‘Duly noted.’
She huffed.
‘I discovered the names of Payne’s trusts.’
He sat up ramrod straight. ‘Well, now you have my undivided attention.’
‘Clearly,’ Charlotte replied dryly.
Lord Stanley remained entirely unruffled. ‘Go on.’
Charlotte sat forward triumphantly.
‘Miss Payne told me there are two trusts. One is simply Payne Holdings—which I suspect is the respectable public-facing enterprise. But the second...’ Her voice lowered slightly. ‘She heard her father discussing it frequently whenever his Odd Fellow associates visited.’
His expression sharpened.
‘And?’
‘Rose and Thorns Trust.’
For the first time, Lord Stanley looked genuinely astonished.
‘Good God,’ he murmured. ‘Do you realise what this means?’
He gave a short, disbelieving laugh. ‘The Bow Street Runners have spent weeks attempting to uncover that information, and you managed it within a single afternoon.’
Charlotte shrugged shyly.
‘I told you. Women talk to me.’
A reluctant smile touched his mouth. ‘You truly ought to work for Bow Street. You would make an excellent investigator.’
‘Do not tempt me,’ Charlotte replied lightly. Then her expression sobered. ‘Did you discover anything further regarding Sir Oswald?’
Lord Stanley leaned back slightly. ‘I did.’
Charlotte’s brow furrowed. ‘Go on.’
‘One of the Bow Street Runners successfully traced a foreman involved in the repairs after the fire. The man confessed that Sir Oswald gave specific instructions regarding the concealed passageways.’
Charlotte looked unconvinced. ‘But Oswald is an architect. He could have been acting under instructions from Matthew Stanley. That does not necessarily prove involvement with the Odd Fellows.’
‘Ordinarily, no. But herein lies the difficulty: the passageways were constructed before Matthew Stanley ever arrived at Alderley.’
A memory surfaced instantly in Charlotte’s mind.
‘The night Matthew Stanley was murdered, Wolverton spoke of the Odd Fellows establishing operations at Alderley Estate,’ she said quietly.
Lord Stanley’s mouth hardened into a grim line. ‘Which means they had prepared for this long in advance—with every expectation that Matthew Stanley would eventually become one of their puppets.’
Charlotte slowly turned back towards him.
‘Then Sir Oswald must know something about the Odd Fellows.’
‘At the very least,’ Lord Stanley agreed quietly.
Charlotte thought of the strange symbols concealed within the passageways—and upon the mysterious black book.
