Page 42 of With Good Grace
‘I much prefer to know; much good it does us in our quest to find Sir Hubert.’ Olivia rested her chin on her clenched fist and sighed. ‘Do you suppose he knew what Marcus was doing?’
‘Miss DuBois says she had little contact with him, but I suspect he did know. We can safely assume he has not uncovered the material or he would have attempted to entice Miss Aspinet alaway from Barber.’
‘He wouldn’t need to actually hold the evidence,’ Parker mused. ‘All he need do was drop a word or two in the right ear, repeating what was in it…’
‘Of course!’ Jake slapped his thigh, causing droplets of whiskey to fall on his trousers. ‘Why did I not think of that?’
Parker grinned. ‘Well, what can I say…’
‘Sir Hubert probably knew that his brother held something over the principal actors; indeed I dare say he could not help boasting about it, in the strictest confidence, to his closest allies. But he was wily and most likely would not have revealed the precise nature of what he knew; not even to his own brother. When more than two people know a secret it is no longer a secret.’
Olivia nodded. ‘Yes, Marcus always did play his cards close to his chest. So we must assume that Miss DuBoishasactually kept the damaging evidence. There is nowhere else it could be.’
‘So,’ Parker said, standing. ‘We know how he did it but not where the evidence is, or where Sir Hubert is either.’
‘Even so, we are much further forward than we were this time yesterday,’ Jake replied calmly.
‘I’ll tell cook to serve dinner,’ Parker said, leaving the room.
Jake remained seated opposite Olivia, sipping at his whiskey as his gaze rested contemplatively upon her face. He seemed comfortable with the silence but it made Olivia nervous, compelling her to speak.
‘What now?’ she asked.
‘We continue our search for Sir Hubert. That is all we ever intended to do and yet we have become side-tracked. Hopefully Lady Grantley will be able to tell us something about the missing paintings. That might lead us to him.’ Jake sent her an inquisitive look. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘You look pensive.’
‘It’s what Parker just said about not actually having to possess the evidence in order to profit from it. It made me wonder whether we should contact Lady Marchant and ask her if Hubert has been in touch with her, claiming to have possession of those letters. Just knowing that they exist and what devastating damage they could do to Lady Marchant would be enough to make her pay for his silence, I would imagine.’
‘True.’ Jake acknowledged the point by canting his head. ‘If he actually knows of their existence, which is far from certain. He might have been looking for his brother’s confidential papers regarding his illustrious clients.’
Olivia exhaled slowly. ‘We know nothing, really,’ she said despondently. ‘It is all conjecture and supposition on our part.’
‘Marchant is twenty-five years his wife’s senior. It caused quite a stir when he married an actress one year to the day after the death of his first wife. His grown children, I understand, despise her and would love an opportunity to show their father that he has made a massive fool of himself.’
‘Lord Marchant is very rich, I believe.’
‘He is indeed. His four children are all wastrels who are dependent upon his generosity, so they have to mind what they say about his wife, with whom Marchant is besotted. But, if he even suspected that she had lain with another man, I don’t doubt that he would throw her to the wolves, especially if the graphic nature of the letters she wrote to your husband fell into the public domain. Marchant is very proud and would become a laughing stock because men of his ilk simply do not marry another man’s leftovers.’
‘Surely he would have known when…well, when he first took her to bed.’
Jake chuckled. ‘A wily female could probably find a way to fake such a thing. I am sure I do not need to spell it out for you.’
Actually he did, but Olivia thought it better to steer clear of that particular conversation.
‘Dinner is served,’ Parker said from the open doorway.
‘Come.’
Jake stood and offered Olivia his arm. She placed her hand on it and they walked together into the small salon, where a table had been set for two in front of the window. Olivia was glad. That cavernous dining room would have been a ridiculously elaborate setting for the two of them. This was far more intimate. Had this been on Jake’s orders, or was it Parker’s work?
Parker served them himself; the only servant in the room. Only now, he fell back on his training, refrained from joining in their conversation and was seen and not heard.
‘You have not eaten much,’ Jake remarked when the final course was removed. ‘Are you unwell?’
‘No, Jake, not unwell, but these stays are impossibly tight.’
Jake laughed. ‘That is easily resolved.’ He stood and helped her up from her chair. ‘We shall be more comfortable in the other room.'
Parker served them both with coffee, Jake with brandy, and then tactfully withdrew, closing the door quietly behind him.
