Page 62 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“I can’t sit down,” Reginald hastily shook his head.
Dominic could see a troubled man when he saw one. And now, there was one right before him. He wondered if he should perhaps ask Catherine to leave the room. If the news was something terrible, it was not for the ears of a lady. However, he knew that she would take it as an offence, and not as him trying to shelter her from a harsh reality. She was strong, his Cate. He knew that much.
“I… received a letter this morning,” Reginald finally divulged the truth.
“What letter?” Dominic asked.
Reginald fumbled in his pocket, then extracted a folded envelope. “Here,” he offered.
Dominic quickly grabbed it, opened it, and skimmed through the contents. As soon as he did so, his heart sank. He looked up at Catherine; her face pale with worry.
“What is it?” she asked. “You’re both scaring me.”
Dominic hesitated, exchanging a meaningful glance with Reginald, only to look back at her again. “It is… a blackmail letter.”
Chapter 31
“A blackmail letter?” Catherine gasped, rushing over to Dominic and grabbing the letter from his hand. Silently, she drank in the contents.
Lord Stanhope,
I know your secret, that is, your two secrets. They are safe with me, but only for the time being. My silence does not come cheap. It costs five thousand pounds. You will be given only one chance to pay. If you fail to do so, you will never see your secrets again. You have a single day to decide whether they are worth that much to you. You will be hearing from me again.
“There is no signature,” Catherine said helplessly, as if a signature would have helped in any manner. “Why isn’t there a signature?”
Dominic seemed to understand immediately. He walked over to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “It’s all right, Cate.”
“No, it’s not,” she said, both her voice and her entire body trembling. “Annabel and Rosie are God knows where, alone and frightened.”
She was on the verge of tears. She couldn’t believe that anyone could do this to a woman, let alone a child. She felt she could wring the man’s neck herself, if she ever laid her hands on him.
“Now, if we fall under the weight of pressure, we won’t be of any help to them,” Dominic was the voice of reason in that room, for which she was grateful. “We have to remain calm and composed.”
“I… I don’t know how,” Reginald admitted, looking around, then allowing his body to slump down onto the first chair that he found. “I feel like this is all my fault.”
“No time for self pity, old boy,” Dominic shook his head.
He walked over to a small bell hanging by a rope and rang it fervently. Moments later, a servant girl entered.
“You called, Your Grace?” she answered politely.
“Yes,” he nodded. “We need some whiskey and a glass. Heck, make it three glasses. We all need some liquid courage for this one, to steady our nerves.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” she curtsied, then disappeared from the dining hall.
“Now,” he turned his attention back to them again. “Let’s focus on the letter. Do you know who delivered it?”
Reginald shook his head. “It arrived with the morning mail, with all my other correspondence.”
“I see,” Dominic murmured. “But it must have come from somewhere. Don’t worry. I shall send for Tim immediately. You will give him the letter and I assure you that he will find out how it finds its way to your home. Rest assured of that.” Dominic paused for a moment, then he continued. “As for the payment…”
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. He allowed the servant girl in, and she rushed over, placing a crystal decanter with amber colored liquid, joined by three crystal glasses.
“Would that be all, Your Grace?” she asked looking down at her feet.
“Yes, thank you,” he dismissed her, waiting until she was out of the dining hall to continue. “As for the payment, that—”
“That is a frightening amount of money,” Reginald admitted, swallowing heavily.
