“Well, good for Caroline,” Gregory said, “but I’m confused over what any of it has to do with me.”
“You’re being charged with fraud and embezzlement.”
“Now see here, Ralston!” Gregory huffed. “If there are funds missing from that stupid trust, pester my father about it. Not me. He is the trustee. I never had any authority over it.”
Samson sucked in a sharp breath. “You little shit! You’re blaming me for this debacle?”
“Of course, Father. How could I have glommed onto any of it?”
Samson studied Gregory, and his father looked defeated and disgusted. Then he straightened his shoulders and said to Ralston, “Gregory and I agreed to spend the money on ourselves, and we convinced ourselves that Caroline wouldn’t mind. But Gregory is a wastrel, so he sought more and more, and I constantly gave it to him. He resided in London and pursued a style of living that was far beyond his means. Caroline has another fund vesting on her birthday—if she’s wed by then—so we were pressuring her to marry him before it was too late.”
“Ah. . . so that was your motive,” Ralston mused. “We’ve been curious about it.”
Gregory fumed, “Father! Shut your mouth!”
“I’m not listening to you anymore,” Samson furiously said to Gregory, then to Ralston, “She decided to back out of her betrothal, and we couldn’t let her. Gregory suggested we have her declared incompetent and locked in an asylum so we could garner control of her fortune without ever having to worry about her in the future.”
“Father! Stop lying! I would never have behaved so abominably toward her.”
Samson added, “Somehow, Caroline learned what we were planning, and she ran away. I’m ashamed that we debated the idea, and I most humbly apologize.”
Every eye in the room swung to Gregory, and he said, “My father can beg your pardon and pretend remorse all he wants, but he acquired the court order. Not me! He was fully prepared to have her committed.”
There was a shocked silence, and into it, Lord Barrett said, “You two are the sorriest pair of men I’ve ever met.”
Gregory knew he had to brazen it out. “Are we finished? I could use some breakfast.” He stood and extended his wrists. “Would someone remove these blasted ropes? I’d like to get on with my day.”
A ruffian yanked him down onto his seat, and he muttered in Gregory’s ear, “Be quiet, you dirty dog, or I’ll gag you. And if you stand up again before Mr. Ralston gives you permission, I’ll break your leg so you can’t stand.”
Gregory gulped with dismay, and he glared at his father, his expression beseeching Samson to do something, but his father wouldn’t even look at Gregory. Gregory glanced at the door, wishing Lucretia would stomp in. She was a termagant when riled. She’d put them in their places.
“Gregory Grey,” Ralston said, “I have bought up your markers in town. Every debt. Every promissory note you’ve ever signed. They’re mine now. I also hold every loss from your wagering, both at my gambling club and with me personally. I demand immediate payment.”
They were the most frightening words Gregory had ever heard. “I can’t pay. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Is it your admission,” Ralston said, “in front of these witnesses, that you haven’t the money to cover what you owe?”
“You’re aware that I don’t. If I’d had it, I’d have paid my bills when they were first due.”
Ralston nodded as if it was the precise answer he’d been expecting. “I accuse you of deliberately defrauding me. I accuse you of accumulating financial liabilities you shouldn’t have assumed. I accuse you of premeditated deceit.”
“I didn’t deceive anyone,” Gregory insisted. “London is dreadfully expensive, and I simply couldn’t keep up.”
Samson smirked. “Gregory, you’re already in a very deep hole. You should quit digging.”
A thug approached, and he slapped some papers into Gregory’s hand. “I arrest you for embezzlement from your cousin, Caroline Grey, but also for the swindling of dozens of merchants and vendors who have conveyed their legal rights to Caleb Ralston. Come with me.”
“Come. . . where?” Gregory asked.
“You’ll be in jail in London until your trial. I can’t imagine you’ll have much of a defense, so I can’t predict what will occur after it ends.”
Ralston grinned malevolently. “I shall argue that you be hanged, but I suspect Caroline will be content with a lesser penalty. You’ll likely be transported to the penal colonies. I’ll be fine with that conclusion—just so long as you never show your pathetic face in England ever again.”
“Caroline wouldn’t want you to treat me this way,” Gregory said.
His father snickered. “I tried the same tactic, Gregory. It doesn’t work with him.” Samson fell to his knees, his hands folded as if in prayer, and he said to Ralston, “I sincerely regret my behavior toward Caroline. Please tell her how sorry I am. Have her visit me in prison, so I can apologize to her directly. I need her to know how mortified I am.”
“Caroline will never visit you,” Ralston replied. “I will never allow it. Not ever.”
Gregory frowned. “Why would you suppose you’d have any authority over Caroline?”
“Didn’t I mention?” Ralston said. “She’s my fiancée, and soon, she’ll be my wife.”
Samson unhelpfully explained, “He intends to take control of our money—by becoming her husband.”
Gregory blanched. Ralston was marrying Caroline? How had that happened? When had it happened? Why would they have enjoyed more than a passing acquaintance?
“You’ve stolen my fiancée?” he said. “And you’ve stolen our money? This is an outrage!”
He hoped he looked nobly aggrieved, but his bluster was cut short when the thug who’d previously threatened him stuffed a kerchief into his mouth.
“I warned you to shut up,” the cretin said.
Gregory was dragged out, and he peered over his
