The Deception At Lyme

“But already a gentleman who enjoyed the life of an aristocrat,” Georgiana said.

Elizabeth heard the revelation with only mild surprise; as their discussion had progressed, she had begun to harbor her own suspicions about the identity of Captain Tourner’s third guest. “Was he traveling with Mr. Smith and Mr. Elliot?” she asked.

“He had traveled to visit his godfather, the Duke of Manchester—Governor of Jamaica,” St. Clair said. “Once, while I dined with the three gentlemen at the captain’s table, Sir Laurence mentioned that he had shared a slight acquaintance with Mr. Elliot and Mr. Smith in London, and by happenstance had booked passage on the same ship to the West Indies. English society on the island is so limited that they could not help but meet each other periodically during their time there, which advanced their acquaintance. Sir Laurence, however, was definitely a detached third party to the well-established friendship of the other two, and seemed perfectly content to remain so.”

“When do you think he became part of the conspiracy?” Darcy asked. “He told us at the launch that the Black Cormorant had been two years in its construction.”

“If he was involved in Lieutenant Fitzwilliam’s death, then he was involved in the conspiracy by the time the Montego and Magna Carta set sail for England—possibly before they ever departed London; after all, we have only their word for it that their London acquaintance was slight. In fact, that is the supposition I have been exploring most recently. I think Mr. Elliot and Mr. Smith approached Sir Laurence as a potential investor back in London, and that he traveled to the Caribbean to see the cache of gold for himself before deciding to finance the building of a merchant ship.”

“I notice that you continually refer to Mr. Elliot and Mr. Smith in tandem,” Mrs. Wentworth said. “Are you certain that Mr. Smith knew about the smuggling? At the risk of appearing naïve, I have always received the impression from Mrs. Smith that Mr. Elliot led his friend so thoroughly that it is possible all of this transpired around Mr. Smith without his even realizing it. Has anybody spoken to Mrs. Smith about it?” She turned to her husband. “Has any evidence been found among his papers that implicates him—or that could illuminate the role of Sir Laurence?”

“I have read all the documents and memorandums Mrs. Smith turned over to me,” Captain Wentworth said. “I saw nothing obvious—but at the time, I was not looking for allusions to smuggling or association with Sir Laurence Ashford. I will look through them all again as soon as this discussion concludes.”

“I would like to read them with you,” said St. Clair.

“Of course. Are there other individuals or details we should look for?”

“I have not yet been able to determine the end recipient of the artifacts once they reach England. Mr. Elliot arranges for the casks to be retrieved once unloaded from the ships; I believe they are moved temporarily to a hiding spot on property he owns near Sidmouth. But once the artifacts are removed from the casks, they seem to disappear. I suspect they are being melted down for their gold value alone.”

“No,” Elizabeth said. “If Sir Laurence is investing in this enterprise, he would not be a party to the destruction of artifacts.” She glanced at Georgiana, giving her an opportunity to express her opinion—after all, Georgiana knew Sir Laurence better than did anybody else in the room—but Georgiana was looking at the pendant again. Elizabeth turned to St. Clair and Admiral Croft to explain. “The baronet and his sister came to dinner one night, and the conversation drifted onto the subject of the marbles Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon. Sir Laurence emphatically asserted his support for Elgin. He considers the earl a hero for having rescued the sculptures from the neglect and deterioration they suffered since the country came under Ottoman control.”

“In fact,” Darcy added, “he said that Lord Elgin’s actions were justified whether executed legally or not, and that he would have done the same.”

“He has done the same,” Elizabeth said. “Like Elgin, he has arranged transport of ancient treasures from a part of the world whose conquerors did not appreciate their value, who indeed melted down much of the other gold they found.”

“And Spanish America remains in such a state of political upheaval that had the artifacts been found and seized by local government before they were removed to Jamaica, their fate would have been uncertain.” St. Clair nodded. “I can see Sir Laurence excusing his activities on those grounds. But if the gold is not being melted, where is it going?”

“I think I may know,” Georgiana said quietly. All regarded her expectantly, but she did not immediately speak again. Instead, she held the bird pendant out to St. Clair. “Do all of the artifacts resemble this one?”

St. Clair placed his hand under hers and raised it to examine the idol. “An informant who claimed to have viewed the entire cache described all manner of items—pendants such as this one, figurines depicting various animals, jewelry, ritual objects, and more. Of the pieces I have seen myself, yes, this is representative of their style.”

“Might turtles be among the animal figures?” she asked.

“They could indeed. The idol Lieutenant Fitzwilliam turned over to me was a tree frog.” He looked at her earnestly, her hand still resting in his. “Miss Darcy, if you possess any intelligence on the subject, pray disclose it to me—even if it is only conjecture.”

“Sir Laurence has kept at least some of the artifacts for himself. I have seen only one—a turtle figurine he gave to his sister. But he told me he has an extensive collection of art from around the world, and after all I have heard this morning, I am supposing it includes numerous relics from Central America. However, he is not given to excess—at least, not from what I have seen. He could not possibly intend to keep the entire hoard for himself once it is transported to England, could he? It sounds as if there is too much of it for any one person to enjoy simply for its aesthetic or historic value.”

“Yet he cannot give it away to the British Museum as Lord Elgin has done,” Elizabeth said, “or attempt to sell it to the government, without exposing the illegal means by which he acquired it.”

“No, but he could quietly sell pieces to individuals who share his appreciation and discretion,” Darcy said.

“Private collectors.” St. Clair took the pendant from Georgiana and released her hand. “Of course. Sir Laurence doubtless has friends with the same interests he does, and has had time to develop an underground market of collectors eager to acquire the artifacts.” One could see the rapidity with which his mind was working through this newest possibility. “In fact, now that construction of the Black Cormorant is finished and the war is over, the ship can transport the objects to buyers not only in England but also in countries and ports previously inaccessible. He will easily earn back his investment and profit quite handsomely, even after Mr. Elliot and all the other participants are paid off.”

“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Admiral Croft declared.

St. Clair turned to Georgiana. “Thank you, Miss Darcy. I had been unable to physically connect Sir Laurence with the artifacts, and one cannot level accusations against a baronet—the Governor of Jamaica’s godson, no less —without evidence that cannot be dismissed or minimized. But if you have seen one of the artifacts among his possessions—”

“Among his sister’s possessions,” she corrected. “At their house here in Lyme. The majority of his collection, however, is at Thornberry, his country house in Somerset.”

“Admiral, is this enough for a search warrant to be issued?” St. Clair asked.

“When combined with your testimony about Captain Tourner’s murder, I should certainly hope so. We shall want his Somerset estate searched, as well. Even then, the artifacts might be hidden.”

“Is this the final bit of evidence you needed to proceed with all of the arrests?” Darcy asked.

“There is one other main conspirator whom we have been unable to identify: the man who initiates contact with the high-level naval officers whose ships they have been using,” St. Clair said. “We know of individual corrupt officers, such as Tourner, who are part of the ring, but not the liaison.”

“It is not Mr. Elliot?” Darcy asked.

“Mr. Elliot does not have naval connections of his own, so I am unsure how he and Mr. Smith recruited new captains and other officers to their conspiracy—at least, not initially; once some were on board, those individuals might have made their own recommendations. Nor am I sure how Mr. Elliot or Mr. Smith came to learn of the cache of gold in the first place.”

“Perhaps we should ask Mrs. Smith about other associates Mr. Elliot might have,” Mrs. Wentworth suggested. “She is not here now; she is on the Cobb—I heard the chair arrive for her—but she knows more about Mr. Elliot’s past than does anybody else, and when she learns he has been stealing from her all these years, I expect she will