Читать книгу The Scandalous Lord Lanchester - Anne Herries, Anne Herries - Страница 6

See Naples and die. Those romantic words could be taken two ways. Andrew, Lord Lanchester, smiled wryly as he looked at the rundown hovels along the waterfront and knew them to be the haunt of knaves, cutthroats and thieves. Was he truly likely to find the man he sought in those rundown hovels? Looking about him at the peeling paint and trying not to gag on the stench of the gutters, Andrew frowned. The man he was searching for was a rogue and a thief and his journey would in all probability be a wasted one. Yet he had no choice if he wanted to clear his own name of the shadow that hung over it.

For the moment his commanding officer had promised to keep silent about the letter accusing Andrew of stealing regimental silver worth more than ten thousand pounds.

‘You know I would take your word above anyone’s, Lanchester, but the fact remains that the silver was stolen at a time when you were in charge of its safe-keeping—and this letter accuses you of taking it.’

‘I swear to you, Harrison, that I am innocent of the crime. Yes, at the time I was a little short of funds for a while. It was difficult, I shall not deny it, but I solved my problem. Of what possible use would the silver be to me? If it was melted down, the metal would be worth only a fraction of its true worth and it must be impossible to sell.’

‘Unless it was taken abroad somewhere.’

‘Even so …’ Andrew felt a spurt of anger. ‘You think that my visit to Italy at about that time might have been for such a purpose?’

‘I have not said I suspect you, Lanchester. Curb your pride, man. If I wished, I could take this to headquarters and have you brought to a court-martial—but I am as certain as it is possible to be that whoever took the silver meant to implicate you. My opinion is that you have an enemy. Think carefully, Andrew—who hates you enough to want you brought down?’

‘I have no idea. As far as I know I have no enemies—at least none that would go to such lengths to ruin me.’

‘There must be someone … what about Lieutenant Gordon? Did you not have him disciplined for cheating at cards and general behaviour unworthy of a gentleman and officer?’

‘William Gordon?’ Andrew wrinkled his brow. ‘Good grief, I had forgotten that—it was so long ago. He offered his resignation and disappeared a few months later. Wasn’t there some scandal over another officer’s wife?’

‘Yes. The officer wanted it hushed up, but Gordon was asked to resign. The last I heard he inherited a small estate, gambled most of it away in a few weeks and disappeared abroad. I believe he was in Italy for a time, though I’ve heard nothing for ages. He might even be dead.’

‘Lieutenant Gordon …’ Andrew was thoughtful. ‘It is possible, of course, though I do not see why he should hate me that much.’

‘I do not say it is Gordon, but someone wants you discredited. Are you in someone’s way? Who would benefit if you were socially ruined—or dead?’ Andrew raised his brows, but Major Harrison looked grim. ‘You wouldn’t be the first man to take his own life because he couldn’t stand the stigma of social disgrace. Even a whisper might spoil your chances of a good marriage, for instance. Someone might hope for more than your ruin.’

‘Yes, I see that … the devil of it is that I had been thinking I might make a certain lady an offer. This changes things. Obviously, I cannot even consider marriage until I’ve cleared my name.’