The Secret Pearl(98)

“I have just had breakfast,” Lord Brocklehurst said, sinking into the chair Fleur had occupied a few evenings before and waving a dismissive hand at the offer of a drink. “Devilish weather, Ridgeway. The ladies will be climbing the walls out of boredom. They love to stroll.”

“They must do so in the gallery,” his grace said. “I understand you are planning to deprive me of my governess, Brocklehurst.”

The other’s eyes became wary. He laughed. “Miss Hamilton is a very attractive lady,” he said.

“It is my understanding that the two of you have an unofficial betrothal,” the duke said. “You are a fortunate man.”

Lord Brocklehurst was silent for a moment. “She has told you this?” he asked.

The duke took the chair opposite his companion’s and smiled. “I hope I have not got her into trouble with you by speaking up,” he said. “But I am sure she has not been announcing the news to everyone. She probably thought that as her employer I should be given some notice of her leaving. She will be going with you, I believe?”

Lord Brocklehurst relaxed back in his chair and returned the duke’s smile. “I am not at all annoyed at her telling you,” he said. “I wished to announce our betrothal officially here, but she has been reluctant. The fact that she is a servant has made her shy.”

“Ah,” the duke said, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair and steepling his fingers, “it is true, then. Congratulations are in order. When are the nuptials to be?”

“Thank you,” Lord Brocklehurst said. “As soon as possible after we leave here. I hope you will not be too greatly inconvenienced, Ridgeway.”

The duke shrugged. “Miss Bradshaw has given me a week’s notice,” he said.

The other nodded, and then his glance sharpened. “She has told you that she has been living here under an assumed name?” he said.

The duke inclined his head. “If the wedding is to be immediate,” he said, “you must have decided not to press charges. Of course, when the charges are theft and murder, the decision is not a justice’s to make. What you must have decided is that the death was not a murder and the removal of the jewels not a theft. Am I right?”

“What has Isabella been saying to you?” Lord Brocklehurst was sitting up in his chair and gripping the arms.

“Nothing at all,” his grace said, crossing one booted leg over the other. “Not even anything about marrying you. I have another source of information.”

Lord Brocklehurst was frowning. “What is going on here, pray?” he asked.

“It seems that I have employed a governess who is not who she claims to be,” the duke said, “and who may or may not be a murderer and who may or may not be a thief. My daughter’s safety and well-being are at stake. I wish to find out some facts from you, Brocklehurst, if I may. I need your assistance.”

The other sat back in his chair again. “Perhaps I could have that drink after all,” he said.

The duke got to his feet and crossed the room. “Is Miss Bradshaw a thief?” he asked.

“I don’t know where you got your information,” Lord Brocklehurst said, “but you probably know that some of my mother’s jewels were found in a trunk that Isabella was about to take from the house. They were the more costly jewels, which my mother had not taken to London with her.”

“Inside the trunk,” the duke said. “How did she steal them? If they were so costly, were they not kept very carefully under lock and key? To whom did your mother entrust the key when she left?”

“To me, of course,” the other said. “But Isabella has lived in the house all her life. She must have known where the jewels were kept. It is altogether possible that she had a key.”

“There was more than one, then?”

Lord Brocklehurst shrugged.

“Was Miss Bradshaw with her trunk until the moment of discovery?” his grace asked.

“The trunk was opened and the jewels discovered after she had run away,” Lord Brocklehurst said.

“And where was the trunk while she was speaking with you and after she ran away, before someone decided to open it?” the duke asked.

“It was in the gig she planned to take, and then taken back to her room,” the other said.

“I see.” His grace handed him his drink and took his seat again. He had not poured a glass for himself. “How many people would have had access to that trunk after Miss Bradshaw last saw it? Was it locked, by the way?”

Lord Brocklehurst was frowning again. “This sounds remarkably like an interrogation, Ridgeway,” he said.