Chapter 16
“Alastair.” Sebastian walked across the room, a drink in his hand. He looked surprised at his presence. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here today.”
Alastair stared.
“I was about to say the same thing.” He clasped Sebastian’s hand. “I didn’t think you would be here.”
“I’m here most days.” His cousin raised his glass to his lips. “So were you at one point, weren’t you? We’ve played at the same table plenty of times.”
“Well, after what happened…”
Alastair didn’t need to say anything further. Ever since Arabella’s father had last played, the night he died, he hadn’t been able to step foot inside. Not without remembering how close he’d been to the man who ended up taking his own life.
But with Arabella’s insistence that something more suspicious was going on, he needed to do this.
Someone had to have seen something that night.
It was months ago, but the footmen wouldn’t have changed, as far as he was aware.
They always saw everything, and they kept quiet about it.
Who knew what they’d heard when they were supposed to be invisible?
It was turning up small things but not much.
The footman who had served Alastair’s table drinks that night could remember that someone left soon after Fairleigh had left the club, but he didn’t know who it was as he’d been distracted by the butler calling for him.
Was it someone just leaving as normal? Or were they following Fairleigh?
Alastair doubted he was going to find that out unless there was an eyewitness. But at that time of night, that would prove more than a little difficult.
“I understand.” Sebastian looked sympathetic. “It’s going to be hard after something like that. But it wasn’t your fault.”
“I took the last of his money, didn’t I? I should’ve stopped him.”
“And would that have changed anything?”
Alastair sighed and held up his hands. “I’ll admit that I doubt it. But it would stop the guilt.”
“Understandable.” Sebastian clapped a hand on his shoulder before leaning in and lowering his voice. “By the way, my contact will soon have some news. I should be able to tell you something in the next few days.”
Alastair frowned. “He can’t tell you any faster?”
“He’s got to make it look like he’s not looking. That would raise a lot of questions. Things take time, Alastair. We have to be patient. When he’s ready with what you need, he’ll come to you.”
Alastair didn’t like that right now. He didn’t think he had the ability to be patient. Not when he had to find something, anything, that could point toward Fairleigh’s cause of death.
He didn’t want to go to Arabella empty-handed. Or see her and admit that he hadn’t been able to make any progress.
If he got to see her, which wasn’t easy lately.
“Why don’t you go and have a drink?” Sebastian suggested with a smile. “That should soothe you for a while. And you could have a game of cards, get your hand back into it.”
“You mean so you can take me for what you can get.”
His cousin laughed, but the tone of the laugh indicated that Alastair was right. Sebastian seemed to play regularly and wouldn’t have lost his touch. It wouldn’t be much to take money from Alastair, and he wasn’t interested in losing anything right now.
“I think I’ll head back home. There’s not much for me here.”
“You mean you just wanted to stick your head in and inhale the smell of cards before you left?” Sebastian teased.
Alastair merely smiled and left the club.
As he stepped out into the street, the warm wind hitting him in the face, he wondered how Sebastian managed to get so many contacts, and if they were all because of card clubs.
His cousin was good, and he knew how to run rings around other people at the table.
Maybe that was how he got a favor or two to use up.
Alastair wasn’t about to figure that out; Sebastian was confusing and now was not the time.
He headed home, choosing to walk through the park and the long way back to his townhouse. As he walked, he found his thoughts drifting back to Arabella. She had been on his mind for quite a while, and Alastair couldn’t feel that something was wrong.
They hadn’t seen each other for a few days, despite Alastair’s attempts. He sent his calling card and invitations to join him for dinner at his home. But there was nothing. It was like she’d completely wiped him out of her life.
How were they supposed to behave as a couple when she refused to see him? It didn’t make any sense. Alastair was tempted to go round and see her, to demand what was going on. But that would be bad manners, and he didn’t want to raise suspicion. Arabella was going to have to come to him on her own.
He just had to be patient. Again. Alastair was beginning to hate being patient. He just couldn’t do it.
As he reached the steps to his townhouse, he saw a young lad about fifteen years old age hovering on the doorstep. The lad saw him and bowed.
“Your Grace.”
“Is there something you wanted?” Alastair asked.
“I work for Viscount Fairleigh, Your Grace.”
That got Alastair’s attention. He was from the Fairleigh house? He felt his pulse skitter a little.
“What brings you here, then?”
“I have something from Lady Arabella Fairleigh for yourself, Your Grace.” The boy held it out, his face bright red. “This is the fifth invitation I’ve delivered here.”
“Wait, what?” Alastair stopped. “The fifth? But I’ve never received invitations from her.”
“Forgive me, Your Grace. I did count how many times I came here.” He bowed his head. “I’m speaking out of turn. Forgive me, that wasn’t…”
“Actually, I think you’ve told me something useful,” Alastair murmured, not really noticing the boy stare at him in confusion.
He held out his hand. “Give the invitation to me. I’ll sort it personally.
And tell Lady Arabella that I had it placed in my hand, and apologize for me that the others didn’t reach me. ”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Seeming to be relieved to be leaving, the boy put the invitation into Alastair’s hand and ran off.
Alastair turned over the stiff card, wondering about the other invitations.
Five of them, and he hadn’t seen the other four.
Where would they have gone? If anything had been for him, it would’ve been delivered immediately.
But someone sorted out the messages and letters before they were given to him. Someone who had access to everything when needed and had a reason for him not to see Arabella.
Alastair could feel the rage building. Of all the things that could happen, why did it have to involve this person?
He eventually found the dowager duchess in the orangery, sitting in her usual chair with the glass doors open, letting in a cool breeze as the sun shone high overhead. She had her feet up on a footstool, and she was reading. She looked up as Alastair stormed over.
“Alastair!” Closing her book, she sat up with a smile, only for it to fade as her eyes landed on him. “What is it? You don’t look happy.”
“What do you think you’re doing, Mother?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about intercepting the invitations from Lady Arabella Fairleigh!
” Alastair snapped. “I’ve just met a messenger outside the house who told me that he’s delivered invitations from her for a while, but she’s heard nothing back.
Which got me to think who would not want me to have those. And there was only one obvious answer.”
Lady Hartwood blanched. Alastair thought she was going to protest and deny that it was her, but she said nothing. She simply stared at him, her face almost so pale he thought she was going to collapse.
“What is wrong with you, Mother?” Alastair folded his arms. “Do you really want to mess things up for me?”
“Someone had to do it.”
“I beg your pardon?”
His mother got her composure back, her eyes narrowing at him.
“You shouldn’t be with someone like Lady Arabella,” she hissed. “You deserve so much better.”
“How about you let me decide that? I’m not a child anymore. I can make my own decisions.”
Lady Hartwood scoffed at that. “I don’t think you can. You are going to put this family into social ruin.”
“Nonsense!”
“You have to end the courtship, Alastair. I won’t allow it, not at all!” She stood up, her eyes flashing. “You have to do the right thing.”
“And doing the right thing is listening to you?”
“That’s what you should be doing. Do you want to ruin your sister’s future by courting a woman from a questionable family? That’s what you’re doing right now.”
Alastair could tell his mother wasn’t about to back down.
She was determined to get her own way. And she stood before him, showing that she was prepared to fight back.
Part of him wanted to tell her the truth, but that wasn’t something he was about to reveal to someone who would happily gossip about anything and everything if given half a chance.
“You don’t have any authority here, Mother,” he pointed out. “I’m the one in charge of Helena’s dowry and future. It’s me who gets to decide…”
“You think you’re the one in charge there?” Lady Hartwood barked out a laugh. “Don’t underestimate me. Someone with a proper head on their shoulders needs to look after Helena. She can’t do it herself.”“Of course I can!” a voice declared hotly behind them.
Both of them jumped. Alastair hadn’t heard Helena come in, and now she stormed over to them, her expression furious as she faced her mother.
“Why do you insist on treating me this way?” she cried. “You say that you love me and you want to make sure I have a good life, but you’re doing the exact opposite. And now you’re trying to blackmail my brother by trying to withhold my dowry.”
“Helena…” Lady Hartwood faltered a little before waving her away. “This doesn’t involve you.”
Helena snorted rudely, moving to stand in front of Alastair.