"But when studying the books, I'm afraid I found some discrepancies." He did not feel the need to disclose that it had actually been the mysterious female visitor who had noticed the issue; he was sure, with a little more time, he would have noticed it himself. "And it is in reference to the household ordering – a task which I believe you are in charge of."
Her face went paler still, and she nodded. "Yes, Your Grace."
"There is nothing incorrect in my summary, is there? There is no one else who has taken on the ordering in your stead?" He assumed that such a change would have been reported to him, but he wanted to be sure, before accusing her of anything, that he was correct in his assumptions.
"I still do the ordering, Your Grace," she said quietly.
"Then I assume you are aware of the issue to which I am referring." When she did not answer, he continued, "For the last two months, the amounts quoted as being spent on household goods far exceed their true cost, or the amount spent in other months. I cannot find any explanation for this sudden increase. Do you have one, Mrs Simmons?"
Tears filled her eyes, and James found himself looking away, unsure how to proceed. Tears made him uncomfortable. He rarely had to deal with women's emotions, and none of histraining to be the Duke of Dunloch had taught him what to do when a woman suddenly cried.
"I'm ever so sorry, Your Grace," she choked out.
"So you admit to inflating the costs?"
She simply nodded.
James frowned. "But I do not understand why. What on earth could have possessed you to do such a thing when you have worked here for so long without ever being involved in such theft?"
"I–I–"
"Mrs Simmons," James said, his voice stern. "Let me be clear. Unless I can understand what has happened here and be reassured it will never happen again, I have no choice but to dismiss you."
"I cannot say," Mrs Simmons whispered through tears. "But I must tell you, I did not take the money for myself. I would never do such a thing. Your Grace has been so generous to me, to all of us. I would not dream of–"
James clenched his fist, frustration coursing through him. "But you have, Mrs Simmons. And I must know why. I cannot accept that there is no reason for such behaviour."
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and James felt extremely uncomfortable in the presence of the crying woman who had known him since he was a baby.
"He threatened to tell everyone my secret if I did not pay him," she choked out between sobs.
"Who threatened you, and what secret?"
"Please, don't make me share it. But Mr Cavin, who runs the Fox and Hound in the village… He must've discovered it, somehow. And he began to send notes and demand money. And I didn't know what else to do. It is not money I have, and so I thought if I could just take a little from the estate's purse, I could pay it back in time. Once he left me alone…"
James's eyes narrowed. "So this Mr Cavin has been blackmailing you. But you will not tell me what about?"
She shook her head. "I cannot. But please rest assured, it is from the past. A very long time in the past. But I could not have him spreading rumours about me, ruining my good name, my standing… And I just thought if I could pay him off quickly, and repay the money…"
James closed his eyes for a moment. "And when you paid him, did he leave you alone?"
The tears flowed even faster as she shook her head.
"When blackmailers get what they want, they just want more of it," James said. "I wish you had come to me, Mrs Simmons, instead of stealing from me."
"I'm so incredibly sorry, Your Grace. I did not know what to do, and I know what I did was wrong, but please believe me that I was going to repay it. It's just that every time I paid him, he demanded more… And I became so desperate…" She took a deep, juddering breath. "Please, I know you should dismiss me instantly. But I would hate to leave Dunloch Castle. Is there anything I can do to persuade you?"
"Do you promise me that nothing like this will ever happen again?" he asked, and she was nodding before he even finished the question.
"I swear on my life."
"And if something like this happens again, I want you to come to me. I will deal with it – but I do not like being lied to or deceived."
"I understand," Mrs Simmons said, looking pitiful.
James stood, rather keen to remove himself from this room and let her recover. "Then we will consider this matter put to rest. I will send somebody over to Mr Cavin to ensure he knows that I will not accept blackmail or bullying towards any of my staff, nor from any of my tenants. And you may repay themoney stolen from your wages – and we will say no more about it."
She was still thanking him as he strode from the little room and headed for the stairs.
