Page 31 of A Lyon’s Promise (The Lyon’s Den)
He tucked her against his side. “Is your hand paining you?”
“Actually, it feels much better now that the lieutenant wrapped it for me, although it could be the sling, too.”
“Having suffered a similar injury a number of years ago, I would venture to say both.” He nodded to the returning Weston. “Thank you for seeing to Lieutenant Sampson’s carriage.”
“No need to thank me for performing my duties, Mr. King.”
“There is every reason, given that not everyone under the same roof shares your sentiment,” King remarked.
Weston’s pained expression tipped King off to the fact that the man may be harboring guilt as far as the housekeeper and cook were concerned.
The retainer’s next words confirmed it: “Lady Montfort, I must apologize again for not knowing what was going on under my watch. I knew that Jarvis seemed to have extra coin now and again, but with his love of horses, I thought he may have been wagering on them. There were times when his lordship would speak to Mrs. Riddleton and Cook privately, and I thought it had to do with the unsatisfactory performance of one of their maids. Now I wonder if it had to do with the way he never relinquished control of his home to you, your ladyship.” With a bow, he added, “Forgive me for speaking out of turn. I shall be here at my post if you need me.”
King grunted. “I asked, Weston, and you responded. I value your opinion.”
“Thank you, Mr. King.”
King urged Lucretia toward the library. As they walked, she told him, “I had a little experience running the household for my mother, in order to be prepared should I receive an offer of marriage during my first Season. As it happened, Montfort offered for my hand, and did not want to wait for the Season to end before marrying me.”
King watched her shoulders hunch, as a desolate expression pulled down the corners of her mouth. He sensed that whatever thoughts were going through her mind right now, she was shouldering blame for them. “Lucretia—”
“I need to say this, because once I do, I hope to never have to speak of it again. Montfort had a rather detailed list of my faults and failings as far as the running of his home. Though I tried to defend myself, he would raise his hand and instruct me to know my place. From that moment forward, I learned to hold my tongue and keep my distance.”
Why anyone would treat Lucretia with so little regard for her feelings was beyond him. He hoped Montfort was enjoying his stay in Hell, because that was where men of his ilk, who browbeat and slashed at a person until they retreated into a shell, belonged.
“Come, love,” King urged. “We shall retrieve the keys from—” He cut himself off.
“Is something wrong?”
“Forgive me, I should have asked your permission, and then asked if you wanted to help me search through Montfort’s desk. I know better than to assume… anything .”
“As it happens, even though I only have the use of one hand, I would like to help search that desk. The household ledgers have been missing since his passing. Now that I think of it, Bancroft used information he appeared to have about the household spending against my requests for an increase in my spending allowance. I tried to make him understand it was for drapes that were becoming threadbare in the upstairs sitting room, and the repair of one of the carved legs of the settee there as well. I didn’t want anyone to sit down and end up staring up at the ceiling. ”
King could feel his temper fray. “I cannot imagine they would not honor your requests. How many times did you make requests of your husband’s solicitors?”
“I tried to economize as best I could, but there were two yearly events that I so wanted to attend: the Andrews’ ball and the Smythe-Waites’ musicale. I could hardly make an appearance in an outmoded gown—it would reflect poorly on Montfort’s memory and reputation.”
“You, my dear, are evading a direct question. I shall get to the bottom of all of this after I return to Bow Street, which I hope to do after we locate those documents.” He cupped her chin in his hand and brushed his lips gently across hers.
“Now then, how many times did you make requests of your husband’s solicitors? Three times a year, every year?”
She nodded.
“What was the third reason, if the first two were for a new wardrobe?”
“That was not what I said at all, Gavin. Were you not listening? I said there were two yearly events. That equates to two ball gowns and, with the hope that I would be asked to dance, new dancing slippers. Not an entire wardrobe.”
King’s throat ached with the need to shout. He would save it for his interrogation later. “What was the third reason?”
“I hoped to be able to increase the servants’ wages and had promised so many times to do so, only to be thwarted by Bancroft.
I’ve never been able to get a straight answer from him regarding the amount of coin left in my inheritance.
They told me yearly that there was little to none left.
Which could not be possible, as I did not have access to it unless I put a request to them first.”
Halfway between the entryway and the library, King pulled her into the circle of his arms before saying, “I promise you that I will get to the bottom of this. You will know the full amount of your inheritance by tomorrow evening. I have someone looking into it even as we speak. Furthermore, you shall be reimbursed, the culprits charged with extortion, fraud, and larceny, and, if I have anything to say about it thrown in prison!”
“But I was not a prisoner here,” Lucretia insisted.
“Were you free to shop on Bond Street, stop in a Gunter’s Tea Shop for an ice or tea and scones? What about your favorite bookstore? The modiste? The endless round of entertainments the ton hosts during the Season?”
Lucretia stared at the floor. “I suppose if you choose to look at it that way…”
The despair in her voice gutted King. “Come, let us go to the kitchen. I’m certain Thompson and Greeves will have decided it would be easier to keep watch over Mrs. Riddleton and Cook there.
” Careful not to move too swiftly, so Lucretia would not be unbalanced, he placed his hand to her waist and retraced their steps.
“Once we retrieve the keys from Thompson, her ladyship and I will be in Montfort’s dressing room,” he told the butler.
Weston inclined his head. “Very good, sir.”
King opened the door to the servants’ side of the house and waited for her to enter. “Remember that we shall right the wrongs and injustices done to you, Lucretia. Those that are found guilty must repay their debt to you before they pay their debt to society.”
When she did not disagree with him, King wondered what other problems were weighing on her mind. He would find out before he left for Bow Street.