Tension seeped from the hulking shoulders. “Then you’re hoping to resolve this matter without bloodshed.”
“Perhaps.” The answer allowed Cam to introduce his scheme for untangling this deuced mess. Richard and Genevieve had better name him godfather to their first baby or he’d have something to say.
“If I keep my mouth shut about what that bastard Evans—no, pardon, Sir Richard—got up to with fair Genevieve, we’ll call it quits, shall we?”
“Oh, no, my lord. Nowhere near compensation for the trouble you’ve caused. I demand the Harmsworth Jewel’s return.”
“And that’s the end of it?”
“It’s a start.”
“If you’re too lily-livered to bring the courts down upon my head and you dislike the alternative of a duel, there’s nothing to negotiate.” The man’s confidence swelled every minute.
“I asked my friend Viscount Hillbrook to look into your activities. Jonas Merrick has resources mere mortals like you and I only dream about. Although I gather unearthing your unsavory dealings required little specialist knowledge.”
Fairbrother went as pale as a fish’s belly and he sagged against the table. “You’re bluffing.”
“Jonas came up with quite a list, even in the short time he devoted to the issue. Items stolen from museums joining your collection. Bribery and coercion in pursuit of your mania to possess. An inherited fortune squandered so that you now operate brothels and opium dens to fund your purchases. Violence. Murder. Theft. Fraud. I could continue.”
“You can’t prove any of this,” the man said, but he already looked diminished, as though someone had sucked the air from him.
“Right now, it’s merely reports on Hillbrook’s desk. But he esteems Sir Richard and he’s ready to investigate every last rumor.”
“You’re blackmailing me to be silent.”
“Quite so.”
Sweat sheened Fairbrother’s jowls. “So let’s be clear—if I remain discreet about Miss Barrett, you won’t pursue these inquiries.”
Cam shook his head with false regret. “Again, far too easy. After all, you tried to kill my friends. Not to mention my friend’s dog.”
“That mongrel?”
“He didn’t deserve the treatment you handed him. But we digress.”
“What do you want?”
Cam straightened. This was the important part. This was why he’d come alone. “You will sign your collection over to Miss Barrett. Lord Hillbrook and I will reinstate all stolen items to their rightful owners. Anything you purchased legitimately forms Miss Barrett’s dowry.”
“Nobody will marry that slut.”
Cam leaped to his feet. His fist slammed into the man’s gut, smashing him into the gilt and marble table, sliding the massive piece backward. Fairbrother slumped and would have fallen if he hadn’t caught the gold chased edge.
“Your decision?” Cam asked pleasantly, opening and closing his bruised hand against his side.
Fairbrother scowled with undisguised hatred. “If I say no?”
“Then you meet Sir Richard at dawn.” He paused. “My friend is a crack shot. That’s not the alternative I’d choose. Particularly as unless you agree to my terms, I intend your ruin. If I were you, I’d surrender the collection, then make for the Continent.”
“You’re a cold bugger, Sedgemoor.” Fairbrother’s gaze swung around the glass cases as if he counted each item.
Cam shrugged. “What’s it to be?”
The man seemed smaller, less formidable than he had ten minutes ago. “I’ll send the relevant documents tomorrow.”
Cam shook his head. “This ends tonight. You’ll sign an undertaking to relinquish your collection to Miss Barrett. If you steal even one pawn from a chess set, Hillbrook and I will hunt you down like the feral cur you are.”
“Then what?” His hands clutched at the table, the big ugly knuckles shining white.