Chapter Sixteen
Bane
Drake and Banearrived at the investor group meeting to discover that Colin’s poison had done its work on the minds of some of the members. “Lord Andrew,” said one man, before they could even take their seats, “you proposed the Sanderson brothers as members, and we were guided by you. However, in the light of the scandalous—and may I say illegal—conduct that has come to light, I propose that they be ejected.”
Two of the others said, “Hear, hear.”
Drew raised an eyebrow. “I quite agree that we should hear. We should hear the rumors themselves, and the Sandersons’ defense before we sit in judgement. Bane? Drake? Please be seated. Bagshaw, you mention scandalous and possibly illegal conduct. Please be specific.”
“Well,” said Bagshaw, “what is most relevant to this group is that they have been accused of fraud and cheating. In business, I mean.”
“By whom?” Bane asked calmly.
“By your older brother, for one,” retorted Bagshaw. “He says you kept the books for your father, and he has spent years cleaning up the mess. I have it from my cousin, Curston, and he is a friend of Colin Sanderson’s. Your brother also says that youhave cheated investment partners, which is how you have made so much money.”
The barrister leaned his elbows on the table and folded his hands in front of his chin. “In law, we call thathearsay,” he said. “Do you have any evidence for these contentions?”
“This is not a court of law, Fullerton,” Bagshaw said.
“Indeed,” Fullerton agreed. “And these are accusations that should be heard in a court of law. Has Colin Sanderson laid information with a magistrate?”
Bagshaw shook his head. “I have no idea. Not that I have heard.”
“If he did,” said Fullerton, turning his attention to Drake and Bane, “How would you answer the charges?”
“I kept Sanderson Medicinals’ books up to the time of my father’s death,” Bane said. “My father reviewed the accounts monthly and was satisfied with my work. The last time I worked on the books was the day before he died suddenly of an apoplexy. He had all of his wits about him until that day. Colin had me ejected from the house immediately after the funeral. If the books have been tampered with, it was after I had access to them. If Colin is cleaning up a mess, it is of his own making.”
“As to the accusation of cheating, we have detailed business records of all of our transactions,” Drake said. “They will show there is no substance to the charges, and those with whom we have invested will stand witness to the same.”
“Which is why Colin and his friends are using rumor and gossip to discredit us, instead of going to the law,” Bane added.
“Before we extended the invitation to the group, we made the usual enquiries,” said Mr. White. “Mr. Bane Sanderson and Mr. Drake Sanderson are highly respected in the investment community, and Mr. Bane Sanderson is remembered in the business community as a trusted servant to his father, who was also highly respected. Unfortunately for the legacy ofSanderson Medicinals, Mr. Colin Sanderson, the current owner, is developing a reputation for slap-dash work, cost-cutting on materials, and sharp business practices. I can share that evidence with any of our members who may be interested.”
“My cousin has a great deal of respect for Colin Sanderson,” Bagshaw insisted.
“You are certainly welcome to look into the evidence,” Drew said. “And to share the results with your cousin, by all means.”
“Then there is the question of their moral probity,” Bagshaw insisted. “Do we want to be associated with men who were driven out of their district for debauchery?”
“My dear Bagshaw,” said White. “We are here to discuss investment opportunities. Not to exchange gossip in tones of moral outrage. What a man does in private, as long as it is not illegal and does not involve coercion, is his own business.”
“Though the group may wish to know that the gossip is incorrect,” Drake pointed out. “The person responsible for the debauchery and his friends was not, in fact, driven out of the district.”
Bagshaw leapt to his feet and leaned over the table, resting his weight on his hands. “Do you deny that you were the subject of a shaming on New Year’s Eve by the women of the village of Marplestead?”
“Half a shaming,” Drake corrected. “I was not the Sanderson who should have received the letter that lured me into their trap, but the messenger made a mistake. Once Bane turned up and showed them it was me, and not Colin, the ladies set me free.”
Bagshaw sneered. “I heard you were drunk, naked, and driven through town with an ass’s head attached to your shoulders. And that the ceremony ended in a dunking.”
“I was drugged, not drunk,” said Drake. “Bane, you remember more than I do?”
“Drake was stripped to his breeches and tied backward on an ass, with a carnival mask of a goat’s head over his head. I got there in time to stop them from dunking him. I convinced them that he wasn’t our older brother, and they let him go.”
“I don’t know whether they intended to punish a specific sin of Colin’s or whether it was a pattern of behavior, but I cannot say I was surprised,” said Drake. “His wife was away for the Christmas holiday, and he and his friends brought in a carriage load of soiled doves to entertain them while she was absent. In his own house, in front of his wife’s servants. My father was not an abstemious man, but he would never have insulted his wife in such a situation.”
“Hearsay!” Bagshaw used Fullerton’s term in Colin’s defense.
“Ask your cousin Curston,” Bane suggested. “He was at the party. You might also ask him whether his enthusiasm for this attack stems from our rivalry over the right to court a lady whose name I will not bring into disrepute by mentioning it.”
