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“Yes, my Lord, that’s your brother’s list. He was investigating…” Moore’s coughed into his hand, seeming perturbed.
“Investigating what?” Nathan’s tone was short. “I need to know, Moore, no matter how indelicate a matter. This list could be the reason for his death.”
Moore’s face paled, and he blinked before slowly nodding.
“Yes, my lord, I could see how that would be very possible.” His voice lowered. “Your brother was investigating the possibility your father smuggled in spies from France during the war.”
Nathan’s chest seized.
* * *
Lily
My God, I was right…
Crouched next to the keyhole, Lily fervently wished she had not been correct. The sudden foreboding silence on the other side of the door made her long to rush in and comfort Nathan again, though she doubted he would accept it.
He would not like the evidence she had been listening at keyholes.
“Yes, I can believe that of my father.” Nathan’s voice was so low, so strained with emotion, she barely heard him. “That would explain a great deal about his financial situation.”
How awful to know that while he was away fighting for his country, his own father was assisting the enemy. Likely putting Nathan in even more danger. What kind of father had the late earl been?
Anger suffused Lily, but she pushed it back down. It was not as if the man was alive for her to vent her fury upon.
“I take it the crossed-out names have been removed from the suspect list?”
“My understanding was they were the men your brother had spoken to, my lord,” Mr. Moore said apologetically. Though his voice was soft, it was clearer and easier to understand than Nathan’s, which had turned gravelly. “He kept notes on his interviews with all of us, but I do not know where he kept them.”
Interesting.
Something else to look for.
As loathe as she was to leave her spot by the keyhole, Lily decided to depart. That was plenty of information, and it did not sound like Mr. Moore knew very much. If Nathan caught her listening at the door, she did not like her chances of talking her way out of trouble again.
Getting to her feet, Lily hurried down the hall as quietly as she could, careful to stay in the middle of the carpet. She hoped her friends arrived this afternoon because doing this all on her own was not her forte.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Nathan
Betrayed by his own father. It was not the first time. His father had always been a rotter, though the fact he’d betrayed his country while it was at war… all for money… unfortunately was far too believable, considering how often his father ran through his funds.
It explained why the estate had not fallen into a state of disrepair during his tenure.
That did not excuse his father’s actions. Nathan knew without asking, it would have been Harker and Mrs. Potts who used any money that came in for the estate. He did not doubt for a moment they did not know where the money had come from, though he would still need to question them. That they had managed to wrest any money from his father’s control to keep the estate going was a minor miracle—though his father had often been generous when he won at the races. Unfortunately for the estate’s coffers, winning had been a very rare occurrence.
Passing off payoffs from France as winnings from his gambling would be very like his father.
Dropping his head into his hands, Nathan stared at the list in front of him. He would need to start at the beginning—well, start with the name under Moore’s—and work his way through it. Retrace his brother’s steps, as it were.
A knock at the door had his head jerking up. The door opened to show Moore standing there, an expression of worry and sympathy on his face.
“My lord, your guests have begun to arrive. The Countess’ parents are here.”
Wonderful. Nathan gritted his teeth. He had not realized how much time had passed while he sat in the study thinking.
“Thank you, Moore. I will be down momentarily.” As soon as Moore closed the door behind him, Nathan opened the secret panel under the center of the desk and slid the paper into it. The desk had been built for his great-grandfather, and family lore said he used to hide notes from his lovers there.
