A Gentleman's Curse (Avenging Lords 4)

Hence the reason the lady was keen to spend more time with Justin. Had the fop really paid her modiste bill or just another gambling debt?

“Is your interest in Mrs Fanshaw merely a means to make her jealous?” Claudia asked.

Terence shook his head. “I was attempting to use charm to extract information. Mrs Fanshaw was Mr Garthwaite’s mistress at the time of the incident five years ago.”

Lockhart relaxed back in the seat. Perhaps he needed to erase the story he had created in his mind and begin again. He’d come home believing he had no family. Now it appeared his father cared. From the snippets of information he was piecing together, it seemed his brother might care a little, too.

“And you think that has some relevance?” Claudia asked.

“It does if you consider the fact Garthwaite had borrowed money to the sum of ten thousand pounds. A debt he could not repay. Mrs Fanshaw had stopped funding his habit. The image he projected to society does not reflect the true nature of the man.”

Perhaps spending so much time with Claudia Darling had awakened Lockhart’s senses. Instinct told him his brother spoke the truth. Everything he’d said sounded logical, plausible.

But there were still unanswered questions.

“So why not approach me sooner?” Lockhart said. It would have saved time and trouble. Then again, he would have missed the opportunity to spend time in Claudia Darling’s company. “Why insist we leave town?”

“Because I believe my wife is dangerous.” Terence’s grave expression proved unnerving. “She is cold and calculating, and I feared what she would do to your wife should you remain here. I needed more time to gather evidence and your presence has made her panic.”

“Good God! You think she is dangerous and yet you permit her to spend hours alone with our father?”

“Oh, she won’t hurt him, not when I’m convinced he is funding her habit. I’m in the process of bribing a clerk at the bank for information.”

Claudia gasped. “There’s an ink stain on the bed. What if she structures her visits around the time your father regains use of his faculties?” A delightful hum left her lips. “But why go to such lengths now?”

“Because now Hudson is home, he might discover our father has been giving her money for years. She’s played the doting daughter card extremely well. Keeping him sedated buys her a little time. I’ve been monitoring the situation daily without her knowledge.”

“You attend him at night,” Lockhart stated. “You realise Justin visited the apothecary and insisted on a stronger tincture of laudanum.”

Terence nodded. “I decanted a lesser dose into the bottle though I fear Selina is bringing her own tincture with her now.”

Claudia muttered something under her breath. “If Selina suspects you know the truth, she may harm your father. He is the only person who can attest to the fact she is drugging him against his will, to the fact he is giving her money.”

Lockhart considered the last point. Based on his father’s supposed illness no one would believe his ramblings. The only proof lay with the bank.

“It’s of no consequence now as I’ve moved Father into my home. Simmonds is under strict instructions not to let her cross the threshold.”

Terence snorted. “I received word from Mother this morning that the heathen had gone on the rampage, although she seems more concerned that you’ve abducted Simmonds.”

Lockhart snorted. “The butler begged me to take him.”

“As would I if I had to suffer Mother’s infernal complaining.” After a brief silence, Terence sighed. “Well, I have an appointment with the clerk at the bank. I trust you will watch Father while he’s in your care.”

“Of course.” Lockhart inclined his head. “Dr Hewlett is tending to him as we speak.” No doubt the doctor was eager to attend to his other patients, too.

Terence glanced out of the window. They were approaching Russell Square for the third time, and so Lockhart rapped on the roof. As the carriage drew to a stop, Terence shuffled forward and gripped the door handle.

“I’ll let you know my findings. In the meantime, be on your guard.” Terence turned to Claudia and smiled. “Allow me to congratulate you on your marriage and the upcoming birth of your first child.”

Claudia smiled, too. “Thank you.”

It was the forced smile of an actress. Beneath it, Lockhart wondered if she’d experienced the same rush of regret that currently plagued him. How was it possible to feel the loss of a child who had never existed?

Terence exited the carriage, and they followed closely behind.

When Terence climbed into his own carriage, Lockhart took hold of Claudia’s hand, and they entered the house.

“I suppose I should relieve Dr Hewlett,” he said, snatching the note from the salver on the console table. “And then we should retire to the privacy of our bedchamber.” Making love to his soon-to-be wife would banish the ghosts of the past.