Page 92 of The Pleasures of Passion
Could Sir Oswald be the one lying?
Possibly. Except that the fellow was clearly agitated and not governing his speech. And he’d been raging over the matter before Niall entered the building. “What exactly did your brother say to you?”
“All sorts of things. He kept asking me about twenty-pound notes and how many I put in the pot and who had won them.” Sir Oswald scowled at Niall. “As if that matters. Who gives a bloody damn whether the notes were ten or twenty or a hundred? The money is lost.”
Niall’s pulse quickened. A counterfeiter would care what notes were used. And where they’d ended up. And Niall could definitely see Payne as a master criminal; the man seemed far more clever than his brother.
By God—what if Payne had brought Sir Oswald money last night for the man’s gambling, and hadaccidentallyput some counterfeits in? The banknotes that were originally discovered had been used for various creditors, making them harder to trace since tradesmen received money from so many places. But a counterfeit in a gambling pot was a bit easier to trace back.
Once Payne realized he’d accidentally given his brother the counterfeits, he must have grown worried enough to demand the notes back from his brother.
“And he’s not just furious at me, you know,” Sir Oswald went on. “He’s none too happy with you, either. Seems to think you’re not good enough for Brilliana. A man of your rank! I don’t know who hedoesthink is good enough.”
Sir Oswald began to pace his study, his cane tap-tapping. “And why must the bloody arse always be mucking about in our affairs? He should leave her be. Didn’t he cause enough trouble for her and me the last time? Why, if it hadn’t been for him—” Sir Oswald caught himself. Blanching, he turned away from Niall and headed for a decanter of brandy. “Anyway—”
“Wait a minute,” Niall broke in, a suspicion chilling his blood. “ ‘If it hadn’t been for him,’ thenwhat?” As Sir Oswald shakily poured himself a glass of brandy, Niall walked up to take it from him. “I want to knowexactlyhow your brother caused trouble for you and your daughter ‘the last time.’ ”
“Well . . . I mean . . . it’s thanks tohimthat she hates me now. My own daughter. I should never have listened to the bloody arse.”
Narrowing his gaze on the man, Niall said, “Listened to him aboutwhat?”
Sir Oswald tugged at his cravat. “He’s the one who said I should take Captain Trevor’s offer all those years ago.”
The bottom dropped out of Niall’s stomach. It took every ounce of his control not to show that he knew what the man was talking about. “Captain Trevor’s offer?” he echoed.
“Don’t pretend you aren’t aware of how her marriage to Reynold Trevor came about. I know Brilliana. Shehadto have told you, if only to rail against me.” Sir Oswald scowled. “She hates me for arranging that match. That’s why she cut me off. Won’t even let me see my grandson. My own grandson!” He eyed Niall closely. “Youdoknow about that arrangement, don’t you?”
I know you sold your daughter to Trevor.
No, he needed more information, and he wouldn’t get it by antagonizing the man. “I know a little.” Niall handed the glass of brandy back to the man. “But I don’t see what your brother had to do with it. You didn’t have to heed his advice.”
“Oh yes, I did. I wrote to him in France—asked him for money to pay off Mace Trevor, so I wouldn’t have to . . . convince her to marry the man’s son instead.” Sir Oswald brooded a moment. “Toby said he was tired of loaning me funds every time I found myself in dun territory. He said I should take Captain Trevor up on his offer. Because he wasn’t giving me a penny more.”
Damnation. “Was Brilliana aware of her uncle’s part in it?”
Sir Oswald swigged some brandy. “I didn’t tell her. I was afraid that if she knew I’d lost so much money that even my own brother wouldn’t help me anymore . . . well, she wouldn’t agree to the marriage, either, and her mother and I would go to debtors’ prison. Her mother was ill.” He got a faraway look in his eyes. “So dreadfully ill.”
So dreadfully ill that Bree had sacrificed her future for her. Anger at the man roiled in Niall’s gut.
When Sir Oswald remained silent for several moments, Niall prompted him. “So you didn’t tell her about your brother’s part in forcing your hand.”
“No.” He drew himself up. “None of her concern. I explained to her the circumstances, and she agreed to the marriage.” He glared at Niall. “If I’d known she wouldn’t speak to me after that, I damned well would have told her how little choice I had in it. But she would only talk to her mother, who didn’t know any of it anyway. And after her mother died, Brilliana stopped coming here entirely, so I had no chance to tell her.” He shook his head. “She hates me now.”
“Can you blame her?” Niall clipped out. “She feels betrayed. I should hope you’d understand why.”
Guilt crossed his face. “I suppose.” The old fellow waved a hand in the general direction of the outdoors. “But it was all Toby’s fault for refusing to give me any more money. Coldhearted bastard. What was I supposed to do?”
“Not lose it in the first place.”
“You’re one to talk. Toby says you’re in dun territory yourself. Anyway, Toby refused to help me ever again. Until a few months ago, when he sent me some money out of the blue.”
Niall caught his breath. That fit with when the bills had started showing up in London. “He sent you the money from France, I take it?”
“Aye.” Sir Oswald eased into a chair. “Though I should have known it wouldn’t last. He’s back to being angry with me, and threatening to cut me off once more.”
“So what happened a few months ago to make him change his mind?” Niall asked.
“It seems he heard I’d put the family property up to let. Guess he didn’t like the idea of that, since his line will inherit it when I die. So he agreed to lend me money if I’d just pay off some of his debts here with banknotes he sent me. So I did.” The old man touched a finger to his nose. “He didn’t want to have to pay the duty on the cash, you know. Wanted me to get around that by saying I was taking care of my brother’s debts for him.”
