The evidence, along with Copley’s letter explaining the scheme and his own testimony, should convince the Runner to arrest the three conspirators.
As the shadows suddenly deepened, he looked up and saw the clouds were thickening. All the better for making his move.
It took only a moment to dart around the corner of the building and enter the warehouse. The oil lamp had been left alight, and there on the small table were the mathematical tables created by the Computing Engine.
Numbers calculated in blood.Three men lay dead.
The earl reached out to pick them up. . . .
Only to feel the prick of a sword point between his shoulder blades.
“Tsk, tsk, Lord Wrexford. You’ve been alarmingly clever about a good many things. But, alas, you failed to realize that a man who’s spent his life at sea becomes attuned to every tiny sound around him, no matter how nuanced. I thought I heard a whisper of wool.” The blade dug in a little deeper. “So I decided to come back. And lo and behold, look what I’ve found.”
Hubris.Wrexford cursed himself for being such a bloody, bloody fool. “Do try not to put a hole in my coat, Sir Charles. My valet would be greatly distressed. It pains him when I injure my clothing.”
“An injury to your clothing is the least of your concerns,” replied the admiral. “Now kindly raise your hands above your head.” One by one, he removed the pistols from the earl’s coat pockets and tucked them in his own. “And now turn around. Slowly, if you will. I would hate to cut your throat now, but be assured I’ll do so if necessary.”
Wrexford did as he was ordered.
“Well, well, here we are, with the last roll of the dice about to be made.” The admiral’s smile was coolly unemotional. He might have been merely sliding the black-and-white backgammon markers across the game board. “You played well, milord, with a bold and imaginative strategy. I like that in a man.”
“But clearly, my imagination wasn’t quite a match for yours.” The earl wanted to keep Sir Charles talking while he assessed his options. Which, at the moment, appeared rather limited. “I’m curious. I’ve worked out most of the puzzle, but there are a few missing pieces. How did you first come to have a hold on Copley?”
“I commanded a squadron of frigates escorting troop ships to India during the Mysore uprising in ninety-nine. As the French were supporting Tipu Sultan, I had orders to remain in the area and keep the oceans under British control,” replied the admiral. “As you know, the navy pays its officers a pittance. While I was based in Calcutta, there was an opportunity to acquire some exotic and expensive merchandise for my trip home. My cousin Elgin owed me a great favor from his youth, and so he signed certain papers that allowed me access to the restricted warehouse, pretending, of course, that he didn’t really know that I meant to steal the items.”
Sir Charles shrugged. “The saintly Lord Copley was like that. He took great care to ensure that no dirt could cling to his pristine reputation.”
“And once you had him in your clutches—” began Wrexford.
“I saw the opportunity for building a smuggling network,” interjected the admiral, appearing happy to have an audience. “Like Elgin, I had a very good mind for business. And ample opportunity to think during the endless hours at sea. A fortuitous meeting with Fenwick Alston provided me with an excellent partner on shore. Together we built a very profitable enterprise.”
“But then his corruption was discovered.”
“Yes, Elgin wasn’t able to cover that up. But it turned out it opened up other opportunities.”
Wrexford thought over what he knew about Alston and suddenly fitted in another missing piece of the puzzle. “So Alston went to the West Indies. As did you.”
“Very good, milord. You’ve an agile mind. Yes, I asked the Admiralty for a chance to do my duty in the Caribbean. Which offered a great many smuggling possibilities between the French- and British-held islands, as well as America.”
“It didn’t bother you that you were conspiring with the enemy?”
“Oh, come, Wrexford. I’ve heard you’re a man who has little patience for the silly strictures of conventional morality.”
I have even less for selfish greed and cold-blooded murder.The earl managed to hold back the retort. There were still things he wished to clarify, so quickly he changed the subject.
“So, once Copley returned to England, you decided to move your base of operations to London?”
“Opium was growing more and more profitable, and we still had a network of partners in India. We simply had to make some logistical adjustments,” explained Sir Charles.
His expression darkened. “And as the need for our naval presence in the West Indies was lessening, the Admiralty decided to put me ashore at half pay.”
Greed and hubris, thought the earl, were always a dangerous combination.
“As so,” said Wrexford, “the idea for Argentum Trading Company was conceived.”
“Yes, but as the logistics for shipping tea became increasingly complicated, and the bribes involved increasingly expensive, I saw a new opportunity. I’m very good at mathematics, and during the long voyages, I read extensively on stock trading and bills of exchange. The system of arbitrage was intriguing. And then I heard about Woodbridge and his brilliant sister, who had access to a wondrous machine.”
“That explains all your commercial ventures,” mused Wrexford. “But tell, when did you realize you could make a fortune from creating truly accurate navigational tables?”
