Calstone shrugged. “It’s much the same as keeping a mistress happy.”
“You have a mistress now?”
“Lord, no. Demanding creatures, those. Learned all I needed from my father.”
Will scoffed.
“In any event, I did some digging on Graves.”
Nowthatintrigued him. “What did you uncover?”
“Nothing much. The man is a phantom.”
“I suspect he is smuggling gin.”
Calstone shrugged. “If he is, he is doing a damn good job. I’ve not heard a whisper of such dealings.”
Will waved a hand. Harriet hadn’t denied that her bottle was contraband, but it was pointless to debate matters they had no hope of dissecting. “What else?”
“He bought a house in Mayfair.”
So the man was hadn’t lied on that front.
“His family has been acquainted with the Hillstows for years, though they cannot be considered friends. Other than that, the family increases their fortune in the transport of goods and they own a veritable fleet of ships. He has two younger brothers managing those.”
“Transport of goods . . .”
“If they are smuggling, they are very good at what they do.”
“Connections?”
“Strong.”
“Probably because he supplies them all with gin,” Will muttered drily. The liquor wasn’t bad, either.
“He’s a powerful man to have on your side.”
Will was gathering as much. Not that he kept company with people on the basis of what they could do for him. “Then you should befriend him.”
“Me? What about you?” Calstone asked, looking mildly surprised.
“I already have you. That is more than enough for me.”
“I’d reconsider if I were you.”
“And why is that?”
“Can a woman and a man bejustfriends?”
Blackguard. “Why the hell would you toss out a question like that?”
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.”
“Just say you want me to befriend the man for my wife’s sake. Christ.”
Calstone laughed. “But this is much more fun.”
“I’ll be sure to remember this fun when you find a woman you adore beyond reason.”
