Page 23 of With Good Grace
Amidst more complaints, Simon scooped up his winnings and followed Jake to a quiet corner. They ordered brandies from the steward who approached them and settled down in comfortable wingback chairs.
‘What brings you seeking me out at this hour, Jake?’ Simon asked. ‘You look preoccupied.’
The steward returned with their drinks. Jake waited until he had withdrawn again, took a sip of fine cognac and then told him about his suspicions.
‘You think Barnard is back in London?’
‘The possibility occurred to me,’ Jake replied, referring to the man they had spent the past two months pursuing through the Highlands of Scotland. They had caught several of his underlings but Barnard managed to slip though the net, making no secret of the fact that he lived to revenge himself upon Jake, who had destroyed his reputation and turned him into a fugitive. Strictly speaking, Barnard had orchestrated his own downfall when he turned traitor, trading Government secrets with the Empire’s enemies, but Barnard did not see it that way. ‘The man is devious, desperate and backed into a corner. As I have repeatedly insisted, he will not simply crawl away. He will come out fighting, and we both know he does not fight fair.’
‘You think he has discovered your partiality for Mrs Grantley and means to use it against you.’
‘She works for me, Simon. Just as you do.’
Simon chuckled. ‘Glad you don’t look at me the same way you do at her.’
Jake rolled his eyes, thinking it useless to protest further. ‘No danger of that.’
Simon wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. ‘Thank heavens for small mercies.’
‘I need you to have a few of our people start asking questions. Put out a reward for information leading to sightings of him.’
‘Have a heart, Jake.’ Simon impatiently pushed the hair out of his eyes and spread his hands. ‘There will be a deluge. You know how it is. There’s a world of difference between seeing someone—or pretending to have done so—and actually affecting his arrest. There will be sightings from the Highlands down to the tip of Cornwall. You just mark my words.’
‘Even so, it will not be too hard for a man of your ilk to sort the wheat from the chaff. No one has ever accused me of not being prepared.’ Jake swallowed the rest of his drink. ‘There is another possibility, though.’
Jake explained about the latest murder, the similarities to Grantley’s, and the disappearance of Sir Hubert.
‘Phew! The lady attracts more than her fair share of problems. How can I help?’
‘Deal with the Barnard aspect for me.’ Jake shrugged. ‘I know I have a plethora of other ne’er-do-wells out for my blood but Barnard is the most desperate, and the most recent. If he’s anywhere near London I want to know about it.’
‘He’ll be a fool if he is.’
‘Even so, he will not be the first deviant to hide himself in a crowd. You know who his usual contacts are; the people most likely to offer him shelter, the areas of town where he will feel safest. Have your people concentrate on them. Parker will arrange to have Mrs Grantley’s house watched and we shall see what that particular net hauls in.’
‘I am, as always, at your service.’ He cast a wistful glance in the direction of the card room. ‘I have nothing better to do with my time.’
‘Not mine but Thorndike’s,’ Jake replied with an acidic smile. ‘Needless to say, his hands remain lily-white, and it’s the likes of you and me who will be in the direct line of fire.’
‘I have never heard you talk this way before.’ Simon appeared perplexed. ‘I thought you were totally committed to the service of Her Majesty’s government and thrived on the danger.’
Jake grunted. ‘It’s a young man’s game.’
‘Ah well then, I can quite see why it must be getting to be too much foryou.’
Jake punched Simon’s shoulder, then stood, shook hands with his friend and took his leave.
?
‘How many days shall we be gone, madam?’ Molly asked, looking sour-faced at the prospect of removing to one in the finest residences in London, where her position as a lady’s maid would afford her status in the senior servants’ hall.
‘I have no idea,’ Olivia replied, wondering what had got into the wretched girl. ‘Pack sufficient clothes for a week. If we stay for longer than that you will have to come back and collect more things.’
Molly sniffed. ‘As you wish.’
This was too much! ‘Is there a point you wish to make, Molly?’
‘No, ma’am.’
