Page 55 of Masquerading with the Duke
‘That’s a novel experience,’ Jared replied, with heavy sarcasm.
‘Look, Braden, for what it’s worth, I’ve never doubted your loyalties, but you don’t do yourself any favours by being so damned secretive about your personal affairs.’
‘Because they are just that.’ Jared fixed the man whom he had always respected with a death glare. ‘Personal.’
The duke raised a hand, as though to defuse Jared’s antagonism. ‘Let me, as an outsider, play the role of devil’s advocate,’ he said.
‘He does that a lot,’ Lord Vincent remarked, and muted laughter greeted his words.
‘Someone inside Clarence’s carefully selected band of diplomats is leaking secrets to the other side. Agreed so far?’
Jared nodded. ‘Go on.’
‘You are highly regarded within the service, which in itself is enough to make you unpopular in some quarters. Add to that the fact that you appear to have an endless supply of blunt when it’s common knowledge that you didn’t inherit when your father died and that your father’s loyalties were widely questioned during the war, it seems to me that you have played straight into the hands of the actual traitor.’
‘Unexplained wealth brings out jealousies in lesser men,’ Lord Amos added.
Jared took a long breath and let it out slowly, feeling his anger at the invasion of his privacy draining out with it. ‘You make a fair point,’ he said, acknowledging the duke with an inclination of his head. ‘I know the identity of the traitor and am getting close to proving it. I notice that none of you have asked me for his name, which I find interesting since it implies that you know who he is too.’
‘I assumed that was why you moved to this area, and why you resigned,’ Romsey said.
Jared conceded the point by raising one hand and waggling it from side to side. ‘I am notthatdedicated,’ he said with a suggestion of a smile. ‘Musgrove Manor was the estate with the most potential out of all those I viewed. When I realised how close it was to Redrow’s property, it settled the matter.’ He noticed that none of the gentlemen expressed surprise when he mentioned Redrow’s name. ‘I resigned because I’d had enough of the game, because I wanted to dedicate myself to my new estate and because I wanted to prove my loyalty. The only way to achieve that final ambition was to expose the identity of the real traitor, which I couldn’t do when restricted by the rules and regulations of government service. Now I am my own man and can do what I damned well like.’ He allowed himself the suggestion of a smile. ‘I find my changed circumstances liberating.’
‘Sounds highly plausible to me,’ Lord Vincent remarked.
‘I had not planned to share any of this with you,’ Jared continued, fixing his gaze upon Romsey, ‘or to involve the duke either and force him to choose sides. But it appears that you discussed the matter with him before summoning me, which changes everything. I will tell you what I know—but first, it seems to me that if I was the actual traitor then I must have covered my tracks very comprehensively and not done anything to bring outright suspicion down on my head. If I had, I would have been hauled in and grilled.’
‘Agreed,’ Romsey said softly.
‘That said, if I was clever enough to conceal my true purpose, would I be stupid enough to return to England, splash out on expensive horses and conveyances andpurchase outright an estate that needs a considerable amount of initial investment to make it profitable?’
‘It is precisely such flamboyant expenditure that has given your critics fuel for their fire,’ Romsey said mildly, ‘and made it harder for me to fight your corner.’
‘I can see that now. But I was angry and defiant to have been treated like a pariah for so long when I was putting myself out in loyal service to the crown.’
‘Tell us what you have in mind,’ the duke said, leaning back with one elbow on a side table, his other hand negligently stroking one of his dogs. ‘You clearly have a plan to draw Redrow out.’
‘I do, but first, I shall settle the matter of my fortune.’ He cleared his throat and could see that he had the complete attention of every man in the room. ‘You know of the Duc de Lyon by reputation, gentlemen?’
‘Fantastically wealthy and very active in politics. A leading light in the efforts to broker peace throughout Europe following the war,’ the duke replied without hesitation.
Romsey nodded but remained alert and silent.
‘He has one child, a daughter. She is betrothed to a crown price of Prussia. The alliance will help to heal rifts between previously warring factions. Or would have, but for the fact that the girl went missing, believed kidnapped.’
‘I heard a whisper,’ Romsey said, ‘but it was never confirmed and Lyon wouldn’t tell me anything.’
‘Lyon and I are well acquainted; friends, if you like. He was beside himself when his daughter was taken and confided in me. He asked for my help but swore me to secrecy. More by luck than anything else I was able to find her and restore her to the arms of her doting father, thereby averting a crisis.’
‘He assumed she had been taken by those keen for old wounds not to be healed, I would imagine,’ Lord Amos said. ‘There is more than one faction in Europe averse to the prospect of peace.’
‘We all thought so at first but when I looked into it, things didn’t add up. I discovered that the girl was spoiled and indulged and didn’t want to marry the Prussian prince. Accustomed to having her own way, she baulked at the suggestion, but for once her father dug his heels in. To cut a long and laborious story short, she was very attached to her old nurse, who had retired to the Dordogne, which is where I found her.’
‘And averted an international scandal. The Prussians wouldn’t have taken the girl if there was even the suggestion of impropriety on her part.’ Romsey’s scowl evaporated and he looked vastly relieved. ‘Lyon showed his gratitude, I take it.’
‘He insisted upon it and was very generous. What he forced upon me, added to my own modest investments, formed the bedrock of my fortune. Lyon mentioned my reputation for discretion in passing to one or two others who were in need of someone dependable to resolve personal issues resulting from the war, which is why I was sometimes obliged to slip past your watchdogs. Those men rewarded me handsomely too.’
‘Good heavens!’ Romsey’s eyebrows disappeared beneath his hairline. ‘I shall enjoy putting your detractors straight and being vindicated in my faith in you.’
