The Wicked Wager (25 page)

The duchess strode in yawning, wearing a
long white filmy robe. She had not bothered to change her night dress.

No one spared her a glance, each wondering
what this great news was. From the solemn look on the duke’s face they knew it
would not be pleasant.

They sent curious glances at the tall, reed
thin man standing beside the duke. No one had seen him before. His hair was
shocking white and his face heavily lined. His dark beetle eyes raked over all
those present, dwelling long enough on each one to have them squirming
uncomfortably.

They wondered what an outsider was doing in
their midst, and they were further amazed to find the head gardener enter the
room along with another strange man. Emma knew him to be the under-gardener,
Joe.

The duke stood up and came to stand in
front of the desk. He looked around the room and said, “Now that everyone is
present, I can begin.”

“Father, Lady Babbage is not here yet,”
Catherine spoke up.

Mr Barker shot her annoyed look. He wanted
to go back to bed.

“This is why I have called you here. It is
about Lady Babbage. There is no easy way to say this, so I must simply say it.
My sister … she died this morning.”

A collective gasp went around the room.

The duke watched the faces as they digested
the news. He was unhappy to note that most looked relieved, Prudence being the
most transparent.

“There is more, which is why I invited Mr
Nutters to join me this morning. He arrived last night and was staying at the
village inn. He had an appointment with me this afternoon, but the urgency and
the nature of the situation forced me to request his presence early. He is a
private detective in London,” the duke said, indicating the man standing to his
right.

Mr Nutters bowed formally and smiled a
smile of a shark baiting its prey.

This time the shock was slow in coming. It
took them a moment to realise what the need for a detective was in such a
situation.

“I see you have come to the obvious
conclusion. She did not die a natural death but was brutally murdered.”

“Is there no mistake, uncle?” Emma asked.

“No, she was stabbed,” he said shortly.

Catherine burst into tears and turned to
bury her face into Lord Raikes’ shoulder. Apart from Lord Raikes, no one gave
the gesture a second thought. Their minds were whirling as they tried to
assimilate the facts.

“I am the duke, and hence the magistrate as
well in this surrounding area. It is up to me to find the culprit.” His eyes
turned cold as he scanned the faces in front of him. He continued,
“Unfortunately, the murderer is one of the people present in this room.”

“But it could be the servants!” Mr Barker
said angrily.

“No, it is not. The passage from the
servants’ room was locked last night on my behest. I also had a man placed
among the servants, for a month ago something was stolen from my study. I
wanted to make sure it did not happen again.”

“You cannot seriously think one of us
murdered her? You have your family present as well. You cannot think to blame
them?” asked Mr Barker.

“I am the law, and hence I have to be
impartial and suspect
everyone
. I will not favour members of my family
above any guests present.”

He paused to let that sink in, and then
continued, “Emma, please escort the women to the breakfast room. I would like
to interview the earl first,” he said, looking at Lord Raikes, “and the head
gardener. The rest of you will not be allowed to leave this house until the
matter is resolved satisfactorily. Please wait until you are called.”

Mr Barker started arguing again, but
Prudence caught hold of her father’s arm and dragged him out. The rest left
quickly, each wanting some time to reflect.

Emma sent a last nervous glance at the head
gardener before exiting the room.

“Now, Mr Nutters will remain here during
the questioning and aid me with his expertise. I hope the two of you have no
objections to my asking a few crucial things?”

Richard and Lord Raikes shook their heads.

“Why don’t you take a seat, Lord Hamilton?”
the duke asked, pulling out a piece of paper from his desk.

Lord Raikes moved to take a seat when the
duke looked up and said with a hint of a smile, “You, too … Lord Raikes.”

The earl glanced at him in shock, while
Lord Raikes looked resigned as he sat.

“You knew? How?” The earl asked.

“Please, give me an account of your nightly
proceedings. After that, I will answer all your questions.”

The earl paused, wondering how he could admit
that he had been in Emma’s rooms. He decided to edit a great deal as he spoke,
“We had reason to believe that Lady Babbage was blackmailing Prudence,” he
started cautiously. The duke remained expressionless, so he continued, “Emma
and I knew that your sister was planning to leave a note in Prudence’s work
basket to arrange a time and place for them to meet. We had planned to steal
that note last night. We believed she would write enough in the note to
implicate herself. We wanted to bring the proof to you before accusing her.”

The duke nodded and gestured for him to
continue.

“We searched for it, but failed to locate
it. Then I went to Lord Raikes’ room and fell asleep on the couch, since the
door to the servant’s room was locked. I woke when Pickering knocked on
William’s door. I hid in the closet to avoid being discovered and then snuck
back into the kitchen. I was then informed that you had requested my presence
in the library, so here I am.”

The duke looked thoughtful and said, “Can
you tell me from the beginning everything that happened which made you believe
my sister was blackmailing Prudence?”

The earl did not want to divulge Prudence’s
secret, but he knew he had no choice. This was a matter of murder and no longer
a time to play games. So he outlined the events that led up to their search.

“Thank you for your edited version of
events. I know where you truly spent your night. Now, Lord Raikes, let us have
your explanation for last night’s activities.”

“Your Grace, I am sure you are already
aware of them, but I will tell you as truthfully as I can. I went to meet Emma
and the earl … in Emma’s room,” Lord Raikes threw an apologetic look at his
friend as he said it. He knew the duke was fully aware of their activities;
hence, lying to him could not be a good idea, “I then begged them to allow me
to tell Catherine everything due to my growing regard for her. I went back to
my room to find Prudence lying in my bed. You can guess how she was dressed and
why she was there. Before I could get over my shock, Catherine came to my door
and misunderstood the situation. I then went to her room and explained
everything as best as I could. I was thrown out within half an hour. I fell
asleep soon after.”

“Did either of you see anyone in the
hallway?”

“Mr and Mrs Barker,” the earl said.

The duke waited until Nutters had scratched
that information down on paper.

“Did they see you or speak to you?”

“No, Emma saw Mrs Barker’s departing back.
She seemed to be in a hurry. We quickly moved towards the staircase when Mr
Barker sped by us. He must have seen us, though he ignored our presence,” the
earl replied.

The duke thoughtfully tapped his lips with
his fingers. He eyed the two men, debating on how best to handle the situation.
He sighed. The murder was far more important than the indiscretions committed
by the lovers. He finally contented himself with, “I have already sent for one
special license this morning, and I will request for another as soon as
possible. Both of you have compromised two young women, hence you will be
married as soon as this is resolved. Lord Raikes, it is up to you to convince
Catherine. It will not benefit me to lose my temper over such ungentlemanly
acts, but I can only seek to improve the situation.”

“So we are no longer suspects?” the earl
asked, grinning.

“I did not say that,” he replied.

That wiped the smile of the earl’s face.

Lord Raikes spoke up hurriedly,” Your
Grace, I did not compromise your daughter. Surely, if no one is aware except for
you, the matter of my being in her room can be overlooked. As for killing your
sister, I assure you, I had no reason.”

“Lord Raikes, I am aware you spent half an
hour in my daughter’s room alone and late at night. I have only your word that
nothing untoward occurred. As for killing my sister, I cannot discount you, for
I was unaware of your activities last night. I cannot know everything that goes
on in my home at odd hours, though I am flattered you think so. Unfortunately,
you have confided your indiscretion, and I cannot overlook it. I do appreciate
your honesty in the matter, though. If you are proved innocent, then you will
do the honourable thing and marry Catherine.”

“How did you know my identity?” Lord Raikes
asked, annoyed. Why had he not kept his mouth shut? He was in a pickle now,
just when he had been making progress. Catherine would not be pleased at being
thus engaged.

“I still have a lot of people to interview,
so I will make this quick. Now, the first time I caught Emma with the gardener,
I noticed something did not seem right about him. I kept a close eye on him,
getting Pickering to act as my eyes and ears. He followed the earl to the
village one day and overheard a conversation with his valet … Burns, I believe
his name is. He learnt of the charade you were playing and why. I then
explained to Emma my reasons for asking you both to wait, hoping she would give
up this foolishness. She remained stubborn, and I decided to invite you as a
guest. She was being indiscreet, and others had started noticing her odd
infatuation with the gardener. I did not want things to get worse. I wanted you
to live in the house where I could keep an eye on you and get to know you. You,
instead of taking that chance, asked your friend here to impersonate your character.”

The earl looked sheepish while the duke
took a deep breath and continued,

“The two of you are the worst actors
imaginable. Lord Raikes here gave himself away within five minutes of my
meeting him. Had I not already been aware of the deception, I would have known
through that first meeting. He pointed out a particular ornament I had brought
back with me from Africa. He then told me in great detail how enchanting his
trip had been. Everyone in London knows that the earl has never travelled to
Africa, since his parents died on their way there. I had investigated Lord
Hamilton’s interests as soon as I had heard of his engagement to Emma, as is my
duty. And, Lord Raikes, that dye should have shown signs of fading by now. I am
surprised my daughter, who I consider intelligent, never questioned that fact
further.”

“I have learnt my lesson. Living the life
of a gardener for four weeks is a punishment in itself … isn’t it?” the earl
asked hopefully.

The duke eyed him blandly.

The earl squirmed uncomfortably, and then
dared another question, “Why didn’t you stop the charade when you knew?” he
said before quickly adding, “I truly have learnt my lesson.”

The duke smiled briefly before replying, “I
am glad to hear it. As for letting you go on as is, credit me with a sense of
humour. It was entertaining to see the three of you go to great lengths to try
and hide the truth from me. It was, after all, a play conducted for my benefit.
I did not have the heart to spoil your fun.”

The interview was at an end. The two grown
men stood up, nervously shuffling their feet. Feeling foolish, they avoided the
duke’s eyes and making hasty bows scuttled towards the door.

The earl and Lord Raikes left the room and
the duke to his thoughts. They strode miserably towards the breakfast room.
Neither of them could contemplate the thought of going back to bed or eating a
single bite.

The earl was miserable since he had wasted
four weeks of his life trying to fool the duke. He could have had a warm bed
within the first week of the charade.

Lord Raikes was sweating profusely. Not
only was he a suspect in a murder, but he now had to inform Catherine of the
duke’s decision. Catherine was engaged to him, and she had no blasted clue. Good
Lord! The entire thing was his bloody fault. He had tried to be noble and
clever by being honest, but in truth, he had ended up blabbing like a nitwit.
His fiancée would not be pleased.

“Sir, you explained everything, except how
you knew where the earl was last night?” Nutters asked, once the earl and his
friend had departed.

“I had Pickering keep an eye on the house.
I knew someone was planning to rob my safe. My mole in the kitchens informed me
that Joe, the under-gardener who you saw present at the discussion this
morning, was planning the theft. Pickering noticed the earl going to Emma’s
room, and concerned for the young woman’s virtue, he hung about until he saw
them leave for their search. Unfortunately, he stuck to them the entire time
they were hunting for that note and failed to see what else was going on in the
house. Pickering might have mistakenly thought that the earl was in on the
robbery and convinced Emma to be his accomplice. The door was locked to the
servant’s entrance, so he felt no threat from that direction. He did not know
of a greater criminal act being performed, so he wasted his time on the wrong
people. It does give the earl and Emma a strong alibi, even if they do not know
it. I think we can safely cross them off the list.”