Harred leaned to the side as a footman came and collected his plate. He went to address Fredrick as he asked, “How is your shoulder?”
“My valet stitched me up, and it will be as good as new,” Fredrick replied. “Have you heard from your brother?”
“I have,” Harred replied. “William returned home this morning and we had a long, frank conversation.”
“I would be leery of him, especially at this time,” Fredrick counseled.
Harred nodded. “I agree. I just don’t want to believe that he could be behind the attempts on my life. He is my brother, after all.”
Fredrick’s eyes held compassion. “The people closest to us have the power to hurt us the most.”
“Hurt, yes, but murder?” Harred asked. “William has made some terrible choices in the past, but I hope that even he has some limits.”
The butler stepped into the room and announced, “Lord Rushcliffe would like a moment of your—”
The moment the words left his mouth, Greydon stepped into the room. “Pardon for the interruption, but I saw no reason to wait in the entry hall while I was announced.”
Fredrick rose from his seat and gestured towards a chair. “Would you care to sit down and join us for dessert?”
“I suppose I could spare a moment,” Greydon said as he pulled out the proffered chair. “I have discovered something of importance.”
“Which is?” Fredrick asked.
Greydon turned his attention towards Harred. “Does the name Mr. Carswell mean anything to you?”
With a shake of his head, Harred replied, “No, that name has no significance to me.”
“Interesting,” Greydon muttered. “That was the man that Lord William shot during a duel over his sister.”
Harred was utterly stunned by the news. “William was in a duel?” he questioned.
Greydon’s gaze remained somber. “I take it that he didn’t tell you, nor did your father.”
“My father knew?” Harred knew he sounded like an absolute fool, but how had he not known that his brother had been in a duel? That was something that should have been discussed.
“Who do you think paid off Mr. Carswell’s family to make it all go away?” Greydon asked.
Harred asked the one question that he dreaded knowing the answer to. “Did William kill this Mr. Carswell?”
“Not at first,” Greydon replied. “But then an infection set in around the wound and he died a very painful death.”
“Yet my brother didn’t say anything about how he killed a man,” Harred stated in an incredulous tone. “When was this?”
“Shortly before your parents died,” Greydon revealed. “My informants told me that Lord William did not take it well. He started spending more time at the gambling halls and drank excessively. Some of the gambling halls even turned him away because he became too much to handle.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?” Harred asked. “I could have helped him.”
“People don’t always think rationally when they are dealing with grief,” Fredrick attempted. “It sounds as if he is still dealing with the repercussions of his actions.”
“There is more,” Greydon said.
Harred huffed. “How can there be more?”
“Mr. Carswell left behind a wife and two young girls,” Greydon shared. “By all accounts, it appears that Lord William has taken Mrs. Carswell on as a mistress. He visits her rather frequently and was there for the past few nights.”
He didn’t think his brother could sink so low but William continuously surprised him. And not in a good way. How could he take the wife of the person he killed as his mistress? Did he have no shame?
Greydon accepted a plate from the footman and picked up his fork. “Mrs. Carswell lives in Cheapside and I confirmed that Lord William is paying her rent.”
