Serena

“What? How can that be?” Jasper sounded astonished. .

“My nephew … Freddy?” His lordship’s brow was furrowed. As dawning lit in his brain, he said, “Hold on a moment. My nevvy and Miss Moorely happened to be passing by a wooded area late in the afternoon the other day when they saw someone come charging out of the woods. The fellow made them both suspicious, and they decided to investigate, whereupon they came upon a corpse.”

“Egad!” Jasper said.

Lewis interjected, “Yes, yes … that’s it precisely, Danny. They fetched the magistrate—Tuthill— to the scene, but by the time they returned, the er … corpse was gone.”

“Gone, what do you mean gone?” Jasper shook his head. “Too smoky by half!”

“The body couldn’t be found. His horse couldn’t be found … but they were able between them to give a description of the poor man. As it turns out, Magistrate Tuthill, my friend, said it sounded to him like the fellow they had been watching work or so it seemed near the Mary Rose,” Lewis said.

“How do you know all this?” his lordship inquired on a frown.

“As I mentioned just now, Magistrate Tuthill and I are good friends,” Lewis said proudly.

“And, of course, the Mary Rose was where the gold guineas had been headed,” Jasper added thoughtfully, almost to himself.

“Aye, then, we have a bit of a situation,” his lordship said with some concern.

“And this magistrate …” Jasper started.

“Tuthill, as I told you, a good friend of mine. Tut is a great gun,” Lewis said. “Nothing frippery about him—told me right off that something havey cavey was towards and that I should get word to you, Jasper. Didn’t know then you were coming into town, but said you would want to know.”

“And this all took place, I am assuming, over the last two days?” his lordship asked thoughtfully.

“Aye, and Tut is sure the shipment is still somewhere in the New Forest,” Lewis said.

“Does he? Why?” asked his lordship.

“There, you belong in the Treasury Department with me, Danny. Could use you there. Good head on your shoulders. You have a direct way of getting to the meat and cutting out all the rest,” Jasper said quietly.

Lewis stuck in, “Well, like I told you, Tut is a good man. He couldn’t sleep that first night. Made his way to the harbor and decided to have a look in on the Mary Rose. He told me he is only confiding in me so that I would get word to you, Jasper,” he said and then continued. “At any rate, right off he noticed that the two men he had posted to watch the ship were nowhere to be found. Out came his pistol, but it was too late. He found his men trussed up in a wagonload of straw, heard them all muffled up. He sets them to rights, and when they search the ship, no gold … though the manifest noted it was delivered. He knew immediately it was all a hum. He said to tell you that in his opinion it just never made it to the ship. Just a trunk full of rocks.”

“If he thinks it is in the New Forest, what does he propose to do next?” Jasper asked.

“Tomorrow morning he’s taking his men into the woods. Thinks the thieving culls are hiding the gold—maybe dug a ditch and covered it up—somewhere in the Forest. Or maybe they are working with a farmer hard on his luck and talked into looking the other way for a bit of gold, you see. Tut means to do a thorough search.”

“Interesting …” Jasper offered.

“Indeed, but very nearly impossible to execute. Too many ways of getting around in the New Forest, and how can a handful of men cover all that ground?” his lordship stuck in with a frown.

“I know, he knows, but what else can he do?” Lewis answered, shrugging.

“Also,” his lordship added with a furrowed look, “I am a little concerned that this situation puts both Miss Moorely and Freddy in danger.”

“Aye … I should think so,” remarked Lewis.

Jasper frowned. “I don’t know about that. Obviously they weren’t able to identify the scoundrel.” He sighed. “Right then, I’m off, but just in case you had better tell your nevvy to have a watchful eye … though we don’t want to frighten Miss Moorely.”

“Oh … I doubt she frightens easily,” said his lordship, turning to look at her. She was in the middle of a country dance with Freddy, and for a moment, he couldn’t look away from her. Damn, but he was going to have to hurry if he was going to nip this in the bud, for Freddy looked absolutely besotted!

~ Eight ~

“UNCLE DANNY, DO not shoot me down when I tell you … because I need to tell you, as you are my favorite of all my relatives. I … well, as I wrote m’mother, I mean to make Miss Moorely, my wife.”

His lordship’s heartbeat quickened. His nerves felt frazzled as he stopped himself from shouting. He managed to maintain a relatively calm exterior and answered, “Of course, you do.” He studied him, “Do you have reason to believe that Miss Moorely will accept your suit?”

“Well, as to that …” Freddy blushed. “There is never any saying what Serena has in her mind.” He shrugged. “I don’t mean to give up until she realizes that I am the only man that can make her happy.”