Page 27

“He does, but his older brother has always been sickly, and there was quite a bit of speculation that he wouldn’t survive to take their father’s title.

His health has improved quite drastically over the past five years and as a result, James has been shut out from the title, first by his brother’s ascension and again by the birth of his nephew.

He’s a man obsessed with living beyond his means, and his family allowance and his payment from the military is meager compared to what he thinks he deserves.

When Arthur’s father was alive, that money helped to support his lifestyle, but with his death he’s had to rein in his spending.

” He paused, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning his head back against the small window behind him.

“There are rumors he’s accumulated a lot of debt and is unwilling, or unable, to begin paying that debt off. ”

I considered this, although my view of the situation was understandably biased.

I had never come from means the way that Rudolph was speaking of; everything I had was something I had worked impossibly hard to gain, and the idea of spending so above my income that I was willing to blackmail to make up for the difference was absolutely antithetical to the way I approached my own finances.

My view was colored, too, by a sincere dislike of James, everything that had come to light since his visit to Ashford Hall having left me entirely prejudiced against him.

“So he concocts this poaching case, which I will assume was a ploy to get a lawyer into Ashford Hall to find—or manufacture—a scandal to use for blackmail. Garretty finds the letters you and Arthur sent one another, and the blackmail begins… with Garretty the intermediary, not the actual instigator. Did Arthur pay anything?”

“No, Ida intervened before Arthur could capitulate,” Rudolph said.

“I don’t think James, or Garretty for that matter, was anticipating an outsider being the one to intervene and undo their work, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the failure of their blackmail plot has left their relationship more tenuous than it already was.

They have no personal loyalty, only financial, and without money to tie them together, well…

. It seems to me like they would become more desperate. ”

It made sense, the idea that a pair of men who had already agreed to engage in blackmail together would find themselves at odds once their scheme fell apart, and yet it also left a door open that I had not previously considered.

“If their blackmail failed the first time, then they must be looking for a chance to try it again.”

“Exactly,” Rudolph said, stretching his legs out on the seat and tilting his head to look at me.

I had already noticed his good looks, unable to ignore them when comparing his face to my own, but in the soft light seeping through the carriage windows, it was impossible to ignore how handsome he was.

I wondered if his interest in me was genuine or, as I had suspected since that night he had kissed me, if it was predicated more on the thrill of the chase than an actual romantic interest. “I know I’ve warned you off of Arthur for selfish purposes, but I believe wholeheartedly that James will want nothing more than to use your presence at Ashford Hall for another attempt at blackmail.

If Arthur allows himself to fall into that trap—”

“I’m not a trap,” I said, incensed at the idea that I had stumbled into this blackmail plot with nothing but innocence.

“And I told you before that Arthur has no interest in me beyond the most basic curiosity. The man has never spent any significant time with someone of my upbringing, and he enjoys asking me questions, that’s all. ”

Rudolph closed his eyes again, clearly intending to take a nap as soon as this conversation with me was finished. “Is that truly what you believe?” he asked. “That his curiosity is merely professional? Would you say, also, that I like you only because you are of a lower class?”

“No, you’ve made it clear to me that you find me attractive, for whatever reason, although I doubt your intentions quite seriously.”

He laughed softly through his nose. “Is that so? Well, then, you may assume that Arthur has made it clear to me that he finds you attractive, although he would never in his life admit as much without being pressed to do so. Now, I’ve brought this all up not to alarm you, but to ensure that you understand what you are returning into.

And, I suppose, to warn you that James will be at the ball. ”

“What?” I asked, thoroughly alarmed despite his caveat. “Why?”

“The amount of trouble it would cause to remove him from the guest list outweighs the annoyance of him being there.” He shrugged, turning his head towards the back of his seat.

“Now, we have quite the journey ahead of us. I’d suggest you get some sleep and think this over, but I’ll be happy to talk it over once I’ve had a nap. ”

With that, he fell asleep quite rapidly, and I returned to my papers, chewing absently on my thumbnail as I considered everything he had told me.

To be caught up in a blackmail plot was exceedingly unpleasant, but I had become aware of something even more unpleasant: I was more pleased by Rudolph’s insistence that Arthur was attracted to me than I was upset by the idea of inadvertently contributing to the troubles with James Wright.

There were a hundred different emotions swirling unchecked in my chest, from anger at what James was putting the Ashford men through to joy that Arthur was apparently interested enough in me to make it obvious to Rudolph, but as I sat with those feelings another one arose, a guilt that burned at the back of my throat.

I looked across the carriage at Rudolph, who was snoring softly and clearly fast asleep, and recognized that he had been nothing but honest with me from the beginning.

His attraction to me was clear, and yet here I was fixated entirely on another man, and I could not even claim that it was because my own attraction was negligible.

I found Rudolph handsome, felt those small yet undeniable sparks of interest that, in a different setting, would have been all I needed to act upon my attraction.

I had done more with other men for less, and I was left to wonder if it was my loyalty to the idea of Arthur that had kept me from acting upon my attraction to Rudolph or if I was genuinely uninterested.