As Luck Would Have It (36 page)

Sophie considered that for moment, then said, “I can understand the rationale of that, I suppose, but why the elaborate ruse? Why not simply introduce us in the normal manner, at a ball or a dinner?”

William shook his head. “Mary and I agreed that both of you were too stubborn to take kindly to blatant matchmaking. You would have been bored by the formalities and indignant over the mechanisms. So I formulated an alternate means of bringing the two of you together.”

“I’m still indignant,” Alex pointed out. “Sophie?”

“Oh, rather.”

“Yes, but it’s too late, isn’t it?” Mrs. Summers stated pertly. “You’re already in love.”

Sophie had no intention of having a discussion on that theme. “But why lead me to believe I was working for the Prince Regent?” she asked. “Why not team us together at the start?”

William looked at Alex. “If I had suggested you look into a
French conspiracy with a young woman of no experience, who didn’t speak French—”

“I would have been suspicious,” Alex admitted reluctantly.

“There you go,” William declared. “The plan was to have Alex catch you, Sophie, in the act of sneaking—”

“Why all the other gentlemen?” Sophie demanded. “You could have sent me to spy on Alex alone and left everyone else out of this. For that matter, you could have left me out of it. All you needed, apparently, was for Alex to seek me out.”

Sophie looked to William for an answer. William looked to Mrs. Summers. And Mrs. Summers, very pointedly, did not look at Sophie when she said, “You needed something to do.”

“What does that mean?”

Mrs. Summers heaved a dramatic sigh. “Really, dear, how long do you suppose you would have been content running about town, playing the debutante?”

“I—”

“You would have had us both packed and headed for parts unknown within days, unless you were given something to keep you occupied…and in town.”

“That is not true!” Sophie declared firmly. “Not necessarily,” she added, a little less firmly. “Oh, very well,” she concluded, in defeat. “You’re probably right.”

Alex leaned over and patted her knee, but wisely kept his opinion to himself. “Prinny has nothing to do with this, has he?” he asked William.

“Not a thing,” William replied.

“Why didn’t you simply send me to spy on Alex?” Sophie asked, still hopelessly confused.

This time, Mrs. Summers looked to William, who very pointedly looked at Alex. “It was assumed that Alex would catch you too quickly. It was
assumed
he would catch you crawling in and out of people’s homes eventually, of course, but by then it would be clear whether or not you would suit. Perhaps you’d join forces against Loudor and—”

Alex coughed into his fist uncomfortably.

“My cousin,” Sophie murmured. “He isn’t a Napoleon sympathizer then, is he?”

“No,” William responded. “Most of the men the two of you were investigating were never suspected of treason. They are either old school chums of mine or they owed me a favor or two. The exception would be Lord Heransly, whose involvement in this has come as a late development. As for Lord Loudor, his love for the French doesn’t extend past his brandy and the cut of his waistcoat. His interest in Whitefield, however, was very real.”

“Oh.” Sophie felt a wash of disappointment come over her. For a moment, she had hoped Loudor could be redeemed. She didn’t have enough family left not to grab at the chance to keep a cousin.

Alex gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I assume he was responsible for the men who attacked us last night.”

William nodded. “Whit and I went to your town house yesterday, Sophie, and found the documents detailing the conditions of Whitefield’s transfer—documents you should not have kept to yourself, by the way. We proceeded to Loudor’s last night to confront him with that evidence. That, along with your disappearance, was enough to have me worried. We found him in the midst of a rather heated argument with your failed kidnappers—rather reasonable chaps as it happens. Loudor decided he would rather give us a full confession than spend further time in their company. They sent their apologies, by the way, Sophie. Seems they have large families and were rather desperate—”

“They hit her over the head!” Alex roared.

“Yes, well, I said they were reasonable, not clever. At any rate,” William continued, wisely changing the subject “Loudor admitted to becoming quite nervous as your popularity with several gentlemen began to grow. He sent your erstwhile kidnappers to the Thurston house party with instructions to keep you hidden away until time ran out for you to take a husband and cancel the contract on Whitefield.”

“They followed me to London,” Sophie guessed.

“Well, they really more chased you to London, as it took them a bit of time to realize you’d snuck away. Found you walking just by your house and opted to abduct you inside.”

“But Alex and I escaped.”

“So you did. Unfortunately, you went to Whitefield, which was the original destination for your captivity.”

“Yes, that would be my luck,” Sophie muttered.

Alex just growled.

“And that,” William continued saying, “is where you were attacked by the group of men Lord Heransly insisted on hiring to follow the first two men. They had instructions to, shall we say, finalize matters should such extreme measures become necessary.”

Sophie gulped.

Alex growled louder.

“Where is my cousin now?” Sophie asked.

“On his way to Australia.”

“I see. But I found entries in Lord Forent’s ledger that matched the sums stolen from Whitefield, They were attributed to his son, Lord Heransly.”

“Ah, yes. I was curious myself as to how Loudor could steal so much money and have so little to show for it. Lord Heransly held a great many of your cousin’s vowels, you see, and Heransly owed his father a great deal of money for the support of numerous by-blows. The earl reminded his son the estate was entailed, but not the funds to sustain it. Its worth is at least four times that of Whitefield, no offense, my dear.”

“None taken.”

“But—and this is the one case in which treason has been committed—Heransly quickly tired of delivering the funds straight from Loudor to his father. With a few clever excuses, he held back some of the payments and used them to finance a smuggling adventure. The arms and information sort, I’m afraid.”

“You didn’t know of this?” Alex inquired.

“The operation, as I said earlier, was a recent development. Hernasly’s ship hadn’t yet made its maiden voyage. Thanks to the two of you, it never will. He too is being packed off to Australia.”

“Oh…good.” Really, what else could she say? Except maybe, “Your plan is the single most
ridiculous
thing I have ever heard.”

Mrs. Summers sniffed and took a sip of tea. “I told you it was a bit much, William. Too many details, you know.”

Insulted, William straightened in his seat. “Worked, didn’t it? God is in the details, after all.”

“It’s a wonder we aren’t overrun with the French,” Sophie muttered.

“Are there any other questions?” William asked, ignoring her completely, and with the clear hope that his job was now done.

Sophie effectively squashed that hope. “What of the letters I found in Lord Calmaton’s study?”

William’s face suddenly broke into a large grin. “It would seem that my dear friend Richard is a talented poet with a romantic bent. The letters were submissions to the small but rather popular publication,
Le Journal de Prosateur
. He was quite delightfully embarrassed when I returned them to him.”

Mortified, she groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

“Now, now my dear, no need for that. The man knew you would be snooping about the room. He should have taken better care to hide his little secret. He has only himself to blame and holds no grudge against you. Wanted to know what you thought of them, actually.”

“What did you tell him?” she mumbled into her hands.

“The truth, that you can’t read French. I’m still not certain if he was more relieved or disappointed. Is there anything else?”

“You might want to explain the butler to her,” Alex advised.

“James, right. After Lord Loudor’s removal from your home, I thought it best to put a man in place until I worked out exactly what your cousin was about. Penny was most instrumental in seeing him placed—”

Sophie’s head snapped up. “Penny? Penny’s a spy?”

“No, dear,” William stated. “Just the granddaughter of a retired comrade, who needed a little extra money. Every precaution was taken to see you safe and well settled in London. Mr. Wang insisted upon it—”

“Mr. Wang, too?” This time her voice came out a choked whisper.

“He did work for the war office for a few years. How did you think he came by the peculiar skills he’s passed on to you? He’s been mostly in London since your arrival. He insisted on being readily available should we, or you, need him. But then he thought you’d be safe enough at Haldon Hall, and went to see his friends in Wales.”

Sophie wanted to say that she had asked Mr. Wang how he came to know how to pick locks and throw knifes, and that he had given her the vague, but still satisfactory, answer that his grandfather had taught him. But her mouth seemed strangely disconnected from her brain and all she managed was to repeat, “Mr. Wang?” in that same strangled voice.

Alex reached over and took her hand. The small contact served to bring her back to the present, and in a much healthier voice she demanded, “Is everyone a spy?”

“No one’s a spy, dear,” William assured her. “They are simply acquaintances and friends of mine who either owed me a favor, or —”

“I’m a spy,” Alex pointed out reasonably.

“Well, yes,” William conceded. “But only on the rare occasion that—”

“I thought you preferred ‘agent,’” Sophie commented distractedly.

“You needn’t make it sound like a hobby,” Alex said by way of replying to William’s remark.

William groaned and ran his hand down his face. “
Ye s
, Alex performs the role of agent for the Crown from time to time. It is his duty to his title. However, it is not and will not be an occupation he pursues on a full-time basis, at least not until there is an heir to the dukedom.”

“Not even then,” Sophie muttered.

William ignored her. “No one else, however, is a spy.”

“I can’t believe this,” Sophie murmured.

Alex stood. “I can. You!” he snapped at William, “Outside. Now.”

“Alex, don’t,” Sophie pleaded, eyeing the older gentleman with concern.

“Let them go, dear,” Mrs. Summers advised.

“How can you say that?” Sophie demanded as the two men left the room.

Mrs. Summers appeared unmoved. “It is the duke’s right. I should be concerned if he didn’t at least make a show of retribution. Deathbed vow or not, if one puts one’s nose where it doesn’t belong, one should expect it might come out the worse for wear.”

“You’re guilty as well,” Sophie pointed out.

“Yes, but not to the same degree. And I am a woman. He can’t very well break my nose. You, however, may choose not to speak to me for several days, if that is your wish.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Generous of you.”

They sat in awkward silence for a full minute, Mrs. Summers sipping her tea and Sophie’s mind still racing over the events of the day. Then—

“I would never have left!” Sophie cried, nearly before she had even completed the thought in her head. She turned to her companion in a combination of outrage and confusion. “You know very well I never would have dragged you out of London merely because I had gotten bored, not with you visiting old friends and so clearly enjoying yourself. How could you think I would be so selfish?”

Mrs. Summers set down her drink, sighed, and, unless Sophie
was mistaken, cringed just a little. “I don’t believe you to be selfish, dear. I know you are not, but…oh dear, I had rather hoped you would be too distracted with everything else going on to question my excuse overmuch. I’m not very good at lying, you know.”

“You were lying?”

“Perhaps, a little. There was a last-minute change of plan, you see,” Mrs. Summers explained. “We had to…shuffle things about a bit. William knew your cousin was pilfering from your father’s coffers, but didn’t realize the extent of his treachery, or the damage it had caused, until after we had left China. There was a letter waiting for me at one of our stops, detailing the condition the estate was in and…well, I knew you would never take the money from me, but if you thought it was coming from the prince—”

“It was
your
money?” Sophie demanded. “Your twenty thousand pounds?”

“Don’t be silly, dear. How on earth would I come to have twenty thousand pounds?…It was to be ten thousand.”

“Ten….”

“Without proof, you would have been given ten thousand pounds for your troubles.”

She
had
found proof, but it seemed to Sophie a relatively minor point at the moment. “But that money is yours, Mrs. Summers. You—”

“It most certainly is not,” Mrs. Summers snapped, slapping one bony hand angrily against her thigh. “Honestly, child, am I family, as you are so fond of saying, or am I not?”

Sophie blinked, taken aback at the vehement tone. “Of course, you are, but—”

“Very good. There is no reason, then, to have been paying me an enormous fee these last twenty years, and there is no reason you cannot accept assistance from a family member.”

Assistance was no longer needed, of course, but that fact could not hope to dim the generosity of Mrs. Summers’ offer.

Sophie took her friend’s hand and enclosed it in her own. “You have gone through a great deal of trouble. For me, for my father, for all of us. Thank you.” She gave her a peck on the cheek. “I love you very much.”

Before the tears shining in Mrs. Summers’ eyes could began to fall, Sophie added, “But should you ever again take it into your head to manipulate me like a puppet on a string, I shall indeed break your nose.”

William followed Alex into a side yard with a tall wall that afforded some mea sure of privacy.

“Before you commence with the breaking of any bones,” William stated calmly. “May I point out that Sophie was never in any real danger from my plans?…Also, I am an old man.”