What surprised Ellen and Joseph both as they walked through the front door of Rathborne House was that they were greeted in the front hallway by none other than the Duke of Westminster himself.
“So much for avoiding incrimination,” Joseph murmured to Ellen as they skidded to a stop after entering the house in a hurry.
Lord Cathraiche was also there. He had apparently greeted the duke on his arrival. He wore a look of complete confusion, which turned to outright gaping as Joseph and Ellen burst into the house.
“I would ask where you have been,” Lord Cathraiche said, “but not only can I guess, there are more important matters at hand.” He paused to glance between the duke and Joseph, then said, “The Duke of Westminster is here to see you.”
“Yes, I gathered as much,” Joseph said, standing proudly, in spite of the fact that he wore last night’s suit, his face was unshaven, and his hair was in disarray.
If the duke found the situation odd, he didn’t say. He took a step closer to Joseph and said, “I trust you have seen the news this morning?”
“I have, Your Grace,” Joseph said with a nod. “It is as I suspected. Today it is a problem with your preferred contractors and suppliers, tomorrow it will be shoddy workmanship from contractors who, no doubt, will step in with almost miraculous convenience.”
Westminster sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He peeked at Ellen for a moment, as if uncertain whether he should be discussing the matter in front of her.
Lord Cathraiche was the only one who was still confused. “What the devil is going on?” he asked, frowning as he glanced between Westminster and Joseph. “I’ve gone away for only a few weeks, and when I return, my baby brother is doing business with a duke?”
Both Joseph and Westminster glanced to Lord Cathraiche with varying degrees of indignation.
“I underestimated Mr. Rathborne-Paxton the first two times when he attempted to warn me of the danger I was in,” the duke told Lord Cathraiche. “I will not make that mistake again, and I advise that you do not make it either, my lord.” He turned back to Joseph. “The information you gave me at the ball last night has turned out to be precisely the warning of Montrose’s actions that I needed to wake me up.”
“If Montrose is involved,” Lord Cathraiche said, “I should be as well.”
“Montrose is involved,” Joseph said calmly, despite the way his brother seemed to want to edge in and take control of the situation. “He has also exposed his weaknesses. It should be a simple matter to catch him out and make him pay for everything he has done now.”
“How?” Westminster asked. “How is it that Montrose’s plans proceeding precisely as he intended them to will catch the man out? And how can we put a stop to the rest of his plans?”
Everyone turned to Joseph. Ellen’s heart pounded for him. She wished she knew what the plan was so that she could assist her love in proceeding with it.
Joseph let out a breath, and for a moment, Ellen thought he would slip back into the uncertainty that had dogged him at the beginning of the situation they now found themselves in. He rubbed a hand across his face, then glanced to his palm, as if the action of scratching his stubble had inspired him with an idea.
“Forgive me, Your Grace, but as you can see, I am not prepared to have this conversation at this moment,” he said with surprising confidence.
“No, I see,” Westminster said with a nod of acquiescence. “Could we meet later this morning? At my business offices, perhaps?”
“That would be ideal,” Joseph said with a sigh of relief. “Especially since I have had another man assisting me in this endeavor, Mr. Danny Long.”
Westminster’s eyes went wide. “Mr. Long? But the man is my chief rival in business.”
Ellen swallowed hard. She hadn’t known that.
Judging by the flush that came to Joseph’s face, he didn’t know it either. He thought quickly, though, and answered, “He may be your rival in business, but I believe he is your friend when it comes to the sort of scheme that Montrose has concocted. I believe that he has personal experience, through the trials and travails of his wife before they met, with Montrose.”
“I see,” Westminster said with a nod. “Well, if you trust the man, I shall endeavor to as well. Shall we meet at my office around eleven o’clock?”
“That should give me plenty of time,” Joseph said with a smile.
“I will leave you until then,” Westminster said with a nod.
Pleasantries were exchanged, and Westminster left. Once he was gone, Lord Cathraiche turned to his brother and said, “Will you please tell me what is going on?”
Joseph stared right back at him, shoulders squared, head held high, and said, “I am afraid there isn’t time, brother. You will have to catch on as we go. Unless you have more important matters that require your attention.”
He didn’t wait for his brother to sputter out an answer. Instead, he turned to Ellen and said, “Forgive me, my darling, but I really do need to change my clothes and shave.”
“Go!” Ellen told him, shooing him toward the stairs. “And hurry.”
“I will, love,” he said, starting for the stairs. “And when I come down, we will go straight to Mr. Long and figure out how to end this thing once and for all.”