Page 29 of Restored

“The house is yours,” Reid said calmly. “It never left your estate.”

Henry blinked. Of all the possibilities he’d entertained, this was not one of them. He’d been prepared to purchase the house back from its current owner, no matter what it might cost, just so he could give it to Christopher. To learn it was still his was unexpected.

“I don’t understand.”

“The title remains in your name. It has been so since you bought it. There’s a tenant in occupation who I spoke with this afternoon—he tells me he’s lived there these last thirteen years, and before him there was another tenant.”

“Thirteen years!”

“Yes. And the lease is with none other than your good self.”

Henry frowned. “He pays rent, this tenant? I am quite sure there was no income that we missed.”

“Quite so,” Reid agreed. “The rent did not appear anywhere in your accounts. According to the tenant, he’s paid up every quarter without interruption during the whole period of the lease—but the payments have been made to a firm of solicitors in Lambeth called Davies & Gillingham. Has your family used that firm before?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

Reid nodded. “I’ll look into that further and report back once I know more.”

“It’s unfortunate there’s a tenant,” Henry said. “I can hardly throw him out on his ear after so long. Do you think he might agree to leave, in return for a compensatory payment? Or perhaps I could sell the property with the tenant in place and give Christopher the proceeds…” He trailed off, only then becoming aware of Reid’s penetrating gaze.

“Christopher?” Reid said. “Was he the intended recipient of this gift?”

Henry nodded.

“A family member?”

Henry flushed and shook his head.

Reid said softly, “I can’t think of many reasons a wealthy man might gift someone with something as substantial as a house.” He paused, then added, “Is opening this up wise, your grace? You’ve always been so… careful about these things.”

“I used to be less careful,” Henry admitted. “I knew Christopher when I lived in London, when the children were very young and Caroline”—he broke off—“well, she was content for me to suit myself.”

“And you were… less careful with this Christopher?”

Henry ran his hands over his face, unable to meet Reid’s gaze. “Yes. I met him at a rather scandalous party that a friend took me to. It was at a very discreet, very exclusive brothel called the Golden Lily. I wanted Christopher from the moment I set eyes on him.” He gave a hopeless laugh. “Hell, I completely lost my head over him. I told the madam I wanted to become his protector that very night.” He sighed. “I’d never done anything like that before.”

Reid’s eyebrows rose. “So, you set him up like a mistress?”

Henry looked up at that and snorted. “Aside from the one obvious difference, yes.”

Reid’s mouth quirked. “And what was the arrangement you fixed upon?”

“I purchased the house for him—furnished, of course—and staffed it, and he received a monthly stipend besides. When we parted ways, there was to be a severance payment and the house was to be made over to him.”

“And part ways you did.”

Henry nodded. “Before the end of our contract. Caroline had fallen ill by then. She wanted me to give up Christopher and take her back to Wiltshire so we could spend her last months together. I couldn’t refuse her.”

Reid’s gaze was sympathetic. “And how did your Christopher react?”

Shame drenched Henry. “In all honesty, I don’t know. It was all verysudden.Caroline insisted we leave town immediately and I’d made her a promise…” He trailed off, his gut twisting unpleasantly. “In short, I wrote Christopher a letter giving him the news and gave it to Parkinson to deliver in person, along with instructions to have the house made over and the money paid.”

“Ah,” Reid said, heavily. “And now you have discovered that Parkinson didn’t carry out your instructions.”

Henry closed his eyes. “It would seem not. Well, at least not in relation to the house. I’m hoping he at least honoured the severance payment.”

And delivered the letter.