A Most Peculiar Season Series Boxed Set: Five Full-length Connected Novels by Award-winning and Bestselling Authors

by Michelle Willingham

  “Should they all go to gaol?”

  “Blast. This is a conundrum. One’s as guilty as another.”

  “As peers, they will not go to gaol. They will keep to their story that they’ve done nothing wrong, and there is no physical evidence to prove Carr’s claim but the markers. Carr, on the other hand, is damned either way. I know beyond a doubt that he has their stolen items in his possession because it was his intention to ransom the goods for the return of the money they cheated from him.”

  “Aye, but they’ll never admit to cheating. And why the hell would they cheat Carr? Devilish thing to do.”

  “I had hoped you might know of some reason.”

  A shrug and a cocked eyebrow were Morton’s only answer.

  “I know that look, Morton. What is it?”

  “I overheard a conversation between Morvill and Fortrose wherein Morvill called Carr an arrogant little prick. ‘Baiting his betters’, I think Fortrose said. Needed to be taught a lesson.”

  Yes, he knew those men well, and knew that a green commoner besting them would not go down well. “But Carr will pay the price. And pay for a murder he did not commit.”

  “If you turn him in. And if it was not Carr, who did kill old Amory?”

  “We shall have to find out. That is Carr’s only hope. They have carried their petty revenge too far, and if this does not end, he will eventually be caught. Or exposed by Morvill and his coterie.”

  “I agree that Carr does not deserve this. Could you have a talk with Morvill and the lot?”

  Dare shook his head. “I cannot see them admitting this scheme to anyone. Certainly not me. If they did so, they’d be ruined in society. And they would be merciless to anyone with the audacity to accuse them.”

  “Aye. They would.”

  Dare stood and went to put another log on the fireplace. “If I am to be perfectly honest, Morton, I intend to marry Miss Gertrude. Doubt she’ll consent if I hand her brother over to the charleys. Hell, she may not consent even if I don’t. But I’m damned if I know how to remedy this situation.”

  He turned at the silence and found a look of stupefaction on Morton’s face. “Are you actually thinking of spurning the law?”

  “Old Towe told me at the beginning of this that if I could not learn to bend, I would surely break. The spirit of the law is to make things right, to redress wrongs, I am told. And who was wronged here?” Good God! Had those words come from his mouth?

  Morton laughed as if he recognized Dare’s moral dilemma. “You are forsaking Lady Justice for the sake of Gertrude Carr. Damn.”

  “I am thinking of doing just that, and I’m thinking you are going to help me. Here’s my plan...”

  When Trudy entered the breakfast room, conversation at the table was unusually quiet. She noted that Lancelot was not present and wondered if was still sleeping or if he’d even been home yet. Desperate to tell him that Collingwood knew everything, she’d waited up for him, but had fallen asleep before he’d returned.

  A shiver passed through her when she thought that, if Collingwood had caught up to him, Lancelot could be in gaol even now. Pray Collingwood would tell her before he resorted to such drastic measures.

  She slipped into her chair and sighed deeply with the realization that Laura would only sit across from her two more days. She couldn’t imagine her sister sitting across from Colonel Burke the rest of her life. And when Laura met Trudy’s gaze, she knew Laura couldn’t imagine it either.

  She gave Trudy the tiniest of smiles and took a deep breath. “Mother, were you nervous before you married Papa?”

  “Any sensible girl would be nervous, Laura.” Her mother buttered her toast and sighed. “’Tis only natural when you are giving over your life to a virtual stranger.”

  “I would not be nervous.” Fiona arched an eyebrow. “Because I wouldn’t consent to marry anyone who made me nervous. Or anyone I did not know exceedingly well.”

  “Colonel Burke does make me nervous,” Laura admitted with another glance in Trudy’s direction.

  Was Laura actually going to make a stand? Trudy braced herself.

  “Pish!” Mother waved one hand dismissively. “Do not give it another thought. You will get over it soon enough. I did.”

  “I doubt you ever had a second thought.” Father folded his paper and set it beside his plate. “I’ve yet to see you timid or uncertain about anything, Mrs. Carr. But I must allow that you made me nervous.”

  Mother looked down her nose at him but said nothing.

  “Did you want to change your mind?” Laura asked.

  “Never entered my mind. And do not go all sentimental, Laura. Marriage is as much a business as banking. ’Tis a contract. An obligation.”

  Good heavens! Had her family ever had anything but ice water coursing through their veins? She was quick to defend Laura. “Surely—”

  Her mother cut her off. “What do you know about this subject, Gertrude?”

  She bit her tongue and looked down at her eggs. It was true that she had no practical knowledge. But she did know something of the wedding night. And that was ever so much more than an mere obligation. The word ‘pleasure’ came to mind. But Colonel Burke? Ugh! Guilt made her blush and she prayed her mother wouldn’t notice.

  “Well, I, for one, am pleased beyond measure that Laura is marrying.” Fiona put her teacup down. “Now I can get on with making a choice.”

  She almost pointed out that Fiona had already made a choice and was planning her own marriage, but she merely shot Fi a quelling glance.

  “Someone told me Colonel Burke has a mistress,” Laura blurted.

  “Who would tell you such a thing? Some jealous busybody, no doubt. What an indecent conversation!”

  Trudy stifled a groan. Goodness! She was biting her tongue bloody and it was not yet noon.

  Laura sighed. “But, Mother, if he is already straying, how shall I get on?”

  Her father retrieved his newspaper and stood. “Must be off to the bank. No time for chit-chat.” And he was gone before anyone could protest.

  Trudy glared after him. What a cowardly exit. No wonder her mother had her way in all things. Her father allowed it.

  Mother barely spared him a parting glance. “You shall get on as women from the beginning of time have been getting on, Laura. Put it out of your mind. You are the one with a ring on your finger. You are the one who will bear his heir. He may have a dozen mistresses, but you will be his only wife.”

  “But I do not want to be his wife!”

  There! Laura finally admitted it! Now it was in the open and they could decide what must be done. Trudy noted her mother’s hard expression and Fiona’s alarm in quick succession.

  Her mother’s tone was icy. “It is too late to cry off, Laura. Your course is committed.”

  Trudy leapt to Laura’s defense. “Surely it can be no more than embarrassing. Who would care beyond a week?”

  “’Tis beyond embarrassing. Why, this would be scandalous. Jilts are branded, Gertrude. What man would ever again propose to Laura knowing the risk that she may cry off? She will get no more proposals if she does not go down that aisle.”

  “She will receive no more proposals if she does.”

  The look on her mother’s face was enough to turn Trudy to stone. “And where we shall ever find a husband for you, Gertrude, I do not know. You are turning into quite a hoyden. Men do not like that in a woman.”

  “But they do like dowries, and Laura’s is quite nice.”

  “That is quite enough, Gertrude! Another word and you will find yourself locked in your room, and none of you will go to the Towe ball tonight.” Mother turned back to Laura. “And as for you, missy, it is too late to recant. The invitations have gone out. The arrangements have been made. The food and flowers have been ordered. The colonel has acquired the special license to marry at home. It is a fait accompli. You had better come to your senses because you will marry the colonel, and that is all there is to that!” Mother tossed her nap
kin on her plate and marched out of the room.

  Fiona stood so quickly that her chair tipped backward. “You have to!”

  The silence was deafening as Trudy looked between Laura and Fiona. What she saw was not a pretty thing—anger and challenge in Fiona’s posture, pain and confusion in Laura’s.

  Fiona put her hands on her hips in a defiant stance. “I will not allow you to delay me so much as a day, Laura. I do not give a fig for what you or Mother say!”

  “And I will not marry for your convenience.” Laura’s spine stiffened with resolve.

  “Then I will do what I must!” Fiona spun around and ran from the room.

  “Well.” Laura sighed and gave Trudy a trembling smile as if she were fighting back tears. “The fat’s in the fire now, I fear. I shall count myself fortunate if Fi does not kill me in my sleep to put me out of the way of her marriage.”

  Trudy’s stomach turned. “I... I am sorry, Laura. This is all my fault. I should have minded my own business. Heaven knows I’ve botched my own life, I did not need to botch yours as well.”

  Her sister gave her a quick hug, tears in her eyes. “Never mind. Mother will not listen to me, so she will not cancel but will continue as if this conversation never occurred. But who knows what I may yet do. I seem to change my mind hourly. As Fi was denouncing me, I was rethinking my decision. And Burke, I suppose, is better than nothing. Yes, I shall marry Burke after all.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  MILLS SHOWED WILL Esham into the library just as Dare was leaving for the Towe Ball. He did not mind the delay, since he was anxious to hear the investigator’s findings. He poured two glasses of sherry. “Tell me you found something that will clear Carr.”

  Esham smiled as he took the offered glass. “I found a lot of things, Collingwood. Where do you want me to begin?”

  Dare grimaced. He knew, now, who the Shadow was, but he wanted to hear Esham’s report. Particularly the part dealing with Charles Amory. “With the pertinent information.”

  “Ah, of course.” Esham grinned and went to warm himself by the fire. “I have only been investigating the thefts from the ton. I believe most of the others were committed by someone else, but blamed on the Shadow. I gather it has become a mark of status to have been the Shadow’s victim. More interesting, eh? We agreed, did we not, that the Shadow was almost certainly a member of the ton?

  “Well, to begin, I think you can count your friend Littleworth out. You’re right about him being up to something, but it isn’t murder. He was out and about, but he was in plain sight all evening before the murder. No opportunity. He also has unimpeachable alibis for many of the robberies.”

  Dare breathed a little easier. Littleworth was a private man, but Dare had always thought him ethical.

  “Colonel Burke is a likely fellow, if he’d had the opportunity. He is known to be ambitious and has a reputation for grubbing money from everyone but his whores. Quite tight with a farthing, but more than generous with the tarts. And it appears to be common knowledge that he proposed to Miss Carr because her dowry is enough to live comfortably off. My search led me to a doxy at at Rosie’s place. He was sporting all night—most nights he’s not with Miss Carr. The girl said Burke likes to use two girls at once. I begin to pity Miss Carr. She’ll have her work cut out for her. The man has a reputation for being insatiable. And not particularly skillful.”

  “As for Lancelot Carr...” Esham paused and heaved a long sigh, “he looks like a good candidate. As far as I’ve been able to tell, he’s been at every event where something has gone missing. And he was the one to ‘discover’ Amory’s body, eh?”

  Dare nodded. He still carried that silver button in his pocket. He had hoped he would not have to turn that over to the investigators.

  “Well,” Esham continued, “that deserves a closer look. I shall interview a few more of his friends, but thus far, it does appear our lad is in some sort of trouble. Money and desperation do not mix, and Carr has plenty of both. If he’s got himself in some sort of trouble and is capable of murder, he’s a likely candidate.

  “And now for Charles Amory. You were right. The son is the only heir to the title and the fortune. And there appears to be a bit of bad blood between father and son. Not unusual for stubborn fathers and headstrong sons, but worth remarking. I collected most of my information on him from their servants. They know more than friends, but tend to keep their mouths shut. They are still mourning the old man and uncertain about the son.”

  Dare suspected as much. Old Amory had been a member at White’s, and often grumbled about his son. Dare had excused it as the difference in age and tolerance, but this appeared to be more. “Did the servants say what the arguments were about?”

  “Constant quarrels about the son’s bawdy behavior, the company he kept, money, mistresses and his disinterest in finding a suitable wife and providing an heir.”

  “All very common disputes between fathers and sons.”

  Esham grinned. “Ah, but there’s more. The butler overheard a heated discussion when the old man found cash missing from his safe. Then a piece of his recently deceased mother’s jewelry was pilfered from the safe. A family heirloom. Passed down for generations. The old man was furious. Threatened to send Amory away. Disinherit him. Oh, he’d eventually have the title, but the money and lands were not entailed, so old Amory could have disposed of them as he wished. Given them to charity, is what the servants reported he’d threatened.”

  “Your conclusion?”

  “It’s Amory or Carr. The signs are all there for both of them.”

  A sinking feeling invaded Dare’s vitals. He’d suspected the same. The difference, and most damning, was that Carr’s button and a sapphire bracelet were found at the scene of Lord Amory’s murder. He already knew Carr was the Shadow. He could only hope Charles Amory was the murderer.

  “Esham, go back to Halston’s garden. Scour the grounds. There has to be some sort of evidence—something left behind, a murder weapon... anything. Murders are never that clean. I’m going to have a word with Towe and make some arrangements. If you need me, you know where to find me.”

  Towe Manor was ablaze with lights in the gloomy night. Every window spilled a warm glow onto the street while a long stream of coaches inched along to drop their passengers at the wide steps leading to the massive door.

  Trudy followed her parents through the reception line and into the opulent ballroom. They’d all come tonight, Laura, Fiona, and Lancelot trailing along behind. He’d mentioned in passing that he intended to meet friends later, so she would have to find a few minutes with him before he departed. She had not yet been able to inform him that Collingwood knew his secret. And Collingwood? Though she did not yet see him, she knew he would come tonight. He would, no doubt, be counting himself the most fortunate of men to have escaped the taint of Carr blood when the truth came out.

  Leaning close to Lancelot’s ear, she warned him. “I must speak to you before you disappear again, Skippy. The matter is imperative.”

  He shrugged her hand away. “I am not in the mood for another lecture. I get enough of that from father.” And with that, he turned to greet a group of his friends. She would keep an eye on him and catch him as soon as he was alone.

  Jane Fenway waved to her from across the room, a dazzling smile on her face. Why, her friend was positively glowing. She must actually be enamored of her intended. She hadn’t been able to call on Jane yesterday in the aftermath of the argument at the breakfast table. She made a quick curtsy to her host and hostess before excusing herself from her parents and making her way to Jane’s side.

  “Mother told me your name was mentioned in church yesterday,” she teased.

  Jane covered her giggle with her fan. “Yes. It was quite a surprise. Even to me. I had no idea Sir Bertrand even noticed me.”

  “None? Really?”

  “Well, I did note that he asked me to dance at every fête. Often twice. And that he has always been most complimentary. But when
he approached Papa, I was astonished.”

  “You had no inkling?”

  A pretty pink flushed Jane’s cheeks. “No, but I held hopes.”

  Trudy gave her a tight hug. “I am so happy for you, Jane. No one deserves such happiness more than you. And Sir Bertrand is the most fortunate of men to have acquired your consent.”

  “Thank you, Trudy. That is what he said. Will you stand up with me? I haven’t any sisters, you know, and I count you as one of my dearest friends. I will never forget what you did for me at Carlton House.”

  “I would be honored, Jane, but ask me again next week, if you still want me.”

  “Next week? But of course I shall want you.”

  “There is still a fortnight for the remainder of the banns to be read. Anything can happen, Jane. And I want you to have the best wedding of the season.” She gave the girl a smile and a wink.

  “Oh, what a lovely thought, but I am certain Laura’s will be the best.”

  Trudy gave a wry laugh. If Laura’s wedding came off at all, it would be a travesty, not a triumph. But she couldn’t very well tell Jane that. She smiled when she saw Sir Bertrand coming their way. “I shall leave you to your fiancé. I am certain you have much to say to one another. And, of course, I will see you at Laura’s wedding day after tomorrow.”

  Jane blushed and Trudy was very pleased to see Sir Bertrand smiling at Jane, his gaze fixed on her as if she were the only woman in the room. She recalled how very special such a thing had made her feel when Dare looked at her that way.

  Giving Sir Bertrand a small curtsy, she excused herself. On her way back to her family she thought she caught a glimpse of Charles Amory. Oh, surely not! He would be in mourning and it was far too early for him to be attending events. He looked so stark and serious, and yes, he was dressed all in dull black but for his shirt. Still, the funeral was not until tomorrow. He must have urgent business here to have come out so soon.

  He noted her and gave a curt nod. He knew that she and Lancelot had discovered his father’s body in the Halstons’ garden. Surely he would have questions for them. But he merely turned away and entered the conversation with Lord Towe’s group. Perhaps he hoped to get answers there.