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“Really,” he drawled, half in question, half acknowledging her words without having to alter his question.
“Yes, I would swear I could almost smell the scent of the countryside from her descriptions at times. Her ladyship is an excellent correspondent.”
“Did you feel unsafe travelling here from the continent? Is that why Mr. Wagner accompanied you?”
Again, there was the briefest hesitation while her gaze widened, and she shot him a glare before she resumed a pleasant mien.
“What would make you think he accompanied me? Just because we might have travelled from the same general direction does not mean we did it together,” she pointed out with dignity. “I have never felt unsafe while travelling. Except perhaps on a particularly stormy sea or some such,” she added with a light laugh. “I was actually surprised to encounter him here, as I was expecting a small, exclusive selection of guests.”
Florent, despite his being impressed with her deft handling of his question, forced a light laugh. “It would seem Lady Adelaide’s taste in associates is quite eclectic.”
He had allowed the inference that she was included in that assessment, much to his current shame. As he thought of the conversation, it was all Florent could do not to squirm visibly.
He was a donkey’s hind end. There was no other way to put it. Well, there were other ways to put it, but Florent tried not to be excessively vulgar even in his own thoughts.
He had allowed his usually clear judgment to be clouded by an intelligent woman’s beauty. And he couldn’t even explain to himself why that was. It wasn’t as though he had a bad experience in his past to explain his reaction. He had so little experience at all, either good or bad. And that was why Florent almost smacked himself in the head as realization struck.
The next hour seemed to drag, but it was just as he had suspected. The noblemen were most definitely surplus to needs on the operation. Gilbert Northcott and his customs agent associates had the matter well in hand and as soon as he was able, Florent headed back to Everleigh House. He wanted to at least be present when the others returned.
As the afternoon waned on, he felt increasingly concerned about Lady Constance. Of course, he was concerned for his sister and mother, as well, but he couldn’t shake his conviction that Connie might be in danger.
He couldn’t believe he had suspected her of involvement with the cad, Henry Wagner.
And cad, Florent was certain the man was even if they hadn’t yet found hard proof other than the testimony of two of the smugglers they had apprehended before Florent had left the men to their work.
While they were in the back of the cave well past the bales of cotton that were already found, looking to see what else could be found before they had to leave if they tide turned, four agents approached with two scruffy men struggling between them.
“We found these two out back trying to turn tail when they saw us.”
Gilbert immediately took over and Florent could see that the man hadn’t been jesting, he truly was a professional agent. He never would have suspected his childhood friend of such capabilities.
“Tell us what you know, and we’ll make sure your punishment is deportation not decapitation.” Gilbert had said it in so matter of fact a tone that the two hadn’t fully understood at first but when the other agents explained in far rougher terms what fate awaited them, they became far more forthcoming than their original belligerent attitude had implied.
“It was him,” they both said almost simultaneously, pointing their fingers at each other. Florent would have laughed if the matter weren’t so deadly serious.
Gilbert patiently drew the information out of them.
“How was it him? Do you mean he invited you into this involvement?”
The scruffy pair exchanged glances and didn’t at first answer. Neither Florent nor Gilbert recognized the men personally, although Flor thought they had an air of familiarity about them.
“Let’s start with this, how do you know each other?” Gilbert continued. Florent just wanted to knock their heads together and drag the information out of them, but he held silent.
“Know’d him since we was boys, guv’nor,” one finally said while the other nodded vigorously. “Prob’ly before we was even born.”
Gilbert didn’t comment on the improbability of that but continued his questioning.
“Are you from around here?”
“My gramma lives in these parts, and I visited her every few months my whole life. We,” he gestured between him and his friend, “grew up in Martinon. You might not know it guv’nor, it’s out of the way from anything interesting, a few villages away from the main roads.”
Gilbert chuckled as the man surely had intended proving him to be the professional Florent was not. He was still fighting the urge to knock their heads together and could only stand back and watch. Finally, with a bit more roundabout questions, Gilbert started to get to the information that mattered.
“And so you were finding life in Martinon too boring for your tastes? Is that correct?” The men nodded vigorously again, nearly hypnotized by Gilbert’s soothing tone. “How did you get involved with cotton?”
“Never knowed it was cotton, guv’nor. Such a mamby pamby thing to smuggle, don’t you think? We thought it was going to be of the liquid variety, don’t you know? But that fine, fancy gentleman’s gentleman told us how much we’d be greasing the wheels with and we was in, don’t you know?”
“Which gentleman’s valet, exactly, if you wouldn’t mind sharing?”
Florent almost snorted. Gilbert was so polite. Flor was nearly certain it was Wagner’s. From what he had seen, he was the only one whose valet looked even better dressed than the nobles. It was all he could do not to march off the beach that instant. Wagner was surely involved, and he was with Florent’s women. He ignored the fact that in his mind, Connie was included in that classification.
That was enough for Florent to know he should have been more concerned about the ladies that morning. He never should have agreed to accompany Adelaide. Even though, as a future landowner in the county, he was, of course, concerned about any criminal activity, he couldn’t bring himself to be more worried about that than the actual people in his life.
Not that Connie was really in his life. Especially not after the cold way he had treated her that morning. He would be lucky if she would even speak to him, let alone offer her forgiveness.
Florent had been so convinced that he was above everyone else. But he was nearly as caddish as Wagner himself.
When the carriages that had taken the guests to explore the ruins didn’t return within an hour of Florent’s return to the house, he strode back out to the stables and asked for his horse to be saddled. Careful questioning of the grooms and ostlers assured him he knew the route the excursion would have taken. He rode out to find them.
