time in the shadows and he’d be quite back to himself.
“A letter has arrived for Her Grace,” the butler announced as he entered carrying a silver tray. He bowed before the duchess and she took the parchment with a thank you.
“Thank goodness, your father has written.” She directed the comment to Wesley. “Hopefully now we’ll know why the residents of Laswell committed such an atrocity.”
Chapter 8
Miranda knew she should have more sympathy for her brother and Epworth, but she found it difficult given they’d brought their discomfort upon themselves.
“Oh dear,” Her Grace mumbled as she read the missive from her son. “It is as I feared and what the residents of Bocka Morrow claimed.”
“What is that Grandmother?” Epworth asked.
“After all of these years, they do not believe it necessary for the agreement to continue since they gain nothing while Bocka Morrow profits.”
“We certainly do not profit more than Laswell,” Miranda insisted.
“I am afraid you do,” Her Grace offered. “Many ships prefer to sail into Bocka Morrow as the caves are better hidden. Bocka Morrow is also closer to France. While those continuing onto Laswell do get a better price for their goods, sometimes sailing longer in open waters is more dangerous and they’d rather make a lesser profit by unloading quicker.”
Miranda sat back and frowned. She’d not considered the dangers of sailing further. “However, we often see naval ships and revenue men, whereas I’ve been told neither frequent Laswell with any regularity.” It was the reason that ships sometimes needed to continue north. Not that she’d ever trust the residents of Laswell again. They couldn’t afford to. Instead, they’d need to find another community they could trust.
That is, if one was to be had.
“To be truthful,” Her Grace continued. “The people of Laswell are suffering financially and have been for some time and there are those who are jealous of the wealth in Bocka Morrow. I should have anticipated that they might take action given their complaints have only become more persistent, demanding I do something as they no longer benefit from the agreement we once shared.”
So, it was simple greed that caused them to sink a Bocka Morrow ship? Did they not realize the ramifications of such actions and what it could mean? Miranda shook her head and took a sip of the coffee, hoping the residents of Bocka Morrow came to their senses before the wedding took place or there would be trouble for everyone.
“They claim that Jona…Captain Vail violated a past treaty by capturing the ship I was on and the only reason they didn’t retaliate was because of the betrothal, even though the marriage never came to be.”
“Past treaty?” her brother questioned. “There was a previous treaty?”
“I know nothing of such,” Epworth added.
“Did His Grace explain what the original treaty consisted of and why it was in place?” Miranda asked.
Her Grace frowned. “No. He did not.” She let the parchment drift to her lap and frowned. “I didn’t even know there was another agreement.”
“I did,” Uncle Jonathan announced as he materialized.
Miranda would have asked him to explain, but her brother and Epworth would wonder why she was speaking to someone other than Her Grace and she simply did not wish to explain. Besides, it was unlikely Epworth would believe her.
Her Grace glanced up at Uncle Jonathan and frowned. “There must be some documentation as to such.”
“There is,” Uncle Jonathan answered.
“I’ve not seen such an agreement,” Adam answered thinking Her Grace was speaking to them instead of a ghost.
Oh, whenever Uncle Jonathan was with them, it became quite confusing and she needed to guard her words and comments.
“You’ve gone through all of grandfather’s papers?” Miranda asked.
“Yes. Several times. If there was a document outlining an agreement, past or present, I would have already known of it.”
“They are among my papers,” Uncle Jonathan said to Her Grace.
“Uncle Jonathan might have kept them,” Miranda blurted out as she knew Her Grace couldn’t provide the information.
Adam stood and refilled his coffee. “That is possible. He was, after all, the smuggler at the time. My grandfather managed the caves and distribution, but it was Uncle Jonathan who managed everything else.” He turned to face Miranda. “His belongings are still as he left them, are they not, or did you get rid of his papers over the years?”
Adam hadn’t been to the attic rooms since he was a young man and hadn’t been nearly as interested in the treasure trove of books, captains’ logs, and everything else as Miranda had been.
“It’s just