Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Abrisk breeze drew Ariadne from a delicious dream to find the morning already well advanced. They had neglected to draw the bed curtains, and the morning light streamed into Cedric’s bed. She did not need to turn over to know the other side of the bed was empty.
It did not fill her with sadness, though; Cedric was a man of structure, of routines. He was probably in his study, having downed three cups of coffee, and was surrounded by a mountain of files.
I need to tell him about his steward.
Rising from the bed, she paused to run a hand over the pillow he’d slept on before slipping away and into her rooms. Half an hour later, she stepped into his study in an unadorned day dress, finding him as she had expected to find him, elbow deep in work.
“Cedric,” she stepped closer. “I hate to pull you away from your work but there is something I need to tell you. Well, two things, actually.”
He looked up, a frown creasing his brow. “Are you in pain? Was I too rough last night? I can—”
“No, it’s not that,” she held back a blush. “It’s about the orphanage. I—” she steeled herself. “—I believe your steward is stealing from them and by extension, you.”
Instantly, he shook his head. “I don’t believe that. Draven is an honorable man.”
“Give me a moment,” she said, leaving the room for her drawing room. Scooping up the folios Hunt had given her and the one she had checked herself, she carried them back to him and rested them on his desk. “I went over the numbers myself.”
He still looked doubtful but started his review. While he did so, she called for a light breakfast and tea. The crumpets had barely hit the table when Cedric growled. “I am going to kill him.”
She dismissed her maid quickly, then turned to him, “I don’t think this is the first time he has done this either.”
A curse left his mouth as he pushed from his table and strode to his bookshelf and hefted a whole row into his arms. “These are the last five years,” he carried them to another table. “I will have my man-of-business go through them and look for any minuscule inconsistency.”
She took a bracing sip of tea and then said, “Yesterday, my sister Isolde came to visit. She told me some disturbing news. She thinks my uncle is going to sell the house that my father left us out from under my mother.
“I know my uncle is a spendthrift and a gambler.” She grimaced. “I think my uncle made a reckless bet and has given the house to settle his debt, or he is out of money to sustain his lifestyle and needs some quick funds. Only God knows what he had done with the rest of father’s assets.”
His jaw tightened, “That is an easier situation to figure out. If the courts have warrants for payment from creditors, I can find out how much debt he is in.”
“What if he does manage to sell our house?” Ariadne asked worriedly.
He rounded the desk and took the other seat across the small table, his head angled to the left. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get there.”
A knock on the door had both turning just as Cedric called out. “Enter.”
Mrs. Grimes, the governess, stepped in with a curtsey. “Good morning, Your Grace. I hate to bother you, but I cannot find Lady Emily for her lessons. The maids assured me she had her breakfast, but now she is nowhere to be found.”
Cedric stood, “Did any of the footmen say she left the house?”
“No reports about that were given to me,” Mrs. Grimes said.
“She should be around here somewhere, lollygagging.” He said, “Or with a book in hand. Don’t worry, Mrs. Grimes, I will find her.”
Pushing away from the table, Ariadne asked, “Where would she go?”
“I’d normally say the garden, but since the footmen did not see her leave, I assume she is either in the library, the attic, or a nook in her rooms,” he said.
They searched her room first and then headed to the library; Cedric flung the drapes to the window seats away, and Ariadne counted five before he tugged the last one away.
Emily was curled up on the cramped space with the kitten Ariadne had plucked out of the pond a day ago in the crook of her arms.
Worriedly, Ariadne’s eyes flickered to Cedric, apprehensive of what he was going to do, but when his shoulders sagged, and a wry smile crossed his face, she relaxed.
Coming to her side, she rested a hand on his arm. “Will you let her have it?”
“Wasn’t the ball of lint yours first?” he asked dryly.
“She can have it,” Ariadne replied. “But she cannot sleep here, though. She might be young, but necks are not to bend that way.”
Prying the kitten from Emily and handing it to Ariadne, he gently lifted his daughter, and with one arm under her and the other holding her head, he carried her from the library and down to her bedroom.
She stirred while he rested her on the bed. “Papa?”
“Yes, pumpkin,” he said, while smoothing her hair from her face. “You’ve been truant, Emily. Skipping school to go play with a kitten is a no-no.”
Her little face fell. “I’m sorry, Papa. I saw his feet, and I just wanted to see if he would like me.”
Ariadne’s brows lifted. That’s more than I know.
“Are you going to take him away from me?” she asked sadly.
“Well, sweetheart, I’m not the one who had the kitten, so I cannot take it away from you,” he said, looking over to Ariadne.
Coming closer, Ariadne rested a hand on Cedric’s shoulder. “Emily, you cannot avoid your schooling to play with the kitten, so let me make you a trade. If you keep up with your schooling and get very good marks, you’ll have an hour with the kitten every evening and on the weekend.”
“Truly?” Emily’s whole face went light.
“Yes,” Ariadne replied. “But not yet. After two weeks and reports from Mrs. Grimes, then we’ll start.”
Sitting up, Emily scuffled from the bed to hug Ariadne around her middle. “Thank you.”
Heart awash with happiness, Ariadne embraced the girl as well, couched and smiled, “Do you have a name for the kitten already?”
“I have,” Emily pronounced happily. “Whiskers.”
Cedric’s face showed his exasperation at what she imagined was him thinking how unoriginal such a name was. She, however, smiled widely, “I think that is a lovely name, Emily. He does have some long whiskers, doesn’t he?”
Nodding excitedly, Emily turned to her father, “Do I have to go back to school now?”
Cedric plucked out his timepiece from his waistcoat pocket and checked, “Its nine in the morning now. I will allow you to stay with the kitten for the morning, but by noon, you will have your nuncheon and go back to your lessons. Am I understood, Emily?”
“Yes, Papa,” she replied happily while scurrying back to her bed and scratching the kitten’s ears.
With a nod, Cedric ushered Ariadne out of the room, and they headed back to his study. She had to refresh her plate and tea while Cedric requested a platter of cold meats and oat cakes for his breakfast.
“How is this search for Leander going?” she asked.
“So far, I know where he is.” He replied. “I suspect he is going to run off to another country with that mistress of his, and I will not stop him, but before he goes, he will need to fully abdicate his position and answer to me.”
“And now, I added more on your plate,” she said sadly. “With my uncle and your steward.”
He reached over the desk and rested a hand on hers, “No, you did exactly what you should have done, and that is to help me properly govern the people who trust me to do so.”
The tightness in her shoulder lessened. “Oh, good. I hope this is all an oversight, though.”
“Honestly, I hope so too, but realistically, I do not think it is,” Cedric said.
It had been four days since Ariadne had alerted him to the fraud in his books, and while he had sent a summons to Draven to meet, the man had not shown up.
To him, that was infallible proof enough of guilt.
“Holloway?” Silas asked as he walked into the room, waving a card Cedric had sent him that morning. “What is this about?”
Sitting back in his chair, Cedric replied. “I need to have a deep look in Draven’s affairs. My wife went over the records and found that he was skimming funds from the orphanage. Is the man in debt, is he a drunkard, does he have some child to mind or a mistress to support?”
Silas looked exasperated. “You do know that any private investigator in London would trip over his boots to find these things for you.”
“I do.”
“Then why didn’t you call them?” Silas asked plainly.
“Because I know you know the best ones to call on,” Cedric said.
Rolling his eyes, Silas said, “You are aggravating.”
“You’re used to it,” Cedric said.
A knock on the door had him looking up, “Come in, Ariadne.”
Ariadne entered the room, coat on, while tugging on her gloves, while Emily was beside her. Her smile widened, “Lord Stromwell, glad to see you.” To Cedric, she said, “We’re off to go see the Hamdens.”
“Safe journey,” he said. “Emily, behave.”
“Yes, Papa,” the girl said brightly.
With a jaunty wave, Ariadne steered the child out of the room, and Cedric noted how… forlornly Silas looked at the girl. Concerned, Cedric asked, “Is there something wrong with Emily?”
“No,” Silas said, while shaking his head. “It’s just… every time I see her, I see her mother. I know you see it in her, too.”
“I do,” Cedric replied, his shoulders sagging. “There are days when I wonder if it was the best thing for her to have her mother with her and me gone, or if her mother would have abandoned her, too.”
“That is…very morbid.” Silas shook himself as if he was ridding himself of a splash of cold water. “Do I sense a change with you about your dear new bride?”
Cedric grunted, “I’m getting accustomed to her presence.”
Staring at him long enough that Cedric ticked up a brow, Silas demanded, “If she births a boy child, I mandate you name him after me.”
Eyes narrowing, Cedric replied, “You have an overinflated sense of self.”
Pushing away, Silas laughed, “I do, but we both know I’ll get what I want.”
“Find every detail of Draven’s life,” he called to the man’s back.
“I’ll send you my bill,” Silas said over his shoulder.