Page 12 of How to Court a Rake
‘While you’re gloating, perhaps we could talk about Wapping.’ He tapped the list beside him. ‘I’ve been trying to construct a list of potential suspects based on what we know and what we can reason.’
Kieran nodded and his smile became grim. ‘Let’s hear it.’
‘I’ll start with what we know. On the night of the arms and cash transfer, those who did not want to see England offer support to Greece attempted to sabotage the shipment. This poses two questions. First, whoknewabout the transfer? It was, after all, a transaction arranged byprivateparties. That means a very specific and very limited number of people knew the details. Second, even if someone knew,whywould they want to stop a shipment they had supported?’
Kieran drummed his fingers on the table and Caine watched the implication dawn on him. ‘That would mean the Ottoman sympathiser was an insider?’ He frowned. ‘A traitor at the very heart of the transaction.’
Caine nodded. That had been his conclusion as well,ifhis hypothesis was correct.
‘Fair enough.’ Kieran leaned forward. ‘Who’s on the list? I am thinking I don’t want to know.’
‘For starters, anyone who is a member of the Prometheus Club. That would be the inner circle.’ The Prometheus Club was a newly founded investment group headed by the Duke of Cowden and the Duke of Creighton—their sister’s husband. It was designed primarily for titled gentlemen to grow generational wealth and break the mystique that a gentleman didn’t work with money. It was a brilliant project in Caine’s estimation and a much-needed one. Too many gentlemen lived in a cycle of debt. ‘The six hundred thousand pounds was raised primarily by the club and their personal contacts.’ He read the list, ‘Cowden, Creighton, Carys, Colby, ten names in all and Harlow has applied for membership.’ This was the hard part. These were names of families they knew. It was difficult to see any of them as Ottoman supporters.
‘Harlow will be a good addition. Sounds like they could do with some variety, all those names starting with a C,’ Kieran joked to add some levity to a situation that was growing more personal by the moment. ‘You might want to check that list, though. I thought I’d heard through very quiet channels that Cowden had suspended Carys and Colby in favour of supporting Harlow after the scandal at the Duchess of Cowden’s ball.’
‘What was the scandal?’ Caine had apparently overlooked it and it obviously had not lasted very long, but had left an impact.
‘Harlow was planning to announce his engagement at Cowden’s ball, but that night Colby’s daughter told everyone Miss Cora Graylin had stolen her ballgown in an attempt to woo the Duke of Harlow for herself. In essence, Lady Elizabeth told everyone that Miss Graylin was a fraud. Miss Graylin left in disgrace and the engagement was not announced. It put quite the damper on the festivities and Cowden wouldn’t tolerate anyone ruining one of his wife’s entertainments or maligning a friend. He and Creighton put Colby and Carys out immediately, not that its common knowledge.’
Caine’s eyes narrowed as he thought. ‘When was this?’
‘When you were in Newmarket with Stepan looking over the colts.’
Caine did the calendar maths. ‘A week before Wapping. Well, that adds an interesting element to the game, doesn’t it. What if the sabotage wasn’t political but personal?’ He floated the idea, watching Kieran’s brow furrow in thought while his own stomach churned at what he proposed: that Carys and Colby had tipped off the saboteur out of revenge against Cowden and Harlow.
Kieran frowned, apparently finding the supposition as outrageous as he did. ‘That’s expensive revenge all because Harlow didn’t marry one of their daughters. They’d be blowing up their own money.’
‘The loan and armaments were insured. I heard that straight from Cowden. And insurance would have paid out much sooner than the Greek repayment on a war loan. It makes me interested in taking a look at Colby and Carys’s ledgers. Perhaps they are in financial straits,’ Caine posited.
Kieran shook his head, still in disbelief. ‘Fine, so perhaps insurance covers the money, but it’s notjustthe money, it’s the people affected. Losing that shipment would affect thousands of lives and the very survival of the independence movement. We’re talking far-reaching consequences that could reshape Mediterranean shipping lanes and trade routes, to say nothing of Christian–Muslim relations in Europe. To use the shipment for personal revenge is the height of selfishness.’
It was that last part Caine couldn’t get past, the one sticking point in his theory. Would someone really sell out a country, a people and their own country’s best interests all for matrimonial revenge? It was hard to believe. Too hard. It was even more difficult to believe that Stepan had possibly died because of such selfishness. A Horseman’s death was something they all risked every time they rode. But that death was meant to be a noble sacrifice in England’s service. Not this. Not a meaningless death over a petty squabble.
‘What sort of person would go to such lengths for so little personal gain?’ Kieran ask the next logical question if they were to test the idea to its fullest.
‘A desperate man. It increases my curiosity regarding the state of Carys and Colby’s finances.’ Still, a man would have to need a lot of money to be willing to tip off an act of sabotage against one’s own country’s interests.
‘Or a man with no scruples,’ Kieran offered. ‘Someone who doesn’t feel responsible for the unseen lives affected.’
Caine sighed, not liking where this was definitely leading, but he couldn’t ignore the facts despite his desire to protect Mary. ‘We’ll start with them. Of all the Prometheus Club members, they’re the ones with any sort of motive to act in this manner. It’s not so much the marriage revenge that appeals to me, it’s knowing they’ve been put out of the group and now, perhaps, are bent on ruining the group as the group has ruined them financially speaking.’
‘And hope you’re wrong?’ Kieran took forkful of cold eggs and spat them out. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. ‘You’ve been spending time with Lady Mary. I thought there might be some feelings developing there.’
‘Not those kinds of feelings,’ Caine said shortly. ‘I have found her interesting to talk to.’ And to kiss and to share thoughts with that he shared nowhere else. She’d been a revelation in their short acquaintance.
‘Well, I suppose that’s all to the good since investigating her father for sabotage is bound to put a crimp in any friendly feelings, especially if you’re right.’ It would, indeed, and he regretted that because if it came down to choosing between justice for Stepan or protecting Mary, he did not envy himself the choice.
Kieran raised a dark brow in question. ‘What is it?’
‘Nothing.’ Caine shook his head, dismissing such morbid thoughts. They were not at that point yet. ‘It’s good to talk with you like this. I’ve missed you by my side riding in the park and I’ve missed breakfast brainstorms with you. It’s been lonely without you here.’
The sentiment caught Kieran by surprise. He cleared his throat. ‘It’s been lonely without you, too. There’s been a lot to sort through. Perhaps it’s been a mistake to sort through it alone.’
Caine reached across the table to grip his brother’s forearm. ‘Not any more. The Horsemen stick together. Always.’
Kieran’s gaze brightened. ‘In that case, go upstairs and get ready to go out.’
‘Where are we going?’ Caine asked warily. He’d thought to stay in and work on the list, see if he could come up with who the personal contacts of the members might have been.
