Once they’d returned to Langham Abbey, Poppy wanted nothing other than to retire to her bedchamber. She needed to think. About the handkerchief and the pipe they’d found. About the encoded list from Lovell’s bedchamber. About the fact that Violet was now missing. And, once she was alone, she could let herself ponder the kiss she and Langham had shared in the bell tower.
But having agreed to play the part of Langham’s betrothed, she could hardly tell him to find someone else to fill the role for the rest of the afternoon. And so it was that as soon as she’d washed off the dirt from the climb, changed into fresh clothes, and repaired her hair, she headed back downstairs for luncheon.
To her surprise, one of the footmen was waiting for her at the second-floor landing. Langham, it seemed, had requested her presence in his study.
Poppy arrived just as Langham was ordering tea brought up from the kitchens.
“Tea here? Won’t your grandmama be cross with us?” she asked, frowning. “I thought she was expecting us to join her in the dining room?”
“I think she’ll forgive us this once,” Langham said, taking her hand and leading her into the room. She was startled to see a man was already in the study, leaning casually against the mantle.
“Poppy, this is my brother, Lord Adrian Fielding.”
To his brother, he said, “Adrian, this is my betrothed, Miss Poppy Delamere.”
“I am delighted to meet you, Miss Delamere,” Lord Adrian said as he bowed over her hand. “I find it hard to believe that a lady as lovely as yourself would agree to marry my irascible brother, but I can only assume he’s been hiding his true nature.”
Poppy couldn’t suppress a laugh. “I’m afraid that could not be further from the truth, Lord Adrian. Indeed, I had not known your brother more than a few minutes before I had decided him to be thoroughly disagreeable.”
Adrian’s eyes, so like his brother’s, widened. “Did you, indeed?” he asked with a smirk. “And here I thought you were said to be a charmer with the ladies, Langham. No wonder it has taken so long for you to find a wife.”
“I wasn’t looking for a wife,” Langham said testily. Then taking a seat beside Poppy on a nearby sofa, he added, “Besides, we have come to an understanding about my churlish behavior that day. Miss Delamere has forgiven me.”
Poppy didn’t quite recall it that way, but she was willing to allow him the deception just this once for the sake of the present goodwill between the brothers.
Just then the tea tray arrived, and soon they were too busy partaking of sandwiches, biscuits, tarts, thinly sliced ham, and all manner of other delectable offerings for there to be more than anything but the most superficial conversation.
Once they’d all had their fill, Langham turned to Poppy, who was pouring more tea, and said, “I’d asked Adrian to hold off sharing any information he might have gleaned about the railroad scheme until you joined us.”
Accepting a cup from Poppy, Adrian nodded his thanks. “Now, as my brother wrote to me, you overheard a conversation between your stepfather and another man about a scheme they’d devised to raise funds for a railroad they were claiming to build in the Amazon, is that right?”
“Yes,” Poppy nodded. “And they were alarmed because Lord Twombley, one of the investors, had asked a friend at the Foreign Office about the plan’s viability.”
Adrian nodded. “Yes. And because I wasn’t sure which of my colleagues he consulted, I simply asked at the Traveler’s Club—that’s the gentlemen’s club for those of us in the diplomatic corps, Miss Delamere—if anyone knew about the scheme.”
“And?” Langham asked, with a slight roll of his eyes at his brother’s dramatic pause. “What did you find?”
But Lord Adrian was not in the least bit bothered by Langham’s impatience. “I discovered that it was my colleague Henry Riggle who had been inquiring after the project. And as it turned out, just as you suspected, Miss Delamere, there are no plans for a railroad to be erected in that location. It’s far too treacherous.”
Poppy sighed. “I hope you will give your friend Mr. Riggle my thanks, Lord Adrian.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot,” the younger man said, a line appearing between his brows. “Riggle was killed on the way home from Whites two years ago. Footpads, it was believed to be, but I don’t think the Metropolitan Police were ever able to find the actual culprit.”
“Oh my heavens.” Poppy shook her head. “Lord Twombley, Mr. Riggle, and now Mr. Lovell. It cannot be a coincidence that three of the men who were mentioned in or participated in that conversation are now dead.”
She turned to look at Langham, searching his face for some sign that she was overreacting. Unfortunately, his expression, far from placating, was grim.
“It is possible,” he said, squeezing her hand, “but unlikely, I’d say.”
“I agree,” Adrian replied.
Langham bit out a curse and went to the bellpull. “This investigation is far too complicated to leave in Rhodes’s bumbling hands. It is time to call in Eversham.”
Once he’d rung the bell, he strode over to his desk, sat, then took up a quill and ink and began writing.
“It’s customary for Scotland Yard to wait until the local authorities have requested their assistance before becoming involved in an investigation. Do you think Rhodes will put up a fight?” Poppy asked as she reached for another biscuit.
“If he does, I’ll damned well tell him that he needs the assistance,” Langham ground out. “If a duke of the realm cannot request Scotland Yard’s help, then what is the point of holding the title at all?”
“I daresay the practice is in place to keep dukes and the like from directing criminal investigations in their favor,” Adrian said dryly.
At the glare directed at him by his brother, Lord Adrian winced. “I didn’t say I thought you were wrong to call for this Eversham fellow,” he said, raising his hands in a gesture of innocence. “Just attempting to clarify why the rule is in place.”
The younger man was saved from further explanation by the arrival of a footman.
Langham proffered the note he’d just sanded and sealed to the servant. “Thomas, have one of the grooms take this to Detective Inspector Eversham at Scotland Yard in London.”
Adrian stood and intervened before the footman could take the message. “I can take it, Langham. There’s no need to send a groom.”
“Not so fast,” the duke said to his brother. Reaching around Adrian, he put the missive in the footman’s hand. “Take this, Thomas.”
Once the footman was gone, Adrian scowled at his brother. “Why will you not let me take it. I can at least be of help.”
“I know you would be happy enough to escape from the melee of young ladies who are here for the week,” Langham said tartly, “but it would break Grandmama’s heart if you were to go back to London after such a brief visit. Especially since you haven’t even had time to share a meal with her yet.”
Poppy was amused to see the heat in Adrian’s cheeks.
“You cannot blame a chap for trying,” Langham’s brother said, looking sheepish. “Especially since I suspect many of the guests are eager for my acquaintance now that you’ve been taken off the market.”
“Regardless,” the duke said, “it would be badly done for you to leave when you’ve promised the dowager that you would be here for her party.”
“You’re right, I suppose.” Adrian didn’t sound particularly happy about the fact, however.
Deciding that it would be best for her to leave the brothers alone so that they could continue their conversation, Poppy rose. “I believe I will go rest for a short while after the day’s excitement. Thank you for bringing the news about Mr. Riggle, Lord Adrian. I am grateful for your assistance.”
“Of course,” said Lord Adrian, bowing over her hand. “It was my pleasure to meet the lady who has ensnared the heart of my brother, though I must admit to a certain concern on your behalf. Especially given how short-tempered he can be.”
She glanced at Langham, who merely rolled his eyes at his brother’s impertinence. “I have no worries on that front. I, too, am short-tempered.”
“I beg leave to differ, my dear,” Langham said with a smile. Rising, he began to move toward her. “Shall I escort you to your bedchamber?”
She had a good idea of what he might be considering if she read the hooded expression in his eyes aright. But as much as contemplating a repetition of the kiss they’d shared in the bell tower made her heart race, it was more important, she told herself, for him to have a private conversation with his brother. Especially if their relationship was as fractious as his sisters had told her it was.
“No,” she said aloud. “You stay here and have a chat with Lord Adrian. I have little doubt there is much for the two of you to catch up on.”
And before he could argue, she slipped from the room and hurried toward the privacy of her bedchamber.
* * *
“It was good of you to look into the Amazon railroad matter,” Langham said to Adrian once Poppy had closed the door behind her.
Truth be told, he hadn’t been sure his brother would do it. When they’d quarreled over Adrian’s decision to join the Foreign Office, Langham had feared the rift between them would become a permanent one.
Deciding that the occasion called for something stronger than tea, Langham crossed to the cabinet behind his desk and poured them both tumblers of whisky. Handing a tumbler to Adrian, he said, “Thank you. You may not credit it, but I do appreciate your assistance. And I know Poppy does as well.”
Taking the glass from Langham, the younger man shook his head in exasperation. “You must truly think me a churl if you believe I would refuse to help. For pity’s sake, you’re my brother.”
“And the last time we spoke,” Langham said, equally piqued, “you told me to go to the devil.”
“That is because you were being an arse.”
“For insisting you accept the allowance you’re entitled to as my heir.”
Adrian took a generous drink of whisky before replying. “I receive a salary from the government,” he explained, his voice clipped. “I made some lucky investments and no longer have need of the family’s money. But for some bloody reason, you refuse to take no for an answer.”
“Because I want to do right by you.” Langham hadn’t intended to raise his voice, but Adrian could aggravate him as no other could. “And don’t think I don’t know that you’re so dead set against taking the money because you think it comes with strings.”
Adrian tilted his head. “And you’re saying it doesn’t?”
“It may have in the past,” Langham admitted without shame. There had been a time when he thought the best way to get his brother to do as he wished was by controlling the purse strings. It was how his guardians had managed him before he reached his majority. “But it’s been some years since I thought of it that way. It might have been wise for me to explain that to you, I realize now.”
“I suppose I didn’t really give you an opportunity to do so,” Adrian admitted with a wry twist of his lips.
“Clearly,” Langham said, raising his glass, “intractability is a family trait.”
“I hope your Miss Delamere knows what she is in for.” Adrian relaxed into his chair now that they’d cleared the air. “Though from what I saw of her she seems able to hold her own.”
Langham thought about the ways in which Poppy had refused to bow to him. Indeed, it was one of the first things he’d noticed about her. And now that he’d had the chance to know her more intimately, he could see that this quality of hers was just one of the myriad that made her exceptional. That made her a woman he could see spending the rest of his life with.
“From the lovesick expression on your face,” Adrian said with a snort, “it is a love match. I’m happy for you.”
Coming back to himself with a start, Langham felt warmth creep into his face. “Hardly,” he said dryly. “Though we did allow Grandmama and her guests to think so. Especially given how far their noses were put out of joint by our arrival. No,” he continued, gesturing with his tumbler, “Miss Delamere and I are compatible enough, but neither of us is looking for a love match.” That neither of them were in the market for a match at all, he didn’t bother explaining to his brother.
“If you say so,” Adrian said skeptically. “Though having seen the way you look at one another, I believe that if you haven’t reached that point yet, the day isn’t far off.”
“If you’re such an expert on love these days,” Langham said, “then perhaps I should tell Grandmama you’re ready to settle down. I feel sure she’ll be happy to inform her friends in the ton.”
“That’s just cruel,” Adrian said, aghast.
At his brother’s horrified expression, Langham laughed despite himself. It was good to have him home.
They sat in companionable silence for a few moments before Adrian spoke.
“It was Ned who found Lovell’s body, I heard?” He gave a shudder. “Poor chap. Not exactly what he was expecting I daresay.”
“Not at all,” Langham agreed. “I’d say he shook it off well enough, but I’m not sure that’s the case.”
Adrian’s brows lowered. “What makes you say that? I saw him on my way in and he seemed fine to me.”
Langham thought back to his interview with his cousin that morning. “To be frank, I’m not sure if it was finding the body, or it’s something else that has him off balance. But when I spoke with him about it he seemed unsettled somehow.”
“You don’t think it’s something else, do you?” Adrian asked, swirling the whisky in his glass. “Perhaps he’s thinking of leaving. I know I’d be nervous about telling you something like that.”
“I’m not that bad,” Langham protested. “Am I?”
“At the risk of endangering our newfound rapport,” his brother said wryly, “I will refrain from answering that.”
The duke sighed. “Point taken. But as for Ned, I honestly don’t know what it is that has him so ill at ease. I suppose if he does want to leave he’ll tell me when he’s ready. With Poppy’s sister gone missing and the threat of the gallows hanging over her head there is enough trouble to deal with at the moment.”
“I didn’t like to bring it up while Miss Delamere was here, but we cannot discount the possibility that Mrs. Lovell was killed by the same person who murdered her husband.”
“The notion had occurred to me,” Langham said, scowling. “But until we have some proof besides her absence from Rothwell Grange, I will not entertain the idea seriously.”
“Perhaps your friend Eversham will be able to unravel this tangle,” Adrian said. “At the very least he can look into the deaths of Riggle and Twombley. Though I recognize that those are not the most pressing of issues for you and Miss Delamere at the moment.”
“Anything that can more firmly tie the knot of justice around Short’s neck,” Langham said firmly, “is a pressing matter in my estimation. And the sooner we get him behind bars, the sooner Poppy, her sister, and her mother are safe from the man’s influence.”
Setting his glass down on the desk, Adrian rose from his chair. “If there is anything more I can do to be of assistance, please let me know.”
Langham rose as well. “I will,” he said, and with a move born of impulse, he clapped his brother on the shoulder.
When Adrian turned the gesture into a hug, he found himself touched more than he could say.
“It’s about time we both stopped behaving like nodcocks,” Langham said with a rueful grin once they’d separated.
“Agreed,” Adrian said with a nod. “Now, I suppose I’d better go play the dutiful grandson before Grandmama has me dancing attendance on every last young lady who came to the abbey intent upon leaving betrothed. Because as happy as I am for your decision to marry, I have no intention of following you into the state.”
“May the odds be in your favor,” Langham said with a laugh. “Though if I were to bet on it, my money would be on the dowager.”
Adrian made a rude hand gesture over his shoulder, then shut the door behind him with a snap.
