Theft of Life by Imogen Robertson

Author:Imogen Robertson [Robertson, Imogen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical mystery
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2014-05-21T14:00:00+00:00

III.11

OXFORD WAS NOT DIFFICULT to overtake. Harriet’s coachman, David, slowed to a walk and she leaned out of the carriage just far enough to introduce herself and ask the young man if he needed driving anywhere. He looked at her with deep distrust, then admitted he was making his way to Brooke Street.

She nodded and he opened the door and had jumped inside before Philip could get down from the back of the carriage to assist him. David clucked to the horses and they were on their way once more.

He was slouching opposite her, his ankles crossed and biting his nails.

‘Were you part of the party who saw the balloon on Saturday?’ Harriet asked politely.

‘I was.’

‘And you have been playing cards ever since.’

His smile became cunning, and curious. ‘How did you know?’

‘You still have your coat on inside out.’

He looked at his cuffs, aghast, then burst into peals of laughter. ‘Oh, that is famous!’ He pulled off and turned it rightways again. ‘I always do that for luck.’

‘And does it work?’ Harriet asked, raising her eyebrows.

‘Most of the time. It worked last night, anyhow. If I could have kept Jennings at table another hour, I would be inheriting the estates in Jamaica, not him.’

‘Perhaps next time.’

His face fell again. ‘Not if Sir Charles has anything to do with it. There is to be no more gaming for us, or I will suffer the wrath of the sugar baronet himself. I find that rich, when it was Sir Charles himself who told me to keep Randolph out of the way for a while. He sent a note to my club. I found it when we got back from chasing the balloon. It’s not my fault, is it, if the only way to keep Randolph from women is cards and drink.’

‘Can they stop you gaming? You are both grown men, after all.’

He sank still further into his seat. ‘Oh, Sir Charles is not a stupid man. Don’t let all that virtue fool you. He knows how to apply pressure when he wishes to, and he is not one for half-measures. If I stay away he’ll pay off my tailor or something of the kind. If I defy him, I’ll be thrown out of my club, or all the mamas of this year’s heiresses will hear all kinds of terrible stories about me. And it is time I married. Not that he said that, of course, but I know what he means. He won’t even do it himself. Drax will go to a ball or two and have his monkey do tricks for the old crones and drop a little poison at the same time.’ He yawned.

‘Have you known Randolph Jennings long?’

‘Since he came back to England to go up to Cambridge. He’s not bad fun and he has deep pockets. We lived together in Rome for a year or two afterwards until his temper got us thrown out of the city.’ He frowned over her name. ‘Westerman … You know that slave-lover Graves, don’t you? That man is a disgrace.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.