A Fine Caprice - A Regency Romance Read Online Free Page A

eyes, ‘most things are best discussed over such a meal , wouldn’t you say? ’
    Cass looked at the man across the table thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. ‘I would, of course, be delighted.’
    Two hours – and a great many courses later – he had cause to re-evaluate the term ‘delighted’. There were some people who were foolish enough to believe that Fenshaw’s bulk made him slow but the man was anything but. He had a mind as sharp as the carving knife he had wielded so freely and had set out his plans for Cass most succinctly. The couple of days he had been contemplating for his journey into Dorset had somehow become tomorrow.
    When the port was delivered, along with the sweetmeats, Cass leaned back in his chair and contemplated his host. ‘I’m not sure I fully unde rstand why you think Hadley might be a spy. Forgive my bluntness but the man is a fool. A wastrel, a dandy, a gambler who is far too fond of a pair of dice, yes. I would not disagree with any of that. But a spy for the French? He can’t tie his own neckcloth without the assistance of his valet.’
    ‘I can understand your incredulity but I fear you have underestimated your cousin.’
    ‘I don’t think I have.’
    Fenshaw grinned. ‘Even if he isn’t a spy, he is most certainly a dupe. What do you know of his fiancé e ?’
    Cass raised an eyebrow. ‘Ravener is engaged ?’
    ‘I sup pose I can take that as being nothing at all . He became eng age several weeks ago t o the Grand Duchess Maria von Kassel. ’ When his lordship continued to stare at him blankly, he elaborated. ‘Prussian royalty, apparently. I cannot find much about her antecedents but she claims to be related to the tsars of Russia.’
    ‘The devil she does. And you say that this female is engaged to Hadley ?’
    ‘You seem surprised.’
    ‘I am astonished,’ Cass admitted frankly, ‘considering I thought he was – ah – more European in his proclivities. I have never known him to chase after a skirt. Well, not with a female inside. ’
    Fenshaw’ s lips twitched. ‘A man can flip on both sides of a coin, my friend. Although in this instance I feel you might be correct. I doubt that this engagement is genuine. The Grand Duchess has been of interest to us for some time.’
    ‘Us, being the oddly shadowy figures that have been busy setting up a business of spying?’ Cass suggested delicately.
    ‘I am sure I don’t know what you mean.’
    ‘Of course not.’
    ‘I do, however, feel that an impartial observer on the scene might be helpful. Especially as your cousin is so very i nterested in journeying to Dorset himself .’
    ‘You said it yourself. Ravener is broke. He gambles, unsuccessfully, from all accounts. He dresses like a French roué; the bill from his tailor must be astronomical if those outfits he elects to go about in are any indication. And he has a modest income. His dislike for me stems, in great part from the fact that I am far better off than him. An unfortunate quirk of fate saw me with a parent that did not waste the family fortune whereas Bentmore Ravener was a renowned sot who would have sold his lamentable children if it had been humanly possible . As a father went, he was hardly a man to aspire to.’
    ‘Ravener was not the most likeable of men.’
    ‘I suppose that is why somebody stuck a knife into him. I always felt a little sorry for Hadley and his sister. A difficult start to life, especially as Aunt Louisa was delicate.’
    ‘Mad?’
    ‘Entirely. Although I believe the family preferred delicate , thank you very much .’
    ‘I can understand that you have certain family sympathies Merridew , although the Raveners are not, strictly speaking, your family . But if Hadley Ravener is a traitor to this country then I will do everything in my power to stop him. More than that, I will take whatever measures I deem appropriate to discover who he is working with. I have someone quite specific in mind in this instance.’ Cass observed a