The younger Court’s threat to blame him could have worked. Andrew could have found himself in Newgate, taken to Tyburn, and hanged for the death of the general’s son, or worse, convicted of treason. Were it not for Darius’s friendship and the unspoken threat he held merely by being here, Andrew could have lost this encounter. He had no influence, no highborn relatives to pull him out of a hole, nor had he ever felt the need of any before now. It would have become Andrew’s word against the general’s, had there not been witnesses of note.
“I suspected,” the old man said softly, still with his back turned. “He visited me, asking me for more money, swearing he would never go to another gaming hell. I told him that if I did haul him out of the hole, he would go to the country until he learned better control.” He turned around, facing them like the old soldier he was. He seemed to have aged twenty years since Andrew had first seen him, his eyes sunken, the lines in his face graven deep. “He decided to defy me.”
“By stealing the list and selling it to the highest bidder.” Darius sheathed his sword. It slid into the sheath with a subdued hiss. “Then he decided to sell it again. If he killed the messenger and took it himself, he could meet Bartolini’s masters and set up a regular line of communication. He could get paid twice for that list and provide more.” He glanced at the mess of papers on the general’s desk. “I would suggest, sir, that paperwork is inimical to you.”
Staring at his desk as if it held all the answers he needed, General Court nodded. “I fear you are right. I have never enjoyed it. Perhaps I should retire.” His shoulders bowed as if bearing the weight of the world.
“I would strongly suggest it,” Darius said softly. “If you do that, we can preserve your honor. I see no benefit in dragging the scandal into the public gaze. We can say your son died in the attempt to capture a traitor. We may put the blame on Bartolini. After all, he was a self-confessed, unabashed spy.”
While Andrew could not agree with all Darius said, a sense of relief flooded him. They could put this matter away. The traitor was dead, and if the general survived, the security breach would be stopped.
The general heaved a sigh, still staring at the mess of papers on his best. “Yes. That would be best.”
Despite the fact that General Court had threatened to put the blame on him, Andrew felt profoundly sorry for the man. Losing a son, and then discovering the man was a traitor, must weigh hard on him.
He bowed. “We will leave you to your reflections, sir. I take it the matter is now closed.”
“The list?” The general jerked his head up.
“Is no more,” Darius assured him. “Or will not be by sunset. I promise you that.”
“Very well.”
Darius glanced at Andrew and then left the room. Andrew closed it quietly behind him.
Darius paused to give the coachman instructions and then climbed into the carriage after Andrew. He crossed his legs and stared out of the window. Eventually he spoke. “I hate to see a good man destroyed. General Court will retire. If he refuses to go, my father will see to it he has little choice. I don’t think he needs any further punishment.”
“No. I owe you my life.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t put it quite so strongly.” Smiling, Darius regained some of his natural sangfroid.
“If you had not been there, the general could have accused me of treason. All he had to do was lie and say he had given his son permission to come after me and fetch the paper. Worse, as a traitor, everything I owned would have been forfeit to the Crown. I would have left Elizabeth nothing.”
Darius leaned his arm on the windowsill and propped his head on his hand. “You are forgetting that I intended to go. You took my place when we discovered more about Court. I don’t doubt he would have tried the same with me. My family can only protect me so far. If I had died with a list of our spies in my pocket, with my reputation I could well have been doomed. My two men and me, taken by surprise, might have lost.”
“That would mean Court had taken a copy of the list.”
Darius paused before answering. “He did. Ivan found it on his body. It has been burned. A wiser man would have left the list in a place of safety, but the younger Court was never wise.”
Andrew nodded, a dagger in his heart when he considered the possibility of losing his love that way. “I’ve seen it. Men set up to take the blame for other’s deeds, men I could do nothing to help.”
Darius regarded him, his eyes bright. “Would you like to change that?”
“I imagine everyone would like to.” Every clear-thinking person.
“Let me show you something.”
Andrew shrugged and nodded. He owed Darius more than that. Darius had effectively helped him escape a very sticky situation. At worst, he could have found himself in prison, accused of treason. At best, the rumors would have intensified, and he’d have lost everything. The mud could have clung to him and, however unjustified, ruined him.
As it was, he was free, and while in seriously straitened circumstances, unmarked by fresh scandal.
He watched the streets pass as the carriage took them back toward the Inns of Court and stopped outside a comfortable-looking house in Bloomsbury Square.
Chapter 16
Darius sent the carriage home. They were near enough to walk or take a chair, but he had another motive. He wanted to talk to Andrew and for his lover to listen to him. This might be the only chance he had to explain what he was doing and why. Knowing Andrew’s pride and sense of honor, Darius would have to work hard to persuade him.
Taking out a large iron key, he unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping back to allow Andrew to enter. Darius quelled his doubts. Was this too soon? Or should he strike while the iron is hot? Impatience to know, to hear Andrew’s answer had driven him here. He could not wait.
His footsteps echoed on the tiled floor. The house smelled of lavender polish and flowers. No lingering aroma of coal fires, beeswax, or cooking hit his nostrils. The freshly painted walls had no paintings nor marks where any had been.
“I’ve never been in a house this empty,” Andrew said.
“No indeed. That struck me, too.” Darius pocketed the key. “It belonged to an old lady who never married. She lived here all her life. Died here too. According to the man who sold it to me, the place was in such a bad state of disrepair that he considered having it demolished. But it’s in the middle of a row so he could not do that without expense. He renovated the house instead. It’s completely empty, except for a few small pieces I’ve had brought in here.” That was why he had chosen it. This place was ready for a new life.
“Good lord.” Andrew ventured into the nearest room, a good-sized one with a marble fireplace. He left the room, returning to where Darius stood in the hall. “You bought it?”
Darius shrugged. “Apart from anything else, it was cheap. But I did not buy it to sell. I bought it to live in.”