The Dowager Countess (The Saga of Wolfbridge Manor Book 2) by Sahara Kelly (classic children's novels txt) 📕

“The man’s not only a fool, but a penniless fool.” Royce dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “But given that we have two men desperate for money and lurking around here…there has to be some reason for it.”

“It’s possible that Gylbart might be the hand that has stirred the pot,” said Giles, his voice thoughtful. “He’s not actively seeking funds. Apparently his…his establishments are doing well, so he has no need of immediate financial help. But he’s one man who is always described as having an eye out for the next chance.”

“So you think Fairhurst and Randschen are looking to him to help with their woes?” Gwyneth frowned as she tried to see the larger picture.

“I think,” said Giles carefully, “based on what I learned, that Fairhurst would like to arrange the sale of Fivetrees to Gylbart. It would make an excellent quiet, out-of-the-way brothel. And I wouldn’t put it past Randschen to offer to run it for him.”

“It would certainly bring in the money,” said Jeremy, his voice cold. “This far from London…he could offer a lot of things that would be considered outrageous and perhaps even illegal in town. And the prices he’d charge?”’

“They’d be met, without a doubt.” Gabriel’s voice was even colder. “Vices are costly, because there are men who will pay that cost. Any cost. Just to get what they want, when they want it, with no questions asked.”

“Exactly,” said Giles. “But of course there is a problem.”

“You have control over Fivetrees, in Miss Fairhurst’s name.” Royce flashed him a grim look. “And that puts you squarely in the centre of a rather large target, Giles…”

“Oh no,” breathed Gwyneth. “Giles…”

“Rest easily, my dear. I’m no more a target now than I was yesterday or last month.” Giles smiled at her. “My guardianship of Miss Fairhurst, or—I should say—Lady Withersby, is a mere formality now that she is wed. Sir Ragnor and his lawyers will be taking a close look at Judith’s situation. That’s one of the reasons I was in London longer than I intended. I managed to sit in on several of those meetings, so I understand where the whole mess stands right now. It won’t be too long before it’s all in Sir Ragnor’s hands to manage for his wife.”

“That’s a relief, I suppose,” said Gwyneth. “But until that happens, you are at risk, you’ll have to admit.”

“And as that day of transition nears, they may get desperate,” added Evan, a worried look on his face.

Giles shrugged. “My deepest concern is not that I myself am at risk. It’s that Wolfbridge Manor is at risk.” His eyes turned to Gwyneth. “And that includes you, my dear, I’m sorry to say.”

“But why?” She tried to understand.

“If they can destroy Wolfbridge, destroy us…then their road to Fivetrees just got a lot easier. The mess surrounding our situation would preclude any settlement of my guardianship. It wouldn’t change it, but it would disrupt the process. Fairhurst could easily sue to retain the property on behalf of the family. Something he might do anyway, even though he has no support in that endeavour. His own family can’t stand him.”

Royce stood and stretched, and walked to the brandy tray, holding up the decanter and looking around. “Anyone?”

Everyone held up empty glasses.

He strolled from glass to glass, refilling them. “So we have to accept that Giles and Gwyneth are currently targets, since anything happening to them will put Wolfbridge into disarray and leave it vulnerable, thus allowing the Fairhurst-Randschen contingent chance to move in and take over Fivetrees for their own and Gylbart’s nefarious purposes.”

“In a nutshell, yes.”

“It’s a bit uncertain,” mused Jeremy. “They’re gambling on a lot of ‘ifs’…as are we with that supposition…”

“My understanding is that they don’t have much else to gamble with. And desperation is becoming the driving force, which—as we all know—leads to many stupid decisions.” Giles sighed.

“And the letter I received?” Gwyneth gazed at him.

He shook his head. “I could not find anything that would indicate any of those three men might have written it.” He sighed. “I learned that it was indeed hand-delivered, but the trail ended with a mail coach. It could have been slipped into the bag—I don’t know. All I do know is that its path to you, my Lady, seemed to begin there. At a busy coaching inn not far from London. Before that? Nothing.”

“I would like to put Randschen at the top of my list,” she said. “I turned down his offer. That must have hurt and offend on a personal level. It may be just me, but I feel that blackmail is personal in many ways. The only problem is that the likelihood of him learning about my past is extremely small.”

The room was quiet as this information was digested. Royce knew, and she had a feeling the others might have guessed something along those lines was going on.

“I tend to agree about Randschen,” Giles confirmed. “And a blackmail threat to you, could well be followed by more such threats. To us all.”

“Once again resulting in a certain amount of chaos,” noted Evan.

Jeremy pursed his lips. “It’s possible, I suppose.”

Giles looked at him, then around the room. “We all have secrets, lad. You know that, as does everyone here in this room. We’ve kept our lives private, but we’re also wise enough to know that sometime, somewhere, there’ll be a word spoken or a time mentioned…and that will be enough for those with the need to discover more.”

“And someone could dig up those secrets,” said Royce, his voice flat.

“Yes.”

“And Gwyneth is being threatened?” Gabriel’s eyes were wide and worried.

“I am letting Giles handle the matter, Gabriel. The threat is there, but as of now there’s been no further