Page 58 of The Icy Duke Claims a Bride

“You’re still a young man, Hugh,” Mr. Bennett said mildly, “and you and your father were made from the same mold, from what I know about you. That means you’re an honorable man, and a man of principle. Your uncle is another type of man altogether. Older than you, wilier than you, more ruthless than you…”

“I do not intend to fight Uncle Edwin until I have the right weapons in my hands,” Hugh assured him, thinking of hisprevious conversation with Sir Martin. “But I can only get the weapons I need from people like you, Mr. Bennett.”

“Half the ton might be afraid of the Masked Duke, but Lord Edwin Vaughan won’t be,” Mr. Bennett cautioned further.

“I don’t seek to frighten Uncle Edwin or anyone else. I act with the authority and influence of the Duke of Redbridge, and with the right allies, that should be enough.”

“I hope that you’re right,” Mr. Bennett said, still sounding unconvinced by the possibility of Hugh triumphing over his uncle.

“Mr. Bennett, you must understand that I’m no foolhardy young knight, riding against enemies armed only with virtue and a silk shield.” Hugh took off his mask and turned his scarred face to the older man. “Forget the mask, and forget what people might think of me. I’m asking you only for the truth, for facts, for tools that can help me build a strong trap and an even stronger cage.”

Reginald Bennett nodded in approval as he looked at Hugh’s unmasked face. “You’re the image of your father.” A smile tugged at his lips. “The absolute image of him as a young man.”

“My father trusted you, and I trust you.” Hugh brought the conversation back to the main topic. “Now, what can you tell me about your experience working with Uncle Edwin?”

“Trust is the bedrock of our firm,” Jasper reiterated, cocking his head, a bit of seed cake stuck to his beak. “I trusted Edwin Vaughan.”

Both men turned their heads to the parrot at the second statement, which the bird had made in a very different tone.

“Sounds like you’d be better off asking Jasper than me,” Mr. Bennett jested.

“But he can’t really talk, can he? Only repeat things he’s heard from others?”

“More’s the pity,” Mr. Bennett agreed, his expression warming again. “If he could talk, he’d have a lot to say, especially about Lord Edwin. Your uncle is the reason I brought him home with me, if you want to know. He wanted to snap that bird’s neck.”

“Really?”

That seemed rather a strange and overdramatic reaction to a parrot’s ramblings.

“Yes. Apparently, old Jasper was saying the wrong things in front of Lord Edwin’s associates. You might know that he held meetings at our offices sometimes, or hired a room for his people to come and go or leave messages for him. The young Messrs. Haworth dealt with our corporate liaisons, but I knew Lord Edwin somewhat from my work on the Redbridge estate.”

“Whom did he meet at your offices?”

“All kinds of people, but I think largely those he didn’t want in his drawing room in Mayfair.”

“Did William Fitzroy ever join these meetings?”

“It’s your signature, Mr. Fitzroy. I won’t have things ruined by sloppiness,” the parrot blurted out, his tone changing yet again.

“Yes, Mr. Fitzroy was a regular visitor for some years. I liked the man very much. It was hard to believe what happened to him in the end. Although things turned out very well for Lord Edwin.”

Both men shook their heads.

“I trusted Edwin Vaughan. Cake for Jasper,” the parrot cut in again, before returning to his cake.

“Jasper, why was Edwin Vaughan so angry with you?” Hugh asked while feeling rather foolish for doing so.

“I won’t have things ruined by that damned bird!” Jasper squawked indignantly. “It’s your signature Mr. Fitzroy. I trusted Edwin Vaughan.”

“I came in just in time that last morning,” Mr. Bennett recalled. “The young Messrs. Haworth were arguing that Jasper was a valuable bird and that they’d want compensation if he wereharmed, but they didn’t really care beyond that. Lord Edwin wanted him dead, and his wife was quite adamant, too.”

“My aunt was there?” Hugh queried, raising an eyebrow. “I know that she advises my uncle on his business affairs behind the scenes, but that’s mainly on the social side of things.”

“Oh, she was certainly there. Lady Georgina would come to our offices sometimes to pick up the correspondence or even speak to certain contacts on her husband’s behalf—if he didn’t deem them worthy of his time, I suppose. It seemed quite a heavy load to lay on a lady’s shoulders, the poor woman, but she bore it cheerfully enough. They had no children back then, of course.”

“But why would my aunt take against a parrot?”

Mr. Bennett laughed and shrugged. “I suspect that he might have used some… unsavory language. Jasper picks phrases up very easily, and when there are no ladies present, men talk freely. None of us in those offices were innocent of uttering a few choice words during our work, but we would never have said them before Lady Georgina. Jasper, however, lacks gentlemanly discretion.”

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