Merely the Groom (Free Fellows League 2)

Holder hesitated.

“Drop it or turn it on yourself,” the Earl of Barclay declared. “I don’t care which. But do it now or die.”

Holder dropped his weapon. “My sister—”

“Is already in the Marquess of Courtland’s custody.” Shepherdston informed him, waving the all-clear signal as Courtland led Lavery out of Herrin House and into the custody of Mr. Wickham, the Bow Street runner.

Joel Holder, escorted by the triumphant members of the Free Fellows League, joined his sister on her journey to the Brixton Gaol.

Epilogue

“This word, ‘ love,’ which greybeards call divine.”

—William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

King Henry the Sixth, Part IV

“Your father was right,” Colin said as he cradled his wife against his heart. “Herrin House is no Plum Cottage.”

“It’s wonderful,” she said, glancing around the modest cottage. The plum trees were blooming, and the fragrance wafted through the bedroom window. “I can’t believe you brought me here,” she said, “when you could have driven me around the block and taken me right back home.”

“And waste a perfectly good opportunity to kidnap you? And make memories in Plum Cottage?” He chuckled. “Not bloody likely.”

“He was taking me back to Scotland.” Gillian shivered at the memory.

“He wouldn’t have gotten very far,” Colin told her. “Not with Griff driving.”

“How did you know who he was or when he would come?” Gillian asked.

“We set a trap and waited to see who would walk into it.” He kissed the bump on the side of her head. “We suspected it had to be a clerk in your father’s firm, so we alerted Lord Davies and Wickham, the Bow Street runner, and told them of our suspicions. We learned that Holder was one of three clerks recently employed by your father, and that he had clerked at other firms that handled vouchers in the name of Colin Fox—my alias,” Colin explained. “Lord Davies pretended to discover the irregularities in the shipping routes and called a meeting of all the clerks with access to the shipping orders and manifests after he signed them. Holder proved quite adept at forging Lord Davies’ signature and reassigning the trade routes. Because he’d only been employed by Davies Silk and Linen Importers a short time, he wasn’t aware of the significance of the names of the ships. He simply sent the ships with the cargo Bonapa

rte required to French ports.”

“Didn’t anyone question the change in the routes?” Gillian asked.

Colin nodded. “Several senior captains and members of the crews. Unfortunately, Holder was in a position to intercept the captains’ written inquiries. He replied to their queries with letters informing the captains that the state of war between England and France and the very real fear of spies and piracy dictated immediate changes in trade routes and constant rotation of the crews, and then forged your father’s signature to the documents.”

“Good heavens!” Gillian blanched. “He could have gained complete control of the shipping line.”

“He very nearly did,” Colin said. “No one would have suspected a thing if his hubris hadn’t gotten the better of him.”

“I don’t understand.” Gillian frowned.

“He loves France and worships Bonaparte, but he craved a way of life he couldn’t have. He had been born into a family that had served aristocrats for generations. But Holder didn’t want to serve. He wanted power. And he found a way to get it by supporting Bonaparte’s rise to power. Bonaparte promised to reward his service and his loyalty once the war was won with an English dukedom and all the lands, money, and power that accompany the title. Unfortunately for Holder, war is expensive and he needed to find another way to help Bonaparte finance it, so he and his sister devised a scheme to marry English money. But his position as a French agent necessitated that he work as a clerk and no gentleman member of the ton would allow a clerk to marry his daughter. He...”

“Eloped with foolish young ladies like me with more money than sense...”

“Overstepped his bounds when he began courting ladies who should have been beyond his reach. All of his victims were daughters, wards, and widows of newly elevated and minor peers. He targeted ladies at the bottom or on the fringe of society. Ladies who had means, but who would generally be ignored by the ton.” Colin managed a smile.

“I can’t believe I was so gullible.”

Colin brushed her lips in a tender kiss. “Holder was very good at what he did. He offered you romance and adventure and became what you wanted him to be. If you had wanted a scholar, he’d have been an Oxford don. If you had wanted a pirate, he’d have been the captain of a pirate ship. He was a confidence man who fooled a great many people. You made a mistake in trusting him, but he made a far greater one when he tempted fate by using my alias.” Colin kissed her again. “You were fated to be mine. Holder was a fool to leave you alone at the Blue Bottle Inn where I could find you. I promise I won’t make that mistake. I’ll never leave you alone.”

“You said there were three clerks,” Gillian whispered between kisses. “How did you know which one masqueraded as Colin Fox?”

“Holder was the only clerk with extraordinary blue eyes,” Colin told her. “He couldn’t hide his eyes and everyone remembered them. Once we began asking the right questions and piecing the puzzle together, it was simply a matter of deduction.” Colin squeezed his eyes shut. “The game was up as soon as your father called the meeting. Whoever needed the ships knew he would have to find another way to get them. Since Holder had tried to be rid of me once before, I let it be known that the real Colin Fox was on his trail. There I miscalculated. I thought he’d try to make his escape on one of your father’s ships, so I led him away from you and your parents and waited for him at the docks. I knew you were protected, because Griff and I had Bow Street post guards around Herrin House. I was sure he would come after me.” Colin tenderly pressed his lips against the bump on Gillian’s head once again. “But he went for you and ransom money instead. I’m sorry, my love.”

“You didn’t know about Lavery,” Gillian reminded him.