A Perilous Perspective (Lady Darby Mystery #10)(61)

“Nothing other than Lord Ledbury’s arrival.” He dipped his auburn head toward his shoulder. “Unless you want to hear about Lord Barbreck’s periodic bursts of temper.”

None of us wanted that. And given everything I now knew he’d been keeping from us, I no longer had patience for his petulant outbursts.

I set my cup down on its saucer with a decisive click. “Well, unless Gage has something to say, I have a number of things to share.” The others turned to me with interest, and when my husband didn’t speak, I took that as my cue to begin. “First of all, I confirmed with Mrs. Mallery that Lord Alisdair did, in fact, live in a cottage at the edge of the estate. But I also learned that he often had an Italian friend who visited him.”

Had Gage not been perched on the desk next to me, I might not have noted his subtle shift in posture. My gaze lifted to his, letting him know he was correct to assume this was important evidence.

“A friend named Signor Pellegrini, who also happened to be an artist.” I turned to the others, focusing on Anderley in particular, whose country of origin was Italy, but he made no discernible reaction. “A muralist, apparently, by trade. But I presume he also worked on canvases.”

Gage scowled. “And yet Lord Barbreck failed to think this was pertinent. Even when you specifically asked about artists visiting the area.”

“Yes, that makes three lies of omission. Three key pieces of information he certainly knew and should have told us about.”

“Three?” Henry questioned innocently, and I realized only Gage knew about my mother’s connection to the Campbells of Poltalloch.

“Yes,” I began hesitantly, trying to decide how much I wanted to tell them. But then I realized the matter needn’t . . . shouldn’t be a secret. The most distressing thing about it had been that it had been kept from me for so long, whether intentional or not. “I recently learned that my mother was wed to Miss Campbell’s nephew before she married my father.”

They all reacted with varying degrees of surprise. Bree’s eyes flared wide, while Anderley barely flickered an eyelash. But Henry’s was the most evident. His fair skin flushed to the roots of his hair, likely from embarrassment at his having asked the question that required me to make such an admission. I offered him a reassuring smile, not wanting him to blame himself.

“But now knowing those three omissions,” I continued, reverting to the original topic. “Omissions Barbreck should have known we would find out about sooner or later, I have to wonder whether there’s more.”

Gage’s fingers drummed against the desk. “It sounds like it’s time we had yet another discussion with our host.”

I nodded. “And we also need to take up his offer to have his steward assist us in searching the records. But not just for the forgeries but all the paintings Barbreck acquired, particularly through his brother, Lord Alisdair.”

My husband recognized the grim tone of my voice. “You found another forgery?”

“Three, actually. Possibly four.”

This time their reactions were not stifled by politeness.

Bree shook her head as if astonished at the absurdity. Gage mumbled a curse beneath his breath, while Henry found slightly more polite words.

“I thought Barbreck was supposed to be some sort of art expert.”

“Clearly not,” Anderley muttered wryly.

“Then exactly how many forgeries are in this lauded collection of his?” Gage demanded to know.

“We won’t know until a complete inventory is taken,” I replied.

He scraped a hand back through his hair in frustration. “Which comprises what? Several hundred pieces of art?”

“At least.”

The task of assessing it would have to fall to me, so if anyone should be feeling irritated, it should be me. Though, truth be told, examining art was never truly a hardship. Even the poorly executed ones afforded opportunities to learn something.

Henry straightened from his slouch. “I presume you believe the likeliest explanation is that Lord Alisdair—and consequently Lord Barbreck—was duped at the beginning, when he purchased the art. That’s why you think the documentation of each sale will reveal something.”

“I admit that would be the easiest and most logical conclusion.” I frowned. “But there are several things that trouble me about that solution.”

“Such as Signor Pellegrini?”

“And Lord Alisdair insisting on living in his own cottage. And Barbreck’s insistence they were authentic when they arrived. Clearly, at some point, the marquess was deceived, but I have a difficult time believing he was deceived multiple times.”

“Yes, but sometimes the eye sees what it wants to,” Anderley argued, gesturing with his hands. “That’s how people are tricked all the time. And Barbreck’s brother, and his brother’s dealer before that, knew that they wanted to see a painting by a master.”

“Perhaps, but after the debacle with the Titian, and his broken engagement with Miss Campbell, I have to believe Barbreck would have been more critical than before of the pieces his brother brought him, whether he wished to be or not.”

“Actually, I believe the debacle with the Titian would have had the exact opposite effect,” Anderley countered. “After all, he’d sided with his brother over his intended and her family. He’d willingly broken his engagement in defense of his brother’s and their family’s honor. If anything, he had even more invested in believing anything his brother brought to him was legitimate. For if he began to question his brother’s honor, then what did that mean for his own?”