Vow of Deception (The Ministry of Curiosities #9)(8)

She blinked at him. "Ignatius?"

He smiled and shooed her on. Her nostrils flared but she complied and joined Whistler, the footman, near the staircase.

"One other thing," Swinburn said quietly to Lincoln. "I was speaking to your father—"

"My what?" Lincoln growled.

"Your father, the prince." Swinburn's lips curved up more. "Ah. You're surprised that I know. It seems you underestimated the friendship between His Highness and myself. He relies on me, you know. I give him advice on financial matters. Anyway, the point is, he informed me that Lord Ballantine's appointment as special envoy to India has been delayed."

Delayed! Where was the justice? Ballantine had tried to trick the Prince of Wales's son into marrying his daughter. It hadn't worked, but the royal family had been furious at the blatant manipulation. We suspected Swinburn, as leader of the pack Ballantine belonged to, was the one behind the scheme, but the Prince of Wales and his brother, the Duke of Edinburgh, refused to blame Swinburn. They'd organized it so that the Foreign Office would post Ballantine to India, essentially exiling him. It seemed Swinburn had successfully persuaded them to change their minds.

"Why?" Lincoln asked, not sounding at all surprised by the announcement.

"You would have to ask His Highness," Swinburn said. "Perhaps he just had a change of heart. He can be somewhat fickle like that, haven't you noticed? Or perhaps not. You don't know your father well, do you?"

"As well as I wish to know him."

Gus stepped aside and allowed Swinburn to walk ahead of him. He escorted them both down the stairs and Seth shut the drawing room door.

"What an arse," he declared.

"Which one?" I asked.

"Both. I can't believe they're getting married! Has he lost his mind? Has she? He's a bloody wolf, for Christ's sakes!"

Gus returned and threw himself into a chair. "I didn't think Swinburn and the prince were close enough to share that kind of secret. Seems he treats Swinburn like a brother. That's worrying."

"I'm not so sure." Lincoln leaned against the mantel and crossed his arms, as casual as can be. "Swinburn didn't actually say the prince told him he was my father."

"True," Seth said, nodding. "He led us to think that's who told him but never confirmed it."

"Nor do I believe the prince would have told anyone outside the family. It's highly sensitive information, and he's no fool."

"He did vehemently defend Swinburn when we accused him of Protheroe's murder," I pointed out. "As did his brother, the duke."

"Defending a man's reputation is one thing. Trusting him with this information is another entirely. Besides, the duke likes his brother. He wouldn't risk his reputation, no matter how much he respected Swinburn.

"That's not why I think the prince and duke are innocent, however. Swinburn sent Julia from the room for a reason."

"Blimey," I muttered as it dawned on me.

"Bloody hell." Seth flopped into a chair and his hair fell across his forehead. He swept it back and slumped. "You think she told him, but he didn't want her to know that he was telling us?"

"She probably asked him to keep the information to himself," Lincoln said.

"Bloody traitor!" Gus growled. "Are you sure, though? She's got too much history with the ministry. She knows it'll be a betrayal."

"It was her," Seth said heavily. "It's the only explanation that makes sense. She must have given him the information in exchange for marriage. I did wonder why he agreed to it. The man's a womanizer. He wouldn't settle down unless he got something out of it."

"The nerve of her!" I stormed to the door and wrenched it open.

"They're gone, Charlie," Gus said.

"She's a fool if she thought we wouldn't work it out," Seth said. "A bloody fool. And he's a fool for agreeing to the union. Give it a year and he'll decide the information wasn't worth it. What's he going to do with it, anyway? Go to the papers? It might cause a scandal, but only until the next scandal comes along. What will he gain?"

"Leverage for blackmailing me," Lincoln said simply.

I sighed. "So what do we do now?"

"She has to be ousted from the committee," Seth said.

"Aye," Gus agreed.

I looked to Lincoln and he nodded. "I'll do it tomorrow," he said. "A committee meeting will need to be held to inform the others."

The notion of cutting Lady Harcourt loose appealed to me. Without her on the committee, there'd be no more reason to associate with her. We'd be rid of her completely, since we rarely moved in the same social circles. "I'll come with you when you tell her," I said to Lincoln. I didn't want to miss this.

Seth stretched out his arms and cracked his knuckles. "She told me I was going to take her place on the committee if anything happened to her. Looks like I'm moving up in the world."

Gus rolled his eyes. "It don't give you any real power, you pompous prig. It don't pay, neither. Does it?" He looked to Lincoln.

Lincoln shook his head.

We sat in silence a few moments as we each contemplated Lady Harcourt's reaction to the news that she was off the committee. At least, I thought that's what we were all thinking.