Candace Camp - Swept Away

“I know how damning it looked,” Julia admitted. “It shows you how far the real thief went to make it look as if Selby were the one who had done it.”

“But Selby’s suicide…” Geoffrey said delicately. “Why would he have killed himself if he had not—”

“He didn’t kill himself!” Julia snapped, whirling around to face him. Her eyes blazed, and she set her fists pugnaciously on her hips. “Selby had too much courage for that. He wouldn’t have abandoned Phoebe and Gilbert to the scandal. Phoebe—well, I’m afraid Phoebe thinks that he did kill himself, that he was so upset over the fact that no one believed him that he put an end to it. But I am certain it was an accident. He was at his hunting lodge. He was probably cleaning his gun or—or loading it to go out and shoot, and it went off somehow. No doubt he was so distracted by worry and the feeling of being under suspicion that he was careless in a way he would not have been normally. His death was a direct result of Stonehaven’s hounding him.” She narrowed her eyes at her cousin. “Don’t tell me that you are one of the ones who thought he was guilty.”

“I don’t know what to believe,” her cousin replied honestly. “I would have said he was one of the most honest and trustworthy men I know. It seems inconceivable that he could have betrayed a trust like that. But the evidence—”

“Was faked!” Julia said flatly. “Someone very carefully set out to make sure that Selby was the one blamed for the disappearance of the money. That someone, I am convinced, was Deverel Grey.”

“Lord Stonehaven?” Geoffrey goggled even more. “Really, Julia, if there’s anyone more unlikely than Selby to do such a thing, it is Stonehaven. I never met anyone who was such a stickler about honor and duty.”

“Lip service,” Julia told him with an airy wave of her hand. “Phoebe and I have been thinking and talking about this for a long time. The culprit has to be Stonehaven. He discovered it, and he pursued it diligently.”

“Wait. I’ve lost the scent. If he had done it, surely he would have wanted to keep it secret.”

“Not when he had put so much time and effort into making it appear that another man had done the deed. He probably realized that someone, the agent or one of the other trustees, would soon begin to question the large expenditures. He had carefully established my brother as the criminal. So he exposed him to the world and whipped up public opinion against him. Selby didn’t stand a chance after that of getting anyone to listen to him. The vigor with which Stonehaven pursued him fairly reeks of malice. Why would he have been so intent on destroying Selby if not for the fact that he was desperately trying to hide the fact that he was the real thief?” Julia gave a decisive nod of her head to underscore her point.

“It does make a certain sense,” Geoffrey agreed slowly.

“Of course it does! It had to be someone who knew a great deal about Selby and about the trust. It had to be someone with the opportunity to do those things. Since Phoebe and I know that it was not Selby, then it is obvious that the real culprit must be the one who worked so hard to lay the blame on Selby—Stonehaven.”

“But how? Why? Stonehaven is a very wealthy man, you know. He wouldn’t need to steal money from St. Leger’s trust.”

“So everyone thinks,” Julia replied darkly. “Who really knows about another man’s finances? Don’t you see? That is precisely why I need to talk to Lord Stonehaven. I need to discover the reasons, the means.”

“Do you think he will simply tell you?” Geoffrey assumed a falsetto voice. “‘Oh, Lord Stonehaven, do tell, did you embezzle forty thousand pounds from young Thomas’s trust?”’ He lowered his voice to a gravelly pitch. “‘Why, yes, dear lady, I did. I’m so sorry that you asked, for of course I could not lie.”’

Julia grimaced. “You know I’m capable of being much more deceptive than that. Maybe I won’t be able to get him to confess, but surely I can get enough information out of him that I will be able to figure it out.”

“How can you possibly deceive him when everyone knows you are Selby’s sister?”

“Ah, but very few people in London know who I am. And, of course, I shall give Lord Stonehaven a false name.”

“Of course,” Geoffrey murmured. “I should have realized….”

“Please, Geoffrey…” Julia put on her most winsome expression. “Tell me that you will help me. Say you’ll escort me to Madame Beauclaire’s. That’s all you will have to do. You don’t have to stay with me or see me home or anything. I’ll take care of all the rest.”

“I can’t just abandon you there. I shall have to escort you home.”

“That’s not much,” Julia noted.

Geoffrey sighed. “You always make things sound so reasonable. So simple. Then they wind up an utter wasps’ nest.”

“It won’t. Even if it does, I promise that I will not involve you in it. I will never reveal that you were the one who got me inside.”

Geoffrey cocked one eyebrow at her. “If I refuse, how long are you going to keep after me to do it?”

Julia gave him a dimpling smile and tilted her head to one side, pretending to weigh the thought. “I’d say until the day I die.”

“I thought as much.” He shook his head. “I know I shall regret this. I shall probably end up either in gaol or fighting a duel. But I shall do it.”

Julia let out a little shriek and impulsively hugged him.

“Cousin, please,” he protested. “You’ll wrinkle my cravat!”

“Sorry.” She stepped back, still smiling. “Tonight, then?”

“Tonight!” He looked thunderstruck. “My dear, at least give me a chance to prepare myself.”

“Pooh. There’s no preparation necessary. It’s better to strike while the iron’s hot.” She knew from following Stonehaven that it had been several days since he had gone to Madame Beauclaire’s, so this evening seemed an opportune moment. However, she could hardly tell Geoffrey her reasoning.

“Where do you get such vulgar expressions?” Geoffrey drawled. “All right. You win. Tonight it will be.”

It took all Julia’s and Phoebe’s combined efforts to get her ready in time. She had decided to wear one of Phoebe’s dresses, since a married woman’s wardrobe allowed for a more flamboyant selection of color than the pastels and whites to which maidens were relegated. Though Phoebe’s blond looks were not enhanced by some of the jewellike colors that flattered Julia’s vivid coloring, there were a few gowns of suitable appearance and style, primarily one of a vivid peacock blue satin that made Julia’s blue eyes bright pools of color and also was a perfect complement to her auburn hair and creamy skin.

Since Phoebe was both shorter and rounder, the dress required some creative work on the seams and hem. But Phoebe was a fair hand with the needle, and the dress, fortunately, was stylishly narrow, so there was not much hem to lengthen. After Phoebe was through with it, Julia took the dress to her room and quickly pulled out the threads that held the ruffles of lace in place at the neckline, thereby lowering the neck of the dress to a level that would have horrified Phoebe. An upswept hairdo with artfully arranged wisps of curls gave her a stylish but somewhat tousled look, which she thought would surely make a man think of running his hands through her hair. The newly redone dress, when she pulled it on and fastened it, fit her like a glove. The high waist and low neckline combined to cup and reveal her full breasts to their best advantage, and the long, narrow skirt emphasized the slender length of her legs. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, and her eyes blazed. She had not, she thought, ever looked better.