Chapter 9
Nine
The news that Tristan was almost certainly the heir to an old and distinguished French title had in truth not come as a complete surprise to Nicholas Sinclair.
And as he sat listening to Raphael Augustin explain his reasons for believing there to be a link between the Revisionists and Montclair, the Duke had never felt so angry – with himself.
The simple fact of the matter was that he’d wanted the whole bloody conspiracy tied up neatly even though he knew in his heart of hearts that nothing was ever that simple.
If the King’s agent had not recognised Tristan, who knew what mischief those hiding in the shadows might have gone on to perpetrate – and still might yet do so.
Nicholas was sitting in the library with Raphael, Roan, Gabriel and Tristan, purportedly for the last glass of port before bed as the agent had proposed earlier.
That had been a couple of hours ago now, and Rafe had gone through everything he knew, everything he believed, and everything he feared, touching lastly on the possibility that there might be a traitor onboard the Faith and Fortune.
‘So, you think this Claude Fontaine knows that his nephew is alive and well and believes he is coming to claim his inheritance?’ Nicholas clarified.
Raphael nodded. ‘If I was a betting man, I would wager he’s been looking for Tristan for a long time.’
‘Why the bloody hell didn’t I choose another name?’ Tristan grated. ‘I only picked Tristan because I liked it, not because I believed it was mine.’
‘It’s possible that some part of you recognised it as yours,’ Raphael answered with a shrug.
‘But even if Fontaine has been searching, how can we be sure that he found me?’ Tris interjected harshly.
‘We can’t,’ Rafe retorted. ‘If you’re looking for proof that your uncle knows about you, all we have is an overheard conversation and gut instinct.
’ He paused before adding carefully, ‘My men are interrogating Babin as we speak and there is an outside chance he will give up Claude Fontaine’s name, but, in truth, if there is someone higher up orchestrating things, they are unlikely to get even that much from him.
In fact, there is a very good chance that Babin will not last the week. ’
‘Can you not have him moved?’ Gabriel demanded. ‘God knows I have no sympathy for the bastard, but he’s the only solid lead we have.’
‘If I do, it will simply alert whoever is behind this of our suspicions,’ Raphael countered, his voice tight.
‘And at this point in time I dare not trust anyone in my organisation.’ He clenched his fists in frustration.
‘Do not think I am condoning murder – even of an evil batard like Babin. But at the moment, I believe Fontaine is under the impression that his nephew simply wishes to reclaim his inheritance and remains ignorant of any Montclair connection to the Revisionists. I think he will seek to rid himself of Tristan before the world learns of the heir’s existence so that he can keep the money flowing from the Montclair coffers. ’
‘What if we proclaim my existence to the world now? Surely that will make it infinitely more difficult for him to arrange a convenient accident,’ Tristan intervened drily.
‘If we do that, whoever is masterminding this conspiracy will retreat into the shadows and we may never discover their identity. Our best chance is to force Fontaine’s hand – get him to overreach himself.’
‘Using me as bait.’ clarified Tristan.
Raphael nodded ruefully.
‘Naturally the easiest solution would be to ensure Tris suffers a fatal accident at sea, before he even arrives at Montclair,’ Roan commented.
‘I have a number of crew only recently joined the Fortune, so it’s possible one or more of them could be in Fontaine’s pay.
’ He turned to Raphael. ‘What do you propose we do to flush out any traitors on board?’
Raphael paused for a second before murmuring, ‘I think we have an ideal person to poke around the ship without being noticed, in fact, he told me himself just how good he was at snooping.’
‘Finn.’ Nicholas verbalised what everyone else was thinking. ‘I must confess I was taken aback to see him and Percy here. How the devil did that happen?’
‘I have no idea,’ Roan shrugged. ‘Clearly, they were invited by Augustus – most likely to provide support with the menace that is Dougal Galbraith – though he’s never likely to admit it. Still, Finn’s presence is fortunate.’
‘Surely we cannot sanction putting the boy in danger,’ argued Tristan.
‘Even I’m not callous enough to risk the boy’s safety,’ Rafe retorted drily.
‘Since it is common knowledge that we sail in three days, I suggest you take Finn with you from tomorrow, Roan - with the excuse that he wishes to learn all about the ship. Undoubtedly, he will get underfoot on occasions, but much of the time he will be ignored and able to watch and listen unnoticed.’
‘I think it unlikely our traitor will give himself away this late in the game,’ countered Gabriel, ‘not if he wishes to be in a convenient position to push Tristan overboard.’
‘Helpful,’ drawled Tristan.
‘But what if our traitor receives new, vital information that he needs to share?’ Rafe mooted. ‘Something he deems so important he’ll risk leaving the ship.’
There was a short silence, then Roan began to smile.
‘The crew are waiting for confirmation of our final destination,’ he declared.
‘I had not decided whether to anchor off St. Malo in Solidor Bay, or Perros-Guirec. The latter is much closer to Lannion and Montclair – only one or two hours by carriage – but the water is much shallower.’
‘Montclair is a two-day journey from Solidor Bay, depending on the weather. If Fontaine thinks we’re sailing there, my guess is he’ll be delighted.
It will give him plenty of opportunity to ambush us before we get to Lannion,’ Raphael asserted.
‘He won’t know whether his man has been successful in eliminating Tristan during the crossing, so it’s reasonable to assume that he and his men will be waiting for us. ’
‘If you’re going to feed him a Canturbury tale, it will need to be early enough to give our man enough time to pass the information on, and for Fontaine’s collaborators in Torquay to get well ahead of us,’ Nicholas stated, immediately getting his brother-in-law’s drift.
‘We’ll leave with the afternoon tide three days hence,’ Roan commented. ‘If I make the announcement first thing the day after tomorrow, once we’ve moved the ship to the quayside for embarkation, that’s a full day and a half before we’re due to sail.’
‘My guess is they’ll have a small cutter,’ mused Tristan, ‘which should be more than capable of reaching Montclair before we actually sail. If the Fortune takes three days, Fontaine will be ready and waiting for us…’
‘In the wrong place,’ Gabriel grinned.
‘Doubtless our man will try to slip away during the confusion of boarding,’ Roan added, ‘hopefully taking no notice of a small lad…’
Rafe nodded slowly. ‘It will certainly work in our favour if we can get to Montclair while Fontaine is absent. Perhaps it will finally gain us the upper hand.’
‘Speaking of upper hands,’ Tristan interrupted. ‘What exactly are our plans if you manage to deliver me to Montclair unscathed?’
Raphael grimaced. ‘I’d like to say I have it all planned out,’ he sighed.
‘Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be entirely accurate.
It’s my hope there will be someone still at Montclair who knew you as a boy – perhaps even fled with you to Pontorson.
Once we get to Lannion, there will be no need to remain in hiding.
In fact, my intention is to proclaim your arrival to all and sundry.
The more people who hear about your return, the less likely it is that you’ll suffer a quiet accident.
‘Of course, we have to face the possibility that Fontaine may not take the bait and leave Montclair, and even if he is waiting to ambush us in St. Malo, he’ll quickly realise he’s been duped and return as quickly as possible.
But by then, I’m hoping it will be too late for him to prevent the news of the Marquis’s return from spreading. ’
Rafe stopped and grimaced before adding, ‘I freely admit that in the beginning I failed to anticipate the possibility that Claude Fontaine might be one step ahead of us, but the only thing I can say to reassure you gentlemen is that despite any evidence to the contrary, I am good at what I do.’ He spoke entirely without conceit as he added, ‘With your help, I will reinstate Tristan as the rightful Marquis de Montclair and expose the bastard who’s been coordinating this whole bloody conspiracy since the beginning. ’
‘Very pretty speech,’ Gabriel drawled without rancour.
Rafe spread his hands and shrugged. ‘Naturally. I’m French…’
‘I’ll speak with my First Mate tomorrow morning,’ Roan pronounced. ‘We were both on Albatross together, and I’d trust him with my life – have done so on several occasions.’ He stood up. ‘It’s late, gentlemen. I suggest we adjourn and continue our discussion after I’ve met with Mr Spalding.’
‘I think we will have to include Augustus and Percy in our plans,’ Nicholas interrupted with a sigh.
‘As Finn’s father, we cannot in all conscience exclude Percy, but unfortunately, that means the Reverend will also insist on being included.
’ The Duke gave a rueful shrug. ‘Augustus might well be the most frustrating individual alive, but there’s no denying he’s better than most at shamming it when he’s forced into a corner.
’ He looked over at Raphael and gave a dry chuckle.
‘Mayhap you should think about recruiting him…’