His great-uncle was practiced in the art of deception, or else he was well into his port. His face didn’t even show a flicker of interest. “Ferrell?”
“Come, my lord. You and I have discussed him. You brought his name up the last time we spoke.”
Holsworthy shrugged. “I may have. I don’t have any recollection. Now, begone. I don’t want you here. I’ll have them toss you out like a commoner.”
“Back in your salad days, before you came into the title, as a young lawyer, you served in the office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. You were in charge of Accounts and Audits—”
“Rogers,”Holsworthy called for the servant who usually waited upon him. “I need you to remove thisscoundrel.”
“He’s not coming,” Michael said.
“Why? What did you do to him?”
“Rogers understood I needed a moment alone with you.”
“So you can talk about my past?”
“Exactly. You were there when you came into the title and discovered it an empty one with no land, no money.” This was family lore. Michael had never questioned it until now.
“And I built it into what it is today.” He took a gulp of his port. “Good investments.”
“You have always been ambitious, my lord.”
“I didn’t waste myself on a woman with no dowry or connections.”
“It is unfortunate your son died. A true tragedy.”
The corners of Holsworthy’s mouth turned down as if the memory saddened him. But then he straightened. Lifted his chin. “Life is what it is. However, there are few as rich as I am. Riches you will never see.”
“You are quite right about that, because I don’t want them.”
“Ha!”
“You see, Ferrell put together a trail of requisitions that go to accounts connected to you from years ago. The government saves everything.”
“What are you going on about?” Holsworthy gripped his half-full glass as if it were a shield in front of him.
“Ferrell studied the history. He was a very good accountant. He actually found some of the original requisitions, but they didn’t match the vouchers. These were so long ago, you personally signed for them, something you managed to avoid later. However, your connection to these fraudulent claims isn’t hard to prove.”
Holsworthy puffed up. “Are you calling me a thief?”
“Yes. You have been stealing from the military accounts for decades. Few have questioned your actions. After all, military disbursements are numerous and ofttimes quite large. You would onlytake a hundred here, fifty there, or a thousand. However, over time, the amount has added up.”
“And what did I do with all this money Isupposedlytook?”
“You invested it. As you said, you are good with investments, and you became the wealthy man you are today. You even handpicked Andrew Plummer to fill your position when you left and used Sir Duncan as an accomplice. I don’t understand why. Sir Duncan was not very bright. However, the two of you had once been in that same office. Was he on to you?”
“This ispreposterous. Complete conjecture.Rogers, come here.”
Rogers didn’t come running.
“Ferrell was so resourceful,” Michael continued, “he even ferreted out some of the different investments you made. He compared the investment with the amount of money that had been falsely requisitioned. Now, I agree that is conjecture, but very damning, don’t you think?”
Holsworthy leaned forward, so angry spittle shot from his mouth. “You can’t come here and say these things to me.I will not be slandered by the likes of you. ‘A person’s name ought to be more precious to him than his life.’ Eh? You consider yourself a skilled lawyer, and you come in here with this swill? Don’t expect any mercy from me. ’Tis a pity your accountant isn’t alive, because I’d gladly see him in court, too.Ro-gerrrrs.”
Michael waited for the echo of his uncle to fade before he said, “I never said Ferrell was dead.”
Holsworthy had been busy glaring around the room as if Rogers was hiding behind a chair or a table. At Michael’s calm words, he snapped his head around. “I didn’t say he was dead.”
