The Duke Conspiracy (10 page)

“Quite,” Alex answered, his tone dry. “But
that is partially why I am here. I am uncertain if my motives are
entirely pure. I need to talk the matter out with a trusted friend.
I have so few of those these days, there was really only one
choice. That is why your butler had to drag you from your bed to
see me.”

Understanding had dawned in Wesley's eyes
during the duke's speech. Alex cringed to see sympathy written in
every feature of his friend's face. “Now don't go looking at me as
though I have some sort of pox.”

This did the trick of bringing a grin to the
viscount's visage. “Seems to me that love is worse than the pox,
Your Grace.”

Alex sighed. He would never have used the L
word himself, but no doubt that was what it was.

“You were never reasonable about that chit,”
Wesley remarked. He didn't bother to await a response. “So when do
you meet her again?”

“How did you know we were to meet again?”

“You would not be here with your knickers in
a knot if you did not fear you were treading down the wrong road.
If you had told the chit to mind her own business or even thanked
her politely for the warning and told her you would look after the
matter from here on out, you would not be needing my assistance,
nor would you look so concerned. You would have gone straight to
your solicitors as the young miss advised and would be halfway done
sorting the matter out by now. Instead, you are here in my dining
room, downing my coffee, looking as though you wished it were
something more able to steady your nerves. No. You, my friend, have
the look of someone who knows he is going to get kicked in the
teeth but cannot seem to steer clear to save his own soul.”

“You certainly do like to mix your
metaphors,” Alex grumbled, but did not argue with the truth of the
viscount's words. He heaved another sigh before answering his
earlier question. “Day after tomorrow, back at Burlington House.
That is to give her a day and a half to track down as much
information as she can.”

“Do you think a debutante is going to be able
to gather much information?”

“She is not just any debutante,” Alex
defended. “When she was still in the schoolroom she was able to
ferret out the truth from any of us boys. She always knew
everything that was going on her estate and ours, as well as the
surrounding boroughs. No one could keep anything from her. She just
had this way of asking questions and looking at you with such
interest that you ended up telling her everything she might
possibly want to know before you even realized it. It was one of
her best and worst qualities all at once.”

Wesley's eyebrows had been inching their way
up his forehead during Alex's speech and they had nearly
disappeared into his hairline by the time the duke settled into
silence, which caused him to burst into a guffaw of laughter.

“Why are you looking at me like that, my Lord
Viscount Bracondale?”

“Did you hear yourself as you were talking
about her?” Wesley countered with a question of his own.

“All right, Dunbar, you were correct, I did
come to you for a reason beyond the actual problem of someone's
efforts to entrap me.” Alex sighed over his own admission. “You
were wrong when you said I have never been reasonable about her.
Yes, she was my dearest friend for most of her life, but that does
not change the facts of our situation now. Our families cannot
tolerate the presence of one another. Besides, she is not at all
the biddable sort of girl I picture making me a comfortable
duchess. Nothing whatsoever can come of any association between the
Duke of Wrentham and Miss Smythe.” Alex paused once more, raking
his hand through his hair with frustration. “But I cannot turn my
back on the fact that she had the decency to let me know about what
she perceived as a threat to me. I cannot reward her loyalty with
my own disloyalty. I need to take this threat seriously and allow
her to help with the solution.”

“Did she offer her help?”

“Not in the beginning. I actually asked her
to help. But I know her well enough to know that she would have
wanted to be involved.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Wesley was noncommittal. “So what
did the two of you arrange?”

“She is to seek out Lady Anne, possibly with
the help of Lady Elizabeth, and try to glean as much information as
she can. In the meantime, I will find out what I can about Lord
Austen and Sir Broderick. Then, as you said, we will meet to
discuss our findings and make a further plan from there.”

“So what do you need from me?”

“I might need you to take over the
investigation as it connects with Rosie's involvement. I would
appreciate it if you would accompany me to our meeting two days
hence in order to lend countenance as well as to help if need be.
Depending where this situation goes, I might really need your
help.”

“So you really do believe there is some sort
of a threat against you?”

“I do. It is the extent of the threat that is
uncertain. It is a fact of a duke's life that there is always
someone out to get him on some level. But this seems different.
Generally, anyone scheming against me is just interested in
benefiting in their pocketbook. On the surface, with Lord Austen,
that would be the obvious reason, but Sir Broderick is far from
having his pockets to let, so it does not seem so apparent what his
motivation might be. This leads me to believe it could be more
nefarious than I would wish.”

Wesley had to agree. “Unfortunately, anything
involving Sir Broderick has the potential of being nefarious. Do
you think to keep Miss Smythe apprised of the details as you learn
them?”

“It will depend on what those details turn
out to be,” was all Alex would commit to.

“How is she likely to react if she thinks you
are withholding information from her?”

“Not well,” Alex grinned. “It would be best
if she is not allowed to suspect such a thing.” He paused as he
imagined her reaction but then shook his head. “Now that I have
garnered your promise of help, I must be off to begin my
investigations.”

Before he was able to take his leave, his
host stopped him with these words, quietly spoken. “Did you really
think I would fail to come to your assistance, Your Grace?”

“Now don't go getting all starchy with me,
Dunbar,” Alex protested. “You surely realize it is a tricky
situation. And no, it never once crossed my mind that you would
fail me. I just did not want to spring it on you in an
uncomfortable environment. And truth to tell, I needed a friendly
face to talk it out with before I go and face my solicitors.”

Now Wesley grinned. “Do you wish me to
accompany you on that errand?”

“No, thank you, I am fairly certain I am now
up to the task.”

“Would you like me to head around to the
clubs and ask a few discreet questions about our gentlemen
friends?”

Alex was near the door but turned at these
words with a look of surprise upon his face. “Thank you, my friend,
I did not think to involve you overly much in this affair, but if
you did find yourself in interesting company this afternoon, it
could be quite helpful. Although we are known to be associates, it
may be less obvious if you poke around a little than if I do.”

“Very well, then. I shall see you later.”

“I am promised at Clairhurst tonight. Will
you be joining me there?” The duke could not miss his cousin's ball
even if he had little desire to dance attendance upon any more
debutantes. It would be a good test of his skills of diplomacy if
he could make it through this complicated day without revealing his
thoughts to all and sundry.

“Until then,” Wesley acknowledged and the
duke finally made his way out of the house.

Rose's maid had been with her since childhood
and knew all of the family's affairs. Rose trusted her more than
anyone on this earth. But she did not know if she could confide all
the details of this situation and had
not
told her that she
would be meeting up with the Duke of Wrentham.

“Did you get much drawing done this morning,
Miss?” Mary asked with interest.

“Not as much as I had hoped, but I did find
the lighting to be favorable so I do believe I will go back
sometime this week.”

“Were there many people about at this hour? I
did not wish to disturb you so I remained in the foyer for much of
the time, speaking with the attendant there,” the maid
explained.

“I appreciate your forbearance, Mary,” Rose
stated, hoping the degree of her appreciation was not revealed in
her tone. “There were not too many people. I actually only noticed
one or two. Most who would appreciate those artifacts are either
too busy at this time of the day or still in their beds.”

“To my way of thinking that is where you
should ha' been.”

Rose was surprised at her maid's fierce tone
and words. “I beg your pardon?”

“Was that the Duke of Wrentham I saw leaving
as I came to fetch you?” Mary continued questioning her mistress.
She continued on without waiting for an answer, which was good as
Rose was undecided what to tell her. “I thought you were mortal
enemies. You don't have much place exchanging pleasantries with the
likes of a Wrentham, Miss. What would your dear mother have to say
if she knew you had been passing time with such as him?”

“Mary, I was not 'passing time' with anyone!
I cannot possibly have any control over who frequents Burlington
House. I cannot be blamed for who happens along while I am
sketching.”

Mary's knowing eyes examined her mistress,
making Rose squirm. “Seems to me that dukes do not frequent places
such as hold statues at this time of the morning unless they have
an appointment to be there. It didn't look as though he was
carrying any artist's supplies so I'm thinking he knew he was there
for talking or something else, not drawing.”

“Mary Singleton, do not dare to besmirch me.
I cannot believe my ears! Of what are you trying to accuse me?”

Mary was suddenly contrite. “No, no, miss, I
promise you, I ain't accusing you of anything. But I can't bring
myself to trust the duke, you see, and I worry for you. You're
keeping something from me, which ain't like you, so it leads me to
conclusions. If you'd just come out and tell me what's going on I
wouldn't be faced with the dilemma of trying to decide what Lady
Smythe needs to know.”

Now Rose could not hold on to her ill temper
over these words and had to break out into laughter. “Mary, Mary,
are you trying to blackmail me?”

Mary grinned. “Maybe just a little. It's
really not like you to keep secrets from me.”

Rose sighed. “It is true that I usually tell
you everything, but I was not certain if I could confide this to
you. I had to go straight to the source before I could figure out
what to do with it. But I
do
trust you. So, if you would
really like to know, I will tell you.”

Mary merely gazed at her mistress with
another one of her no nonsense looks, causing Rose's grin to
widen.

“I shall take that as a yes, then, shall I?
All right, you shall have to listen carefully as it may be a bit
convoluted and you have not yet heard of most of these people.”

Rose took a moment to compose her thoughts as
they walked along toward home. She knew her maid would not break
her confidence and had in fact been of much help to her in the past
in matters such as these.

“On further reflection, Mary, I do believe I
owe you an apology. I should have told you first. You were ever so
helpful on occasion in Vienna in sorting certain things out, so I
should have expected you to do the same in this situation. So, if
you are willing, I would appreciate your help once more.”

Now the maid's eyes turned from stern to
excited in one blink and she did a little skip of joy. “Oh Miss, I
would love to,” she enthused. “It has been deadly dull lately just
looking after all your dresses and doing your hair. I don't even
get to accompany you as much here since you have made friends
besides Lady Smythe wantin' to go with you most of the time.”

“If it is any consolation, I have found it to
be deadly dull as well. But this situation is worrisome more than
entertaining and rather more complicated than anything we dealt
with in Vienna. In Vienna it was easy to conclude which side to
take as we were representing the king's interests. Now it is
sticky.”

Mary merely nodded eagerly. Rose glanced
around to ensure they would not be overheard but saw that the
streets were still rather unoccupied as most of the tradespeople
were already hard at work, whereas the noblemen and women were
still abed or not about for the day as yet.

“Do you remember the musicale I went to night
before last?”

Mary nodded, paying close attention. “You did
seem a little preoccupied that night, but you said you were just
tired.”

“I
was
tired, it had been a long
evening, but I had much on my mind. I overheard a conversation at
the musicale between a gentleman by the name of Lord Austen and
none other than Sir Jason Broderick.”

Now Mary's eyes widened as her face twisted
into a look of distaste. “That one. Does he dare to show his
face?”

“It would seem that everyone is keeping his
secrets and he is being received, as hard as that is to believe.
And I cannot reveal his secrets or my own will get out.”

Mary gave a grunt of disgust but continued
waiting for the rest of the details.

“Anyhow, I only heard part of their
conversation so I do not know what else was discussed, which is
part of the problem. What I did hear was them conspiring to entrap
the Duke of Wrentham into a marriage with Lord Austen's daughter,
Lady Anne.”

Now understanding dawned on the maid's face.
“That is why you needed to speak with the duke. You were trying to
find out what might be behind it.”