The two men laughed quietly.
Small footsteps sounded from in the hall and Slade got up and walked to the door. Before closing it, he looked about for evidence of anyone lurking before closing it and retaking his seat. He was aware it would not insure privacy with Lady Evers still in the house. “To make matters worse, I caught her watching me and Lady Bella today. I am not sure why, but the hair on the back of my neck prickles when she is about.”
Latham gave him a serious look. “The woman bears watching. I am not saying anything you do not know when I tell you she has a reputation for inserting herself.”
“I can see that.” Slade swallowed a sip of the brandy and allowed it to warm his mouth for a moment. “That she was notably absent when Graham was brought here leads me to wonder what she might have been doing in Brighton. Part of me wishes she had stayed there. But a nagging part of me wants to know what she did. I plan to send my brother’s . . . my man of business there to ask questions. Graham gave him glowing accolades for his discretion. It would be an excellent test of his abilities.”
Latham gave a long pause. “I need to make you aware of something. The darned agent for the East India Company has shown himself again. He has gotten more aggressive.”
“Agent Winters—if that is his real name—continues to be a thorn in our sides; however, maybe ’tis the other way around,” Slade acknowledged.
“Possibly. This time, he sabotaged a shipment of silks and pottery, substituting it for the delivery of male slaves. His deceptions grow more dangerous. Winters is trying to get us tangled with the slavers.” Latham held up his hand. “Do not worry. I received assurance the slaves were freed and released. The captain of our ship took it upon himself to issue the papers. Perhaps whoever received our spices will be satisfied with the inadvertent trade.”
“I am surprised he did not steal them, himself,” Slade grumbled. “You are right. He is ramping up the ante with every sabotage. Trouble follows those slavers being caught transporting slaves on these shores in these times. We should reward the captain for his forward and fast thinking.”
“They are being very careful not to leave a trail to their door,” remarked Latham. “Had we not received the intel on the man, we might not know the origin of these disruptions. The EIC gets more aggressive with their efforts.”
A chill ran down Slade’s back. He was silent a moment before speaking. “EIC has a reputation. Do you think they could be responsible for my family’s loss?” His voice cracked to think creating his business could have led to his father’s death.
“The truth is I do not know. The company is capable of many things, atrocities among them, but killing a duke seems a step too far, even for the East India Company,” Latham replied and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We will find out who did this, Slade.”
“When we do, I swear the person will live to regret it,” Slade vowed.
Eight
Two days later
Bella gazed about her room, assuring herself Mary had packed everything she wished to take on her trip to London. Thrilled about getting new dresses from their London modiste, she had been less than enthusiastic about leaving since her courtship with Slade had begun. His attentions had been a complete surprise.Mama says love comes about when you least expect it,she thought.Perhaps my mother has the right of it,she mused.
For Bella, life suddenly seemed surreal. Her first Season had been a disappointment to her parents. They had said nothing,but she knew. In her defense, no one she had met had even come close to Slade Mason—the young man who had captured her heart all those years ago at the creek. He was her brother’s friend, and while he had never noticed her, Bella had noticed him. She refused to accept a lesser person.And now, the man of my dreams is courting me!It was a boon that Mama wanted to go to London at the same time Slade was traveling there. Hopefully, they would see each other at least once.
Bella closed her eyes and hugged her arms about herself wistfully. Her thoughts traveled back to the afternoon when she and her friend Diana had wickedly watched her brother, Percy, and his friend swim in the creek. The boys were never quiet and had quickly attracted their attention, swinging from a rope Percy had hung from one of the larger trees. The boys were jumping off the limb with the rope and falling into the center of the water. She and Diana had watched from a safe distance.
When it grew quiet, she and Diana snuck closer and saw the boys splashing around in the water—while their clothes lay in a huge pile beneath the tree. The prank had been something the two young girls could not resist. Not only had they tied the boys’ clothes together.They had peeped!A familiar shiver of excitement coursed through her. The image of his tan back, waist-level in the water had stayed with her. When Slade and Percy turned toward them, the two girls had taken cover deeper in the wooded area, holding their giggles until they were a safe distance away.
The image of Slade’s tanned back with water running down his head had emblazoned on Bella’s brain.No man could hold a candle to Slade Mason.
“Milady, are we ready?” Her maid’s voice came from next to her.
“Mary! You frightened me,” Bella laughed. “I was daydreaming.”
“Ye have much to dream about,” Mary replied. “The young man courting ye has always held your heart.
“You,” Bella corrected softly. “Please, Mary. It is important to me you speak properly.”
“Why, milady?Thisis my station in life,” Mary argued.
Bella hated arguing with Mary, always afraid that her mother would walk in on them. Mama would not approve and getting her cooperation to help Mary would be harder. “You donotknow that is true,” Bella replied firmly. She had always wanted Mary to have the same opportunities she had, even as she realized the impossibility of it, but perhaps Mary was right. She was only looking at things from her point of view, as a member of a privileged society. Mary saw things through the eyes of a servant.
“We have this disagreement too often. I yield to you, Mary,” Bella whispered. “Perhaps I am wrong and being selfish. I only want to help you. Although, I understand your reasons for wanting . . . needing to blend in with the other servants.”
“Thank you, milady,” Mary said, emphasizing her efforts to speak correctly. “I will try to speak properly when we are together. I only mean to blend with the servants—not antagonize you.”
“I think I understand, Mary,” Bella admitted, wearing a smile of chagrin.
“I will meet you downstairs, Lady Bella,” the maid said, smiling at her mistress before leaving the room.
“I am hopeless with maintainingsocial distance,” Bella said to herself on a sigh, as Mary closed her door. Bella had always wondered whether Mary had been stolen as a child and wondered if her parents would mind if she spent her pin money having it investigated. It might be too long ago, but Bella had dreamed once of seeing Mary with two people that could have been her parents. She had never forgotten the memory. She would speak to her mother when they were alone. If something like that had happened to her friend, she would want to do everything she could to right that wrong and reunite them.What are you doing, Bella? You’ve allowed your dreams to mottle your reality.Mary may be right about maintaining social distance from her, she reminded herself. Surely her friend would recall her parents.Unless she was too young to remember, a small voice in her head reminded her.
