[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.“The damned house is filled with people—aunts and cousins and visitors.I never envisioned performing to such a large audience.One of the fellows keeps insisting that he knows me.”“What? Who?”“Camilla’s cousin, Bertram.”“Bertram Elliot? A dandy?”“Of the first order.”“I know him.A complete lightweight.” Sedgewick dismissed him.“He will give you no problem.He is more concerned with the cut of his coat than affairs of state.”“But not more concerned than he is with gossip, I warrant, or social standing.What if the fellow recalls who I am?”“You are right,” Jermyn admitted.“If he’s likely to remember anything, it would be a person’s look, or his tailor—or at which party he’d met him.”“I have no memory of ever seeing the fellow before.But I am doomed if he remembers me.” He had a sudden thought of how Camilla would react if her cousin suddenly announced that Benedict was Lord Rawdon.He suspected that it would not be a pretty sight if she found out that he had been deceiving her all along.“Bertram has a friend as well, a very quiet sort.The servants consider him ‘not a gentleman.’”“Really?” Sedgewick perked up.“The servants always know.They’re a better judge than a duke.Why do you suppose someone who is ‘not a gentleman’ is hanging about in the country with Elliot?”Benedict shrugged.“I don’t know.Perhaps he is just some hanger-on, and Bertram doesn’t realize he isn’t Quality.Perhaps Bertram simply doesn’t care because the fellow is so entertaining—although I cannot imagine that.Oglesby never talks.Whereas Bertram talks entirely too much.Yesterday he trapped me in the hall for ten minutes asking my opinion about his waistcoat.Nasty-looking striped thing.”“Egad.” Sedgewick shuddered at the thought.“Who else is there?”“More cousins, two girls, sisters to Bertram.The Viscount Marbridge, heir to the Earldom—that is Cousin Anthony.And a poet who seems to have attached himself to the Viscountess’s skirts.She is there, too—she is the cork-brained one who thought up the ‘husband’ story.And, of course, Bertram’s mother.”“The fearsome Aunt Beryl?”“The same.Then there is Chevington himself, who may be laid up in bed but is still sharper than most men.A tutor for the Viscount.I have yet to see him, but I’ll warrant he has enough on his hands trying to keep Anthony at work on his studies without plotting to destroy Gideon.Worst of all, a parson drops in on us all too often.A brother of Bertram named Harold, whose grandfather gave him the local living.An utter, prosing bore.Fortunately, he was quite eager to spout off about the smugglers.Unfortunately, he was more concerned with the sinfulness of the practice than with details.I must say, none of the people at the Park looks very promising as a candidate for a spy.”“We could hardly count on being lucky enough to find our man right there in the Earl’s household.” Sedgewick paused, then prodded further.“Well, man? Have you discovered anything useful?”“I’ve only been there a few days,” Benedict protested.Once again, he could hardly believe how little time it had been.It had seemed far longer—especially during the long nights when he lay awake thinking about Camilla lying in the bed across the room from him.Those hours had been endless.“I realize that.But you know how little time we have.We have to find out who is doing this to our network!”“You don’t need to remind me,” Benedict growled back.“All right.I talked to the Earl.He told me that he is concerned about what’s happening in the area.He is especially concerned about the death of Nat Crowder.” Briefly, he explained who Nat had been and how he had died.“Of course.Simple way to work oneself into a smuggling ring.Get rid of the leader and take over.That explains a lot.It must have been Nat Crowder with whom Lord Winslow was working.”“Once he and Winslow were both gone, there was no one who knew anything about the spy ring.The local men are smugglers, pure and simple.” Benedict waited for a moment, then added, “Lord Chevington asked me to investigate.”Sedgewick’s eyes opened wide.“You can’t be serious.The old Earl himself set you to the task?”Benedict nodded.“Yes.It has made questioning the servants a damn sight easier
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]