‘Finn.’ Nicholas verbalised what everyone else was thinking. ‘I must confess I was taken aback to see him and Percy here. How the devil did that happen?’
‘I have no idea,’ Roan shrugged. ‘Clearly, they were invited by Augustus – most likely to provide support with the menace that is Dougal Galbraith – though he’s never likely to admit it. Still, Finn’s presence is fortunate.’
‘Surely we cannot sanction putting the boy in danger,’ argued Tristan.
‘Even I’m not callous enough to risk the boy’s safety,’ Rafe retorted drily. ‘Since it is common knowledge that we sail in three days, I suggest you take Finn with you from tomorrow, Roan - with the excuse that he wishes to learn all about the ship. Undoubtedly, he will get underfoot on occasions, but much of the time he will be ignored and able to watch and listen unnoticed.’
‘I think it unlikely our traitor will give himself away this late in the game,’ countered Gabriel, ‘not if he wishes to be in a convenient position to push Tristan overboard.’
‘Helpful,’ drawled Tristan.
‘But what if our traitor receives new,vitalinformation that he needs to share?’ Rafe mooted. ‘Something he deems so important he’ll risk leaving the ship.’
There was a short silence, then Roan began to smile. ‘The crew are waiting for confirmation of our final destination,’ he declared. ‘I had not decided whether to anchor off St. Malo in Solidor Bay, or Perros-Guirec. The latter is much closer to Lannion and Montclair – only one or two hours by carriage – but the water is much shallower.’
‘Montclair is a two-day journey from Solidor Bay, depending on the weather. If Fontaine thinks we’re sailing there, my guess is he’ll be delighted. It will give him plenty of opportunity toambush us before we get to Lannion,’ Raphael asserted. ‘He won’t know whether his man has been successful in eliminating Tristan during the crossing, so it’s reasonable to assume that he and his men will be waiting for us.’
‘If you’re going to feed him a Canturbury tale, it will need to be early enough to give our man enough time to pass the information on, and for Fontaine’s collaborators in Torquay to get well ahead of us,’ Nicholas stated, immediately getting his brother-in-law’s drift.
‘We’ll leave with the afternoon tide three days hence,’ Roan commented. ‘If I make the announcement first thing the day after tomorrow, once we’ve moved the ship to the quayside for embarkation, that’s a full day and a half before we’re due to sail.’
‘My guess is they’ll have a small cutter,’ mused Tristan, ‘which should be more than capable of reaching Montclair before we actually sail. If theFortunetakes three days, Fontaine will be ready and waiting for us…’
‘In the wrong place,’ Gabriel grinned.
‘Doubtless our man will try to slip away during the confusion of boarding,’ Roan added, ‘hopefully taking no notice of a small lad…’
Rafe nodded slowly. ‘It will certainly work in our favour if we can get to Montclair while Fontaine is absent. Perhaps it will finally gain us the upper hand.’
‘Speaking of upper hands,’ Tristan interrupted. ‘What exactly are our plans if you manage to deliver me to Montclair unscathed?’
Raphael grimaced. ‘I’d like to say I have it all planned out,’ he sighed. ‘Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. It’smy hope there will be someone still at Montclair who knew you as a boy – perhaps even fled with you to Pontorson. Once we get to Lannion, there will be no need to remain in hiding. In fact, my intention is to proclaim your arrival to all and sundry. The more people who hear about your return, the less likely it is that you’ll suffer a quiet accident.
‘Of course, we have to face the possibility that Fontaine may not take the bait and leave Montclair, and even if heiswaiting to ambush us in St. Malo, he’ll quickly realise he’s been duped and return as quickly as possible. But by then, I’m hoping it will be too late for him to prevent the news of the Marquis’s return from spreading.’
Rafe stopped and grimaced before adding, ‘I freely admit that in the beginning I failed to anticipate the possibility that Claude Fontaine might be one step ahead of us, but the only thing I can say to reassure you gentlemen is that despite any evidence to the contrary, I am good at what I do.’ He spoke entirely without conceit as he added, ‘With your help, Iwillreinstate Tristan as the rightful Marquis de Montclair and expose the bastard who’s been coordinating this whole bloody conspiracy since the beginning.’
‘Very pretty speech,’ Gabriel drawled without rancour.
Rafe spread his hands and shrugged. ‘Naturally. I’m French…’
‘I’ll speak with my First Mate tomorrow morning,’ Roan pronounced. ‘We were both onAlbatrosstogether, and I’d trust him with my life –havedone so on several occasions.’ He stood up. ‘It’s late, gentlemen. I suggest we adjourn and continue our discussion after I’ve met with Mr Spalding.’
‘I think we will have to include Augustus and Percy in our plans,’ Nicholas interrupted with a sigh. ‘As Finn’s father, we cannot in all conscience exclude Percy, but unfortunately, that means the Reverend will also insist on being included.’ The Duke gave a rueful shrug. ‘Augustus might well be the most frustrating individual alive, but there’s no denying he’s better than most at shamming it when he’s forced into a corner.’ He looked over at Raphael and gave a dry chuckle. ‘Mayhap you should think about recruiting him…’
‘Forgive my lack of enthusiasm, your grace,’ Rafe countered with a pained chuckle, ‘but from what little I’ve seen of your father-in-law, following orders is not one of his strong suits. In fairness, I had actually assumed that he and the outlandish Scottish gentleman would be sailing with us.’ He turned to Roan. ‘Is the ship able to accommodate Mr Noon and his son also?’
Roan sighed and nodded. ‘Though our ruse of a family trip to France is wasted if Fontaine is expecting us. Perhaps we’d be better to simply abandon the ploy.’
Rafe shook his head. ‘He currently believes us entirely unaware of his duplicity and I would prefer we not enlighten him. The last thing we need is for him to realise we are playing a double game. But not only that, it will be far more difficult for someone to harm Tristan with so many people onboard.’
‘And I’d like to see you try and talk Hope out of it,’ Gabriel added. ‘Please feel free to put your suggestion to her…’ The Viscount left the sentence hanging.
‘As much as I’d prefer to accompany you, I believe I will better serve by remaining in England,’ the Duke interjected. ‘I find it hard to believe there are no rumours swirling around London at all, and I have contacts in Westminster I can trust.’ He pausedbefore adding drily, ‘And putting aside the knowledge that my wife too will certainly have my hide if I go to France without her, Grace and I are expected in Grosvenor Square at the end of this month. I can easily bring the visit forward without any undue suspicion.’ He paused, then looked directly at Raphael, his expression chagrined.
‘I believe I owe you an apology, Monsieur Augustin,’ he said finally, stiffly. ‘I can only say I am not usually quite so pigheaded…’
The sudden burst of laughter from both Roan and Gabriel cut him off. Nicholas raised his eyebrows before giving a rueful grin and adding drily, ‘Clearly there are those who would disagree.’
