Page 149 of Thief of the Ton
Footsteps clattered outside the bedchamber.
Lady Betty let out a huff. “ItoldWilliam not to bring anyone up! What the devil was he thinking…”
Her voice trailed away as the tall, lean figure of the magistrate appeared in the doorway.
“L-Lord Stiles…”
Lavinia glanced toward Papa. His face paled, and his eyes widened in recognition, as if the Grim Reaper himself stood before him. Then he nodded in resignation.
“Is it my time, Stiles?” he asked. “I’ll come quietly, though I’d appreciate a little privacy while I dress.”
Stiles shook his head. “No,” he said, his deep voice sending a shiver of dread through Lavinia’s bones.
“At least allow my father the dignity of leaving this house fully clothed!” she cried. “I care not whether you represent the Crown. There’s a higher authority to which you should yield.”
The magistrate curled his lip in the flicker of a smile. “And what is that, Miss de Grande?”
“Decency,” she said, “and the basic difference between right and wrong. But I doubt you set much store by that if you’re a puppet for the corrupt buffoon who calls himself regent.”
Lady Betty drew in a sharp breath. But the only reaction from Stiles was a slight tic in the jaw.
“Buffoon, eh?” Then he smiled and addressed Peregrine. “What say you, Marlow? Perhaps after your dealings with the regent this week, he might take more kindly to the words of this young lady here.”
“Sweet heaven!” Peregrine said. “You don’t mean to say it worked? Or are you come to drag me through the streets to Newgate in chains?”
“Your liberty is intact, Marlow,” Stiles said. Then he turned to Lavinia’s father. “As is yours, sir.”
Hope illuminated Papa’s expression. “The charges against me have been dropped?”
Stiles shook his head. “I’m afraid that was impossible, but you’re a free man.”
“I don’t understand,” Papa said.
“It seems, Lord de Grande, that you have a number of friends willing to plead your case. I was able to secure dispensation to restore your liberty.”
“But aren’t you supposed to act within the law?” Lavinia couldn’t help asking, a sneer in her voice. “At least, that’s what you said before you hadmedragged into a cell.”
Stiles raised a hand. “I know, Miss de Grande, and you have no notion of how deeply I regret what I was compelled to do. But when your father’s case was placed before me, I found certain circumstances in mitigation that I was able to take into consideration.”
“Circumstances?”
“Lord Hythe came to see me yesterday,” Stiles said. “He’s given a full and frank account, written and signed, of certain events that took place fourteen years ago in relation to a prospect in the South Seas, and of an auction at Griffin & Sons. It has given me enough justification for commissioning a full inquiry into the arrangement of the London and South Seas Securities and Investment Company.”
Papa let out a low cry. “The…” He drew in a sharp breath, then shook his head. “Th-the company collapsed,” he said, “and took with it everything I owned.”
“It seems that’s not the case,” Stiles said. “The assets were transferred to another holding company. There may be some residual funds to which you’re entitled. It’ll take some weeks to settle, and it may not be much, but I have my man working on it. I’m confident that a portion, at least, of your fortune can be restored.”
“Why are you doing this?” Papa asked.
“Because you were wronged, Lord de Grande.”
“And…the charge against me?”
“I’ve secured a dispensation from the regent with respect to your sentence.”
“Which is?”
“That you live out your days confined to whichever home, or estate, in which you choose to reside.”
