“Good. We’re looking for mention of the Darbyham title or Ravenshaw family.” Sebastian scratched the side of his brow while trying to recall. “There was some sort of scandal earlier this year, but I cannot recall when exactly it took place. Something to do with the Crown? There might have been a hanging.”
Leaning forward, Fernsworth gaped at him. “You don’t know? But you married her!” It took a heartbeat of them staring at each other for the young man to realize his impolite behavior. He flushed and moved his brown curls from his face. “Er, Your Grace.”
Sebastian didn’t mind the outburst, clearly having caught him by surprise.
However, he did mind that it must have been quite the scandal to make its way out of London and here. And for someone in his household to already know about it didn’t sit well with him.
Perhaps I should have looked into her family before the marriage. But we had to move in haste. It was clear there was something amiss judging from the whispers being spread, but I was too distracted to pay them any mind. Besides, what are rumors but wishful lies?
He let out a slow breath. “All right. Tell me everything while we look for the articles. I want to know everything.”
“Oh, you won’t find much here,” Fernsworth said while grabbing the first paper to carefully unfold. “Most of what I know comes from Mrs. Maple’s cousin, Hester Smith, who works as a chambermaid in a solicitor’s London office. They exchanged letters.”
Paper crinkled in his hands. He noted the January date and inwardly sighed before redirecting his listening ears to the footman. “Do you recall when it began?”
“Not until after the vegetable garden started to unfreeze. We were getting some cabbage by then, so it would have to be after March. Or maybe we had the asparagus at that point. That would be May.”
Food was important to Fernsworth, Sebastian presumed. “Which one is it?”
“I can’t be certain. But we were talking about it through part of the summer, I remember. There was a court case, you see.”
“A legal scandal?”
Fernsworth moved further to the edge of the sofa while Sebastian sorted through the January and February papers to set those aside. There were only six or so per month, as they came from different distributors.
“Indeed. The Earl of Darbyham only has two children, a daughter and a son,” the footman explained. “Her Ladyship and the earl’s heir.”
Sebastian grew concerned for a moment as he realized that the staff knew of the scandal tied to his wife and how they might treat her. But then he recalled the laughter he had heard in the halls. The smiles on his staff. No, Isabel was just fine here. Safe, even. Coming here was a good thing for her.
“Very well. It had something to do with the heir and the Crown, yes?”
“Precisely, Your Grace!” Fernsworth looked thrilled to be sharing the story. His eyes widened and he beamed as he carried on. “It was through gambling dens and horse betting and unsavory investments that connected the heir to the throne.”
He frowned. “The Prince Regent? Prinny?”
Setting aside several papers he had sorted through, the footman nodded and then hesitated. “Indirectly, but yes. The charge was embezzling from the Crown. The heir made markers and promises with Prinny twice, along with other representatives of the Royal family. He offered exchanges with false gold and counterfeits and bad cheques. It carried on for nearly two years before anyone realized that it was a pattern of bad behavior and fake money.”
“What happened to him after the case? The heir?”
“Thomas Ravenshaw, eldest child of John Ravenshaw, the fourth Earl of Darbyham, was not hanged nor sent to prison.” Fernsworth sighed as he leaned back into the sofa. His gaze went elsewhere. There was something else on his mind, apparently, as he fell quiet for a spell. It gave Sebastian a minute to review another paper where he finally caught reference in a title from last May. “But he wasn’t acquitted.”
Sebastian glanced up. “No? Then what happened?”
“That’s just it, I’m afraid. We don’t quite know. There was reference of restitution. Lands were being taken from the Earl to the Crown. But they couldn’t take away the title or country seat. Before they could offer the final sentencing, the heir, Thomas, disappeared.”
“So?”
Fernsworth shrugged. “They refused to finish the sentencing without him present. Financial restitution has been made. Or most of it, at least. The case fizzled out then. That’s why it disappeared from the papers. We kept an eye out for it through the summer. But by the time we were done with everything but the winter berries, well… There was nothing in the papers.”
There were questions that he couldn’t answer, so Sebastian worked with him to sort through the rest of the papers. The footman’s reading ability wasn’t strong, but Sebastian pointed out a few tips along the way. They read through the papers until he had reviewed everything.
“Thank you,” he told Fernsworth. “I’ve kept you long enough. Can you return the rest of the papers to storage?”
Nodding, the footman picked up the box. He had grown much more relaxed during their two hours together, chattering away and confessing his interest in gardening––particularly horseradish. “Yes, I sure can, Your Grace. Thank you for letting me work with you today. You’re not at all like what people say.”
What the devil is he talking about?
Sebastian slowly straightened up from where he had been putting the twelve newspapers in chronological order. “I beg your pardon?”
