“He didn’t say, but it has to be. When I told him in no uncertain terms that His Grace is alive and well and likely to return soon, his expression was thunderous. I left it at that. Unless I miss my guess, he’ll confront either Marshall or Tavernash.”
A knock at the door signaled their tea, and Mia was surprised to see Agnes delivering it.
“Ran up before Mercy could, I did,” the girl said. “Needed a reason to bring you this back. Jem said you’d grow cold waiting for his answer.”
Mia frowned, and the girl rushed on. “I tried to ask him again, but Mrs. Morrit had me running ragged, so I didn’t have time to follow him. I went over to Mr. Marshall’s office later, but he weren’t there, either. No one has seen him since morning.” She shrugged. “I brought this back.” She reached in her pocket and handed over the crumpled note, the same one Mia had given her in the morning.
There was no handwriting sample, and Mia realized Jem knew they were looking at the books. Mia glanced at Gideon sheepishly. “Oh dear, I may have flushed our bird.”
He touched her arm to reassure her. “His flight may have told us what we need to know anyway. Agnes, kindly request a tray of cakes and tell Mr. Marshall we’d like him to join us here for tea.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Iwas inthe field. You’ll have to take me in my dirt. What’s so important?” Marshall demanded, glancing between the two of them. Gideon thought he seemed more worried than irritated.
“Mr. Marshall, thank you for coming. Let me put some tea on to steep.” Mia indicated the settee with a sweep of her hand, went to the spirit lamp on the chiffonier, and set action to words. She came back with a pot of tea, pausing to whisper in Gideon’s ear, “Do you wish me to stay for this?”
Gideon didn’t lower his voice. “Yes, please. Your insights may be helpful.”
She sat and smiled at Marshall like a perfect hostess, as if he was an honored guest.
“You’ve never called me up here before. I thought I best come soon,” Marshall said. He glanced uneasily at the ledgers.
“We appreciated that, Marshall. It is more private here,” Gideon responded.
Marshall waited, warily waving off the plate of cakes when Mia offered it. “You best get to it, Kendrick,” he said.
Gideon nodded, meeting Marshall’s gaze directly. “First, tell me one thing. Are you able to read?”
Marshall started as if to rise, but he didn’t. He opened his mouth and closed it, eyes darting from the wall behind Gideon to the floor. His mouth worked, and he swallowed twice. “How did you know?”
“Does that matter?” Gideon asked.
“Are you going to tell those London solicitors or the duke and get me fired?” Marshall asked, resentment dripping from his words.
Mia shifted uneasily and poured the tea before asking the gentlemen if they wanted something stronger.
Gideon nodded at her before he answered Marshall. “Perhaps I should. Whether or not I do depends on how some other things work out. Who kept records when you first started?”
“My brother, Artie, came here with me. We worked as a team, two halves of one land steward.”
“What happened to him?” Mia asked, handing Gideon the brandy and placing a crystal glass in front of each of them.
“He went back home to marry. Came into her father’s land. I couldn’t hold him back.”
Mia’s murmur of sympathy seemed to improve the mood of the conversation.
“His work was decent and honest, though his hand was hard to decipher,” Gideon said. “Then two years ago, last March, the writing changed. Bolder. Clearer. The calculations absolutely correct. Is that when Jem took over?”
Marshall nodded miserably. He took a deep swig. “What did he do?”
“To begin with, he skimmed from you,” Gideon said. “He took small amounts at first—a few shillings here and there—something he could have blamed on error. The thing is, it was obvious. I had Mrs. Kendrick check, and she found it immediately. When he didn’t get caught, he did it more often and for increasing amounts.”
Marshall cursed under his breath. “The blasted cheat probably laughed behind my back. I trusted him.”
“It gets worse, Mr. Marshall,” Mia said, sympathy softening her words.
“Starting in February, the amounts increased significantly,” Gideon said.
