with buckled shoes.
“What is your business here, Mr. Hollen?”
“If I may.” With a lift of his brows, Hollen bent toward a chair and swept his hand across the seat. Ethan nodded but remained standing. “Allow me, sir, to preface with my deepest sympathies regarding the passing of your father.”
Ethan studied Hollen as he spoke. A smooth talker, Ethan surmised, and grew guarded. “Did you know him?”
Hollen inclined his head to the left. “His good name was known by many people. I never had the pleasure to meet him face-to-face or to hear him preach.”
“Have we ever met?”
“We have not, sir. I am here on behalf of a client, who does claim to know you.”
“His name, Mr. Hollen?”
“He wishes to remain anonymous, sir.”
“Is he a coward?”
“Not at all.”
“Then why does he not make his identity known to me or come here himself?”
“It is wise he remain unnamed, for the present at least.”
“For what reason? Has he committed a crime?”
“You will understand when I explain why he has sent me to speak with you and the lady who resides in this house.”
Ethan frowned. “Go on.”
“My client has in his possession letters that he believes the lady will be interested in. They are of the most delicate nature, and if the contents were to be broadcast, it would do great harm to the lady’s reputation, as well as your father’s and your own. And then there is the matter of Darcy Morgan, the lady’s daughter. The letters will cause her a great deal of embarrassment.”
Ethan fumed. “I assure you, the lady is blameless. There is nothing that could damage her character.”
Hollen shook his head and raised one brow. “Apparently she is not, Mr. Brennan. At least according to my client.”
Ethan set his mouth. “What could possibly be in a letter that would hurt her?”
“A variety of things, I suppose.”
“For instance?”
“Are you aware she had a child with another man while her husband was away fighting in America’s revolt, and that she attempted to conceal the child? The child died and she was cast out by her husband.”
Ethan stared eye to eye with Hollen. “I know about it, yes.”
“He sent her back to England, where she fell into your father’s good graces, a man of God who should have forbid a harlot to live under his roof and hide her past.”
“Speak another word against my father and I shall throw you out,” Ethan warned. “What he did was save her life.”
Hollen wiggled his mouth. “Well, sir, whatever else the letters reveal will be worth five hundred pounds for you to possess them. If not, my client is prepared to publicize. And if you decide to alert the constable of this district, he will be sure the lady’s indiscretions are exposed.”
Ethan jerked Hollen out of the chair by his coat collar. “Blackmail, Mr. Hollen? Extortion? Slander?” He threw him backward. “Get out of my house!”
Eyes wide, Hollen smoothed the front of his coat. His bloodless lips tightened over a set of crooked teeth. “I shall excuse your outburst, Mr. Brennan. I understand it is a shock, compounded by your father’s death and this delicate situation. Indeed, it would cause any man to lose his composure.” He picked up his hat and glided it onto his head, then stepped to the door. “I must advise you that my client is serious in this matter.”
The muscles in Ethan’s face twitched. He pointed his finger at Hollen and clenched his teeth. “Warn him, I am serious as well.”
Hollen nodded and tapped the tips of his fingers against one another. “As long as he is in possession of these letters, the longer you and the lady will be under his power. I advise you submit to his demands while you can.”
Ethan took an abrupt step forward. His shadow crossed over Hollen, and the man looked up at him with dread covering his pasty face. “Unless I see them,” Ethan said, “I am unconvinced of anything. It could be a hoax, a forgery, a lie to get money, which I have little of.”
Hollen’s bony fingers clutched the doorknob. “I shall return in a few days with one letter in hand as proof.”
Hollen prepared to step out into the darkness. “I shall not make this easy for your client, Hollen. He won’t get a penny. You tell him that.”
Hollen grunted and turned. “Hmm. That is your final word on the matter?”
“It is.”
“Then prepare for the worst, sir.”
Dread rushed through Ethan as he watched Hollen slither out the door and scoot into