Redfield raised an eyebrow. “And you usually bring your wife with you to business meetings?”
“You heard her,” Nathan sneered. “She is the real mastermind in her family.”
“Although I have been able to make more inroads with my father’s former associates since marrying the Duke, Lord Cain is still far outpacing me in terms of acquisitions,” Rosalie said. She seemed to have recovered from the scotch because her eyes were no longer smarting. “I need to find a new income route, and quickly, if I am to keep my father’s businesses running.”
“And you think that I would be able to help you?”
“We know there has been an influx of opium in your estate,” Nathan said frankly. “My duchy is right next door, and it has not been difficult for my men to discover this. The men who came to me about this seemed to think that it was happening underneath your nose—that you were being duped by criminals who were using the networks your father set up.
“But I suspect that you know more than you let on—not only that you know more, but that you are, in fact, instrumental in it. I can’t imagine that the son of the late Lord Redfield wouldn’t be profiting from such a lucrative income stream on his land.”
Redfield smiled noncommittally. “As it happens, I am aware of what is happening on my land,” he said after a moment. “Those who are importing and distributing the opium have not exactly been subtle, and I have familiarized myself enough with my father’s systems that I know when they are being used without my permission.”
Nathan felt his heart hammer in his chest.Without his permission? Does that mean he really isn’t involved in the criminal enterprise? That he is innocent?
Rosalie clearly seemed to be wondering the same thing because she asked, her eyes narrowed, “Are you denying that you are involved in the opium smuggling?”
“I’m denying or admitting nothing,” Redfield said. “I’m merely saying that the business was started without my knowledge. I am, however, aware of it now.
“And surely you are not just allowing it to take place without taking your own cut?” she asked contemptuously. “You wouldn’t be so foolish as to let such an opportune business opportunity pass, would you?”
Redfield smiled indulgently then looked at Nathan. “Do you always allow your wife to speak so boldly?”
Nathan felt himself bristle, and he knew it had nothing to do with the act they were putting on. “My wife does not need permission to speak,” he growled, and the smile melted very quickly from Redfield’s face.
Nathan had heard it, too: the warning in his voice—the warning that anyone who tried to cross him or insult his wife would be met with the full force of his revenge. A warm feeling spread throughout Nathan’s chest, and he looked protectively at his wife.
No one says anything against her, ever.
“I will speak frankly,” Nathan said, turning back to Redfield. “The Duchess and I are interested in investing in the opium business. We believe that you are intimately involved in the production and trade of the drug and, more importantly, that you reap a great profit from it. But profits, as we know, can always be bigger. And the money that we are prepared to invest in the business—after a careful review of the business plan, of course—would undoubtedly increase your profit greatly.
“Of course, we can’t know the exact number until we have discussed the details with you, but we do know that the infrastructure we could build with the investment would be extraordinarily helpful in spreading the drug to all corners of England and beyond.”
Nathan looked at Rosalie, and he was overcome with the desire to take her hand. He resisted.
“With my wife’s knowledge of the criminal underground, my own reputation for getting my way in business negotiations, and the supply and trade networks you have already established, I believe that we can all become very wealthy.”
Nathan set his snifter down on the tabletop with a decisivethud.His eyes bore into Redfield’s.
“We will go now and allow you to think about everything we have proposed. Just know that this offer won’t last forever. We cannot waste time, and if you are not interested, then we will find a different means of expanding our empire.”
He turned to Rosalie and held out his arm. She understood. Standing, she came to him and linked her arm with his.
“Goodbye, Lord Redfield,” she said. “We hope to hear from you soon.”
As they left the house, Nathan had to resist the urge to grab his wife and kiss her. He didn’t know if they had fooled the Marquess, but he did know that Rosalie had put on the performance of a lifetime. If they were able to stop the opium trade, then it would be thanks to her.
Chapter Thirteen
“You were incredible,” the Duke said, the moment they crossed the threshold back into their Castle. “Incredible!”
Rosalie laughed, shaking her head as she stared up into the look of admiration and shock on her husband’s face. She was still vibrating, truthfully. She had never, ever done something like that in her life before, and she couldn’t quite believe it had happened.
“I barely even remember it,” she said, laughing again as she tried to summon the memory of speaking to Lord Redfield. “It all passed in a blur!”
“Well, if you need to give you a blow-by-blow summary, I can, because you were unbelievable. I never knew you could do something like that!”
“Well, you are just getting to know me,” Rosalie said, giggling at the force of her husband’s praise. It was a bit disconcerting. She was used to him being taciturn and cold, not heaping praise on her. “But also… I never knew I had that in me, either. I was trying to channel a heroine in a novel, but I didn’t know I could actually do it.”
