Page 22 of An Enchantress for an Earl

“They agreed to the demonstration idea.”

“That’s good. I had best contact Ibbetson again, and get him here as soon as possible.”

“Yes – I told the Lords that it would take a week or more to arrange, as the man has to travel – even if it’s not all that far, it is near winter, and the roads will not be good.”

Arryn took a steadying breath – he needed to ask his father for more detail about exactly what had been discussed when the committee’s report had been presented to the House of Lords. But he could not put himself in a position where he appeared interested beyond normal. That threatening note lay locked in one of his desk drawers, and whoever had sent it would hear soon enough, if they hadn’t already, that what had been presented in the house was not what they had demanded.

“What did they have to say? Was my report enough to convince them that the committee will produce a result?”

His father gave a short bark of laughter.

“It’s enough to have convinced the others on the committee, but many of the Lords seem unwilling to believe that it is possible to create an ‘unforgeable’ bank note. We’ll have to hope that seeing the sample imitation notes and having it explained in more detail at the demonstration, will shift their opinions. A few of them, mostly the younger ones, seemed close to outright mocking of the possibility - almost as if they don’t expect anything to come of the committee at all.”

“That’s… disappointing.”

“It is. Some of them just can’t believe it’s possible – but then, some of them think that we should get rid of paper money completely, and go back to only using coin.”

“I doubt that’s even a faint possibility.”

“You are correct – after the wars and the rather profligate spending of our rulers, we’ve not enough gold on hand to do so at any time soon. We are working towards it, but I doubt that paper money will ever disappear – it’s far too convenient to carry, compared to coin, for a start.”

“I’ll send a messenger off to Ibbetson today – we’ll just have to hope that the demonstration convinces them. Where do you want to hold it?”

“I believe that we will be able to arrange the use of a room in Westminster Hall, for a few hours at least. And more of them are likely to attend if it’s there, as they will already be so close by. The parliamentary session will adjourn for the time required.”

“Very well – I will leave you to your planning, and write the letter to Ibbetson now.”

Arryn rose, sketched his father a bow, and left the room.

A deep sense of foreboding had settled into him – he knew that he was doing the right thing, knew that his father’s committee needed to present a truly workable solution to the forgery issues, yet he felt certain that whoever had sent that threatening note would not be so easily defied – now that it had been made clear that the committee would not declare its task impossible, it was likely only a matter of time before the blackmailer acted.

Had he just set a course which would bring ruin to his sister?

The afternoon passed, and once the letter was on its way to Ibbetson, Arryn found himself consumed by worry, replaying in his mind everything that he had done, every possible option that he had considered, and ending up still where he was. Regardless of the cost, to himself and his family, he could not outright lie. And he could see no other way forward – he would simply have to be aware of everything, and watch for the blackmailer’s next move – although what could be done to combat the insidious nature of such things as rumours he did not know.

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“As forgeries go, this is a rather high-quality product.”

Lord Setford handed the paper back to Trent with a grim smile, and turned his piercing grey eyes towards the large windows which lined the wall opposite. Outside those windows, the rooftops of London stretched into the distance, blending into the haze of smoke from the fires which warmed almost every building. In winter, the city lived under a pall of soot, as its residents focussed on staying warm enough to survive.

Trent’s voice was a little harsh when he responded.

“I agree. Which makes me wonder just how many of these are now in circulation. If what Lady Violet saw is any indication - for Villeham to have handed his co-conspirator a bundle of the things suggests that there could be many.”

“Indeed – and tracking them down will be nigh on impossible. Although… perhaps a word in the ears of the right moneylenders will be a good place to start. If they know how to identify the forgeries, then they’ll check the notes they are paid with, and perhaps be able to tell my men which of the indebted Lords have been using these to pay off their debts.”

“That’s a good thought – but it won’t directly incriminate Villeham – unless we are very lucky.”

“True, but I do believe I have a better idea for that. Did you see his face when Westerhazy announced his committee’s progress in the House?”

“He covered it quickly, but what I saw for a few seconds was outright fear and anger – almost as if he had expected Westerhazy to say something different. Which was curious – why might he expect that?”

“I don’t know yet – but I will find out. I do believe that we can use this demonstration that Westerhazy has planned to trap the man. I cannot imagine that Villeham won’t attend – and we can watch him while he’s there. He may do something revealing. But we can also make sure that he has the opportunity to carry off one of the demonstration notes. Because if he does have a man tucked away somewhere doing the engraving and printing for him, then he’ll be desperate to show that man what is being proposed, and find out if he thinks he can copy it well enough for the results to pass in use.”

“That’s a sensible approach – and far better than anything I’d thought of. I’m assuming that you have men watching him now?”

“I do, but they’ve not been able to dog his steps all the time – that would have made them far too likely to be spotted. But with this…” he indicated the forged note “…all we’ll need is for my men to be ready to follow him closely, after the demonstration. If he doesn’t lead us to the man who does the work for him, and thus incriminate himself, I will need to come up with another idea – but for now, I am willing to be patient, and hope that nothing more drastic will be required.”