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"Late as well."
Rem's eyes widened as if a brilliant notion had just occurred to him. "Being that both our associates have evidently been detained, can I interest you in joining me for a glass of claret?"
"C-Certainly."
Seated in the inn's coffee room, Rem casually crossed one leg over the other and savored his drink. "I'm pleased to see you looking so well, Goddfrey. I was terribly sorry to hear about your recent misfortune."
Goddfrey started. "Pardon me?"
"Your ship. A terrible loss."
"Oh, yes ... my ship." Goddfrey seemed to relax. "Well, 'twas far from the first that's gone down."
"True, but I gather that you've been particularly hard hit. Isn't this the fourth ship you've lost?"
"Yes."
"Thank goodness there is insurance to cover such devastating mishaps. Have you collected already?"
"No, Gresham, I haven't." Goddfrey gulped down his drink and ordered another, polishing it off in record time. He signaled for a third glass of claret. "Who did you say you were meeting?"
"An old navy chum, actually. We haven't seen each other in years. It doesn't surprise me that he's yet to arrive— Broderick is notoriously late." Abruptly, Rem leaned forward. "Forgive my presumptuousness, Goddfrey, but if a snail loan would help make things easier until the insurance is paid, I'd be happy to—"
"No!" Goddfrey leapt to his feet. "I'm not taking another cent!" Sweat dotted his forehead. "Who sent you, Gresham? Wh
y are you offering me money?"
Rem blinked, "What do you mean? I'm only proposing-"
"Are you working with Knollwood? Did he pay you to track me down? Is that what this chance meeting is all about?"
"Sit down Goddfrey," Rem said quietly. "No one sent me. But perhaps it's fortunate we did run into each other. Your drink has arrived. Finish it. Then tell me who Knollwood is and why he so desperately wants to find you."
Goddfrey sank back down, shaking. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"I don't recall cheating you in the past." Rem grinned. "Not even at whist; and you are perhaps the worst card player I've ever met. I think you also know me to be extremely discreet—with my reputation, I have to be." Rem's grin faded. "Besides, it appears to me that you have to trust someone."
The viscount didn't smile, but he did toss off his drink. "He's a parasite, Gresham. A filthy bastard who makes his living off pathetic souls like me. I owe him a bloody fortune . . . and I can't pay it."
"How much do you owe him?"
"Two hundred thousand pounds. I kept praying for a miracle. . . . None occurred."
Silently, Rem studied Goddfrey's bent head. "Certainly your insurance pays enough—"
"Not in time. Knollwood wants his money now." Goddfrey laughed bitterly. "The ironic thing is, I dispatched that last ship posthaste because the merchant whose cargo it carried was willing to pay me an exorbitant sum of money to do so. It held three English-built carriages, and evidently, the American importer for whom they were destined had a very urgent, very rich customer awaiting their arrival," Goddfrey buried his head in his hands. "I should have checked the ship more thoroughly... had a carpenter go through it, especially in light of all the sea disasters. But I didn't. I needed that money so badly, I silenced my own conscience. Dozens of men are dead now because of my greed, and I've lost the finest captain I ever had."
"Who is this merchant?"
"Hayes."
A dead end. Rem knew Hayes well. He was as decent a man as they came. A sudden possibility gnawed at the edges of Rem's mind. "This Knollwood—did he know you hadn't the time to check your ship?"
"I assume so ... why?"
Because,
Rem thought, perhaps the bloodsucker's crimes are far more sinister than extortion. "I was just wondering if he expected you to bolt—the combination of guilt and pressure would be too much for many men to handle." "I cannot go back, Gresham." Tears filled Goddfrey's eyes, "I have nothing to offer him in terms of payment... nothing."
