The Rakehell Regency(33)

"Fate has brought her to me, both as a result of the card game, and her illness now," he said, looking straight at his old friend. It was a look which almost dared Malcolm to challenge him.



He didn't.



Clifford pressed on after it was clear he would not gainsay him. "It is a role I do not plan to take lightly. I would appreciate all of you helping to keep an eye on her, if and when she recovers from this malady. We must take steps to ensure that she's never left alone with Gerald again.



"If he ever dares come to here or to my house, the servants must wait upon them continually. I would feel even better if one of us was always in attendance upon her, without being too obvious about it, of course."



"We will do anything we can to help nurse and chaperone her," Josephine promised.



"Yes, indeed," Emma agreed.



"If he is desperate enough to want to slip her something, there will be little we can do to stop him," Henry pointed out.



Clifford shrugged. "Once we are wed, her property will be mine, or our heirs', so far as he knows. He will have nothing to gain by killing her then."



"As if that will ever stop a madman!" Henry exclaimed impatiently, shoving out of his chair to pace back and forth in front of his brother's chair.



"I'm telling you, Gerald is nothing but trouble for both of you. He hates you with a passion bordering on mania. You know all the bad things that have happened around our estate have been due to him."



Malcolm looked at the brothers uneasily. "I'm sorry, Henry. You've said this before, but my father has never found sufficient proof to charge anyone. Gerald and the Cavendishes have all been able to vouch for each other time and time again. The Stephenses have been able to do the same. If you're fearful of Gerald, you might just as well be concerned about Peter and Toby."



"What about her other cousin?" Herny suggested. "Let's not forget him."



Malcolm shook his head. "I doubt Paul has been involved in anything nefarious. Since he's away at university, he's a most unlikely suspect now. But that's not to say he might not have committed any crimes in the past."



"Can you find out if he was really at Oxford today?"



His friend gave him a long look. "All right, if it will help your brother, then I shall ask my father to send someone up there."



Clifford relaxed further in his chair. "Thank you. I know we might all be going on a wild goose chase here, but anything has to be better than all this sitting around feeling helpless."



"That's all right, we understand. If you really want to institute an investigation though, we might as well lay it all out on the table, so to speak. The two things can of course be completely unrelated. Vanessa may or may not have been poisoned. But the wave of crimes in the district, expecially against you, is undisputable."



Emma moved to sit at the desk beside Malcolm. "Would you like me to write for a time? I have the feeling that this could take a while."



He looked pleased at the offer, his grey eyes lighting up like beacons, and accepted gratefully. He moved over to take the seat Henry had vacated, while Henry brought over a chair to sit closer to his fiancee.



"So, where do we begin?" Josephine asked.



"Barring access to all my father's official notes, how about we start with a list of suspects and our impressions. Just say what you think. Instincts can often prove correct as well, so say what you really think, no matter how far-fetched it might sound."



"Timothy Bridges is a hot head, but vandalism doesn't seem his style," Emma offered shyly. "Mainly drink and er, attention to women."



"There are those attacks on the local women," Clifford reminded them. "Either they genuinely didn't see who it was, or they're too scared to admit it. With their reputations at stake, and humble positions, they must be petrified, poor things."



The two women shivered delicately.



"One thing, though," Clifford said in a thoughtful tone. "I don't think the culprit could get back and forth from his home without being seen by someone. The roads are well-traveled hereabouts, and it's an awfully long way through the fields in the dead of night."



"Precisely why it has to be one of our nearest neighbors, present company excepted, of course, Malcolm."



Malcolm gave a little nod to Henry by way of thanks.



"Unless of course he is paying someone to do it," Emma suggested.



They all considered that for a time.



"It would have to be an awful lot of money to persuade anyone to cause that much trouble for the Stone family," Josephine said, shaking her head.