Jonathan shook his head no.
“What was it that ended your connection to her?”
A scowl tugged at Jonathan’s lips. “You will not stop asking me until I tell you, will you?”
“No, I will not.”
Jonathan, letting out a long, slow sigh, looked back at his friend. Then, glancing around the room and seeing it quiet, he returned his attention to Kettering. Most of the other guests must have moved to the music room for the entertainment. “I received a letter.”
“A letter from the lady herself?”
With a shake of his head, Jonathan ran one hand over his eyes. “No.It came from a gentleman whom I respect, in fact. A gentleman that all those in London – nay, in England – would hold in high esteem.”
Lord Kettering lifted his eyebrows.
“The Marquess of Blackwood.”
Understanding shot into Lord Kettering’s expression at once. “Ah, yes. Lord Blackwood. A gentleman who has the ear of the King, or so it is said.”
Jonathan nodded. “A gentleman who knows the secrets of many, since he has built up a reputation of trust. He has the confidence of many. Therefore, when he wrote to me, I had no choice but to believe him.”
“I understand,” Lord Kettering replied. “What was it he said in this letter?”
Remembering the moment he had broken the seal and opened the letter, Jonathan winced. “Lord Blackwood told me that he had seen me and Lady S – that is, the lady in question – in a moment alone. Whilst he did not think thatwise, he informed me that there were serious questions about her family. There were concerns about her father’s financial standing and some questionable investments, also.”
“Were they true?”
Jonathan sighed and shrugged. “I could not be sure of them, of course. I made some discreet enquiries, however, and did find that there were some investments made by the Duke which had come to nothing. They had, in fact, cost him money. Lord Blackwood’s letter also spoke of debts remaining unpaid simply because they could not be paid.”
“And because you discovered that these investments were true, you then decided to believe the rest of the letter.”
“I had no reason not to. Lord Blackwood is known to be a wise fellow, and his concern for me was appreciated. Taking him at his word, I knew then that I could not marry the lady he was warning me about. To have any hint of financial scandal upon my own standing would be grave indeed, especially since my brother –”
He stopped short, mortified that he had almost given himself away yet again. The conversations and concerns regarding Lord Tunbridge’s previous poor choices had not been something he had discussed with anyone.
“Your brother did something, yes?”
Jonathan groaned, throwing his head back. “Please, Kettering. No more questions.”
“Very well, very well.” Lord Kettering smiled genuinely. “So your brother did something that caused you both financial concern as well as potentially concern about your standing in society. Upon receiving this letter and reading about his investments, you decided that you could not marry this lady. The danger of her father’spoor financial choices might come up on you and might also reveal your brother’s mistakes.”
Relieved that his friend was not about to ask him any questions, but also slightly irritated that he had managed to ascertain so much regardless, Jonathan let out a huff of breath.
His mind, unbidden, had already begun its habitual cataloguing — the same methodical sorting that had served him so well at Oxford, where his tutor had once told him he thought like a barrister rather than a marquess. He could not help it. Where other men might feel their way through a problem, Jonathan built structures.First: the letter. Written on quality paper, sealed with Lord Blackwood’s device, containing specific allegations about the Duke of Somerset’s finances. Second: the source. A gentleman of impeccable reputation — or so Jonathan had believed — who had no apparent reason to deceive. Third: the corroboration. His own discreet enquiries had turned up some evidence of questionable investments. Fourth — and this was the detail that nagged at him now, the one loose thread in an otherwise tidy fabric — the enquiries he had made had not been thorough. They had confirmed a fragment of the letter’s claims, and he had treated that fragment as proof of the whole.It was sloppy reasoning. He would have caught it in a legal brief, would have circled it in red ink and demanded better evidence. But he had not been thinking like a barrister then. He had been thinking like a man in love who was terrified of what he might find — and who had, perhaps, been looking for a reason to retreat before his heart could be broken by something worse. The simplest course would have been to go directly to Lord Blackwood and ask him plainly:Did you write this?Three words. But Jonathan had not asked them, because some craven part of him had feared the answer. If Blackwood confirmed the letter, Jonathan would have lostall hope. And so he had chosen the coward’s path — accepting the letter at face value, letting its seal and its authority do the work of persuasion that his own courage should have demanded he resist.
“There must have been some serious concerns about the gentleman’s finances, then.”
Jonathan pursed his lips. “Yes, absolutely. Lord Blackwood hinted at the idea that the investments were… particularly chosen because of the near guaranteed return.”
“So something a little underhanded.”
“Perhaps.”
“And that is what has kept you back from Lady S, whoever she is.”
With a groan, Jonathan rubbed one hand over his face. “Lady Susanna.”
Lord Kettering’s eyebrows shot up. “The Duke’s daughter? The Duke of Somerset?”
