“No, I think we’ll stay.” Speaking decisively, Henry made his way forward toward the counter. “I hear you have been taking a little bit extra money under the table.”
“What did you say to me?”
The man immediately flushed a deep, dark red, and Henry’s stomach caught in a nervous twist, but he did not hold himself back.
“You may or may not remember Lord Stoneleigh, but he was here recently, having discovered that his fortune had been taken by a most nefarious gentleman.”
“That is true.” Lord Stoneleigh came forward also. “A gentleman thatyoutook money from. Money to make sure that a room was kept free for him and to demand your silence. That fellow is no longer going to be doing so, as I’m sure you have noticed. His absence must be a little financially difficult for you.”
“What I do here is none of your business.”
The proprietor set both hands down on the counter, leaning closer with his shoulders hunched and a dark look passing over his expression. Aware of Lord Stoneleigh leaning one arm on the counter, Henry took a deep breath. His options were either to accept what this fellow said or to demand the answers he was sure he had.
“I want to know what happened to me,” Henry spoke, slamming one hand on the counter in response to the man’s aggressive stance. “When it comes to Lord Stoneleigh, a gentleman paid you handsomely to maintain your silence, and to offer him a room, where he might continue with his devilish scheme. I must know what happened to me also.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Taking the cloth, the proprietor slung it over his shoulder, but Lord Stoneleigh was not about to let the matter drop.
“You have no reason to pretend. We are already both well aware of everything you have done. I am the gentleman who was set upon, beaten, and thrown from this establishment, all under your watchful eye. You are meant to be the man in charge of this place, but seemingly you are easily swayed by a little coin. And, mayhap, a threat thrown at you here and there. Therefore, you decided to give in to the demands of this unscrupulous fellow – and not only he, I am sure, but to others as well.”
His eyes darted to Henry and his jaw tightened as he glared at the man.
A heavy sigh erupted from the proprietor’s lips.
“They paid me handsomely for my troubles.” The proprietor looked from Henry to Lord Stoneleigh back again. “Are you going to do the same?”
“I could do.” Casting a glance towards Lord Stoneleigh, Henry shrugged. “We will know if anything you say is a falsehood, however. Lord Stoneleigh is, in fact, well aware of who injured him and, should any of the names you give us be wrong, then there will be nothing you can say which will prevent us from leaving this place without reimbursing you for anything.”
“We do not make threats,” Lord Stoneleigh added quietly. “We are honorable men. It may be that you have seen less of our kind recently, but I can assure you that we do not intend to do you any harm.”
To Henry’s surprise, nothing that he or Lord Stoneleigh said brought even a flicker across the man’s expression. Nothing changed. He remained looking surly, his square jaw flexing and his eyebrows hanging low over his eyes.
“Couldn’t give you anything even if I wanted to.” So saying, he tipped his head toward Henry. “You don’t think those fellows give me their real names, do you? They’re not going to trust the likes of me.”
“But what I’ve said is true.”
The man looked to Lord Stoneleigh.
“Yes, there was some money exchanged and yes, the threats came after – serious threats.“
Still, his expression did not change, but there was something in what he said that brought a slight flicker of concern to Henry’s heart.
“You mean to say that you felt you were in danger?”
“Not me,” the man answered with a small scowl. “You might not think so, but the likes of us still have people we love.” With his chin, he pointed towards Henry. “He knew all about my missus, all about my little girl and my boy. Told me I was to do exactly what he wanted, with no questions. Yes, there was a little extra coin in it for me, but I would have done it without that.”
For whatever reason, an image of Lady Emma flashed into Henry’s mind. What would happen if anyone should ever threaten her? The next instant, every fiber of him knew exactly what he would do – he would do anything. It would be a response of defensiveness, willing to do whatever he had to, to make sure that she was quite safe… just as this proprietor had done. He would do anything that was asked of him, should she be in danger.
“There was a few of them fellows there that night.”
Shrugging, the man turned away.
“One of them had his eyes on you, that’s for sure. He knew exactly who you were. He came to get a drink for you with that little something extra added to it.”
For a second, Henry did not know what the man meant, only to remember Lord Foster’s suggestion that something had been put in their drink, something that had made them malleable.
“His name? What was his name?”
