Page 54 of A Duke's Sinful Bargain
“I know.” Alexander nodded heavily, although that decision hurt him more than he was willing to admit. “I just… I wish it didn’t have to be so.” He paused, then turned their attention to the matter at hand. “Did you manage to find something out?”
One look at Tom gave him all the answers he needed. “No, Your Grace. Nothing yet.”
“Nothing?” Alexander sighed. “It has been seven days already.”
“I know, Your Grace,” Tom agreed. “It is a delicate task. I have employed all our… acquaintances that do not follow the usual protocol regarding Sir Rupert and his background, but no one seems to know anything about this man. He just appeared in London recently.”
“How is that possible?” Alexander wondered. “No man is a mystery. Everyone has a past. I find it highly unlikely that no one knows anything about him.”
“He is probably extremely cautious,” Tom commented.
“He’d better be,” Alexander growled through clenched teeth.
“He is also probably aware that you will be conducting a search after him,” Tom pointed out. “So, he knows he must remain invisible.”
“No one is invisible in theton,” Alexander mused.
“Theton!” Tom suddenly seemed to remember something. “I did find out that he has become Lady Pentor’s acquaintance. She has taken it upon herself to show him around town and introduce him to the important people in theton.”
“Lady Pentor?” Alexander frowned. “And I thought she was a good judge of character.”
He could not imagine anyone wishing to be a friend, even an acquaintance, of such a horrible man. And Lady Pentor, of all people, taking him under her wing. Had the entire world gone mad?
“The man is a master manipulator, Your Grace. That much is evident from first glance. Lady Pentor is too nice to see through his guise,” Tom pointed out, and Alexander had to agree. Lady Pentor was indeed sometimes too nice for her own good, unable to see when she was being taken advantage of. Sir Rupert had chosen the right person to unwittingly help him in his wicked endeavors.
A flicker of hope lit up inside his mind. Perhaps the unexpected friendship between Sir Rupert and Lady Pentor might be their way of getting closer to the man.
“Well, perhaps she will be our path to him,” Alexander mused, pondering the idea more deeply. “Seeing as we have no other leads. I shall contact her and, while making small talk, I shall see what she knows about this man.”
He got up from his chair and paced about his study, locking his hands behind his back. He didn’t want to say this out loud, but he was certain that Tom had already thought of this before, without saying it.
“There is a spy within our midst, Tom. Either in our household or in Anna’s.” There was no other explanation for everything that had been going on.
Tom’s brows locked, and Alexander knew this was a sign that his friend was lost in deep thought. “What is it, Tom?”
“I hope you will not think me a horrible person for suggesting this…” Tom started, hesitating.
“You know I would never think any such thing of you, old friend,” Alexander assured him, and that was enough for Tom.
“You mentioned a spy, Your Grace.” Tom was slowly making his way to his point. “But what if it is not a spy, but rather Lady Ravenscroft herself?”
Alexander’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected Tom to say something like that. In fact, he expected him to say anything other than that. He didn’t have the strength to say anything in her defense. Tom took this as a sign to further explain his point of view, carefully selecting his words as if to soften the blow, but there was no softening it.
“I know it might sound unthinkable, but it might be possible that Lady Ravenscroft is working together with Sir Rupert for her own financial gain, orchestrating this entire setup.”
Alexander frowned, shaking his head. While his heart violently objected to this version of events, he didn’t want to argue with Tom. After all, Tom meant well, although he hadn’t quite put that right. Instead of arguing, Alexander chose to remain calm and reasonable, as that was the only way to save everyone’s sanity in this madhouse of events.
“Why would she?” Alexander wondered. “I already wrote off her debt.”
Tom pushed on. “Maybe that isn’t enough for her. After all, her late husband left her on the brink of destitution. She is a woman left alone, with no one to take care of her. This is… well, one way for a widow to obtain some funds.”
Without thinking, Alexander slammed his fist on the table before him. There was no more reason left inside of him, only passionate love, and it refused to listen to such nonsense.
“I will not have you slander Anna’s name in front of me like that, Tom. You are my friend and I value both you and your word, but this is where I will draw the line. My belief in her integrity is steadfast. I know her, Tom. I know you might think it’s been too short a time to get to know someone, but I know her. And I know she would never do something so vile as this. Never.” Then he locked eyes with Tom. “What does Eliza say?”
Tom was shocked to hear that. It was obvious that he thought he was keeping his courting of Anna’s lady’s maid a secret from everyone.
“Do not even try to deny it,” Alexander urged him. “I know you’ve been secretly courting Eliza Littleton—ever since the picnic, in fact.”
