Page 71 of One Wicked Secret
What have you done?
Something so terrible their father didn’t trust him.Something horrid enough to make him hide in Geneva. Assuming he had left England and it wasn’t a ruse to fool their enemies.
She foundThe Monkand read the note about Mr Charmers written beneath the ex-libris. He had to be the blackmailer. Why else cause trouble at the docks? He was trying to divert their attention away from his fraudulent activities.
What is my father trying to tell me?she mused.
It was like he was arming her for battle, though she didn’t know her enemy.
Why name three men when he had many business associates, many Daniel had investigated during their six-month separation, though he hadn’t known these three amounted to fraud?
She sat looking at the array of books.
How strange her father chose popular novels to record the chicanery. Why not use obscure books? Farming manuals? Or those detailing the architecture of ancient Rome?
Perhaps she was looking at the problem from entirely the wrong angle. The question she should ask herself is: What was her mother trying to tell her?
Mother had made a point of purchasing two copies of her favourite novels. That wasn’t peculiar when one loved literature. But what prompted her to change the design of her ex-libris?
Sitting up on her knees, Elsa sorted the books into two piles. Thankfully, Lord Rutland had only removed the bookplates from the boards with writing underneath. Six were still half-pasted inside the volumes.
She observed the new design: a tome open on a stone lectern, a white-feathered quill resting beside it. In many old texts, a white feather symbolised freedom. A bitterirony considering Elsa had spent many years feeling trapped.
Her gaze shifted to the image of a magnifying glass hanging on a chain from the lectern, identical to the intricate object she held in her hand.
It was not a coincidence.
Her mother had been deliberate with her design.
Elsa used the instrument to study the plate, moving closer to examine every minor detail. Along with what looked like illegible writing on the tome was the tiniest clue.
Miss Cynthia Wright
Upper Street, Islington
How odd. The name and address were unfamiliar, but then she remembered the inscription in the old Bible,To Cynthia, with love.
She snatched another book and found a different message.
9th February 1778
9th August 1778
The latter was her mother’s birthday.
In the third novel, she discovered a location.
St Mary’s Church, Islington
She could barely contain her excitement and was reaching for another book when Daniel entered the bedchamber. He looked tired, his hair slightly dishevelled, and the urge to comfort him quickly overtook her curiosity.
“From your glum expression, I take it the meeting withthe shareholders didn’t go well,” she said, turning her attention to him, though the itch to return to the books remained.
He dropped into the chair, stretched out his legs, and crossed them at the ankles. “As expected, Lloyd’s won’t entertain a claim for the stolen cargo. They say the broken hoist, the late hour, and the lack of able men amount to negligence.”
“Did you suffer a great loss?”
“Losing money isn’t the problem. The damage to our reputation unsettles the shareholders.” He let out an exasperated groan. “I’ll wring Charmers’ neck when I find him. The devil wasn’t at home or at his club. His friends say he left for Epsom this morning for the Derby.”
