Read Online Hanover Square Affair, The by Ashley Gardner - Free Book Online
Authors: Ashley Gardner
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the ordinary person. He is able to work seeming miracles to get exactly what his, shall we say, customer, wants.” Grenville paced again. “Whenever he expresses interest in a bill or discussion in Parliament, funnily enough, the vote always seems to coincide with his interests. But I have never heard that he actually controls anyone. You never hear anything directly against Denis. He is that discreet.”
“Discreet enough so that his customer might not know the name of the young woman abducted for him?”
Grenville paced the length of the hearth rug then turned to me. “Lacey, I beg you, do not openly accuse James Denis of abducting Miss Thornton. You would never get out again.”
“You speak as though you know him well. Does he have the honor of your acquaintance?”
Grenville colored. “No. I was a—customer—once.”
The candle beside me guttered and died in a spattering of wax. “Were you, indeed? This sounds interesting.”
“Yes. And, like you, I want to know all about a person before I commit myself. I made it my business to find out about Denis, and I did not like what I found.”
“Yet, you hired him.”
Grenville tapped his heel against a pattern of the rug. “I had no choice. I wanted a particular painting that was in France during the war. In Bonaparte’s personal collection, as a matter of fact. It belonged to an exiled French aristocrat, painted for him specially, he told me, and the man had tried everything to get it back.” Grenville continued to study the carpet. “I offered to help him, and I had heard of Denis. I hired Denis to find and deliver the painting. Denis did.”
“Damned resourceful of him. How did he manage it?”
“I have no idea. And I never asked. The price was, as you might expect, very high.”
For some reason, I suddenly thought of the screen that Colonel Brandon had brought home with him from Spain. Its three panels depicted scenes of the holy family, done in gold leaf and ebony. I had no idea where he’d obtained it, but it was very old, and he prized it above all possessions. Louisa told me he’d set it in his private sitting room behind his bedchamber, a room few were allowed to enter. I’d always wondered where he’d stumbled upon the thing, which looked valuable beyond compare. I wondered now if he’d obtained it from someone like Denis.
I pried my fingers apart. “So that is why Horne intimated that you knew all about Denis.”
Grenville shook his head. “He did not hear such a thing from Denis. Or from me. I imagine my French acquaintance flapped his tongue. It might explain why he departed so suddenly for France.” He hesitated, his dark brows lowered. “When you attend this appointment with Denis, I will accompany you.”
I didn’t want that. Grenville would want to handle everything very discreetly, while I would prefer to take Denis by the coat and shake him until I received the information I needed. Grenville would also, as was his habit, take over the conversation. I gave him a nod, and decided I would not bother to mention the time and day of my appointment when I learned it.
Grenville snatched up his glass and crossed the room to the brandy decanter. “You’ve piqued my interest in this situation anyway, Lacey. Raise the reward to ten guineas. I will supply it; Mrs. Brandon can save her pin money. And advertise in newspapers. If Miss Thornton has gone to another protector, that protector might believe confessing her whereabouts is worth ten guineas. My carriage, also, will be at your disposal for dashing about London questioning people.”
He filled his glass, then came to me and poured more brandy into mine.
“Why are you so interested in sparing me shillings?” I asked.
He shrugged as he returned the decanter to the exact center of the table. “The last time I was in a hackney, it smelled as through the previous passenger had relieved himself in the corner. You can’t pretend that is preferable to my rig.”
I had to
“Discreet enough so that his customer might not know the name of the young woman abducted for him?”
Grenville paced the length of the hearth rug then turned to me. “Lacey, I beg you, do not openly accuse James Denis of abducting Miss Thornton. You would never get out again.”
“You speak as though you know him well. Does he have the honor of your acquaintance?”
Grenville colored. “No. I was a—customer—once.”
The candle beside me guttered and died in a spattering of wax. “Were you, indeed? This sounds interesting.”
“Yes. And, like you, I want to know all about a person before I commit myself. I made it my business to find out about Denis, and I did not like what I found.”
“Yet, you hired him.”
Grenville tapped his heel against a pattern of the rug. “I had no choice. I wanted a particular painting that was in France during the war. In Bonaparte’s personal collection, as a matter of fact. It belonged to an exiled French aristocrat, painted for him specially, he told me, and the man had tried everything to get it back.” Grenville continued to study the carpet. “I offered to help him, and I had heard of Denis. I hired Denis to find and deliver the painting. Denis did.”
“Damned resourceful of him. How did he manage it?”
“I have no idea. And I never asked. The price was, as you might expect, very high.”
For some reason, I suddenly thought of the screen that Colonel Brandon had brought home with him from Spain. Its three panels depicted scenes of the holy family, done in gold leaf and ebony. I had no idea where he’d obtained it, but it was very old, and he prized it above all possessions. Louisa told me he’d set it in his private sitting room behind his bedchamber, a room few were allowed to enter. I’d always wondered where he’d stumbled upon the thing, which looked valuable beyond compare. I wondered now if he’d obtained it from someone like Denis.
I pried my fingers apart. “So that is why Horne intimated that you knew all about Denis.”
Grenville shook his head. “He did not hear such a thing from Denis. Or from me. I imagine my French acquaintance flapped his tongue. It might explain why he departed so suddenly for France.” He hesitated, his dark brows lowered. “When you attend this appointment with Denis, I will accompany you.”
I didn’t want that. Grenville would want to handle everything very discreetly, while I would prefer to take Denis by the coat and shake him until I received the information I needed. Grenville would also, as was his habit, take over the conversation. I gave him a nod, and decided I would not bother to mention the time and day of my appointment when I learned it.
Grenville snatched up his glass and crossed the room to the brandy decanter. “You’ve piqued my interest in this situation anyway, Lacey. Raise the reward to ten guineas. I will supply it; Mrs. Brandon can save her pin money. And advertise in newspapers. If Miss Thornton has gone to another protector, that protector might believe confessing her whereabouts is worth ten guineas. My carriage, also, will be at your disposal for dashing about London questioning people.”
He filled his glass, then came to me and poured more brandy into mine.
“Why are you so interested in sparing me shillings?” I asked.
He shrugged as he returned the decanter to the exact center of the table. “The last time I was in a hackney, it smelled as through the previous passenger had relieved himself in the corner. You can’t pretend that is preferable to my rig.”
I had to
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