He watched the street with a hawk’s intensity.
Surely Anna went in search of her brother before—
The blood in her veins froze.
Logic offered an alternative option. One that beggared belief. One her heart fought to reject but her mind could not.
“Why would Anna help you?” Eleanor said, wondering how they had formed a bond when they were nothing alike. “What is this truth she told you? Does it in any way relate to Mr Franklin? Might he have hurt Anna?”
Theo jerked his head. “Franklin? I’ve spent years studying gambling men. I know the truth when I see it. Franklin appeared distraught when speaking about his sister today.”
Yes, his tears were genuine, his pain quite evident.
But Lady Lucille was quick to reveal the true nature of Mr Franklin’s character. “Appearances can be deceptive. The man has ruined my life. He is cold and calculating and obsessed with ideas of grandeur.”
Eleanor was taken aback. She knew the polite man who showed her every consideration, the hardworking man, the caring citizen.
“I thought Wrotham had ruined your life,” Theo said, confused.
“They both have.”
Theo could not keep his frustration at bay. “You’re not making any sense. Stop being evasive. Tell us the truth, or we shall have no choice but to mention your involvement to the magistrate at Bow Street. I doubt your father would be pleased to know you aided a thief.”
Knowing her back was to the wall, Lady Lucille gripped her pretty parasol and said, “Can I trust you? I have unwittingly committed a crime much worse than aiding a thief. Wrotham used me.” Hatred dripped from those last three words. “He doesn’t care if I hang.”
“You have no choice but to trust us,” Eleanor said, fearing Anna was at home with the person who’d hurt her. “Too many people know of your involvement. It’s only a matter of time before Mr Franklin tries to silence you, too.”
The lady contemplated her dilemma.
But realised she had no choice but to confess.
“It all began during one of my dress fittings. Bored, Wrotham visited the silversmith shop and somehow forged a bond with Mr Franklin.” She angled her parasol, hiding from those out for an afternoon stroll. “Wrotham’s father cut his allowance after a string of poor investments.”
“How do you know this?” Theo said, sounding suspicious.
“Anna told me everything. She’s been spying on her brother for the last six months. It’s why I had my father insist on a long engagement. I wanted to be sure Wrotham’s affairs were in order.”
“I doubt Wrotham will ever get his affairs in order.”
Theo was right. Based on his list of creditors, Lord Wrotham was a wastrel. Some members of the aristocracy saw it as their right to take what they wanted and never pay.
“He appealed to his father for funds, but the request was denied. I can only think that’s what spurred him to lunacy. That, and the fact he believes he’s above the law.”
She had not told them anything useful or alluded to what criminal deed the men had committed. What would Lord Wrotham want with a silversmith? What crime carried a penalty of transportation?
Only one sprang to mind—forgery.
Eleanor stood for a moment, her mind working to fill in the missing details. Was Mr Franklin making worthless sovereigns? That would hardly generate the kind of money Lord Wrotham needed. Were they printing notes? If so, was Lady Lucille guilty of uttering?
“Then I assume he is working with Mr Franklin to replace his allowance.” Eleanor could not believe they would be so stupid.
The guilty parties could receive the death penalty. The unwitting players could be transported for fourteen years.
Lady Lucille stepped closer, tears filling her eyes. “Miss Darrow, they are making plates to print notes and delivering them to a partner in Birmingham. Wrotham is responsible for delivery but uses others to carry out his criminal deeds.” The lady clutched her chest. “I have made such a delivery on his behalf, on the way to visit my aunt in Chester. It’s why I paid his bills. I’m terrified he’ll use forged notes and I’ll be implicated. I only know because Anna told me everything. ”
And now Anna was injured and unconscious.
Had she confronted her brother?
“I knew nothing about their nefarious deeds.” The lady gulped hard as tears slipped down her cheeks. “Like you, I am an innocent party.”
“Like me?” Eleanor’s heart pounded so wildly she thought she might swoon. “What has this to do with me?”
Panic flared in Theo’s eyes. “You’ve got three seconds to explain how Miss Darrow is involved.”
The answer came to Eleanor in a blinding light seconds before Lady Lucille said, “Mr Franklin didn’t want Wrotham collecting the plates from the silversmith shop. Wrotham parks on Water Lane and collects them from Miss Darrow’s coal shed.”
Her vision blurred as the news hit like a hard blow.
She shuddered as if hearing the fiend’s vile threats.
If you tell anyone, you’ll die.
The villain’s voice was coarse. It couldn’t have been Lord Wrotham because he would struggle to disguise his eloquence. Her attacker was larger than the scrawny lord. Somehow, the devil had obtained a key because he had entered her bedchamber in the dead of night.
Eleanor froze in horror. Mr Franklin had attacked her in the yard. He’d put his grubby hands all over her body. He’d stood watching her at night.
“So, the notes in the book were a way of getting rid of Miss Darrow,” Theo said, a stab of anger in his voice. “They sent her on a goose chase while using her premises to defraud the banks.”
