“You couldn’t have blurted out that Gideon has your journal?”
“You know Gideon doesn’t have my journal, and besides, he’s not in town. He went after Marshall Wilson, who left two days ago because of a problem with one of his factories in Pittsburgh.”
Adelaide blew out a breath, having no idea how to extricate herself from this latest debacle, or how to convince Dudley she didn’t know where Sophia’s journal was. She forced herself to meet his gaze. “I’m afraid Sophia’s wrong about me having the journal. She obviously panicked when she found herself on the wrong end of your pistol and told you what she thought you wanted to hear.”
“I’ve always found that when a person’s life is threatened, they tend to tell the truth,” Dudley said. “I’m sure Sophia was being truthful when she said you have her journal. All that’s left now is for you to divulge where you’ve stashed it.”
“I didn’t stash it anywhere.”
He regarded her for a long moment before he smiled. “I imagine it’s hidden in your little bookshop because that wouldbe the easiest place to hide a book, what with how many books are there.”
“True, but again, I didn’t hide it. I’ve never even seen it, although...” She drew in another breath, willing her thoughts to settle so she could get down to devising a plan to extricate herself from what was clearly a perilous situation. “May I assume you’re personally seeing to this matter because Frank made such a muddle of everything?”
“I should have never sought out Frank’s services to begin with,” Dudley grumbled. “I should have used Victor Malvado all along, but Victor was out of town when I first became aware of Sophia’s duplicity. Talk on the street suggested Frank was the next best choice.” Dudley’s lips thinned. “His work was less than satisfactory, which is why I reached out to Victor Malvado the second I learned he was back in town. Victor’s men were able to secure the diary and code the night of your book salon. Unfortunately, the journal I desire was not in the safe. Since I’ve lost all patience with this situation, I decided it was time for me to take matters into my own hands.”
He glanced at Sophia. “It really is regrettable that you had the audacity to ply me with far too much wine during our dinner, then scribble down the information I let slip while in a highly inebriated state.”
“I told you,” Sophia whispered. “I didn’t write down anything you said that night.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, my dear,” Dudley scoffed. “Word on the street has it that you jot everything down, then use that information to secure yourself a fortune in gems, something that was confirmed after I glanced through the journals Victor Malvado’s men took from your safe earlier. I must say, I was pleased to see you’d put the dates on the front of all your journals, which made it remarkably easy to discern that the journal I want was not in your safe.”
“But once you get the journal you want, can I expect you toreturn my other journals to me?” Sophia asked, a rather bold question in Adelaide’s opinion, because it wasn’t as if the lady was in a position to expect much of anything at this point.
A chortle was Dudley’s first response to that before he leaned forward. “How delusional you are, Madame Campanini. I have no intention of returning your journals because with the information stored in them, I’ll be able to secure one business deal after another, and without any bloodshed, by using the tawdry information you’ve amassed against an entire brigade of wealthy gentlemen.” His eyes hardened. “If you haven’t realized this yet, you silly chit, you’ve met your match in me. I’m not a man to trifle with, and I did not build a fortune by being soft, nor would I ever countenance a mere woman attempting to blackmail me by using information I never intended to divulge in the first place.”
“What did you divulge?” Adelaide couldn’t resist asking.
Dudley gave a dismissive wave of a hand. “I might have mentioned something about acquiring a steel mill through somewhat questionable means.”
“You had the owner of that mill assaulted, then had the men who assaulted him threaten his life if he wouldn’t sell the mill to you at a fraction of the worth,” Sophia said.
Dudley narrowed his eyes to slits. “And you would have me believe that you didn’t jot that information down to be used against me at a later date?”
“I swear on my mother’s grave that I didn’t,” Sophia exclaimed.
“Your mother is alive and well, living in a cushy apartment you bought for her in Boston.”
Any color that was left in Sophia’s face drained away as she began shaking like a leaf, evidently having no credible response to make to that.
“You’ve clearly done your due diligence when it comes to Sophia,” Adelaide said, drawing Dudley’s attention. “And becauseof that, surely you learned that Sophia never publicly spreads tales about any of the gentlemen who’ve been somewhat loose with what they’ve told her.”
Dudley inclined his head. “True, but that’s only because they always capitulate and shower her with jewels. And even though she’s now claiming she would never attempt to blackmail me, greed is a powerful motivator, Miss Duveen. It would only be a matter of time until she’d try to weasel a diamond necklace out of me, then demand another piece a few weeks, months, or even years later. I don’t deal well with people who threaten me, nor can I afford to allow someone else to gain access to her journal—especially not Gideon Abbott, who I was so surprised to learn is no mere gentleman about town. He could destroy my reputation if he reads what Sophia wrote about me. I won’t stand for that because banks will then refuse to extend me credit and then my investment partners will insist I repay the money they’ve poured into my ventures. That’ll ruin me since I’m cash poor at the moment.”
“Is that why you convinced Ward McCallister to get you invited to the Patriarch Ball?” Adelaide asked.
Dudley shrugged. “A wealthy wife with high standing in society would solve most of my problems. Everyone knows Ward is a man easily impressed. It didn’t take much to get my invitation. I simply showed him the plans for the house I’m intending to build on Fifth Avenue, and he had an invitation to the ball delivered to me the next day.”
“I doubt you’ll be able to secure a society wife after they learn you abducted a premier opera singer, along with one of their own,” Adelaide said.
Dudley’s lips curved into a smile that left Adelaide’s blood cold. “How naïve that you seem to believe society will ever learn the details of what happened to you or Sophia. You surely must realize I can’t let either of you live.”
Adelaide narrowed her eyes. “You probably should havewaited to tell us that until after you got your hands on the journal. What possible incentive do I now have to fetch it for you?”
“An excellent point, Miss Duveen,” Dudley said with an inclination of his head. “But as an incentive to encourage you to cooperate, know that I give you my word I won’t harm your family if I get the journal.” He settled back against the seat, his eyes glinting. “Make no mistake, though, if I don’t have the journal in my hands precisely five minutes after we reach the bookstore, I’ll contact Victor Malvado again. Believe me, he’ll be only too happy to make certain that anyone with the name Duveen suffers a most horrible demise.”
Twenty-Nine
Gideon strode into the Union Club and inclined his head to a few of the members lingering in the foyer before heading down the hallway, intent on grabbing a quick meal before he headed out again to search for the oh-so-elusive Marshall Wilson.
