Conspiring with a Rogue (26 page)

“
Almost thirteen,” Christopher added, a huge grin spreading across his face. “Father—sorry, Father—he’s supposed to be Mr. Lloyd when I’m working.”

Mr. Lloyd groaned and ran a hand through his already disheveled graying hair.

“
Mr. Lloyd says I’ve grown more in the last two months than my sister grew in all her twenty years. I’m the tallest in my family, except for Father, of course.” Christopher’s voice held a note of pride.

Whitney eyed Christopher surreptitiously. Now that she really looked at him, the striking resemblance to Lillian could not be missed. They had the same piercing blue eyes and long straight nose with the slightest raised bump on the right side. His height had confounded her. The last time she saw him, he had barely been eye level to her. Now, he was a good three inches taller. She slid her gaze away and found Drake staring at her. If she wasn’t mistaken, the slight smile pulling at his lips was one of admiration. She warmed instantly, absurdly pleased he found her ability to pretend to be a man commendable.

“
Shall we go in?” she suggested smoothly. Mr. Lloyd nodded and moved into the room with Drake following. As he strode ahead, Drake turned and gave her a wink. Her heart answered with a rapid flutter that left her feeling short of breath.

In an effort to mimic Drake’s definite manly walk, she strode into the office and swung her arms, but her motions didn’t feel right. What was the matter with her? In the past six months, it had seemed to her that pretending to be a man was fairly simple as long as she grunted, cursed and was rather rude. But one wink from Drake, and she could hardly think past the way he smelled, or how his body moved with the grace of a panther when he walked or how—
Dear Lord
. She bit down hard on her lip. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.
Blast,
that hurt, but at least her thoughts were off Drake.

Focusing on why she was here, she glanced around the room. From all she remembered of Lillian’s father, he was an extremely tidy person, but his office was a mess. Papers lay scattered across his desk, along with at least six coffee cups. Scrolls lay strewn across the floor, and piles of books stood scattered in no obvious pattern.

Mr. Lloyd went round his enormous oak desk and sank into his chair, motioning them to sit. She chose a dark brown leather chair that faced him and sat with her legs spread wide, just as a man would. As Drake sat, his gaze narrowed in on her opened thighs. He quickly looked away, but his face tinged red and he began to cough. She gave him a good hard slap on the back, pleased that he wasn’t the only one who had the power to scatter concentration. “Better?” she asked.

He gave a curt nod, and they both turned their focus to Mr. Lloyd. Lillian’s father regarded Whitney with worried eyes. “I assume you’ve found out something regarding Lillian?”

Her heart tugged in pity at his strained voice. He sounded like he was about at the end of his tether, and she had not even told him about the awful bet on White’s book. But what choice did she have? “I’ve uncovered a few details.” Taking a deep breath, she relayed the particulars of the bet and their suspicions about Drake’s sunken ships having something to do with Mr. Lloyd.

When she finished, she sat back and waited for Lillian’s father to respond.

“
I’m going to kill Cadogan,” Mr. Lloyd said in a fierce tone that left no doubt in her mind he fully intended to try. He shoved back his chair and rose. Drake rushed around the desk before she could blink and pressed Mr. Lloyd back into his seat.

“
Easy, Lloyd. If you kill Cadogan, we may never find Lillian.”

Whitney stared at Lillian’s father in confusion. “Do you know Lord Cadogan?”

“
Know him?” Mr. Lloyd slammed his fist against his desk. The coffee cups jumped and rattled with the force of the hit. “When he failed to garner enough support to obtain the vacant seat on the Society of Lloyd’s Council, he thought to buy his way in. He offered bribes to half the voting society, but each man refused.”

“
Why would he do that?” Whitney asked.

“
The council controls everything you just saw out there.” Mr. Lloyd waved toward the door. “Cadogan’s ambitious and grasping.”

Whitney’s pulse raced with the new information. “Did you stop Cadogan’s bid to get on the council?”

Mr. Lloyd nodded. “I did. We choose those members with the utmost care. They have to be above reproach and deal fairly with everyone.”

She nodded, thought about everything, and then shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. What does the council do exactly?”

“
We’ve the final say on who gets insurance and how much they get,” Mr. Lloyd said.

Though she did not doubt she should understand, Whitney was utterly lost. “Mr. Lloyd, why would Cadogan,
a lord
, care to decide about insurance?”

“
I don’t know the man’s mind for sure, but I have my suspicions. For one thing, he’s a silent owner of three cargo ships with Mr. Fitzroy. Cadogan has been trying to get one of his ships, the
Molly
, insured for a hell of a lot more than the damned thing’s worth.”

“
I’ll be damned,” Drake said. “Saint Stupid and Saint Lucifer own some ships.”

Mr. Lloyd’s brows furrowed together. “Saints who?”

Drake waved a hand in the air. “It’s a long story. The real question is why would Cadogan choose to be a silent owner?”

“
I can answer that,” Thank goodness there was at least one thing she could answer. “Cadogan’s a peer of the realm, and it’s simply not the fashion to work when you’re from money.”

Mr. Lloyd chuckled. “Sutherland, you and I are different ilk, see?”

“
No,” Drake said flatly.

“
My family origins are common. My grandfather’s father worked his way into money. And
you
, you’re a foreigner and
American
to boot. You people actually value hard work and admire a man who claws his way to the top.”

“
That we do,” Drake said with a grin. “So Cadogan is a silent owner of several cargo ships because he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s trying to make a living?”

“
That’s right,” Whitney said. “Earning money through any sort of trade is frowned upon in the
ton
.”

Drake stared hard at her. “You do realize that belief is complete rubbish.”

“
Obviously I do, Mr. Sutherland. After all, I’m an investigator.”

Drake blinked, and she could tell by his dazed look he had utterly forgotten her ruse. “Of course,” he said, swiping his hand over his face while turning to Mr. Lloyd. “I suppose a lord who wants no one to know he’s trying to make money would want to do it quickly?”

Mr. Lloyd nodded. “You’re fast, Sutherland.”

“
So was the money not coming in fast enough for Cadogan?”

“
Word on the street is that they’ve barely earned enough to cover expenses.” Mr. Lloyd picked up a miniature of a ship. “We all want to make money. No doubt about that. But honorably.” Both men nodded.

Whitney felt like she was stuck outside a glass room looking in. She could see what was going on, but she could not understand because she could not hear the conversation. Except she did hear this conversation, and it made no sense. Why did men have to talk in such short, coded sentences? She cleared her throat. “I’m afraid I am a bit lost. My apologies, but I don’t seem to understand the shipping business.”

Mr. Lloyd sighed and raised the miniature ship he held higher. “Pretend this is the
Molly
.” Lillian’s father floated the bronze vessel through the air. “Cadogan can export cargo such as cotton and make a decent bit of quid, eventually. But if his ship sinks, he can make a fortune rather quickly if he’s insured it to the hilt.”

“
But it would be dishonorable to purposely sink a ship for the money,” she protested.

Mr. Lloyd set the ship down. “You’re a queer fellow. Do you think all men are honorable?”

She shook her head. She had enough experience with evil men to know just how dishonorable they could be.

“
That’s good. Had you said yes, I would know I’d hired the wrong man to find my daughter. Do you not know of Cadogan’s father, the Marquess of Chittington?”

“
I’m afraid I’ve not had the pleasure.”

“
It’d be a displeasure. Chittington’s got no honor―his son’s the same. He’d get on the board here, see that his ship was over insured, then sink it. I know it, as sure as I know I’m a man.”

She almost choked at Mr. Lloyd’s analogy. Drake shot her a look of warning, but thankfully Mr. Lloyd’s gaze did not even flicker away from the ship in his hand. He was adjusting something on his model, and after waiting a moment for him to finish, she finally lost patience and coughed discreetly until he looked at her. “So you’re saying Cadogan secretly bought cargo ships and then tried to get on the Society board to influence how much insurance he could take out? All this in order to sink one of the ships?”

“
And become bloody stinking rich in the process,” Mr. Lloyd finished. “It’s speculation. But based on what you’ve told me, I doubt it less now than I did two months ago when I blocked his bid for the seat. The bastard’s trying to distract my attention from the board by hurting my business and taking Lillian.” The man glanced at Drake. “The book at White’s…” Mr. Lloyd glanced down at his hands, his neck and the tips of his ears turning red. “Is there any way to get the page that blackens Lillian’s name out of the book?”

Drake shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

Poor Drake sounded as wretched as Mr. Lloyd looked. Whitney’s heart twisted. She wanted to reach out and soothe Drake with a touch, a kiss. He was so caring, so kind. She wanted to blurt how much she loved him here and now. Letting her guard so far down that she forgot she was protecting him from herself would be the most selfish of acts.

Drake stood abruptly, snapping her thoughts away from herself and to him. “We’re going to find Lillian and stop Cadogan.”

The older man studied Drake for a long, silent moment, a frown creasing his brow. “It just occurred to me, I never asked you why you two are here together. How do you two know each other?”

Whitney gave Drake a hard slap on the back. “We’re old friends. I asked Mr. Sutherland for help once I realized you two were in business and his sinking ships contained your coffee.”

Lillian’s father nodded. “Of course. Sutherland, I heard you had another ship sunk last night.”

Drake’s eyelids lowered, disguising his thoughts, but he gave a curt nod of his head.

“
Sorry to hear such news. The sinking ships are hurting me, but hell man…you must feel like your feet are to the fire.”

Whitney glanced at Drake, but his face revealed none of his private thoughts. “I’m fine,” Drake said calmly, though his vein pulsed rapidly at the side of his neck.

“
Fine?” Mr. Lloyd gaped at Drake. “The board’s concerned and the whispers amongst the bankers out there is that—”

“
That’s my private affair,” Drake snapped, cutting the man off and striding to the door.

Shock reverberated through Whitney, causing her to go hot, then cold. A shiver ran through her body. What were the whispers? How badly had his business been hurt? She wanted to run over to him and throw her arms around him. Instead, she met Mr. Lloyd’s gaze. “I’ll send you a missive tomorrow. I’ll be attending a dinner at Lord Cadogan’s tonight, and I plan on getting information out of him, one way or another.”

“
Perhaps I should just let him on the board.”

“
No!” she and Drake replied as one.

“
Don’t waver,” she continued. “We’ll find Lillian and make Cadogan pay.” Thank God her words had sounded so self-assured―she was anything but. She was terribly afraid Cadogan had taken Lillian with no intention of ever returning her. A man without honor would want to wound someone who he perceived had wronged him. Just as a dishonorable woman would want revenge without just cause. Mrs. Blightson and Lord Cadogan were woven from the same flawed thread.

A war raged within Whitney as she followed silently behind Drake toward the main business room. She wanted to ask him about his company, but it was probably hopeless that he would tell her anything. Still, she could not remain silent. Reaching out, she thumped his back. “I need coffee.”

Without turning around, Drake motioned toward an open space at the long marble counter, and they made their way over and placed their order. The roaring noise around them left her free to speak somewhat plainly without fear of anyone really hearing. She took a fortifying drink of the strong, bitter coffee and faced Drake. “Is your company in terrible trouble?”

“
Nothing I can’t handle.”

Blast the man. Of course he would not make this easy. His face remained indiscernible. One thing was certain: she was walking an invisible rope over the dangerous waters of Drake’s deep pride. If he perceived she was trying to help him, he would never tell her a thing, but maybe she could carefully lead him to seek help. She raised her coffee to take another drink. “If you’re in dire straits, perhaps you should talk to Alex or Sin?”

Drake’s eyes narrowed, and he slammed his cup onto the bar. The man beside him flinched and leaned forward as Drake let out a string of curses. Just as she was about to shush Drake, Mr. Blightson’s face became visible. Her warning died away with her gasp while her coffee cup fell from her fingers to the bar with a loud clank. Mr. Blightson glanced at Drake before his cold gaze settled on her.