The Formidable Earl (Diamonds in the Rough #6) - Sophie Barnes Page 0,90

much each of these men have invested in your company.”

Mr. St. John’s mouth fell open. He looked at them each in turn while Ida held her breath. “I can’t share that with you. It’s not done.”

“One of these men deserves to hang for what he did. Are you saying you want to protect him?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Good.” Simon straightened himself in his chair. “I’ll have my secretary pick up the records later today. All right?”

Mr. St. John puffed out a breath. “Very well. If it will help see justice served.”

Ida gave her attention back to her lamb. There was something too orderly about this entire conversation – something that didn’t feel right, from Mr. St. John’s coincidental mention of the exact same men she and Simon suspected, to his willingness to help with a situation that could prove disastrous for him as a business man.

“I don’t like him,” she told Simon once they’d left The Red Rose and were walking back to Bedford Street, “and I don’t think we should trust him.”

“Hmm,” Simon muttered. “Do you want to have him investigated?”

“I’m thinking it might be a good idea to do so. After all, we know next to nothing about him.”

“Agreed. I’m just not sure how to go about it without him finding out.”

She bit her lip. “Guthrie is already looking into the Shadwell Gun Works’ employees for us, so I think we should ask him to help with this as well.”

“I don’t know,” Simon hedged. “If Mr. St. John gets wind of it, he won’t want to help us anymore.”

“Guthrie is well connected and discreet,” Ida pressed. “He’ll get the answers we’re looking for without Mr. St. John being any the wiser.”

Simon was quiet for a brief moment before he finally said, “All right. Let’s reach out to him and see what he says.”

“Thank you. It’s possible there’s no cause for alarm, but there was something about the entire encounter with Mr. St. John that felt slightly off.” They reached the front door and entered the townhouse. Ida removed her gloves and bonnet and set them aside on the entryway table. “Shall I ask Miranda to prepare some tea?”

“Please do. I’ll wait for you in the parlor.”

Ida went in search of the maid. She was glad Simon had listened to her. Many men would have dismissed a woman’s opinion on such matters – especially if it was based on nothing more than a feeling and lacked hard facts. But not Simon. And Ida loved him all the more for it.

It was a little after seven in the morning. After spending a restless night in the bedroom across the hall from where Ida slept, Simon had finally forged a plan to win her back. Of course, there was every chance it might not work, but he prayed it would. Either way, he needed to move, needed to rid himself of the anxious emotions crashing through him by submitting to some brisk exercise.

So here he was, tearing across the far end of Hyde Park with one of his favorite stallions. He’d saddled the horse himself with swift movements. Today was not the sort of day where he had the patience to wait for others. He dug his heels into the muscular flank and gave himself up to the thrill of the ride until he was worn out. Yesterday, after sending a message to Windham House, they’d received a response from Guthrie. He’d already started looking into Mr. St. John based on the testimonies he’d gotten from some of the Shadwell workers.

Simon still wasn’t sure what to make of the munitions manufacturer. He’d provided the records Simon had asked for, proving once more that Elliot had the most to gain if the army suddenly placed a large order for weapons. And yet, Simon had to admit Ida had a good point about Mr. St. John. He’d seemed too agreeable, too easily convinced to hand over the information. Or maybe Simon was simply looking for someone else to take the blame. After all, Mr. St. John wasn’t one of the men Ida’s father had named while Elliot was.

“I want to host a dinner party tonight,” Simon informed Winthorp when he returned home for a bath and a change of clothes. His shirt was pasted to his back and he probably reeked of exertion. “It is imperative Lady Warwick and her husband are there along with the Duke and Duchess of Huntley and the Duke and Duchess of Windham. Additionally, I want to invite the