Page 17

" I t's your move," said William Draycott, the Duke of Redmayne.

James surveyed the chessboard, contemplating the possible moves before him.

William laughed. "I should have known this game would be a long one," he said. "You've always been so indecisive. Just make a move! What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could lose the game," James said.

"You're going to lose anyway," William teased him. "Don't I always win when we play chess?"

There was some truth to that. James thought himself a fairly good chess player, but he was no match for his friend.

William spent much of his time in front of the chessboard.

It was one of his favorite activities. "I don't know how you have so much time to perfect your game," he told his friend.

"You have your fingers in so many business ventures.

I think if I was as busy as you were, I would have no time for things such as chess. "

"You never seem to have time for chess anyway," William said. "If you did have time for it, you would likely be better at it, and you would give me more of a competition when we played."

James shook his head. "Truth be told, I haven't had time for idle pastimes lately," he said.

"Your mission to get the Duchess married?"

"Not so much that. Although that does take up a significant portion of my time.

But I've been sitting with the ledgers that my late cousin kept before he died, and there seems to be something wrong with them.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there seems to be more money than I think there ought to be.

I wonder if he was involved in something illegal. "

William sat back in his chair and picked up his glass of brandy. He swirled it slowly and then took a measured sip. "Do you think it's possible that he was involved in something like that?"

"Well, I didn't really know the man," James replied. "Anything is possible. I wouldn't like to think so, but the fact remains that I can't make sense of his finances."

"Would you like me to take a look at the ledgers for you?" William asked.

James knew why his friend was asking. It was unspoken between the two of them, but William had business connections to London's underworld.

He had never been involved in anything illegal himself, but he was familiar with that side of things.

"That might be helpful," he admitted. "If you wouldn't mind. "

"I wouldn't mind at all," William told him. "The truth is, it would be rather exciting to see what the late Duke had his fingers in. He was always such a mystery. Even now that he's gone, he remains shrouded in mystery, for nobody knows how he truly died."

"So you don't believe this rumor about the Duchess being responsible for his death?"

"Of course not," William scoffed. "Anyone with any common sense knows that that rumor is ridiculous. She was hardly more than a child when she married him. He died the very night he brought her to his house. She never had time to scheme against him, and I doubt she had the wit to do it either."

"I wouldn't underestimate her there," James said. "She's cleverer than I had expected her to be."

"Really?" William raised his eyebrows. "You're saying you do think she committed the murder?"

"Oh, of course not," James said quickly. "She hasn't the temperament. She's not that sort of lady. I can recognize a murderer when I see one, I think, and she simply isn't the sort. But it's not because she lacks the wit."

"I heard a rumor that she had poisoned him," William said. "I heard that she had snuck something into his evening tea."

"Well, I don't know where she would have gotten such a thing," James said. "Unless you believe it was tucked into the bodice of her wedding gown."

"I thought similarly," William said. "It would take time and resources to acquire a poison powerful enough to kill a man.

I don't think she could've had such a thing on her that day.

I agree with you — I don't think she had anything to do with his death.

But tell me, what is she like? Will it be easy to find a husband for her?

Or has the process been more challenging than you anticipated? "

"We've had a few setbacks," James confessed. "But I'm hopeful that things will be smoother from now on."

"What kind of setbacks? Has she been difficult?"

"Well, to tell you the truth she's been nearly impossible.

" It was a relief to let this out, to admit to the trouble he had been having with Victoria.

Even though the two of them had agreed on a new arrangement, James found that it wasn't so easy to let go of her stubbornness and the difficulty she had given him.

"If you can believe it, she doesn't even seem to want to marry. "

"I suppose she was very happy with her life as it was," William said. "If you think about it, she had all she needed. She had a place to live. She had all the money she required. Everything a young lady marries for — she already had it. Why should she focus on marriage now?"

"Because she doesn't truly have those things," James pointed out.

"The house, the money… All of it is my inheritance.

It may have taken me a couple of years to come back to London and claim it, but she knew that there was always a possibility I would do so.

She knew better than to assume that those things were hers forever. "

"I see," William said, taking another sip of his brandy. "And so you say she should cast an eye toward finding a husband, knowing that her situation was impermanent."

"I just think it would be sensible of her to be open to the idea." James pondered the board for a moment, and then advanced his bishop.

William laughed. "You walked right into my trap," he said, picking up one of his rooks and moving it to the same square as the bishop. He picked up the bishop and removed it from the board.

"Damn," James cursed.

"You're in check, by the way."

James cursed again. "You're too good at this," he told his friend. "I don't believe I'll ever beat you at chess, no matter how many times we play."

William laughed again. "One of these times you will," he replied. "But today was not the day. And one of these days, you'll find a husband for that duchess of yours."

"She isn't my duchess," James shot back.

"I didn't mean it that way," William replied. "Although I must say, that's quite a strong reaction. What was it about what I said that provoked you so much?"

"You didn't provoke me," James said, though it wasn't entirely true.

He was able to recognize that William's words had bothered him.

He wasn't sure exactly why. Nothing William had said was untrue, and none of it even differed from his own point of view.

He did intend to find a husband for the duchess one day.

And he knew that William had not intended to imply that she belonged to him in any real way.

Why had that gotten under his skin so badly?

"Does this have something to do with your past?" William asked him.

James felt his muscles grow rigid. His past was not something they generally discussed.

William was one of very few people who knew about the traumas of James's childhood, and one of the things that he knew was that James didn't like to talk about it.

He was surprised about his friend would bring it up so casually in conversation.

Something must have registered on his face, for William held up his hands in a gesture of submission. "I apologize," he said quickly. "I know that's something you don't like to talk about."

"Why would it have anything to do with the duchess?"

"Well, I just thought…the rumors about poison."

The word sent a shudder through James, as it always did.

This time it was clear that William had seen his reaction. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should have known better than to bring it up."

"It's all right," James said quietly. "You didn't do anything wrong.

And I think… My past actually served me well in this situation.

I have faced real cruelty before, after all, which is how I feel so sure that I will recognize it every time I see it.

That's how I know that the duchess is not what society says she is. She must be innocent."

"On this topic," William said, "I trust your judgment more than I trust my own. I was inclined to think her innocent already, of course, but the fact that you agree makes me feel even more certain of my assessment."

"She's innocent, but she's irritating." James picked up his own drink and took a long swig.

"Ever since I arrived, she's done nothing but try to assert her will over mine.

She moves things around in house. She had the draperies changed without asking my permission.

She invites her friends over to socialize, and she doesn't wait to see what I think of that. "

"What do you think of it?" William asked. "Are her friends particularly annoying? Are they people you don't want in your house?"

"There's nothing wrong with them," James replied. "It's Lord Feverton's wife and his sisters."

"Lord Feverton? Do you mean Lord Matthew Feverton?"

"Yes, that's the one. You know him?" James hadn't realized that, but he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. William was so well connected that he knew almost everyone in London, and Lord Feverton was one of the wealthiest men in the city.

"We've had a few business interactions," William said dismissively. "He seems like a decent fellow."

"As I said, I see nothing wrong with him," James agreed. "And there's nothing objectionable about his wife or his sisters either. The problem I have is simply that the Duchess feels free to invite people over to my home without seeking my permission."

"And would you give her your permission?" William cocked an eyebrow as if he doubted it.

"I might," James said defensively. The truth was that he didn't know what he would do if Victoria asked him for such a thing.

If William had raised the question a few weeks ago, his answer would have been an instant no.

Now he felt differently. So many things had changed between Victoria and himself.

They had had so many positive interactions.

The fact was that now he thought he would've liked to do Victoria a favor, even if it came as an inconvenience to him. If she had asked him to have friends over to the house, he probably would have agreed."

"At any rate," he continued, "the most important thing is to find her a husband. As long as I can keep rakes and scoundrels out of her path, we should be able to settle that matter successfully."

William raised his eyebrows. "Rakes and scoundrels?"

"We met with Lord Blackburn recently."

"Oh, I could've told you that would be a bad idea."

"It certainly was," James agreed fervently. "What a dastardly man he turned out to be."

"He didn't try anything, did he?"

"Nothing too drastic, but he spoke to her inappropriately. I think he frightened her."

"One can hardly blame her for that. I'm glad you saw him off before any serious damage was done."

James nodded. "I promised her that if she cooperated with my wishes to find her a husband, I would let her make the final selection for herself."

"A bold decision," William said. "You mean to allow the Duchess to choose?"

James moved his queen. "I think it may be for the best," he said. "I don't wish to see her unhappy."

William moved his own queen. "I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor," he said, a grin spreading across his face. "Checkmate."