Page 86 of The Lyon Returns
“I say, Gid, are you quite all right?” Brice asked, his classically handsome face quirked in sardonic amusement.
Gideon swirled the remaining liquor in his glass. “Fine. Why do you ask?”
“Because Sir Phillip just said something I’d think you’d wish to hear and, instead, you’re staring into space like a candidate for Bedlam.”
“As if you don’t know where Gideon’s mind’s gone, Tyrell,” his father chided. “Mayhap your marriage is little more than a business arrangement like that of most of theton,but that’s no reason to begrudge Gideon his fun and games.” He winked at Gideon.
Gideon found himself annoyed with his father, which was not a usual occurrence.Fun and games, indeed.He glared in silent rebuke.
Oddly, rather than eliciting an expression of contrition, or even confusion, the duke’s mouth curved in a smile that could only be described as canny.
“What private joke did I miss?” Brice asked, glancing between Gideon and his father.
“Apparently my son does not appreciate hearing his wife discussed in any but the most deferential terms.”
“Your Grace, if you’re implying the man is smitten,” Brice said, “I could’ve told you that.”
Gideon felt heat rise up his neck and knew he’d been played. Just because he did not care for the intimation Gwen was little more than a rich man’s fancy, it did not follow he wassmitten.
He shifted his attention to Sir Phillip. “I apologize, sir. What news have you?”
Sir Phillip nodded with the air of a man confident of his own importance. “As I was saying, I had to ask after the file. Evidently the case against you was nearly dismissed once, only to be revisited after someone leaked the testimony to the public. No one seems to know quite how that occurred.” He pursed his lips in disgust. “It does notsignify. Now that I have taken possession of the file, the case against youshallcease to exist.” He waved his free hand in small flourish.
“Excellent,” the duke said, triumph gleaming in his eyes.
Sir Phillip went on in a considering tone. “In truth, now that I’ve read the testimony, I cannot understand why Mr. Devereux’s guilt was ever in question, Your Grace. Yes, a ship matching the description of Mr. Devereux’s personal vessel happened to be in the vicinity at the time of the sale, but that ship was hit and in all probability, sunk, which is beside the point, as Mr. Devereux could hardly have been in two places at once as Your Grace so aptly pointed out.”
“It was his shipment that went awry, led by the captain he installed to transport it and guarded by the privateers he hired,” Brice offered.
Silence greeted this. The duke and Sir Phillip turned stunned eyes on him.
Belatedly, Brice seemed to reflect on what he’d said. He laughed with obvious chagrin. “I only meant the Home Office is not so inept as it may seem.” He coughed into his fist as the duke glowered. “Of course, Gideon is innocent of all charges. I never meant to imply otherwise.”
“Of allpossiblecharges,” Gideon’s father snapped. “He was never charged. Isn’t that right, Sir Phillip?”
Ever the obsequious one, Sir Phillip glared at Brice. “Quite right, Your Grace, and at my earliest convenience I intend to look into the matter of who leaked the testimony.”
“No need, Sir Phillip. Your expert judgment, and expedient dismissal, is all that is required. More whiskey?” the duke asked, eyeing the footman who stood at the ready across the room.
“Don’t mind if I do, Your Grace.” Sir Phillip lifted his now-empty snifter.
Gideon knew he should let matters lie. He had no business looking a gift horse in the mouth. Nevertheless, Sir Phillip had read the entire report. “Was there, by any chance, anything in the testimony alludingto Mr. Kennedy’s involvement?”
Three sets of eyes narrowed on Gideon.
“Mr. Kennedy?” the Solicitor General all but spat. “The bastard who took advantage of your trust? The man who saw a means of making a killing by selling illegal arms to the enemy and appropriating one of your cargo ships in the process? One can only hope he got his just dessert at the hands of the villainous French.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
After being greetedby the duke and duchess upon arrival, a servant showed Gwen to the suite she and Gideon would share for the duration of the weekend. Gideon had not accompanied her, claiming the duke wished a private word. Gwen had only a short time to refresh herself before joining the ladies present for a tour of the gardens, followed by tea.
When she returned to the guest suite to prepare for the evening’s festivities, she assumed she and Gideon would have an opportunity to talk. Instead, she discovered that someone had closed the adjoining double doors separating the two halves of the suite which had previously stood open. The maid dispatched by the duke and duchess to assist Gwen with her toilette did not blink an eyelash over the arrangement, and eventually, Gwen understood the closed doors were meant to provide her with privacy.
The only sign he had been present was the jewelry box he’d left on her vanity containing his mother’s gorgeous ruby and diamond ring, purportedly for her to wear this evening. Slipping it on her finger, she admitted to herself she had hoped Gideon would collect her and escort her downstairs for the requested seven o’clock assembly in thedrawing room. When the clock neared the appointed time, she was forced to conclude he would not come for her.
She let herself into the corridor with a wistful sigh. She had allowed that morning’s interlude to color her thinking, specifically what had occurred during the first half of their journey.
Best to focus on the second half of their drive, during which he had seemed to retreat into his own head following her inelegant questions regarding his wife.
