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“Not as far as I can tell. From what I know of the lady, she is intelligent but too soft hearted for her own good. Wagner has been pursuing her, and she hasn’t yet managed to dissuade him.” Gilbert paused and shook his head. “This is the reason why ladies aren’t supposed to start traipsing about the world without a male escort. It has nothing to do with their capabilities. Well perhaps a little, but not their worthiness or intelligence. They just aren’t able to properly defend themselves. If she isn’t careful, one of these days she will be caught by one of these cads who is just after her money. And then she’ll be stuck.”
Florent opened his mouth to ask further but thought better of it. Despite Gilbert’s assurance that she wasn’t involved and that she was only being pursued by the bounder for her money, Florent wasn’t prepared to make any sort of declaration. Perhaps he had grown old and staid. Changing his ways was going to take some effort.
“What are we looking for?” he asked instead.
“Your sister and my idiot brother left the cotton here. Which wasn’t the idiotic part. That was as it should be. We didn’t want to alert the criminals any sooner than we had to. But now I and the Customs officers want to see it for ourselves.”
“So, we’re here to verify that the cotton is still here?” Florent persisted, wondering why they were all needed for this activity.
Gilbert shrugged, nodded, and grinned at Florent’s seemingly incredulous reaction.
“Did you think we’d be catching them in broad daylight, then? What did you think we were coming here to do? Would you have rathered to go off and explore the ruins with everyone else?”
Heat climbed up the back of Florent’s neck. As a matter of fact, he probably would have preferred that. This didn’t seem like it was going to be a terribly productive use of his time. He would rather be watching over Wagner. That prompted his next question.
“Who is keeping an eye on Mr. Wagner? If he’s truly under suspicion, should we be leaving him to traipse about with our women?”
“You don’t have a woman to worry about, Flor,” Gilbert pointed out with a chuckle.
“Have you forgotten that my mother and sister are with your wives?”
“Foster is more capable than you’d expect,” Lord Adelaide answered soothingly. “Your sister will do well with him.”
Florent tried to agree with the viscount, but it was hard to think of the boy he’d known growing up as a suitable mate for his favorite sister. For any of his sisters really. It was hard to see any of the Northcott boys as grown-up men when he’d known them since they were all snivelling boys playing with frogs. He couldn’t help but laugh at the direction his thoughts were going in.
“It’s hard to accept that,” Florent excused.
“I know. Believe me,” Lord Adelaide said. “I’ve been struggling to accept that any of us have turned into men, including you and me.”
They shared a grin just before they entered the first cave.
“It’s just as Frost and Daisy described,” Gilbert called out, making Florent clench his jaw over the reminder that his sister had involved herself in something so dangerous. “Don’t be angry, Flor,” Gilbert added. “She did a good thing.”
“You don’t have sisters; you can’t possibly understand.”
“That’s true,” Gilbert agreed with a grin. “But I needed help with this, and she gave it without my even asking.”
“Would you have asked a gently bred woman?” Florent was aghast.
“No,” Gilbert responded immediately. “But after the fact, rather than being upset about it, I can see my way clear to be happy that she did. Being angry is only going to complicate matters. I did ask my brother to look into things while I wrapped up something else. I don’t necessarily agree with his methods, but he got it done.” Gilbert paused for a moment and then cast Florent a knowing glance. “I might add that we all know your sister and her inability to stay out of things.”
Florent couldn’t argue with that, so he kept his mouth shut and his lantern elevated as he approached the covered mound in the back of the cave.
He had almost not believed it could be real. He had never known a true threat to his livelihood in all the time he’d been working to right his family’s financial situation. It felt for a moment as though he had been kicked in the stomach – something that had once happened to him when he had been training a horse. That hadn’t been the horse’s fault and had therefore not felt so personal. This felt very personal. Someone was threatening him and his family. It didn’t matter that the caves weren’t on Alcott land nor that he didn’t yet know if anyone at Alcott was involved. Everleigh hadn’t yet started to experiment with cotton, so it wasn’t nearly as personal for the Earl.
Florent wasn’t sure if he felt like weeping or raging. He would never cry, so rage would have to be uppermost. Not that it would help. He took a deep breath to quell all reactions. Becoming any sort of emotional wasn’t going to help them clear this matter up.
“What can I do?” he asked quietly.
Gilbert didn’t pretend to misunderstand his question. “Agents have already gone to Alcott to ask around.”
Florent was shocked. “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“Because you were coming with us. And it’s better if you aren’t there. It’s much more likely the agents will get more candid reactions than if the lord is present.”
“But I’m not the lord,” Florent protested.
“Not yet, maybe, but you’re as good as in this case. I promise we’ll keep you appraised of whatever is said or takes place, but it’s better this way for the first steps. Then, based on what the agents find out, you can take the next steps on your own lands. The same is being done with all the landowners hereabouts. This isn’t personal, Florent.”
