Page 95 of Once Upon a Devilish Duke

“It was, but it seems our friend Brookhaven has once again tried to preempt court proceedings, saying how he had sworn statements from staff proving that his sister was nothing but a scheming harpy who relentlessly harassed his father into a coffin.”

“For God’s sake,” Edward said. “Anything else?”

“That was the essence of it,” Tony replied, tugging at his shirtsleeves.

“What of our other matter? Has there been any success there?”

“Our man is in. He is making friends and making himself invaluable to our suspect. I am waiting for a full report. Likely, it will not be until Sunday when he has the afternoon off.”

“Tony, if I am to take this to the Prime Minister, I need hard evidence.”

“Understood.”

Edward got into the carriage, followed by Tony.

At the courthouse, there were now people lingering outside. Reporters were there with their notepads out, ready to describe the scene. Some hurled questions their way, but they hurried up the steps and into the antechamber where they were met by Barlow.

“Have you heard anything we need to know before going in?” Edward asked, as he watched Rose pace the room. She seemed more nervous today than yesterday.

“No, nothing. That could be good news or maybe not. We shall see.”

A young man came to the door to usher them into the courtroom. Rose saw her brother and wished there could be another way, that he could have been different.

They all stood as the judge came in and took his place. He put his spectacles on and then peered over them at the people in the upper stands.

“I have looked over the evidence, and I must say that it is a tale of two stories. One of the dedicated son who was misunderstood by his father, and one where the daughter sacrificed herself to care for her ailing father. It is not clear which is the correct one. However, I have examined the will, and I have asked that the man who wrote it testify today.”

Cecil looked at his barrister and whispered in his ear. The barrister stood.

“Your Honor, this new evidence has not been scrutinized by our legal team. We ask for a recess to consider it.”

“Your client, Lord Brookhaven, would have seen the will. He would have had it read to him on the death of his father as Lady Rose had. What is there to scrutinize? I simply want to ascertain the late Lord Brookhaven’s state of mind when he asked for his will to be changed.”

Barlow stood. “I have no objection, Your Honor, to hearing the witness.”

“Good. While we wait for him, I will talk about the book of accounts that Lady Rose claims to have kept. In my opinion, the household accounts for the time the lady claims to have done them are correct. It shows some sloppy handwork after your father’s death and, as Mr. Barlow has claimed, shows vast sums taken out. Can you account for them, Lord Brookhaven?”

Cecil was asked to walk up to the witness stand. “Of course. While my father was ill, many things had been neglected and some items needed replacing. Brookhaven is an old house. My father had also not looked after the stables, as he no longer rode, so that also had to be put to rights. There is nothing there that proves extravagance, Your Honor.”

“I suppose three hundred pounds spent on wine, brandy, and scotch are not extravagant in your opinion?”

“The cellar was empty. It had to be restocked.”

“I see, but the house accounts show a healthy amount of stock in the cellar prior to your father’s death, along with madeira and ratafia. What it does not show is the servants’ payments for the last three months,” the judge said. “Which is one of the allegations against you.”

“I expected the butler to update the books and he did not.”

Barlow stepped forward. “The butler, sir, is not in charge of the house accounts.”

Cecil went red.

“The housekeeper usually takes care of these things, which you should know, but Your Honor will see that Brookhaven dismissed her and so Lady Rose took over. Therefore, there was no one to look after the books once Lady Rose left, was there, my lord? Hence your hasty scrawl.”

“It does not prove anything!” Cecil yelled, spittle coming out of his mouth in his fury.

“It proves that you have no idea how to run your estate matters. Do you have a land steward?’ Barlow asked, his tone calm but assertive, as was his way.

“No.”