Madness (38 page)

Margaret looked completely dismayed, and with a last resigned sniff she left.

Randall took the boys to the door of the room. “Can you bring your sister outside while I talk to Simon and Gabrielle for a moment?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, Papa,” David agreed. “You’re not mad at them, are you?”

“No, not at all,” Randall reassured him firmly.
 
“Now off you go.”

Simon was still embracing Gabrielle, but he stood now that he could trust his legs to hold him up. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused. I think given the circumstances that perhaps I should leave—”

Randall shook his head. “I’m going to have to be even more careful about the servants I hire. This is the second person who didn’t have the children’s best interests at heart. But you do. The boys especially could do with a good firm hand. I want you to start teaching them from now on.”

“
Me
? But—”

“It will mean a greatly increased salary, of course. I would also like to speak with you about your future plans with Gabrielle, if you don’t mind."

He looked wounded anew. "Plans? Well, if you want us to move out, you have only to—"

"No! Not at all," Randall insisted, patting him on the shoulder. "I simply meant that your little nest egg is growing thanks to her, and now your own efforts will not be inconsiderable. So I thought you might like to start making arrangements regarding some decent investments with this money.”

This was music to Simon’s ears, for of course mathematics had been his greatest love.

“Yes, I would very much like to ensure that Gabrielle and I are independent. Though of course I would never forget the huge debt of gratitude I owe to your entire family for making me feel so welcome and having faith in me.”

"Nonsense—"

He looked Randall straight in the eye. “Tell me the truth. Did you suspect me at all of, well, what she said?”

Randall met his gaze with equal candor. “Not for one single second.”

Simon offered his hand and the two of them shook warmly. “Come, let’s go back down to the study and go over a few papers together, all three of us.”

Simon was now in his element, and it showed. He took the papers which Randall offered him, cast a glance over them, and named three stocks he was sure were going to do well based on past performance.

Randall stared at him. “But how can you tell so much from just a five-second glimpse?”

Simon shrugged. “It’s something I was always good at,” he said modestly.

Gabrielle hugged him and beamed at Randall. “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you for this chance. I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t, Simon. You haven’t thus far. Thank you both. I’m so glad you’re here.”

She glanced up at her cousin's deep lapis eyes, and was certain he meant every word he said. And thanked the gods for it.
 

She heaved a sigh of relief. Once again, they had narrowly averted disaster. She only hoped their luck would continue to hold…

Randall got the surprise of his life a couple of days later when a more bold and confident Simon offered to help with the estate’s account books.

“It’s just that—” He hesitated for a brief moment and then took the plunge. It was the principle of the thing, after all.

“Well, I didn't mean to pry. It’s just that I was in here checking the stock prices, and the book was open on the desk."

Randall raised his brows. "Yes?"

"Well,
 
I couldn’t help but notice that Mr. Ventnor has not been entirely accurate.”

He frowned slightly. "Oh? Where?"

Randall looked at the several examples Simon provided him with, and could see what he was saying only with great difficulty, and some degree of dawning horror.

“Is he cheating me on purpose, do you think?” he asked after a time.

Simon shrugged. “It’s not for me to say. They’re either really basic errors, in which case he’s not competent, or he’s skimming money off the top for himself, and is therefore a thief.”

Randall sat down by his side and within half an hour, Simon had identified all the errors made in the last quarter, the rents collected versus the sums entered in the book, and found a considerable number of ‘errors’. And a very large discrepancy indeed.

Naturally Randall confronted his accountant, who was furious. And cornered.

Mr. Ventnor instantly turned on Simon and accused him of being an interfering liar. “You already got two other servants the sack. I’m damned if I’m going to be a third.”

Randall scowled blackly. “You’ve got yourself the sack for trying to cheat me. For taking advantage of my trust. You too came highly recommended, and now I find I’ve been nursing a third viper in my bosom."

The Earl's eyes narrowed. "In fact, if I didn’t know better I would say someone put you up to this. To have access to my affairs and cause trouble for me, I’ll warrant. All of this is in complete disarray and will have to be redone. Starting from when you first arrived about six months ago."

"But sir, he's lying, the better to draw you in—"

Randall completely ignored his sputterings. “I shall not give you any notice, and you can consider yourself paid for all you’ve stolen from me. As for a reference. well, I shall not only
not
give you one, I shall make it clear that you are not to be trusted by any employer in England. So go back to whoever your masters are, and tell them they can’t trip me up so easily.”

In the end, Ventnor didn't even bother to deny the accusation. He simply scurried from the room with a last livid look at Simon.

When he had gone Randall said to Simon, “Thank you. Would it be huge imposition for me to ask you to—”

“I shall redo them. It will be my pleasure. Have we got any blank ledgers?”

“Yes but this is going to take weeks,” he sighed.

Simon shook his head. “If you can make yourself available and have Gabrielle come in here to help match up the files with the books, I shall first ascertain that the books were correct before he started working here, and take it from there.”

Randall's brows knitted, but then he nodded. “All right, I shall order us some tea and fetch Gabrielle. The children will have to wait for their ride until tomorrow.”

“So long as they know we wouldn’t let them down if it weren’t urgent.”

“Quite.” He patted Simon on the back. “I must say, you certainly are a good man.”

Simon smiled slowly with evident pleasure. “You needn’t sound so surprised.”

The Earl gave a half-smile. “Not surprised. Envious. I wish I were as good a man as you.”

Simon shook his head ruefully.
 
“Don’t ever envy me anything, except possibly my lovely wife-to-be.”

Gabrielle entered a short time later, aflutter at the news that there was a mild emergency.

Simon kissed her tenderly, and then explained to her what had happened. She immediately began pulling out the supporting files he requested, beaming with pride at her remarkably gifted man.

He really was a miracle, and each day they spent together made her fall in love with him even more deeply. She sat down next to him, smiled up into his face lovingly, and began.

By the end of the day Simon presented Randall with a completely new and flawlessly accurate set of books and records. Randall was stunned and pointed to them. He looked at Gabrielle almost accusingly.

“You never told me. All this time-“

She shrugged. “I wasn’t sure you would want him to—”

Simon sensed a tension in the air and decided he would leave the cousins to themselves.
 
He stretched and yawned as he rose from the chair.

“If you don’t mind sparing me for a half an hour, I think I shall go see the children,
 
and say good night to the little ones.”

“Of course you may,” Randall agreed readily.

Simon kissed Gabrielle warmly, then vanished.

As soon as he had gone she said in a low voice, “I would have told you. The truth is my knowledge of such complicated calculations is fairly limited. I didn’t really know exactly how good he was. It’s like everything else, he’s just, well, dazzling. A genius.

“I also didn’t want him to overtax himself. I mean, just think about him having been locked away for so many years with nothing to do, no one to speak with.

"I really wasn’t sure that trying to integrate him fully into the family was the right thing to do. I didn’t know how he was going to take going from complete solitude to living in a house that’s like a coaching depot.”

Randall acknowledged the legitimacy of her fears. “I take your point. But I think he’s doing admirably.”

She nodded. “So do I. But we can also never forget that he’s not fully well. He still has nightmares and—”

“He seems very happy, though.”

“Yes, yes, he does,” she said with a winsome smile. “We
are
happy. Thank you.”

“And the children and my mother adore him. I don’t see the harm in giving him more responsibility.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Well, the only person who can judge what he’s capable of and willing to do is him. I don’t want to be so overprotective of him any longer, really I don't. I know Simon feels keenly what he perceives as my having done so much for him. He actually thinks he’s done nothing to repay me.

"He doesn’t seem to realise that his love is all I could ever want or hope for. That and perhaps some children of our own one day, though I don’t think either of us are ready for that quite yet.”

Randall shook his head. “No indeed. You’re most definitely enjoying the best of both worlds. The children to play with during the day, and the ability to sleep straight through the night,” Randall said with an envious laugh. “But then, I can’t recall getting more than a few hours’ sleep ever since I met Isolde anyway.” He winked broadly.

“I know the feeling,” Gabrielle admitted with a happy laugh.

Randall drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment, deep in thought. At length he said, “Well, in light of all this, I would say that we need to change some of the timetables on the lessons, then, if he is going to be my accountant as well.”