After a brief hesitation, Cordelia took a seat on the sofa.
The clink of porcelain punctuated soft splashes of liquid. Vapor curled up in silvery plumes as Charlotte passed around the cups. “By the by, how did you know we were here? We came to the professor’s cottage early this morning, only to find you gone.”
“I walked into the village last night to buy some bread and cheese and overheard a servant mention the earl was expecting guests. I added two and two together,” replied Cordelia. “We left before dawn, as we were planning to return to London—”
“Enough of pleasantries,” interrupted Sheffield, pushing aside his tea untasted. “What the devil are you doing here?”
Wrexford repressed a wince. The sparks crackling in his friend’s gaze were fierce enough to burn Satan to a cinder.
“I imagine that’s a rhetorical question, sir,” replied Cordelia. “But in a nutshell, I’ve come to ask for your help.”
“Why now?” demanded Sheffield
Cordelia carefully smoothed a section of her skirts into three equal pleats. “Because it’s taken me this long to unravel the lies within lies and follow the money,” she replied. “I’m now confident I know what evil is afoot, and Professor Sudler and I want to put an end to it. However, the men responsible for the scheme have threatened to ruin my brother and have him sent to prison unless we cooperate with them.”
She hesitated. “So the professor and I have, for now, agreed to perform the tasks they demand of us. Not simply to save Jamie, but also to give us time to identify the men in charge and bring them to justice.” Another tiny pause. “However, we can’t do it on our own.”
Sheffield narrowed his eyes. “How do we know you are not simply telling us more lies?”
Cordelia’s face paled as all the blood rushed to her cheeks. “I never lied to you!”
“You . . .” He blinked. “You . . .”
“Yes?” she challenged.
“You and your brother left without any explanation,” mumbled Sheffield. “When we discovered the bank loans he had secured, what else was I supposed to think other than that you had deceived me and used me as pawn to get money from Wrexford?”
Cordelia’s indignation burned out just as quickly as it had flared. “I haven’t ever lied to you in either word or deed, sir. Our business venture hasnothingto do with my brother and the web of deceit in which he’s become entangled. It’s completely legitimate. You have my word on that.” Her chin rose. “Assuming you’ll believe me.”
“Silence!” commanded the earl, before the discussion became impossibly confused. “If I’m to have any hope of understanding what’s going on, we need to have an orderly explanation of this cursed mystery—”
“I shall try, milord.” Cordelia pinched at the bridge of her nose. “Though I fear it’s difficult to distill it into a simple explanation.”
“Just start somewhere,” Wrexford growled.
“Very well.” She cleared her throat. “Jamie was approached by a friend and invited to invest in a financial venture that guaranteed a great profit. That, of course, seemed too good to be true. So I tried to warn him that there had to be something havey-cavey about it. However, Jamie wouldn’t hear any caveats from me. Whose word do you think held the greater weight? That of his sister or that of the East India Company?”
“The East India Company?” Wrexford felt a chill touch the top of his spine. A glance at Charlotte showed that she had experienced the same frisson of alarm. “To accuse them of impropriety is a very serious allegation to make, Lady Cordelia,” he added softly.
“Nonetheless, it’s true.”
By virtue of its immense wealth and economic clout, the Company wielded great influence on politics and government affairs in Britain. Indeed, its tentacles reached into just about every aspect of society. The earl couldn’t imagine a more dangerous enemy.
“Be that as it may, such statements could put you in grave peril if they reach the wrong ears,” he pointed out.
“I’m safe enough for now, which I shall explain shortly,” Cordelia replied. “But first let me finish explaining what is going on. I will be as clear as I can, but the threads twist and twine into a serpentine maze of deception that isn’t always easy to unwind.”
The earl nodded.
“Jamie was manipulated into taking out a number of bank loans in order to invest in the business venture. They fed him a number of clever lies about why the money couldn’t appear to have come from the East India Company,” she continued. “They then cobbled together a thick set of complicated legal documents, assuring him they all were simply formalities. My brother, alas, is an honest and trusting soul. He believed them and blithely penned his name everywhere they asked him to sign, and then turned over his personal loan documents for supposed safekeeping.”
Cordelia took a moment to steady her voice. “And so Jamie is now the sole stockholder of a trading company whose only business is running a very sophisticated financial scheme involving fraud and morally reprehensible commerce. He can’t withdraw or go to the authorities. The dastards hold all the funds necessary to repay the bank loans. And they cleverly left no trail to incriminate themselves, so he has no proof of his entrapment.”
Sheffield uttered an oath. “Then how will you escape their clutches?”
She gave a tight smile. “I met with one of their henchmen and made a deal, which I’ll explain shortly. Suffice it to say, it offers us a way to earn back the money and the legal papers.”
“Assuming they’ll keep their word,” cut in Wrexford.
