Page 141 of Where the Heart Leads
The parlor door swung open and the Earl of Cothelstone calmly walked in. He surveyed the company, and smiled benignly. “Barnaby, dear boy—you seem to have quite a gathering here.”
Barnaby blinked. “Papa…” He broke off, frowning. “I thought you’d gone north.”
“So did I.” The earl sighed. “Unfortunately your mother decided I’d left something in London she was set on me bringing home, so she dispatched me back to fetch it.”
The light in the earl’s eyes as they rested on his son informed everyone what the countess’s “something” was.
Smiling genially, the earl turned his attention to the others in the room, then raised his brows at Barnaby.
“Ah…” Barnaby had a sense of matters spinning out of his control. “You know Stokes, of course.” The earl exchanged a nod with Stokes, whom he knew quite well. Barnaby turned to Penelope. “Allow me to present Miss Penelope Ashford.”
Penelope rose, bobbed a curtsy, then shook hands with the earl. “My lord. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you, my dear. And you.” Clasping her hand between both of his, the earl patted it. He smiled delightedly upon her. “I’m acquainted with your brother. He often mentions you.”
Penelope smiled and returned a polite reply.
A sinking feeling assailed Barnaby. His father knew. How, he didn’t know, but if his father knew…so did his mother. He inwardly swore. He managed to breathe a trifle easier when his father—at long last—released Penelope and turned to Griselda.
Barnaby made the introduction, then steered his father to the boys, giving him enough of their story to explain their presence.
“Brave lads!” The earl nodded approvingly, then turned to survey Smythe. “And this is our villain, I take it?”
“More his henchman.” Eager to keep his father’s attention away from Penelope, Barnaby handed him one of Alert’s lists. He was about to explain what it was when Penelope touched his arm.
With a nod, she directed his attention to the boys, both yawning. “Perhaps Mostyn can take them to the kitchen for some milk, and then find them some beds. I can take them to the Foundling House tomorrow.”
Mostyn nodded his understanding. Gathering up the boys, he herded them from the room.
Barnaby turned back to his father, to find him frowning at the list.
“What are you doing with one of Cameron’s infernal lists?” His father looked at him. “What’s this about?”
For one instant, Barnaby felt sure he’d misheard. “Cameron’s list?”
His father shook the list he’d given him—the one of the houses to be burgled. “This. I know Cameron wrote it.” He looked at the sheet again. “It might be block capitals, but I’d recognize his style anywhere. As Huntingdon’s secretary, Cameron writes up our agendas and minutes, all neatly laid out just like this.” Puzzled, the earl looked at Barnaby. “What is this? I recognize our address, of course, and the others—this looks like one of Huntingdon’s rounds.”
Recalled from exchanging a stunned look with Stokes, Barnaby frowned. “Huntingdon’s rounds?”
The earl snorted. “You need to pay more attention to politics. Huntingdon is extremely conscientious and regularly visits the power brokers in the party in his parliamentary capacity. Very dedicated, Huntingdon.”
“And Cameron goes with him?” Stokes asked.
The earl shrugged. “Not every time but often, yes. If there’s any business to be discussed, Cameron would be there to take notes.”
Stokes caught Barnaby’s eye. “All the stolen items were from libraries or studies—did you notice?”
Barnaby nodded.
The earl lost patience. “Whatstolen items?”
Barnaby handed him the rest of the sheets. “These items—the ones our principal villain arranged for Smythe to collect for him.”
The earl took the papers and studied them. It didn’t take him long to see the implications, especially when he came to the object stolen from his own house. “Your mother’s great-aunt’s statue?”
He looked up at Barnaby, who nodded. “Along with everything else.”
There was nothing at all genial about the earl now. “He got them all?”
