Chapter 10
Gareth Barton, Earl of Loxby and brother of Reeves’ late wife, was known for the stubborn set of his jaw and the way his dark eyes penetrated those of whomever he was facing. He could be deeply intimidating when he wanted to—it was the reason his business ventures always seemed to succeed.
But he wasn’t fixing Reeves with that look right now. Instead, the expression on his face was full of care and sympathy. “I’m glad she’s back home,” he said. “I came over as soon as I heard the news.”
The two men were sitting in Reeves’ study.
Reeves had spent all of last night and most of this morning in this room, stepping out only briefly to find a footman and request that some breakfast be brought to him.
He hated spending time away from Emma after everything they’d been through.
But the way she had looked at him last night during his argument with Miss Wetherby, the fear he had seen on her face, had been enough to encourage him to give her some time.
He trusted everyone in this house. She would be all right.
And she knew where she could find him if she needed him.
Which she won’t, because she has Miss Wetherby to tend to her.
Reeves tried to shake off his resentment about that. Now that they were home, he recognized that a part of him had hoped Emma would settle in quickly and that he would be able to send Miss Wetherby back to her orphanage. That didn’t seem to be happening, though.
“Thank you for coming,” he said. “I’m glad to have her back, too.” That went without saying, but it was such a powerful feeling that he almost had to say it. He had to let it out somehow. Keeping his relief and joy at his daughter’s safe return bottled up was all but impossible.
The trouble was, he couldn’t relax and revel in it. He couldn’t simply be at peace. Not while he knew her captor was still out there. And in spite of all his questioning, she still hadn’t been able to tell him anything about what had happened.
“So, has Emma told you anything about what happened?” Gareth asked, cutting right to the chase.
Reeves shook his head. “Whatever it was, it gave her an awful shock. She hardly speaks. She’s said two things to me since I got her back, and neither one gave me any answers, unfortunately. I wish I could get something out of her.”
Gareth sat back in his seat. “It’s probably best not to push her, given everything she’s been through.”
“Yes, that’s what Miss Wetherby says,” Reeves said gloomily.
“Who?”
“The woman from the orphanage. She came back with us to help care for Emma. Emma seems strangely bonded to her, and I couldn’t bring myself to separate the two of them. At least, not yet.”
Gareth folded his hands on top of the desk. “Do the two of you need anything?” he asked. “What can I do?”
“We don’t need anything,” Reeves said. “I’m just glad she’s home.”
“So am I, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need anything.” Gareth pressed his lips together. “You know, I might not be that close to you, Reeves, but I’ve known you for some time now. You’re like a brother to me. In my opinion, we ought to spend much more time together.”
“You’ve never shown any interest in that before,” Reeves said.
“I thought you didn’t like me that much.
” It wasn’t a thought that had bothered him.
He had never exactly disliked his late wife’s brother, but he hadn’t felt anything much for the man at all.
Gareth was right to say they hadn’t known one another well, and after Rosalie’s death, he hadn’t been surprised when the distance between them had grown.
If it hadn’t been for Emma, whom Gareth did seem to take an interest in, he was sure the man would have receded from his life entirely.
“Well, I think this kidnapping business woke me up a bit,” Gareth admitted. “We are family, you know. I’d like to be more involved in Emma’s life.”
“It’s kind of you to offer,” Reeves murmured.
“Of course I’m going to offer. I’ll do anything I can for her. That’s Rosalie’s daughter, after all. My niece. My sister’s only child.” Gareth leaned forward. “You should never hesitate to ask me for anything when it comes to her, Reeves. I hope you know that. From now on, you have only to ask.”
“I know,” Reeves sighed. “I know she means the world to you, too.” Gareth’s parents were deceased, and now that Rosalie was gone, Emma was his only blood relation.
Even in his darkest moments, Reeves had been hopeful that, someday, the two of them might have a good relationship with one another.
But it was difficult sometimes. Gareth was a reminder, every time he showed his face, of Rosalie.
Rosalie had been such a fine woman, and Reeves had had such a short time with her, that he didn’t think he would ever get over what had happened.
“So, tell me how she’s doing,” Gareth encouraged.
“She seems all right,” Reeves said. “Physically, at least, there isn’t anything wrong with her that a little rest and recuperation won’t fix.
” He ground his teeth at the thought of the bruise that darkened his daughter’s cheek, but he didn’t tell Gareth about it.
It was good to have an ally, but too many people were already clued in to what was going on with Emma, and it was making him feel uncomfortable. “I’m just glad she’s home.”
“What are you going to do now?” Gareth wanted to know.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you going to try to locate the person responsible? Don’t you think he should pay?”
“Of course I do,” Reeves said, fists clenching. “I opened an investigation with the constable as soon as she went missing, Gareth. You know that. I won’t rest until that villain is held accountable. He has to pay. And I’m sure that the constable will figure out who it was any day now.”
“But the constable didn’t do anything worthwhile. Maybe he won’t.”
Reeves took a deep breath—that had been on his mind too.
“I know,” he said. “But I still think it will be all right. Now that Emma is home, I’m in no particular hurry.
I can bide my time. We can do this slowly and steadily.
I’m confident there’s no rock a monster like that can hide under.
Eventually, he’ll be found, and I’ll make sure he suffers for what he did to my daughter. ”
Gareth nodded slowly. “I’m sure you will,” he said. “But what I wonder is … will you have the time to pay attention to that?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said yourself that you were just happy to have Emma home. I don’t blame you for that.
But don’t you think, the more time goes by, the less attention you’ll have for this investigation?
And the constables… they don’t really care.
Not the way you and I do. She isn’t their family.
I’m sure they’ll try, but there will be other crimes for them to deal with, and eventually they’ll move on from this one. ”
“What do you suggest I do?” Reeves asked.
Gareth frowned for a moment. “I could take over the investigation for you.”
“You? Take over the investigation? Why is that a good idea? You don’t know anything about investigating crimes,” Reeves said. “I’d do it myself if it were just a matter of looking around for a culprit. But we both know it’s not that simple. We need the resources the constable has to offer.”
“Or maybe we need the resources I have to offer,” Gareth said. “I do know people. No offense, but I’m more socially connected than you are—and to less law-abiding people.
He wasn’t wrong. Reeves knew that Gareth spent enough time in gambling houses and pubs to have connected with the seedy underbelly of London society. He probably did know people who could help. But even so… “I couldn’t ask you to take over the investigation,” he said.
“Of course you could. Like I said, she’s my niece.”
“But it might be dangerous,” Reeves said.
Even though he wasn’t close with Gareth, he didn’t want the man to come to harm.
Seeking out justice himself was one thing—if he’d known where to start, he would have been all too willing.
But Gareth… “I don’t like to think of what Rosalie would say if she knew that you were in danger on our behalf. ”
I think it’s what Rosalie would want, too,” Gareth added. “She’d want the kidnapper brought to justice for his crimes.”
“I know that, Gareth. That doesn’t mean I want you to start a private manhunt,” Reeves said.
“Whoever this person is, he’s obviously willing to cause harm to get what he wants.
I don’t want anything happening to anybody else in this family.
Let the law handle it.” Or let me handle it, he thought, but did not say.
If Gareth knew that he was considering getting vengeance on the kidnapper himself, he would push even harder to be involved, and Reeves didn’t want that.
“If you insist.” Gareth frowned—apparently, he had really wanted to do this his own way. “I just don’t have much faith in them, I suppose. They were so little help to you in getting her back.”
“The important thing is that we did get her back,” Reeves said.
“That’s what I care about most of all. I want the kidnapper brought to justice.
Of course I do. But what I really want is to enjoy the fact that my daughter is back at home with me, and out of danger. Everything else comes second to that.”
Gareth brightened slightly. “You’re right about that,” he agreed. “We got her back. We really ought to celebrate that fact.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you should have a ball.”
Reeves sat back in his chair, incredulous. “You think I should throw a party? That’s your response to this situation?”
“Don’t criticize me. My first response was to try to find the culprit, and you know it. I’m not going to go against your wishes in that regard. But yes, I do think we should have a party to celebrate Emma’s return home.”
“Emma is too young to attend something like that. What would be the point?”
“She’s not too young to stop in and say hello at the beginning of the evening,” Gareth countered. “It would be good for everyone to see that she’s home and doing well. It’s one of the surest ways to stop tongues from wagging.”
“Oh, you know as well as I do that nothing will ever stop the ton from spreading gossip,” Reeves said. “All we can hope to do is change the nature of the things they say.”
“And I think seeing your daughter doing well would do exactly that!” Gareth said.
“Are people really spreading gossip about this?”
“You’re not even surprised to hear it. You knew they would. Nothing is off limits for these people.” Gareth frowned. “Do you mean to say that you haven’t heard any of the talk?”
“No. I’ve been preoccupied with trying to find my daughter. What are people saying?”
“More or less what you would expect. They’re speculating as to why she might have been taken and who might have done it.”
“Any prevailing opinions?” Maybe there was a clue in all this somewhere.
Gareth made a face. “The truth is, your parenting has been called into question. There are those who feel that it only happened because you weren’t taking proper care of Emma.”
Reeves felt sick. He couldn’t say it out loud, but he thought there was probably some truth in that. She had run away from him the night she’d been taken. They had been walking together, she had gotten angry with him, and she’d run off. If he hadn’t made her angry, it wouldn’t have happened.
Gareth was watching his face. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “You know that, don’t you? It was the fault of whoever took her.”
“I know,” Reeves grumbled.
“Moreover, Reeves, you deserve to have a little fun after all this. You’ve been through an ordeal, and you should take this moment to celebrate.”
“And you think a ball is the way to do that?” Reeves asked. “I’d rather celebrate with a night in my study and a glass of brandy. When have you ever known me to seek out things like balls?”
“Never,” Gareth admitted. “But this isn’t an ordinary occasion. You know that as well as I do. A moment like this calls for extraordinary festivities, and I see it as my duty—my honor—to convince you of that fact.”
“All right, all right,” Reeves said. “It would be good to try to get ahead of the gossip. I’ll consider your suggestion. A ball might not be the worst idea.”
He wasn’t looking forward to it, nor did he think he would enjoy a minute of it. But to show everyone that things were getting back to normal… yes, Gareth was right. That would be ideal.
And once the ton had stopped looking in their direction, he might feel freer to investigate who had kidnapped his daughter.
Or maybe she’ll be ready to speak by then.
He sighed. A man could hope.