Fiona shuddered. “Absolutely not.” She reached out to touch Rolfe, who covered her hand with his.
“The man’s an unprincipled brute,” he said bluntly. “He’s unpredictable, would attack you as soon as look at you, and has no moral scruples whatsoever. There’s a streak of violence in him as well. We saw it when we visited the family after our wedding.”
His wife nodded. “I’m afraid it’s quite true. He lived in his own establishment while I was growing up. He’s quite a bit older than I am, so we had little interaction. But once I was wed, he became most persistent, threatening me if I did not have Gadsby settle his debts. He claimed it was simple family duty.”
“When I found out…and that was only after he actually laid a hand on her…”
“He didn’t…” gasped Judith.
“He did.” Fiona lifted her chin. “I hit him back.”
Miles grinned. “My lady, marriage has done wonders for you. You have my complete, sincere, and eternal admiration.” He stood, bowed, and sat down again, making Fiona blush.
“Too silly. But I’ll accept with thanks.” She tilted her head and grinned.
“Anyway, I managed to convince him that he’d not get a penny from us. Ever. And if he so much as showed his face within a mile of where either of us were, I would make sure it never happened again.” Rolfe looked slightly embarrassed. “I was forced to emphasise the point with the assistance of two of my oldest friends who happened to be there at the time.
“Ah.” Miles allowed his mouth to curve a little. “I can guess.” He looked at Rolfe. “Pippen and Mick?”
“Of course.” Rolfe’s face was innocence incarnate.
Judith looked at Fiona, a question trembling on her lips.
Fiona merely smiled. “Two charming gentlemen whose friendship is most valuable to both my husband and myself.” She cleared her throat. “Not that you’d ever meet them in the regular course of things.”
“Ah,” replied Judith. “I understand.”
“Anyway, back to the topic at hand…” Lord Rolfe guided the conversation back to less intriguing channels, disappointing Judith. “Barrett. Are you sure it’s him?”
“The Duke heard his name mentioned more than once during his trip north to find out more about the source of those rumours. It sounded to me as if Barrett is some sort of catalyst. Stirring up trouble.”
“Coincidentally,” added Judith, “the bulk of the rumours here in London have originated with a certain young lady, Miss Beatrice Ringwood. The Duke says that the people he met on his trip north barely knew who Maidenbrooke was, let alone had heard any whiff of scandalous accusations.”
“And Miss Ringwood and my brother have an attachment,” said Fiona after a moment or two. “You have to understand that not only do I not see Timothy at all these days, but the rest of my family has practically washed their hands of me.” She looked at her husband and smiled. “Which isn’t a hardship, I’ll admit, but it means that I’m not privy to as much of what’s going on with them as I might ordinarily have been expected to.”
“Quite understandable. Miss Ringwood has been very open in her engagement plans.” Judith’s smile turned wry. “The ring has had many public outings and presentations.”
Rolfe’s lips curled. “That family, the Ringwoods, are all about flash and facades. They’ve got a pedigree, but not a lot of capital behind it. I’m sure they consider Barrett a suitable match, and they’re probably hoping for a healthy settlement from your parents, Fiona, since they never parted with a penny for your marriage.”
“And isn’t that something we’re both very happy about?” She looked at him, her heart in her eyes.
Judith felt tears and fought against them, not wishing to interrupt the conversation. “All right then,” she swallowed. “So it’s entirely possible that Barrett was behind the attacks on the Duke. He certainly seems to have the disposition and the attitude to do such an underhanded thing.”
“But the question remains…why?” Miles shook his head. “I can see nothing he might gain from the Duke’s death.”
Silence fell for a few moments as everyone in the room considered those words.
Fiona sighed. “You know, if Timothy is as violent and disturbed as I believe he is, he may not need a reason. Or he’s invented a reason that makes sense to him.” She looked at Miles. “Whatever the motive, please encourage his Grace to be on guard. Timothy is an unpleasant person who I find most frightening. What he would be like as an avowed enemy I cannot begin to imagine.”
“You believe he’s mad…” Rolfe took Fiona’s hand as he spoke.
She nodded. “I’ve always wondered. His father took his own life, and from things I’ve heard in passing, he was spoken of as highly unstable. Perhaps it’s in the blood?”
“Not yours,” said Judith firmly.
“No, not mine,” smiled Fiona. “Although I did tend to faint a lot. Marriage cured me of that.”
“A minor annoyance,” said Miles gallantly. “But your point about Barrett’s mental condition is a valid one. It will certainly be relayed to Hartsmere House.”
“And we are going to have a little chat with Miss Ringwood tomorrow evening at the Wednesday Club.” Judith straightened. “A firm little chat.”
Rolfe glanced at Miles, a wicked grin in his eyes. “I’d like to be a fly on the wall for that one.”
Miles merely shuddered.
The conversation ended shortly thereafter, but as Miles and Judith were leaving, Fiona spoke once more about her half-brother. “I just remembered something.” She frowned. “After we were married and the scandal had died down, I heard that Timothy got into a bit of a mess with a gaming debt.”
“Do you remember who won?” asked Miles.
“If memory serves me correctly, I was told that his vouchers were held by someone named Streatford.”
Miles let out a slow whistle between his
