Page 35 of Beatrix

‘But either way, using it shows an arrogance in the varmint that we could possibly exploit,’ Ben ground out.

‘Rhys, are you familiar with the barony?’ Henry asked his son-in-law.

Rhys shook his head. ‘There are hundreds of baronies in the United Kingdom, so my ignorance of this particular one is not unsurprising. Naturally, I will do some digging.’

‘I believe that the crest on the envelope was the same as the one we found in Bristol,’ Beatrix added, ‘but that’s not all we found, and I rather think this might well be of more immediate importance.’ She paused, a little theatrically it had to be said.

‘Well, spit it out, Bea,’ Bernice groaned, well used to her twin’s dramatic leanings.

Grinning like Lewis Carroll’s cheshire cat, Beatrix continued. ‘There was a second ledger. Hidden separately from the rest. It was Billy who found it. The heading on the front cover was FOR THE GRANGE in capital letters. Rob counted thirty-eight names, Papa. Not placements, not transport dates. Descriptions. Age, height, colouring. Like a catalogue you’d buy from.’

‘Tom’s name was one of them,’ Rob told them quietly.

They both watched the words settle over the room like a physical weight. For a moment nobody spoke.

It was Ben who finally broke the silence, and when Beatrix turned to look at him, the colour had entirely drained from his face.

‘The Grange,’ he said quietly. ‘You’re certain that was the name?’

‘Quite certain,’ Rob replied. ‘Does it mean something to you?’

Ben didn’t answer immediately. He’d gone rigid in his chair, staring at some fixed point somewhere beyond the window. When he finally spoke, his voice was carefully impassive.

‘The Grange is a folly. It belongs to my brother.’

The silence that followed his statement had an entirely different quality to it.

‘Arthur’s?’ Henry asked, his voice equally unemotional.

‘Our grandfather built it,’ Ben went on. ‘It was quite an eye-catcher originally, a pretty building glimpsed from the house, nothing more. My uncle extended it into something habitable, years before either of us was born.’

‘It’s situated about half a mile from the main house, down past the old deer park. It has its own entrance and drive. When I last visited – over ten years ago now, there wasn’t a single tenant’s cottage visible from the drive.’ He stopped, swallowing. ‘It would be the easiest place in Somerset to hide a large number of children with no one the wiser.’

‘You can’t know that Arthur…’ Arabella started, already crossing to him, but Ben shook his head before she could finish.

‘I don’t know anything,’ he grated. ‘Not for certain. But I can’t sit here and pretend to all of you that this has come as a complete surprise, because it hasn’t.’ He drew a shaky breath. ‘If truth be told, Arthur has been living beyond his means for years. Our relationship has not been close enough for me to question him, and I suspect his determination to choose a bride for me stemmed from a desire to increase his cash-flow.’

He paused, his jaw tightening before adding, ‘I’ve been agonising for the last few weeks over whether to approach him for help in identifying Jacob White. I convinced myself that my reluctance was simply a concern that he wouldn’t take the danger seriously, or that he might warn White off out of some misplaced loyalty to his own class. I never once finished the thought that my brother might know him because he was actually involved.’ He stopped, running his hand through his hair in agitation. His voice cracked slightly as he continued, ‘I should have spoken a fortnight ago, should have voiced my suspicions however tenuous.’

‘Ben,’ Henry said quietly, ‘You did nothing wrong in staying silent on an unproven fear. Especially when it involved your own blood.’

‘Didn’t I?’ Ben shot back almost savagely. ‘We could have had this information before the auction drew so close. Instead, I let my own refusal to fully acknowledge my brother’s character cost us time we couldn’t afford to lose. Some bloody policeman I am.’

‘We have the information now,’ Charlotte interrupted briskly, cutting through his self-recrimination with her usual brand of no-nonsense sympathy. ‘Which in my opinion is of much more use to these children than two weeks' head start wasted on guilt. Do you know if Arthur is currently at his country seat, or even at the folly? Or is he more likely to be in London?’

‘I haven’t seen Arthur since well before I came to Torquay so in truth, I don’t know…’ Ben paused before adding, ‘The London season has started and as far as I remember, he’s never missed the chance to hob nob with the ruling classes.’ He shook his head in disgust. ‘If the Grange is being used to hold children for an auction, then either Arthur knows precisely what his property is being used for and has chosen to look away in exchange for money, or someone has taken advantage of his absence without his knowledge at all. In truth, I find the first scenario much more credible. But either way, he’s unlikely to be at home.’

Henry nodded his head thoughtfully. ‘I think we need to stop talking about what’s already happened,’ he said, ‘and start deciding what happens next. We now have a location and a name. Ben, is there a respectable inn within a reasonable distance from this folly?’

Benedict frowned, thinking. ‘There’s a large coaching inn about three miles away. I haven’t been in a long while, but I believe it to be adequate.’

‘Then we will pose as tourists in the area,’ Henry responded. ‘A cousin from Australia is visiting England and Charlotte and I, along with members of our immediate family, are giving him the grand tour. Ben, you know the estate better than any of us, you’ll need to spend time reacquainting yourself with its grounds and its approaches.’

Ben nodded slowly. ‘There’s an outside chance I’ll be recognised. While I’ve not been in years, my brother and I are not dissimilar.’

‘Then perhaps we’ll need to give you a disguise. I imagine a nice handlebar moustache would provide a suitable camouflage.’

Ben raised his eyebrows. ‘I’m not sure I could grow that much facial hair in the time we have available to us,’ he said drily.