Sutton rolled his eyes. “That wouldn’t look improper at all. Now isn’t the time to flaunt your disregard of societal expectations.” He blew a delicate ring of smoke into the air. “Did you call me here to figure out who the informant is?”
“No.” Julius tapped his fingers along his thigh. “Let’s go for a walk.” He scooped Sutton’s hat off the floor and handed it to him.
Sutton looked at his hat, looked at his cigar. “A walk? It’s drizzling outside. You know I don’t like rain.”
“Yes, you’re like a large, annoying cat.” Julius poked his head out the door and called for Reggie. A scrabbling of nails on the stairs was followed by the dog’s black and brown face charging straight at him. Julius held up a hand, and Reg sat down, his body sliding across the waxed wood floor with his momentum. Julius rolled his eyes and looked back at his friend. “Now, find your balls, put your hat on, and let’s get out of here. The walls have ears.”
Clamping the cigar between his teeth, Max tugged his hat down but it insisted on tilting askew. His thick crop of wild black curls didn’t allow for fashion. He grumbled the entire way out to the portico, frowning when Julius attached Reggie’s lead. “Now we’re dog-walkers?”
“Reggie is a fine dog. You should be proud to walk him,” Julius said.
Reggie found the first shrub on the drive and dropped into a low squat. Steam hissed where piss met cold earth. Sutton raised a bushy eyebrow.
“Never mind that.” Reaching into his waistcoat pocket, Julius withdrew a folded missive and tossed it at his friend.
Snatching it from the air, Max rested the cigar on the brim of his hat and unfolded the letter. His eyebrows shot to the sky. “You’ve become one of the blackmailer’s victims.”
“In essence, yes.” Julius tugged on Reggie’s lead, and they turned onto the main street. The word victim had never sat well with him. “I’m to cease and desist all investigations or else my predilections will be revealed to the world.”
Max flipped the page over. He jabbed a thick finger at a line. “Is that one true? I don’t remember you and the dowager duchess ever playing.”
“You were in Prussia. That lady was very inventive.” And sweet. “A lot of innocents could get hurt if those stories are revealed.”
“And you.”
Julius shrugged. “You know I don’t care what the ton thinks of me. Hell, in some circles this would only improve my reputation.”
Max carefully refolded the note. “What will you do?”
“Carry on and deal with the consequences as they arise.” He gazed steadily at his friend. “These people must be stopped.”
Max nodded. “Agreed. What next?”
“There are some more offices we can search.” Julius stood. “But first I want to pay a visit to Hanford.”
“And you want me to go with you as an additional sign of force?”
“I want you to stop me from throttling the man,” Julius said. They reached the corner and turned back. “Hanford has irrevocably changed the path of Amanda’s life, without her consent or desire. He’s insulted her and made her a target for contempt. For that, he must pay.”
Grabbing his arm, Max pulled him to a stop. “He’s an old man fighting for his way of life. As doddering as he is, Hanford might not have even realized the consequences of what he wrote.”
Julius wasn’t so sure. The methodical and vicious argument in the man’s article made Julius question the image of Hanford as a mutton-headed fool. And if Julius was mistaken about Hanford’s character, he might have been mistaken about the man being merely an unconscious dupe to the crime ring.
Unless Hanford was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julius wouldn’t underestimate the marquess again.
A hackney lurched past, and Reggie skittered sideways, threading himself through Sutton’s legs.
His friend glared down at the pup. “This beast is an insult to the name dog. Where did you get him?”
“He’s Amanda’s.” Technically her sister’s, but Reggie was a great solace to Amanda. And if that’s all the dog was ever good for, he would be an admirable animal. One to whom Julius would be eternally grateful.
The pup tilted his head, a soft brown ear flipping inside out. Tentatively, he stretched his hind leg up, taking aim.
With a roar, Sutton leapt to the side, the stream just missing his leg. A rhododendron bush wasn’t so fortunate.
Julius beamed proudly. “Look at that. Our Reginald has become a man.”
“He was an inch away from becoming dead.” Sutton grumbled deep in his throat, but the dog ignored him, obviously not taking the man as a threat. Reggie pranced back to the house, Julius in tow.
