again he arrived as Prinny was sitting down to breakfast, this time in the Gothic Dining Room. The Regent painted a lonely picture, sitting by himself at the enormous table in the long panelled room normally used for dinner parties. As Gabriel crossed the threshold, Prinny motioned with his fork for Gabriel to sit.
‘This marks a change for you,’ Gabriel said, taking the seat to his right. ‘I had not thought you ever took breakfast in this room.’
Prinny swallowed a mouthful of ham and reached for his glass of wine. ‘I never do. But you have me held up in this fortress for a week and I am growing bored of my rooms.’ A bored Prinny was not a good thing. ‘Fill up a plate and join me, Winter.’
‘Thank you, but I have already eaten this morning.’ There was no mistaking the meaning behind the pursed lips of his host. ‘However, I am sure I can find something to tempt me.’
That appeared to appease Prinny, because his mouth curved into a smile for the first time since Gabriel had entered the room. A plate and utensils were laid out before him and he accepted a cup of coffee to be polite rather than quench his thirst. Stirring sugar into his cup, Gabriel tried to find the perfect way to break the news that they were no closer to finding the person who wanted Prinny dead. He decided to be direct.
‘You have said nothing about my new painting,’ Prinny said, motioning with his fork to a painting that hung over the sideboard.
So they would make small talk first. Gabriel took a cursory glance at the painting of people. ‘It’s quite nice.’
Prinny snorted. ‘Quite nice, he says. Quite nice is that cup in your hand. That, my friend, is a stunning example of an Italian master. Part of a collection owned by Boney’s sister, Pauline.’
Gabriel looked back at the painting and then at Prinny, who had shifted his attention back to his breakfast. ‘How in the world did you acquire that?’
‘Olivia.’
‘My Olivia?’ Gabriel choked out, his eyes widening.
Prinny’s hand paused with his glass halfway to his lips. ‘What ho? My Olivia? Careful or you may catch yourself sounding like a man who actually cares for his wife.’
Not up for being baited, Gabriel knew enough to ignore the comment. For years Prinny had admonished him about the state of his marriage with Olivia while he went about ignoring both of his wives and taking a number of mistresses.
How was it that Olivia would know about a painting that belonged to Napoleon’s sister? ‘How did Olivia help you acquire that?’
‘She was approached to authenticate the piece and told me about it. Capital gel, that wife of yours. This is the painting you took me to purchase. In fact, she was originally to accompany me to Mr Owen’s that day, but she needed to be home to personally see to the last-minute arrangements for your boy’s breeching ceremony.’
Olivia would have been in the carriage that day? Ice crept along Gabriel’s veins as he thought how close she had been to lying dead in a pool of blood.
‘I suppose,’ Prinny continued, breaking into his thoughts, ‘I could have postponed the purchase, but I was too eager to see it so I contacted you instead.’
‘I am surprised you did not go on your own.’
‘Olivia said Owen was skittish and the royal carriage would have attracted too much attention in that area.’ He began cutting into his ham and eyed Gabriel’s untouched plate. ‘I imagine you ate something delicious for breakfast. I always enjoy a meal at Winterbourne House. Say...what if I stay with you until you catch the villain trying to do me in?’ His expression held all the excitement of a little boy with a master plan.
‘That’s not an option. We want people to believe you are forgoing all your engagements because you have the gout. If it becomes known there was an attempt on your life, it could provoke others to try to do the same. Have you forgotten that eighteen years ago your father faced two assassination attempts in one day? That second attempt might have been driven by the first. I will not take that chance with you.’
Prinny sucked his teeth, determination shining in his eyes. ‘Well, I could have the gout at your house. That would not be unheard of.’
‘No, you cannot. Have you already forgotten you were shot at riding in my carriage? You are safest here with the Guards protecting you. You also do not even appear to be a man afflicted. I believe people would notice.’
‘Oh, pish!’ he said, waving a fork in the air. ‘Olivia already knows I do not have the gout.’
Gabriel’s heart stopped. ‘How do you know that?’
‘Because she came to call on me.’
‘When? You are not supposed to have any visitors outside the few people we agreed upon. Who else have you seen?’
‘Only Hart and Andrew, but they are on the list. Really, Winter, I realise you do not speak to her, but she is your wife. I assumed you would give your consent and it was safe. More importantly, the dear gel brought me marzipan.’
‘Which you should not have eaten because you have the gout,’ Gabriel said with more force than he should have.
Prinny looked down at his plate and cut into more of his ham while he mumbled something under his breath.
‘You did not eat any of the marzipan in front of Olivia, did you?’
Prinny tossed his fork on his plate. ‘Demmit, man, I rule this country and if I want to eat marzipan, I damn well will eat marzipan!’
Gabriel closed his eyes and pressed his thumb against his brow. He counted to ten. When he opened his eyes he caught Prinny’s pointed stare. How was it possible that this man did not realise the danger he was in? He wanted to chastise him like a child. Instead he took a deep breath and composed his voice.
‘You ate all the marzipan.’
Prinny looked away. ‘I might have.’ Digging into the butter with his knife, he looked back at Gabriel. ‘It is only Olivia. And since she already knows I am not afflicted with the gout, what say you I stay at your house? You can protect me there.’
‘No, and why do you believe she knows you do not have the gout?’
‘Well I did eat all the marzipan, and she told me I appeared to be doing quite well when we went for our...’
‘Your what?’
‘Oh, bloody hell, this is ridiculous. I defeated Napoleon, for God’s sake. I went for a walk. In my garden. With your wife. There, I said it.’
Gabriel pressed his thumb against the bridge of his nose, praying it would prevent his brain from exploding onto the table. ‘Your gardens are adjacent to the park.’
‘You do not have to tell me that. I’m the one who lives here!’
‘And whose idea was it to go for a walk in the garden?’
‘It was Olivia’s. But in all fairness, the gel is unaware of the danger I am in.’
The hairs on the back of Gabriel’s
