“It is not my fault if your brother is inclined towards such things.”
“But itisyour doing if you encourage him specifically in the hope of gaining some of his fortune,” Patrick retorted, neither hearing nor seeing any denial of such a thing on his friend’s face. Anger swirled with frustration that his brother had not come to him to beg for his help, whilst his anger also grew steadily towards Lord Hogarth. “I trusted you. I spoke to you about my brother without having even a thought that you would use such information for your own advantage!”
Lord Hogarth said nothing, and Patrick’s anger burned all the hotter.
“I have no intention of gambling again,” Dutton said heavily. “I owed Lord Hogarth a significant sum, Addenbrook. I paid him what I could and promised that the rest would come in time, but he would not wait.” Throwing up one hand towards Lord Hogarth, he closed his eyes. “When he threatened to injure Henry, I knew that I had to do something to keep my son safe and so, I made arrangements to come here. My initial thought was to simply live a quiet existence elsewhere until the next quarter’s income was given me so that I might then repay Lord Hogarth but, upon realizing that he was here for that first house party, I had no other choice but to hide myself in your house.”
Lady Albina suddenly caught her breath, her eyes wide as she stared at Dutton.
“Yes, I remained close to Henry,” Dutton continued, as if he knew the reason for her shock. “My brother does not know it, but there is a secret panel in the hallway next to Henry’s bedchamber.”
Patrick began to stutter, his eyes wide, even as Lady Albina spoke.
“Henry told me that you often bade him goodnight, but I thought it was only his childlike hope of your return!” Lady Albina’s voice was thready, her face a little pale. “But you came out each evening to speak with him, did you not?”
Dutton smiled.
“I did.” Turning to Patrick, he shrugged one shoulder. “You do not know of such things because you were never one to explore this house, not even when we were children,” Dutton told him, a half-smile on his lips. “I used to hide from our governess for hours in that small space. Although it was a little more cramped now that I am no longer a child!”
This was almost too much to take in. Patrick blew out a long breath and raked both hands through his hair, suddenly feeling the need for a sip of brandy.
“Good gracious. When we were children, I often wondered where you had gone to.”
“And now you know.” Dutton spread his hands. “I used it to escape from Lord Hogarth’s threats and to make certain that Henry was kept safe until I could understand what I needed to do next.”
Lady Albina’s hand covered her mouth as she gasped. All eyes turned to her as her hand slipped back to her side although her eyes were fixed on Lord Hogarth.
“And the messenger from London… that was your doing.”
It took Patrick a moment to realize that he had spoken to Lord Hogarth about writing to Dutton’s man of business – it seemed that, therefore, the attack on the messenger could be laid at his door.
“You did all you could to make certain that I would never find out the truth,” he said slowly, as Lord Hogarth lifted his chin. “What did you do? Did you have a man at the inn, just waiting to….” Seeing Lord Hogarth’s jaw tighten, Patrick realized he had hit upon the truth. “You are naught but a scoundrel, Hogarth. I am ashamed that I ever permitted myself to call you a friend.”
Lady Albina moved to stand closer to Patrick, her nearness a gentle comfort.
“Do you have any explanation for such actions, Lord Hogarth?”
Lord Hogarth’s lips tightened, and he turned his head away from her.
“I have no need to explain myself.”
“You threatened my brotherandmy nephew.” Patrick’s voice rose and he took a step closer to the man he had once thought of as the very dearest of friends. “If you had really wanted that money, you could have spoken to me. You know that I have enough wealth to cover my brother’s debts.” Seeing the gleam in Lord Hogarth’s eyes, Patrick’s stomach dropped. “But you wanted the control, did you not? You wanted to be the one to hold sway over him, to be seen as powerful and intimidating.”
Lord Hogarth rounded on him.
“It is not as thoughyoucan point the finger at me, Addenbrook. You are exactly the same as I!”
Patrick shook his head.
“That is not so. I confess that I have always sought to be admired, to be well thought of, and indeed, to make others look up to me, but I haveneverwanted to dominate or terrify others. I have no such cruelty and whilst that is of little merit given my other failures, I will not permit you to make us both so alike.” Drawing closer, Patrick’s arms grew tense, wanting to do nothing more than plant a facer onto Lord Hogarth’s arrogant, smug expression. “You are no longer welcome in my houseorin my company.”
Lord Hogarth snorted.
“And your debts, Dutton?”
He looked past Patrick towards his brother, but Patrick grabbed Lord Hogarth’s collar, forcing the man to look back at him, and for the first time, Patrick saw the flicker of fear in his eyes.
“Iwill pay whatever it is you require,” he stated, his voice rough as he fought to keep his temper. “And bear in mind, Hogarth, that since we have been friends for a good many years, there is a much that I know about you. Much that I could impart to theton, should you decide that you wish to speak less than positively about my brother, my nephew, or myself to anyone in society.” The flicker in Lord Hogarth’s eyes increased and he gave a small, jerky nod. Patrick dropped his hand, satisfied. It was no great punishment, but it was a promise of consequences should Lord Hogarth decide to speak ill of either himself or Dutton. Confident that Lord Hogarth would never dream of doing any such thing now, Patrick took a step back. “You are to leave my house within the hour. Dutton, ring the bell so that I might inform my staff to help Lord Hogarth return home.”