, her color high and her fisted hands resting on her hips, glared at him. "I ordered Thomas to go help you, but he refused. And he wouldn't give me a pistol so I could come."

"I dare say it's not much done in the
ton
to order a duke about."

Her scowl deepened, and she whirled toward Grace, who looked just as disgruntled. "It's what they do," Grace said to Juliana. "They put themselves at risk with not a care for the women who love them. Thomas did the same thing to me. Rupert should have gone to the continent with Thomas to keep him safe, but he stayed in Northumberland as my nursemaid!"

Rupert, surprised at the onslaught, lifted an eyebrow.

"Ouch." Thomas winced. "She doesn't bring that up unless she's aggravated in the most extreme way."

Rupert raised his hand in an attempt to silence the charges. "I'm terribly sorry, your grace. Admittedly, when your husband asked me to remain behind in Northumberland and protect you, the thing that mattered most to him in this world, I should have disregarded his orders and followed him into battle, leaving you defenseless and alone. Were he a man of honor, he would have understood the importance of protecting himself more than his wife."

Grace scowled at Rupert, whose straight-faced delivery had the effect he wanted, diffusing the emotionally charged situation.

To Juliana, he said, "If the duke has offended your honor, I'm afraid I'll have to challenge him to a duel. There's no excuse for it, keeping you safe and out of harm's way against your will." He glanced at Thomas then and asked, "What shall it be? Swords or pistols?"

Juliana stomped her foot. "Oh, bother. Now you're being preposterous! Spit it out and tell us what happened!"

Dropping the tease from his voice, Rupert answered. "The townhome was broken into and ransacked. The staff escaped without serious injury, and at first glance it doesn't appear that anything was taken. The blackguards vacated the premises before we arrived home."

Juliana's eyes flitted from his face over to where her sisters stood together. "Do we know who was behind it?"

"None of the staff can identify the intruders, but one of them thinks he may have heard something that would tie this to the Stanwich brothers. It's a bit of a mystery, though. The constabulary is involved and tracking down clues."

Eudora took a step forward. "Will we be safe there tonight? Or anytime for that matter?"

Rupert offered her a reassuring smile. "Everything is going to be fine. The staff is working to put things back in order. I'm going to ask the four of you to share a room tonight, and we'll have people on watch outside your doorway the whole time. You'll be completely safe." He gave them all a confident nod.

When Juliana seemed less than convinced, he added, "Tomorrow, Barrows and I will discuss ways to tighten security so we can make sure this doesn't happen again. The staff let their guard down because we weren't home and, as a result, had no chance to raise the alarm. It's a fluke and shan't be repeated. Everyone will be more vigilant going forward."

Juliana's crossed arms and tapping toe told him the conversation was far from over. If the way her eyes kept moving to her sisters and back to him was any indication, she didn't want to ask the rest of her questions in front of the girls. Rupert sighed. Eudora and Eleanor were old enough to be involved in the conversation, but he understood Juliana's need to protect them. It was no different than his wish to keep them safe or Thomas' desire to see Grace protected.

It's what family did, especially when they loved each other.

Chapter Twenty-One

Juliana, her sisters, and their cane-and-fork-wielding chaperone were abed, and two of the footmen were armed and stationed in the hallway outside their room. The rest of the staff continued working to get the house put to rights. Rupert stayed up, assuming Tobias would make an appearance sometime in the wee hours of the morning He was not disappointed.

Barrows showed Tobias into the study a whisper past three in the morning. Tobias' colorful language at the sight of the mess made Rupert grateful the man hadn't come earlier, before the worst of it had been put to rights. Tobias threw himself into a chair near the fire. "I don't know what to say."

"You chose this staff for what purpose? To keep an eye on us? Or to protect?"

His shoulders slumped, Tobias answered, "A little of both, but mostly for protection."

"Did you doubt me? Or are you aware of something about the Clairmont sisters which I'm not?"

Looking uncomfortable, Tobias picked at imaginary lint on his breeches for a minute before answering. "This whole thing with your uncle and cousin dying, and the betrothal contracts – it all came about so suddenly."

"And sudden is suspicious." It wasn't a question. Rupert grasped the rules of the game, and he likely would have taken precautions as well, had he been in Tobias' shoes.

"The Bowstreet Runners chased down two of the men from tonight. One of them refuses to talk, but the other one's been a veritable fount of information." Rupert lifted a brow in question. "It was a six man crew, and they were supposed to subdue the staff and you and then take the two youngest girls. They found none of the family home and became agitated. The situation only got worse from there, leading to the mess you discovered when you arrived."

"Can it be traced back to the brothers?"

"He's given up locations on two more men in the crew. We're hoping one of them will lead us to the Stanwich brothers."

"Are you in charge of the search? Or the constabulary?"

Tobias waggled his hand. "The lead constable is keeping me informed. He owes me a favor or two."

"Must be a big favor."

The tension in Tobias' face eased. "I allowed him to marry my daughter. I'm pretty sure he'll owe me for the rest of his life."

"Lucien delivered a note to me at the Wentworth Ball."

Tobias paled. "Surely he wouldn't…?"

Rupert was heartened by Tobias' shock. "This isn't just me he's toying with. I've got an entire family to protect now."

"You want out."

"Can you blame me? The minister is attempting to shine a light on the parts of my job that, by necessity, need to be kept in the dark. Either that, or he's lost his mind. Either way, my secrets are no longer safe."

"There have been rumors of insanity…"

Rupert stilled. "Say that again."

Tobias waved his hand. "Not the minister, exactly."

"Out with it." Rupert had no patience left for protocol or decorum.

"Lysander hasn't been seen in polite society in years. He shows up now and then at the minister's home, but never in public. Rumors of his instability grow with each passing season."

Rupert sighed. An unmarried – or even unstable – family member didn't prove the minister had lost his senses. Everybody had eccentric relatives they wished society would forget. Rumors about the minister's son didn't explain why the minister was so flagrantly disregarding the code of silence he'd always demanded everybody else follow.

Tobias tugged at his cravat. "I received word from Owen."

Rupert's heart tripped in his chest. "What has he found?"

"The solicitor is now the guest of the local magistrate there. The ledgers prove it out – the manor is on solid financial ground, and William had no debt. Mr. Knowles seized your uncle's accounts after fabricating enormous debts in William's name. Within a fortnight, all the funds should be returned to the estate."

A sigh of relief escaped Rupert. He savored the victory for a moment before he asked the next question. "What about the insanity? Any word there?"

Tobias shook his head. "I've taught Owen to compartmentalize his information. This missive contained nothing more than what I've told you. If he's learned anything about Fitz's death, I've not been informed of it yet."

"What do
you
think? Is any of this related to our old nemesis?"

His grip tightening on the armrests, Tobias pushed himself to his feet. "The incident at the inn and tonight seem to be tied to these betrothal contracts. Stripping the estate of funds and throwing the sisters out on the street is the result of a greedy solicitor trying to take advantage. I don't see The Hunter's fingerprints anywhere in this, but…"

Rupert escorted Tobias to the door. "I've come to hate that word. I'll be glad once this is settled and can be put behind us."

"Chakal Manor has quite a history. You will fit in nicely there, Rupert. I wish you all the best."

Rupert took the compliment for what it was, acceptance that Tobias would not be able to change his mind about leaving the War Department. "There's one other thing I'd like you to look into."

"Oh?" The frown Tobias sported grew.

"The duke has a guest. The name is Devin, and he was supposed to join us for dinner tonight. Try as I might, I haven't been able to catch sight of him since we've settled in here. His absence tonight seems…"

"Convenient?"

"Too much so. Can you see what you can learn about him?"

Tobias nodded, and the men shook hands before he slipped out, silent as the night.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rupert was breaking his fast later that morning when Juliana meandered in and set the book he'd suggested to her on the table. He lifted an eyebrow in inquiry, but she went about filling her plate at the sideboard. After she returned and took her seat, she stared pointedly from him to the tome. "Is there a reason you suggested I read that particular book?"

"I've always found it entertaining. It's not the norm for women's reading, but I thought you were up to the challenge."

"It reads almost like a diary. Is it fact or fiction?"

Rupert drained his cup. "It was once believed to be true, but it's now widely accepted as the creative work of one man's imagination. Did you find anything intriguing about it, something of particular interest?"

"I assume this is an English translation?"

He nodded agreement.

"Some of the words are explained in the translation."

"Oh?" He'd forgotten that part.
Is…?

"For example, I now know the word chakal means jackal. Do you think Chakal Manor derives its name from the language of the Turks?"

Inwardly shuddering at how foolish he'd been to put
Letters Writ
into her hands, he said, "You've been through the portrait hall there, have you not?"

Juliana nodded, squinting in recollection. "Now that you mention it, most of the lords of the manor are quite dark. Black hair, brown eyes. They're not fair-skinned as one might expect from an English nobleman. No one, however, would suspect a Turkish heritage, unless it was pointed out to them." She paused to take a bite of her breakfast. "
Are
we Turkish?"

Rupert chuckled. "Certainly not on your side of the family, no. On my side, however… perhaps."

Juliana fell silent, and he assessed her. Her hair wasn't quite as tidy as she normally wore it, her hands had a slight tremor, and dark smudges marred the skin under her red eyes. "You don't appear to have slept overly well last night." A man in polite society ought not comment on the neglected appearance of a woman.

Juliana's eyes widened, and color rose high in her cheeks. As he watched, the heated blush climbed all the way up into her eyes until they began to spark fire. His words had the effect he wanted. He'd rather see his jewel angry at him than acting defeated and afraid.

"I dare say, you seem to have the manners of a… of a jackal this morning!" Her posture stiffened, and he bit back a smile. She was a touch too close to the truth with her remark, but he would gladly let it slide.

"Here anon I shall be venturing out to go meet with a constable about their investigation into last night's happenings. I will see if they've learned anything more and if the brothers have been apprehended yet."