Page 44 of To Win a Viscount's Heart
“We can meet in my study,” Gerald offered.
A short while later, they were all comfortably ensconced in the leather seats of Gerald’s study. Mrs. McDonald had already delivered sandwiches and fruit and made sure everyone had what they wanted to drink. “I’m anxious to hear what you’ve heard, Wright,” he said to his friend.
Wright sipped his brandy and set the glass down. “Two men arrived from London within the last hour. One was with the other runners who have been watching our homes in London, the other is with the Regent’s men,” Wright says. “They’ve spotted a man that is consistently seen with a larger man in London—specifically, in Mayfair—claiming to be Lord Bowles’heir and asking questions about Miss Bowles. They appeared to be trying to find your fiancée.”
“The footmen turned them away,” his father said. “All he would have needed was the paperwork he was given from Selena’s father’s solicitors to prove he was Lord Bowles, but apparently, he said he’d misplaced it.”
“How convenient,” Gerald growled. “The solicitors gave the official paperwork to the real Percival Bowles, so Vern would have had to steal it from Percival. Therefore, if he didn’t have it in London, Vern would have to decide whether to return to Rose Point to find it. The solicitor’s paperwork had to have been with him when he arrived at Rose Point.” Gerald said, then turned to his father. “Is my assumption correct?”
His father nodded. “And I’d imagine the London solicitors that Selena’s father employed would know what the real Percival looked like, so bringing one of Bowles’ solicitors to confirm his identity with him also wasn’t a viable option, thank goodness.”
“Interestingly, they also tried to get into Lady Bowles’ townhouse and were met with a similar reaction,” Wright said. “Vern claimed to be Lord Percival Bowles—but without any proper identification and a soul to vouch for him—the staff forbade him entry to the house. The footmen we hired kept him at bay, despite his threatening to bring the law in and have them all thrown out. And I’m certain they remembered how Lady Bowles arrived and realized something went very wrong in Nottingham. They tried to apprehend him, but he must have suspected it might happen and escaped.”
“One of my footmen recalled hearing Vern swearing and complaining they needed to go back to the estate, pack, and leave,” Bellecote said.
“So, if they weren’t focused on finding Selena Bowles, why would they risk going to London, then?” Gerald asked—although he was already mentally going through reasons.
“He wanted whatever would have been easy pickings,” Bellecote offered. “He would have attempted to remove whatever of value he could from the Bowles’ townhouse.”
“They might be headed to Rose Point. It would take them four to five days on horseback to reach Rose Point. Vern may have thought himself safe at Rose Point. Selena told me they treated her home like a gaming hell and bordello combined,” Gerald gritted through his teeth. “How many days ago were they in London?”
“Maybe a week…which means they may no longer be there,” Wright said.
“According to Selena, he spent days drinking and partying with the women…barmaids they hired as lady’s maids and general staff from the bars,” Gerald said.
“I think he’s gone from London. He wasn’t getting what he wanted,” Gerald said.
“According to a missive I received from my butler, Forrester, the two blackguards had no idea where Bellwood was. They were there for a couple of days, combing London for information,” Banbury said.
“And the Prince Regent evidently, dispatched a security detail to Rose Point,” Lord Bellecote said.
Gerald hoped the Prince Regent’s men were successful in apprehending the criminals at Rose Point. They would send word if they were. He thought about Selena, the woman he loved. All he wanted to do was be with her, keep her safe, hold her close, and make all her worries disappear. But he couldn’t do that with her life still in danger.
“If a security detail was dispatched to Nottingham—to Rose Point—Prinny will most likely have them report backto London with details,” his brother-in-law said, mirroring Gerald’s thoughts.
“Wasn’t a detail supposed to come here, Banbury?” Gerald’s father asked. “You mentioned Prinny had assigned one to protect this property.”
“Yes. There are two details. However, the two security details the Regent summoned were returning from different parts of England. Even so, they should be here soon,” Banbury said.
“Any other news to report?” Gerald asked.
“Yes. Although I could not be completely sure based on Lady Fleur and Miss Bowles’ descriptions of the criminal duo,” Wright said. “My suspicions were confirmed by the descriptions from Lord Bellecote’s staff and the staff at Lady Fleur’s townhouse. The imposter is Vern Stiles and his enforcer is Grom Dugan. Vern is dangerous…a blighter that is always stirring up trouble from port to port. The man has been tossed off more ships than I can count. Stiles has black hair and black eyes and Grom has shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. Grom has been known for getting into brawls at every public house and tavern in every port there is. An odd duo to be sure. Vern would be the one pretending to be the heir of Rose Point. Grom is an extremely tall, burly individual, who towers over his coconspirator, Vern, by at least eight inches while Vern is about the same height as we are—somewhere around six feet.”
“The two of them were seen together when their ship, the Merry Maid, docked in Portugal by several eyewitnesses before the real Percival Bowles went missing. There have been a few allegations of petty thievery, that sort of thing—but nothing substantial. Until now. Prinny has also sent men to Portugal to investigate the disappearance of the real Percival Bowles. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good. We must assume they killed him.
“Vern…that’s his name… the one that Selena said while she had a fever,” Gerald said.
“That’s an interesting description of them, Wright. How do you know them?” Banbury asked.
“I don’t know them, but I’ve seen them about on my travels,” Wright replied. “Many times, our ships docked in the same port at the same time. I do know Percival, not well, but well enough to have believed him to be a good man.”
Gerald emptied his glass of brandy and set the glass on his desk. “It’s clear that we need to go to Rose Point, as soon as possible. Hopefully, we’ll get there and find Prinny’s men and have them wrapped up in a neat package, ready to transport to the Tower. And there may be clues as to their activities. I doubt Prinny’s men were focused on much more than finding the men and will not be checking for anything else.”
“If we hope to catch Prinny’s men, we should leave immediately. Let’s get packed and meet in the stables in an hour, ready to go,” Wright said.
“I’ll go with you,” Banbury said.
“We can’t all go,” Gerald said. “I’m worried about leaving the women here, even with the additional footmen. What if something should happen?”
