Page 40 of My Secret Duke
Olivia didn’t mean to laugh. It shouldn’t have been funny, but the feeling bubbled up inside her, and a moment later Justina joined her. Until the thought of sucha thing happening in Hyde Park terrified her into silence.
Justina seemed to read her mind. “We’ll just have to keep her in check.”
Easier said than done, but she made a sound of agreement. It was so nice to be on good terms with Justina again—it was to be hoped nothing else occurred to cause them to fall out.
Charles Wickley, for instance. Olivia had restrained herself from mentioning him, but his wicked reputation was still on her mind. If hedaredto hurt her favorite sister…
But for now, she set aside her fears. It was a time for celebration. Life was good, and if Olivia had her way, this would be the first step on the pathway to her new life.
Chapter Eighteen
Bourne had arrived at the house before breakfast, and so Charles had once again delayed his departure for London and the club. Will Tremeer was back at Cadieux’s, in temporary charge, and Ivo could tell that Charles trusted the younger man implicitly.
Ivo could not be sure whether or not Lieutenant Harrison’s men were watching Whitmont, but even if they were, there was no reason for them to suspect Bourne of carrying secret messages. He was a regular visitor to the house, as well as being a Portside tenant, who acted as spokesman for the other tenants.
Of course, the villagers had heard of the revenue men’s visit, and they were naturally concerned. Ivo spent some time reassuring Bourne that he was doing all in his power to keep everyone safe, before finally moving on to the main reason for his summons.
“Tell me what you know about this Mystere.” Ivo poured Bourne a brandy as they sat together in the study. Charles, who already had a glass, stood leaning against the wall near the portrait of the late duke. Ivo tried not to look over there because the resemblance was making him feel deeply uncomfortable.
Bourne took a sip and thoughtfully rolled the brandy around in his mouth before he swallowed. “I don’t knowmuch,” he admitted. “We needed someone to bring our goods over from France in a hurry after Polgarth was arrested, and Mystere was the only option. It was a risk, I admit, but a calculated one. If you leave a message at the inn on the waterfront at Worth, he will respond, though as far as I’m aware, no one has seen him face-to-face. The goods we ordered were delivered from his sloop into waiting boats near the coast off Portside, but no one saw him, or if they did, they did not know it was him.”
“A mystery man indeed,” Ivo murmured. “Why would he inform on me to the Revenue Service? Surely that would be counterproductive if he wants to make a living from my business.”
“A grudge?” Charles said. “Some past misdeed? Does anything occur to you?”
Ivo huffed a laugh. “This again! Where would I start? But no, seriously, nothing that would cause a man like Mystere to want to revenge himself on me.”
“What about other family members?” Charles mused. “Your father, for instance?”
Was there a probing note in his voice? Ivo paused, trying to read the other man’s expression, but Charles was very good at hiding his thoughts.
And it was true that Ivo’s fatherdidhave a past that might cause someone to want retribution. Or was it Ivo who had been the reason for revenge? Bourne caught his eye, and Ivo knew he was thinking the same thing. A memory, something he had almost forgotten, rose to the surface. “There was someone…”
“Jacob Rendall,” Bourne said. “I haven’t seen him for years, but he left Portside under a cloud. If I remember rightly, he swore vengeance on you.”
“Vengeance? For what?” Charles asked curiously.
Ivo felt a ripple of shame. He didn’t want to talk about it, especially in front of Charles, but Bourne was watching him, and Bourne had been there too. “My father had just died, and this Jacob arrived as I was taking my place as leader of the Portside men. I was young, and it was of huge importance for me to show everyone, to show myself, that I was up to the task. Then Jacob turned up and announced he was my brother. Half brother. He said we should share, him and me. He didn’t seem to understand that wasn’t going to happen, and he wouldn’t shut up about it. In the end, I told him he was no brother of mine, and he left.” He looked to Bourne in preference to looking at Charles. “Was there any more to it? Surely it was a tempest in a teacup.”
Bourne crossed his arms. “You told him that no one who was a dim-witted, ugly monster like him could possibly be a member of your family. He had something wrong with his eye. He did not take your words well.”
Oh God, he remembered it now. He had been rather unfeeling about Jacob and his walleye, but at the time, he’d had a great deal to prove. “You all laughed at him,” he reminded Bourne.
“We laughed because you were our new leader. Jacob was one of us, and then he wasn’t. I did not see him again after that day.”
Ivo pushed his guilt away. There were plenty of other things he had done in his twenty-seven years that he regretted, ridiculous and idiotic things that had probably had consequences far beyond himself. He just hadn’t cared at the time. Jacob was but one of them. “Perhaps you can find him,” he said at last. “Is his family still in the village?”
“His mother died of fever. He comforted himselfwith the belief that he and you were half brothers. It was probably the sort of fantasy a lonely boy might tell himself. No one believed him,” Bourne added hastily, with an apologetic grimace. “You were right to send him away.”
Was he? It was too late now to make amends, and he had other matters to deal with if he was not to lose everything.
“There was talk that he went off to join the army. I’ll ask around. Someone might know.” Bourne finished his brandy and stood up. “I’ll ask about Mystere too, and see what else I can find out,” he said. “If the Frenchman has turned traitor, then others must know of it. And then there is the question of why he is the last smuggler remaining along our stretch of coast, after Polgarth and the others were arrested. Why haven’t they arrested him too?”
“Someone out there must have answers.” Ivo also stood up. “Apologies, but there can be no more orders from us to Mystere until this puzzle has been solved.” He held up his hands when Bourne began to protest. “I know, I know, it is not what either of us wants to hear, but reassure your men that I will assist them in any way I can. No one will go without, and more importantly, no one will go to prison.”
Ivo just hoped he could keep his promise as the debts began to pile up.
When Bourne had left them alone, silence fell over the room.
