Rees, the same initials as Sylvester Renard.
Inquiries into Rees’s history showed that Mr. Rees’s grandfather had been valet to the Viscount Darrow fifty years prior, until he had been dismissed for thievery. The current Simon Rees had studied at University of Glasgow, studying engineering, chemistry, and agriculture before finally settling on mathematics. And after graduation, he had simply disappeared.
During which time Sylvester Renard arrived at Darrowgate Hall.
It was clear. Sylvester Renard was Simon Rees, qualified to be both a man of business and man intent to inflict the sort of harm that had befallen the Darrow family.
Stephen looked at Renard, bent industriously over his desk. He looked so . . . normal. Stephen had always assumed that men like that had some sort of noticeable characteristic indicating the mal intent, something like shifty eyes or gnarled knuckles from fighting, anything that gave one a sense of discomfort upon meeting. But Renard, or Rees or whatever his name was, looked normal. The only thing uncomfortable about him was his tendency to overstep his bounds when speaking.
Stephen was uncomfortable with accusing the man based only on circumstantial evidence. He needed solid, irrefutable evidence.
And he needed it fast. Before Renard took another life.
C HAPTER S EVENTEEN
----
S oft knocking interrupted Bonnie’s lovely dream. She and Sir Stephen had been enjoying one of those evenings he had described, except they were both naked. Unfortunately for her dream, his body was blurry below his neck. Not even her ambitious imagination could fill in those gaps.
The knocking persisted, drawing her more into the land of the waking. She rolled over and tried to ignore it.
It didn’t stop. “Miss Hodges?” Sir Stephen’s voice. “Bonnie?”
Bonnie sat up. Had her dream conjured him up? “Just a moment,” she called out in a scratchy voice. She climbed out of bed and pulled on her dressing robe. When she opened her door, she squinted against the light from the candle he was holding. “Sir Stephen? Is something the matter? The boys?”
“They’re fine,” he assured her. “I apologize for disturbing you so late. I had to speak with you.”
“What is it?”
He glanced down the hallway. “May we speak inside?”
Bonnie hesitated. “Ah, yes. Come in.” She stepped aside to let him in. Sir Stephen moved by her, taking the door from her hand and closing it. He placed the candle on the washstand and turned to face her.
His stillness unnerved her. He just looked at her, his eyes fastened on her face. Bonnie clutched the neck of her dressing robe closed. “You wished to speak with me?”
He blinked and his eyes focused clearly on her. “Aye. My apologies. You were sleeping?”
She smiled. “That generally is what people do at night in the dark.” Did he just flush?
Sir Stephen cleared his throat. “I have new information regarding the investigation.”
“Oh. Shall I come down to the study? It will be only a moment for me to get dressed.”
“No, I do not wish to inconvenience you further. We can do this here.” He took a deep breath. “I believe I have discovered who is behind the incidents.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Renard.”
Bonnie’s eyebrows shot up. “Mr. Renard?”
“Aye.”
“Why? I mean, how? How do you know?”
“Well, there are many reasons, in fact. First, I believe his real name is Simon Rees.”
“I don’t understand.” She rubbed her forehead.
He took a step towards her. “The important thing to focus on is that he has been discovered and will be apprehended. We all will be safe in a day or two.”
“How did you discover all this?”
Sir Stephen smiled. “By examining the books and contacting some people I know. But the hard evidence came from a diary I found in his satchel, outlining everything he had done as well as future plans.”
Bonnie turned from him. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
It was Stephen’s turn to be
Inquiries into Rees’s history showed that Mr. Rees’s grandfather had been valet to the Viscount Darrow fifty years prior, until he had been dismissed for thievery. The current Simon Rees had studied at University of Glasgow, studying engineering, chemistry, and agriculture before finally settling on mathematics. And after graduation, he had simply disappeared.
During which time Sylvester Renard arrived at Darrowgate Hall.
It was clear. Sylvester Renard was Simon Rees, qualified to be both a man of business and man intent to inflict the sort of harm that had befallen the Darrow family.
Stephen looked at Renard, bent industriously over his desk. He looked so . . . normal. Stephen had always assumed that men like that had some sort of noticeable characteristic indicating the mal intent, something like shifty eyes or gnarled knuckles from fighting, anything that gave one a sense of discomfort upon meeting. But Renard, or Rees or whatever his name was, looked normal. The only thing uncomfortable about him was his tendency to overstep his bounds when speaking.
Stephen was uncomfortable with accusing the man based only on circumstantial evidence. He needed solid, irrefutable evidence.
And he needed it fast. Before Renard took another life.
C HAPTER S EVENTEEN
----
S oft knocking interrupted Bonnie’s lovely dream. She and Sir Stephen had been enjoying one of those evenings he had described, except they were both naked. Unfortunately for her dream, his body was blurry below his neck. Not even her ambitious imagination could fill in those gaps.
The knocking persisted, drawing her more into the land of the waking. She rolled over and tried to ignore it.
It didn’t stop. “Miss Hodges?” Sir Stephen’s voice. “Bonnie?”
Bonnie sat up. Had her dream conjured him up? “Just a moment,” she called out in a scratchy voice. She climbed out of bed and pulled on her dressing robe. When she opened her door, she squinted against the light from the candle he was holding. “Sir Stephen? Is something the matter? The boys?”
“They’re fine,” he assured her. “I apologize for disturbing you so late. I had to speak with you.”
“What is it?”
He glanced down the hallway. “May we speak inside?”
Bonnie hesitated. “Ah, yes. Come in.” She stepped aside to let him in. Sir Stephen moved by her, taking the door from her hand and closing it. He placed the candle on the washstand and turned to face her.
His stillness unnerved her. He just looked at her, his eyes fastened on her face. Bonnie clutched the neck of her dressing robe closed. “You wished to speak with me?”
He blinked and his eyes focused clearly on her. “Aye. My apologies. You were sleeping?”
She smiled. “That generally is what people do at night in the dark.” Did he just flush?
Sir Stephen cleared his throat. “I have new information regarding the investigation.”
“Oh. Shall I come down to the study? It will be only a moment for me to get dressed.”
“No, I do not wish to inconvenience you further. We can do this here.” He took a deep breath. “I believe I have discovered who is behind the incidents.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Renard.”
Bonnie’s eyebrows shot up. “Mr. Renard?”
“Aye.”
“Why? I mean, how? How do you know?”
“Well, there are many reasons, in fact. First, I believe his real name is Simon Rees.”
“I don’t understand.” She rubbed her forehead.
He took a step towards her. “The important thing to focus on is that he has been discovered and will be apprehended. We all will be safe in a day or two.”
“How did you discover all this?”
Sir Stephen smiled. “By examining the books and contacting some people I know. But the hard evidence came from a diary I found in his satchel, outlining everything he had done as well as future plans.”
Bonnie turned from him. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
It was Stephen’s turn to be
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