A Daring Liaison(64)

Charles stilled as Dick Gibbons flashed through his mind. He and his brother, Artie, would have been operating at that time, and they were notorious for using a knife as their weapon of preference. But even this went beyond their usual methods.

“The lady was incoherent. Couldn’t have talked much if she wanted to. Her mouth was cut from the corner to her jawbone and in other places, too.”

“Why didn’t they finish the job and kill her? Were they interrupted?”

“Maybe they thought she was already dead. She was the next thing to it. Lost enough blood to be unconscious.” Tom began to wring his hands, a nervous gesture Charles could appreciate. The retelling of such a gruesome attack could not have been easy.

“Did you have any leads at all? Any clues pointing to who might have been behind this?”

“Nothing. We got a description of what was stolen and watched jewelry shops for more than a year in case anything showed up. Nothing. It was like it never happened.”

“You worked the case that long?”

“Me and Frank did. On our own. The Home Office didn’t want any part of it. Told us to leave it alone and keep our mouths shut.”

“Why? If this had happened to my daughter, I’d have hounded the authorities until this day—if I hadn’t already handled the matter myself.”

“That’s what me and Frank thought. But we were called in and told to stop askin’ questions. His lordship had whisked the girl back to the countryside and wanted the whole thing kept quiet. We were to say it was an accident if anyone asked. And we have. Until today, sir.”

Charles took a deep breath and sat forward. “I appreciate the truth, Tom. It may help on the case I’m working now. But tell me, when did you retire?”

“Few years ago. Still do some work on the side to keep body and soul together.”

“Have you ever heard of Dick and Artie Gibbons?”

The blood drained from Tom’s face. “Aye. Run afoul of ’em once or twice. Artie’s dead now, I hear.”

“Is there any chance this could be their work?”

“Me and Frank wondered that. They’d been at work for a while by then. We wanted to talk to them about it, but, like I said, we were told to drop it.”

Lord Betman had evidently been determined to hush the whole matter up. Charles tried to put himself in Betman’s place and shook his head. How could the man just let this pass? Yes, he’d have wanted to protect his daughter from scrutiny and scandal, but he should have wanted the bastards who did that to be caught and punished.

Charles remembered the papers in the ancient file he’d pulled at the office. The scant information it contained was largely useless since the report was fictitious. The file had been cleaned of any trace of truth. “I did not find a description of the stolen goods, Tom. Do you recall the details?”

The man shook his head. “I remember there was a necklace, a ring or two, earbobs and a comb for her hair. But I don’t remember what they looked like. Her purse was never found. Don’t know how much of the ready she had.”

Charles knew the habits of an agent—after all, he was one. “Any chance you might have notes on the case?”

“’Twas a long time ago, sir. Might be able to dig something up. Lots of boxes in the attic.”

Charles stood and pulled a banknote from his waistcoat pocket and gave it to Tom. “Thank you for talking to me. You’ve been a great help. Should you remember anything else or find your notes on the case, please come to me.”

Reluctantly, Tom took the banknote, stood and walked with Charles to the door. “I’ve thought of that poor girl often over the years. Whatever happened to her?”

“As I mentioned before, Lady Caroline died recently. I believe she lived the remainder of her life in virtual seclusion, but she took an orphan in after her father died, so she was not entirely alone.”

“Aye. That’s good, then.” The man nodded to himself as he closed the door.

The circumstances of Caroline Betman’s tragedy must have haunted the man all these year to have asked such a question. God’s witness, it haunted Charles now. One thing was certain. He could not tell Georgiana. She was too vulnerable now to bear such disturbing details.

He mounted his horse and turned back toward the city.

* * *

The packet from Lady Caroline to Lord Carlington secured in her reticule, Georgiana settled herself in Charles’s coach and met his gaze as the coach started off for Lord Carlington’s house. She could not think what to say considering that she dared not blurt what she was thinking. How could she marry him under false pretenses?