The Postilion (The Masqueraders #2) - S.M. LaViolette Page 0,127

“I told you the story was long and convoluted. Let’s put the rest of my tale aside for the moment. Why don’t you tell me a bit about your dear, departed husband.”

Benna smiled. “Well, I have to admit that Mr. Parker’s solution to my, er, problem, didn’t sit right with me when he first suggested it, but the more we found out about what Michael had done, the more it was clear that I’d never recoup what he’d stolen from the dukedom if I didn’t allow the marriage to stand.”

“It is actually a fiendishly simple solution to all of it.”

She nodded. “By allowing the marriage to stand and accepting my role as Michael’s widow—as repellant as that might be—I also avoided the expense and effort of overturning a fraudulent marriage and eliminated the need to explain a six-year absence.”

“Did he do a great deal of damage?” Jago asked.

“Enough,” she said, shaking her head. “All these years I worried that he’d gotten to the trust and it turns out that it was everything else that was in danger.” She swallowed and gave him a haunted look. “My father was wise to make inheriting contingent on me turning twenty-five—regardless of my marital status. My God, Jago. If that clause hadn’t been in the trust Michael would have killed Gilly.”

Jago pressed her hand between his. “But it was in there and she is safe, darling. Stephen said it was easy to get Gilly out of that private asylum?”

“Only after Parker threatened to bring a case for false imprisonment against them.” Benna smiled grimly. “And then they couldn’t get rid of her fast enough.”

“I understand that she received some monetary compensation?”

“They gave back all the money Michael paid to keep her there and paid the same again in restitution.” Her jaw flexed, her blue eyes burning. “I wanted to destroy them, but Parker warned that the case would become public if we did.” She sighed. “I left the decision to Gilly; she just wanted to forget about it all. The only thing she wanted from a settlement was to make sure there was nobody else in her situation locked up there. So we made an impartial investigation part of our agreement.”

“Did they find any abuses?” Jago asked.

“No, thank God.”

Jago could see the subject still upset her, so he said, “Are you ready for part two of my story?”

She nodded.

“I know that Stephen told you a little bit about that, already.”

“Just that you spent nine days in London at the Home Office going to meetings.”

“Meetings. That’s rather a bland euphemism for interrogations.” Jago didn’t tell her that they’d actually taken place in a cell so grim and dismal he’d wondered if he would ever again see the light of day. As it was, they had kept him overnight for three nights.

“How did you manage to convince them that you had only just learned about it all?” she asked.

“Believe it or not, Fenwick helped prove that.”

Her lips parted with surprise. “He spoke to them? But Stephen said that he disappeared the week after the masquerade ball.”

“He did scarper.” Jago grinned. “But Worth had his brutally efficient henchman—John Fielding—flush the viscount out of his hole, shove a sack over his head, and bring him in kicking and screaming.” He laughed. “Well, he would have been screaming if Fielding hadn’t gagged him. Anyhow, let’s just say that Fenwick didn’t speak to them voluntarily.”

Benna chuckled and shook her head.

“By the way,” Jago said, as something occurred to him. “Worth said you asked Fielding to help you with something—about your brother’s death? Did—”

“He didn’t find anything,” she said, her smile draining away.

“I’m sorry,” Jago said. “I know you were hoping to find out something.”

She shrugged. “It’s been over six years and I’m sure Michael was careful to cover his tracks. In any case,” she said, clearly wishing to change the topic. “I’m still astounded that the Redruth authorities believed the story you and Fenwick concocted—that Michael and the countess accidentally shot each other while play-acting a duel because they didn’t realize the pistols were loaded.”

“I was amazed, too,” Jago admitted. “But Worth threw some money—and influence—around and of course Ria wasn’t eager to be attached to such a scandal and brought more influence and money to bear. My position in the community didn’t hurt, either. All of that combined to make both the sheriff and magistrate quite, er, persuadable. Not to mention there was no rational explanation for why those two would have wanted to kill each other since they