The Captain Read Online Free PDF Page B

baron or his son might have been involved. “But, of course, that was utter nonsense, sir, as you well know. When the child went missing, Mr. Wilkins, Blanchett’s solicitor, refused to pay another penny against the betrothal agreement, as there was no thought that a marriage could take place without her or you for that matter.”
    â€œAre you telling me that there are people in Somerset who actually think I might have killed that man?” Shock paled the captain’s face.
    Mr. Wormwood pulled a linen handkerchief from a drawer, then took off his spectacles and began to clean them. “Your reputation, if memory serves, was likely the cause, my boy. But that was long ago. No doubt other theories have surfaced since, for there is the matter of the child’s fortune. Plenty of relations in her family could have had a hand in what happened. The old man might have been an infamous philanderer, but he was no fool when he ordered her maid to take her into hiding.”
    â€œPhilandering?” Drew vaguely remembered he’d heard rumors about the cit even as a young man. “Might that have been a cause of the attack? A jealous husband, an irate father?”
    â€œNot likely, since the child wrote her father’s solicitor that the killers searched the rocks to find her as well. As to by-blows, Wilkins swears that Blanchett financially provided for his”—the old lawyer’s cheeks reddened—“er, mistakes, as I prefer to call them, which is better than most gentlemen to the manor born.”
    The captain rose and moved to stand in front of the fireplace. He stared at the cold ashes in the fireplace, his hands clasped behind him. He’d come seeking information about a father who’d shown little interest in him except as a bargaining tool. Yet, Drew had come to realize that blood bound them no matter how one tried to ignore such. Still, he was unprepared for what the solicitor had related. The very man his father had dealings with had died the night Drew fled. Was it mere coincidence? Or was his father in some way involved? The thought sent a chill down his spine, but he dismissed the idea at once. Rowland had proven himself a man of honor by not fleeing to the continent when his debts had grown so large. Surely such a man wouldn’t stoop to murder when he’d had the settlement money within his grasp.
    Regardless, the feeling that he and his father were to blame settled over Drew like a cloud on a summer day. The proposed marriage might have been the trigger for Blanchett’s murder, which made it inevitable that he and his father would come under suspicion. It made no sense for them to have killed the very man who would have solved their problems, but very often such rumors were spread maliciously for no good reason.
    Drew searched his memory for an image of Mr. Blanchett, but the cit hadn’t mixed much in local society and Drew knew him more from reputation than through personal contact. A man like that was always a popular subject in a small village. Blanchett had liked the ladies, though, for his name had often been linked to this widow or that light skirt. But as a wealthy widower with only one child, most likely it was as Wormwood had suggested: that the murderer was someone after the child’s portion. Blanchett had smelled of trade, but he had married a viscount’s daughter in his quest to improve his situation. His daughter was the key to the mystery.
    Drew look back over his shoulder and saw his father’s solicitor watching him in silent speculation. It was a look he would have to get used to if he returned home, for in Somerset many might still wonder about his and his father’s involvement. He returned to his seat, a determined set to his jaw. “You say they never found the girl, er ...” he struggled to remember her name, but all he could come up with was “Miss Blanchett.” Why, she had scarcely been more than a