Chapter 24
Charlotte’s exasperation with Henning softened considerably as she caught sight of the anguish in his eyes as he took a seat in the earl’s workroom, unable to meet Wrexford’s gaze …
No doubt fearing that he has irrevocably lost the love and trust of his closest friend.
But love didn’t work that way, she thought with an inward smile. Yes, she wanted to shake the surgeon until his teeth rattled—and then pull him into a fierce hug to assure him he would always be family, even if at times he was an unmitigated arse.
Henning waved off the earl’s offer of whisky, which further revealed how remorseful he felt. Murray, on the other hand, was quick to accept and drained his glass in one swift gulp.
“I—I don’t know where to begin, Wrex,” mumbled Henning after clearing his throat. It was just the four of them, as the earl had thought it best that McClellan and Tyler, along with Raven and Eddy, not be included in what promised to be a fraught conversation. “It’s complicated—”
“Why don’t Charlotte and I tell you how we’ve put together the pieces of the puzzle that we’ve discovered,” suggested Wrexford, “and you can correct me if we’ve somehow got any of it wrong.”
Murray gave a grunt of assent, which the surgeon confirmed with a gruff nod.
“We think the heart of the mystery surrounding Fletcher Campbell’s murder lies in the Lisbon Conspiracy of ten years ago,” began the earl.
“As Baz knows, our friend Griffin of the Bow Street Runners was involved in the original investigation, and he’s always sensed that the full story never came to light— and that not all the key players in the scandal were apprehended. ”
Out of the corner of her eye, Charlotte thought she saw Henning and Murray exchange uneasy glances.
“And it’s recently come to our attention that Lord Langdon was also conducting a very secretive government investigation at the same time as the conspiracy was discovered.”
“It seems likely that the two investigations were connected,” said Charlotte.
Both Henning and Murray had now turned ashen-faced and were staring down at the carpet.
“We think …” Wrexford hesitated. “We think that the two of you—who I assume are leaders of the Paine Society—were in some way involved in the conspiracy.” He looked at Henning, “Perhaps you helped recruit the men who served as the false soldiers from the ranks of radical workers.”
His gaze moved to Murray. “And perhaps you used your youthful friendship with Ainsley to gain access to employees of the Bank of England and bribe them for the information of exactly where the shipment of government banknotes was being kept inside the building.”
“Our guess is that Baz accepted payment from the crime in order to fund his clinic,” said Charlotte. “As for you, Mr. Murray, it’s clear that you have the brash cleverness and slippery morals to have been even more involved in the whole scheme. So I imagine you made a pretty penny on it.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And as you don’t strike me as being an altruist like Baz, it’s likely that you invested your cut of the money back in to your business of importing and exporting woolens and woven cotton, generating even more riches for yourself.”
Murray looked about to speak, but Wrexford waved him to silence. “Let us finish before you reply.”
“Langdon had arranged a private meeting with Wrexford on the day of his death,” said Charlotte.
“Given the poisonous berries I found near the doorway and the trace of a prick mark on Langdon’s neck, I’m not accepting that he died of natural causes.
” She drew in a deep breath. “Which is why you must stop covering up the truth and tell us everything. Otherwise, we won’t be able to help you avoid the hangman’s noose. ”
“It seems to us that time is of the essence if we are to prevent further deaths and criminal activity,” cut in Wrexford.
“That’s because we believe that an equally important piece of the puzzle involves the young son of the gang’s leader, Archie Campbell, who was rumored to be the artistic genius behind the counterfeiting scheme.
We’ve recently uncovered evidence that the boy was indeed spirited away—”
“W-What evidence?” interrupted Murray, suddenly sitting bolt upright in his chair.
“Given what we’ve just surmised about your nefarious activities, surely you don’t really think we’re going to share that information with you,” answered Charlotte sharply.
Wrexford curled a sardonic smile. “Cross swords with my wife at your own risk.”
Murray sunk back against the cushions with a ragged sigh. “So I have learned.”
“However, we think the mastermind of the Lisbon Conspiracy—Griffin is sure that the devil was never apprehended— believes the boy, who is now a young man, may have returned to England and is looking to find him,” continued the earl.
“F-For what reason?” stammered Henning.
“To win the Bank of England’s competition to design a banknote that can’t be counterfeited and make yet another fortune off Archie Campbell’s son. After all, the prize is ￡20,000.”
“To be more specific,” explained Charlotte, “we think the mastermind of the Lisbon Conspiracy is looking to find Archie Campbell’s son because the young man will lead him to Jacob Perkins, the innovative American inventor who has created a special new way of printing banknotes that can’t be copied.
And when the mastermind finds him, he will either force Perkins and his compatriots to work for him or eliminate them and take the machinery. ”
Wrexford moved to the hearth and turned to face Henning and Murray. “And now, let us get to the heart of our suspicions and talk about the rings engraved with the image of a heart and two crossed daggers.”
Henning flinched.
“We know that those rings were used by Fletcher Campbell to move Archie Campbell’s young son to safety. The boy was told only to trust a man who could show him such a ring, as he was passed from escort to escort—”
“But Fletcher Campbell couldn’t have—” began Murray.
“Hold your tongue until we’re done!” ordered Charlotte, anxious to get the ordeal over. The look on Henning’s face was breaking her heart.
As for Wrexford …
The earl kept his gaze averted from the surgeon.
“Rather than shilly-shally any longer, I’ll get right to the point.
We think it likely that you, Mr. Murray, were the mastermind of the Lisbon Conspiracy but were clever enough to keep your identity a secret from Archie Campbell and his gang.
So they went to the gallows without being able to reveal your identity to the authorities and thus allowed you to evade paying for your crimes. ”
His expression hardened. “And now, as my wife just explained, we think you’re looking to find Archie Campbell’s son and make even more money—no matter that it’s already soaked in the blood of Fletcher Campbell and Lord Langdon.”
A dead silence settled over the room … and then Murray blew out his cheeks.
“Ye gods, milord. I wish that I was half as clever in concocting such a fiendishly cunning plan as you’ve just described.” A sigh. “But I am not—I swear it.”
The earl let out a very rude sound.
“In other words, you’ll have to do better than that to convince us,” snapped Charlotte.
“I assumed no less, milady.” Murray tugged at the knot of his cravat to loosen it before continuing.
“Yes, Baz and I are guilty of breaking the letter of the law, but we have never been involved in shedding a drop of blood. Our only crime was in encouraging people to think about ideas that British government deemed highly dangerous.”
“Go on,” said Wrexford.
“You both know that Baz has, shall we say, rather radical notions concerning democratic principles and the right of individuals to have a say in their government. I happen to share his beliefs. We were passionate about our principles and sought to spread the word to the working class here in London about the democratic ideals espoused by America.”
He glanced at Henning before wiping his brow and resuming his explanation.
“But as you know, ten years ago our conflict with France—yet another revolutionary country—wasn’t going well, and the prime minister and his government were frightened out of their wits that the masses might be swayed by radical ideas to cause domestic unrest.”
“Langdon,” croaked Henning. “Langdon was put in charge of crushing any groups considered dangerous to the government. Murray and I had arranged for the printing of pamphlets explaining the thinking of Thomas Paine and others who championed the rights of man at a secret press in Edinburgh, as it was easier to evade the authorities in Scotland.”
“We arranged to smuggle them into London by hiding them in shipments of medical supplies to Baz’s clinic, as well as some of my shipments of woolen goods.
We had a network of men— each had a ring to identify himself so that transfer of the crates as they moved down from the north could be made to a trusted member of the Paine Society,” interjected Murray.
“But when I heard through various sources about Langdon’s committee, I decided to put an end to the project.
You see, I had some inkling that my old friend Archie Campbell was up to something highly dangerous and illegal—I swear, I didn’t know exactly what—and I feared that our shared Scottish connection would lead the authorities to taking a closer look at me and uncover our network of radicals. ”
He paused and lifted his shoulders in apology to the surgeon. “But I didn’t tell Baz the reason because … well, for a radical he has a surprisingly strong sense of Right and Wrong. So please believe me when I say that he knew nothing about Archie Campbell and what he and his gang were up to.”