Page 152 of The Language of Love

“You believed I would be angry and feel betrayed, and that it would make our already rocky start even worse?” he guessed.

She nodded.

“I’m sorry I didn’t speak sooner, Annis. It took me far too long to see matters from your perspective.”

“And you know Leech is here?” she asked.

“Yes. His real name is Loring, and he is the preeminent counterfeiter of art and antiquities. If you need a painting copied, Loring is your man.”

“And his sister? What does she do?”

“Martha Loring is an artist, as well. She learned her trade from her father, Fritz Doehner, who was a jeweler in some Prussian dukedom until he got greedy and stole from his employer by counterfeiting pieces brought in for repair and sending paste replicas back in their place. He fled to England, where he continued his occupation, but with more success. Eventually, he brought his young daughter into the trade with him. It was Doehner who introduced Martha to her future husband, Richard Loring.”

Annis groaned. “He was married to her when he was pretending to court me, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. But—if it is any consolation—you are not the first woman he tricked and bilked. Not even close. The trail of victims is a long one.”

“How did you learn all this?”

“After speaking to Mr. Pears I hired a man to look into the Lorings.” He tucked a curly lock of hair behind her ear. “And I also hired him to lure the Lorings here.”

“What?”

“I knew the appeal of the relics and your presence would be too much for Loring to resist.”

“But why would you do that?”

“I wanted them to be punished for what they did to you and your grandmother, Annis. But here is the most interesting part, I didn’t need to lure the Lorings here, they were already coming to Stoke.”

“I don’t understand?”

“They’d already been hired to make counterfeits of the Stoke Relics.”

She gasped. “Good God, Henry! Who hired them?”

“Somebody close to the relics who could help the thieves enter the house and get into the notoriously difficult-to-rob vault.”

“Edmund?”

“That’s who I thought it was, but it turns out that I was wrong for a couple of reasons. First, Edmund is far too lazy and drunk most of the time. Second, Edmund still holds out—ever waning—hope of inheriting Stoke. If he sold the relics, he might very well risk losing Stoke if it were ever discovered. No, not Edmund, but one of his conspirators from years gone by, although relations have soured between them in the interim.”

“Julia?”

“You sound so surprised, my dear.”

“That’s because I am.”

“Why? Do you think women are not capable of thievery?”

“Not at all,” she said. “But why would she steal when she has a delightful house and enough money to live comfortably?” She frowned at him. “She does have enough to live on?”

“Oh, yes.” He didn’t tell her that he’d doubled the amount her husband had bequeathed her.

“Then why?”

“Julia doesn’t want a life of comfort. She wants one of luxury. In addition to getting rich by selling the relics, she could take Stoke away from me—a usurper.” He smiled. Judging by the way his wife recoiled, it was not a pleasant expression. “Julia could have just stolen the relics herself, but that would hardly have been any fun. No, it’s my guess that she will take the stolen goods, get herself safely away, and then alert the authorities to the fact that the relics in the vault were all forgeries that I was hoping to pass off as real. That way she could yank Stoke from my grubby fingers while branding me a thief at the same time.”

“Goodness! Why would she be so vindictive?”

“People hate worst the ones they harm—didn’t somebody famous say that?” he teased.

But, for once, she didn’t look diverted. “What a hateful person she must be. And she seems so genuine and helpful.”

“She is very good at appearing sweet and kind and caring,” he agreed grimly. Henry could still remember that night, when he’d truly believed he might end his life on a gibbet, or perhaps be transported to some brutal convict colony.

“What are you going to do, Henry?” she asked.

Henry smiled. “Not me, we. We are going to bring them to justice, my dear.”