Most in society thought him miserly by living on Gracechurch Street, but his needs were simple. “For what does a man alone in the world require of a stylish house in the middle of Mayfair? Such a house would be more to impress the world rather than to speak to his goodness. I would rather the funds be spent on those struggling to survive or those needing their own leg up in the world.” After he rushed inside, he handed off his hatand gloves to his butler. His body screamed for rest, and so Benjamin said, “I am more than a bit exhausted, Mr. Patterson. I believe I will rest for a couple of hours. Please wake me in time for a proper meal before I must be at Parliament.”
“Absolutely, my lord.” Patterson placed Benjamin’s hat and gloves in the nearby cabinet.
“That reminds me,” he told Patterson. “I will require a new umbrella.”
“Did you lose another one, my lord?” Patterson asked with a smile. Benjamin was infamous for placing his umbrella down and forgetting to retrieve it. His staff were known to fetch them from Duncan Place or the homes of his brothers.
“I actually presented the one today to a young lady who I, quite literally, nearly knocked down when we bumped into each other. She was on her way to her position in a drapery shop.”
“An enchanting young lady?” Patterson teased. The man had been the valet to the last Lord Louis Thompson, Benjamin’s uncle and the previous earl. As Duncan had seen to a valet for Benjamin when he had gone to live at Duncan Place, Benjamin had promoted Patterson to the position of butler at Macalhey House. Naturally, Benjamin did very little entertaining, with the exception of his brothers and Duncan, but it was best to have a proper staff in place. He was, after all, an earl, not a man who lived in Cheapside to be near his warehouses.
He found himself smiling when he thought of Miss Whitchurch. “Enchanting indeed, but it is not as if a lord of the land might call upon a shop girl.”
Mr. Patterson bowed in respect. “As you say, my lord, yet, I wonder what might be the advantage of being a lord if you have more restrictions on you than do your staff? I know for a fact your uncle, the previous Lord Thompson, would act upon his interests.”
Benjamin did not respond beyond a shrug. Instead, he climbed the steps to his quarters. When he laid out across his bed a quarter hourlater, an image of Miss Whitchurch filled his mind. He wondered what might be her Christian name. “Something majestic,” he murmured as he rolled to his side to claim a few hours of rest.
He was temptedto stifle a yawn when one of the pages serving those attending Parliament on this day tapped softly on Benjamin’s shoulder. “Pardon, my lord,” the page whispered. Without another word, Benjamin claimed the note from the salver the page carried. He glanced to where both Navan Beaufort and Alexander Dutton were seated. They, too, had received similar messages.
Ironically, they all three knew the notes were from Duncan. As if rehearsed, they each palmed the message and rose as unobtrusively as possible. Beaufort climbed the steps to a passageway on the left and disappeared through a side door.
Alexander rose when there was a change in speakers and moved towards a different passage than had Beaufort.
Before the speaker began his objections to the bill being discussed, Benjamin rose and stepped around Lord Monroe, who whispered, “A note from Duncan?”
“Yes, sir,” Benjamin confirmed with a small smile. “We are not too conspicuous, are we?”
Monroe grinned. “There is not a man in the room who would respond differently.”
Benjamin shot a glance about the chamber. “I am counting on you to keep me informed.”
“As always, my lord.”
Benjamin made his way towards a side exit on the right only to find Beaufort and Marksman waiting for him. He had not yet readDuncan’s note, but there was no need, for Beaufort said, “Titan has brought Duncan a coat, and they all think it is the one the shooter wore.”
“Finally,” Benjamin growled as they fell in step together. “I was beginning to believe we had all imagined the same event.”
“An event that has turned into a nightmare,” Beaufort remarked, as he walked off towards where his coach waited.
