Read A Bright Particular Star Online

Authors: Elizabeth Hanbury

A Bright Particular Star (41 page)

“T
hey are one and the same,

said Grey.
“S
loane
covers his tracks
well

he
employs a handful of
accomplices
, no more,
and pays them handsomely to ke
ep their mouths shut.
It
’s
difficult
to believe
,
but
be
neath his
modish exterior
lurks
a
conniving
,
greedy
, dangerous
man
who will stop at nothing to get what he wants
.

Theo
gave an incredulous laugh.
“T
he man
’s
a
n arrogant
fop,
I grant you,
but
the idea
he could be involved in anything criminal


He
sh
ook his head
as he contemplated
this fantastic
notion.
A moment later, he
spoke again
to
Grey.
“S
loane
doesn
’t
seem to possess the
necessary
int
elligence
.
And d
o you suggest
he is
capable of
violent theft
?

“T
hat and more
.
Recollect
I have had the opportunity
to study him at close quarters.
He is not a man who naturally turns to viol
ence

like most cowards, fear and intimidation
a
re his weapons of choice

but
he has a singular determination to achi
eve h
is ends and
a
penchant for
jewels.
One might
call it an obsession.
If
violent
methods are needed
,
he will get others
to carry out the
work on his behalf
or do it himself if pushed
.


And he
is
getting bolder
.
A footman was lucky not to
get a bullet through the
heart during
the last robbery,

Sir Seymour pointed out.
“S
uccess
has
bred
confidence.
Sloane
thrives
on
the subterfuge
,
the incongruit
y of his position in society with
that of
his
criminal alter ego
.
Add
a natural arrogance and a lifetime of indul
gence
,
and you have
a
disturbing
combination
.


I can scarcely believe
it,

muttered Theo.
Then he
said in horrified accents
,

You
say Sophie
knows nothing of this?


Nothing
,

confirmed Luc.

Neither does Miss S
loane
or, I believe, Sloane
’s
mother
.
I
realize
d
Sloane
, with encouragement from
his mother, was trying to coerce
Miss Devereux
i
nto marriage, but I wasn
’t
sure
why
.
It did not appear
to be for purely monetary reasons
.
Sloane
’s
debts are negligible
and he
’s
a
weal
thy man.
H
ad
I
appreciated
how
fast events were moving and how
desperate Miss
Devereux felt
,
I would have found a
way to intervene
, but it
was too late.
H
er flight
from Ludstone
threw
everything into disarray
.
At first,
when I encountered you at
T
he White Hart,
I thought you migh
t be an accomplice of Sloane
’s


“S
o you followed us?

Grey confirmed this
, adding,

I
t soon became clear
you were not.
Your
demeanour
was not that of a man who meant Miss Devere
ux harm and
she trusted you.
But
Sloane
’s
arrival
at
T
he Pelican
changed
things
.
I
knew then that
if
Miss Devereux was worth going to
such
effort
s
to recover
,
she had
something Sloane
wanted
badly
.
I hoped to discover more
by getting him drunk
, but he proved cleverer
than I
had hitherto given him
credit for
.
Of course, t
here w
as
the possibility he
had begun to suspect
me but
even if h
e had
I could not abandon the investigation
.
To
do so would have placed Miss
Devereux
,
and
possibly
others
,
at
risk.
The intruder in Miss Devereux
’s
room conf
irmed my
fears

she had something
Sloane was determined to get
.


Wa
s
Sloane
the intruder
?


It could have been an accomplice
, but it
’s
my belief it was him
on that occasion
.

“T
he filthy cur!
Did he
intend to harm
her?


I think not
.
Not at the outset
, anyway.
Unless trapped
, he
’s
cunning rather than bellicose
.
He hoped to find
w
hat he was looking for among Miss Devereux
’s
belon
gings until she
awoke and disturbed his search
.
Seen from his point of view, the venture
was worth the risk.
If he had fo
und what he wanted
,
the theft would never have been attributed to him.


I know what he wants
,

said Theo
grimly
.

“S
o do I
now

t
he Devereux Star.

Theo raised his brows.
“D
id you learn of it
from
Sloane?

he asked,
scrutinising Grey
’s
features
.


No
. H
e
was
always
reti
cent with regard to his cousin
.
I found out
another way.


How?

Grey leaned back in his chair
.
“S
loane suggested
continuing on to London in the hope
that
another opportunity
to find what he was looking for
would present itself
.
His mother was easy enough to convince
,
and Miss Devereux and you were hardl
y likely to disagree.
On balance, I decided it would be
for the best

at least Miss Devereux would have two of us protecting her
interests
, albeit
you were unaware of my role
.

Flushing faintly, he added,

I
manipulated the situation to al
low Miss Sloane to accompany us.
You
have
seen how she is treated and
,
following her cousin
’s
flight,
I thought it preferable to prevent
her
from
return
ing
imm
ediately to
an
intolerable
situation at home.
You will, of course, recall the incident in Maidenhead Thicket.


Yes, but h
ow
could Sloane be involved
?
He was with us
all the time
.


H
e arranged for his
accomplices
to hold
up our
carriages while he played
the
outraged
victim
.

“T
he deuce
he did!

cried Theo.

H
ow do you know
this
?


Bowyer follow
ed
Sloane
when he went
to report the incident to the magistrate in Maidenhe
ad.
He didn
’t
see the magistrate, or even the parish
constable
, but
went instead to meet
the two men who had held up our carriages.
They handed ov
er Miss Devereux
’s
reticule and
Bowyer
, watching from his concealed
vantage point,
observed
Sloane
’s
fury when he
realize
d
it
did not contain what he was looking for
.
Sloane
returned to the inn and
Bo
wyer reported back to me.
We arranged for descriptions of the men to be sent ahead to Bow Street
.


Ah, then I presume the
same
men search
ed
the
room at T
he Bell and Anchor?

He nodded.
“T
hey didn
’t
find what they were looking for, but
I only confirmed that
when I spoke to them
earlier
.


You
spoke
to them!

“T
hey were apprehended yesterday
at a tavern in the East End
and taken to Bow Street.
My interview
with them
proved
revealing.
They told me
Sloane
wi
ll stop at nothing to possess the
Star
.
H
is
visits to Brook Street
have increased
in recent days
.

Other books

Pick Me by Erika Marks
Icon of the Indecisive by Mina V. Esguerra
1 Depth of Field by Audrey Claire
Southern Romance by Smith, Crystal
Tivi's Dagger by Alex Douglas
Silenced by K.N. Lee
Maid In Singapore by Kishore Modak
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Ahmed, Saladin
Promise of Yesterday by Moore, S. Dionne


readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024