“I told Henry to report Hardesty to the authorities when he first received the letters years ago. He wouldn’t. Instead, he asked me to hire some men to hunt the bastard down and beat him senseless. Of course, no one could find him. The man is like a shadow. We found signs of him and heard whispers but could never catch him. Worse, anything we tried only made Hardesty demand more. Henry was afraid...” He paused and then carefully said, “You know about William?”
“I do. Didyouknow about Uncle William?”
George drained his glass and set it aside before admitting, “I had heard rumors, although most people didn’t know, or so I believe. William was discreet. I will also say, he was a good, stalwart man. Ambitious, but honest. The last man one would believe of being—” His voice broke off. He looked to Matt. “I counted him a friend. He would have been a brilliant duke.”
Much better than myself, Matt could have answered. After all, William had trained all his life for the role. He’d been the Marquis of Tilbury. He understood the expectations. He’d been discreet in his amorous pursuits.
Instead, Matt sat quiet.
Leaning his arms on his desk, George said, “I suggested, especially when I saw how determined this blackmailer was of draining the estate dry, that Henry tell Hardesty to have at it, let William’s name be dragged through the muck. Your grandfather refused.”
“He loved his son,” Matt said. “Both of my grandparents did.”
“More like he didn’t want any scandal to taint the title and consequently himself. Henry was proud and vain. A stickler through and through. Look at what your grandparents did to your father. And to you before your sisters pushed you forward.”
“Grandmother will still not recognize them.”
“The duke and his duchess barely recognized you until William died.”
That had been true. “They made me angry,” Matt confessed. “They paid for my education but little else until I became the heir. I wasn’t going to accept the title. I could have lived my life without it or them.”
“What changed your mind?”
“My sister Alice. She’s always the peacemaker. Of course, I thought once I became Camberly, then I could use the title’s income to help their lives, educate their children. Thanks to Hardesty, there is nothing to share.”
George poured another drink. “I didn’t understand how Henry could be so cold, especially when your father died. He’d lost a son but he never spoke of it.”
“Or attend the funeral.”
George nodded. There was a beat of silence and then he said, “Venetia and I lost a baby. A girl. She was only five weeks old. I don’t believe Venetia has ever recovered.”
“I didn’t know,” Matt said. “I’m sorry to hear of the child’s death.”
“It was about the same time your father died. Hard for both of us,” George answered, and took a healthy sip from his glass. He set it down, forced a smile. “But now things are better for you, no? You will marry the Reverly Heiress and set the estate to rights.”
“That is my intention.”
“Her dowry is so vast, you can even educate those nieces and nephews of yours. Of course, be ready, Minerva will not approve.”
“My grandmother does not have a voice in the matter.”
“And that is good. There is a fresh wind coming into the title. One that has a good head in these modern times.”
Matt acknowledged the compliment but then said, “Grandmother believes this Hardesty was behind William’s death.”
George sat up in his chair with a start. “No... she’s never said such to me.”
“Was there anything suspicious about William’s death that you knew?”
“Or that the magistrate noticed? I read the report, as did your grandparents. He broke his neck on one of his fool nags. He liked them spirited and silly.”
“He was a known rider.”
“Aye, he was a bruising one. I couldn’t hunt with him. He’d jump anything when it would have been twice as easy to go around. He loved a risk, especially on a horse. But the fact is, sooner or later, you come up against something that has the better of you.”
“So you don’t believe he was murdered?”
“I believe that is the wish of a grieving mother. But it doesn’t hold up. Why would Hardesty want to kill his pot of gold? Once William died, there were no blackmail demands.”
