shifted slightly in the chair, and cleared his throat. ‘That’s right, Mr Watkins, I do. However, about Summers himself, there’s nothing, nothing at all. He’s as clean as a whistle. And so is Margot Grant, by the way, except for the resurfacing of that old rumour about her son’s legitimacy. But some of the others, well, they’re tarnished, sir, and in my opinion that plays in our favour.’
His three companions leaned forward, looked at him eagerly, alertly.
Amos smiled thinly, as he explained, ‘They are so tarnished, in fact, they have left themselves wide open to blackmail.’
‘Have they now?’ Neville exclaimed, his eyes narrowing. But he was not at all surprised, having a low opinion of the Grant faction. ‘Please do fill us in, Amos.’
‘James Cliff is finding himself in an extremely difficult situation. He has rather foolishly antagonized both his wife and his mistress. He’s caught in a vice between the two of them, who are both tough, hard-bitten and cold-hearted females. Each is demanding more of his time, his constant presence. There’s a strong rumour that his mistress is pregnant, which would really throw a spanner in the works if it were true, since his wife is the one with the money.’ He began to chuckle.
Everyone laughed with Amos, and Neville said disparagingly, ‘Yet another fool about to take a fall.’
Amos continued, ‘Then there’s Philip Dever, a secret homosexual with a hot young buck for his lover. No one knows this, of course, including his wife. And then there is Jack Beaufield, whom, I have discovered, has extremely sticky fingers. Financial problems and complications in his last position at another company. Not too careful, our Jack, when it comes to other people’s money. And that’s all I have at the moment, but there’ll be more, I’m quite sure of that, sir. My operatives are still digging.’
‘Well done, very well done indeed,’ Neville said, and took a long swallow of the brandy.
‘I’m wondering about Aubrey Masters,’ Edward began, and his eyes met Oliveri’s. Ned went on, ‘Finnister, did you manage to get anything at all on the head of the mining division?’
‘Not a lot, Mr Edward,’ Amos replied. ‘Masters is considered to be a little weird, in fact, by the other employees. He’s a vegetarian, and obviously there’s nothing amiss in that, except that he does follow a strange diet, consuming roots, seeds, pods, flowers, grains and all manner of rather unusual things, and he’s attempted to get others to join him. With no success, I might add. He has a wife but no children, as you no doubt know. The wife stays in the background, a bit of a recluse, seemingly. He’s considered to be an indifferent manager by some of his staff, dismissed by many as ineffectual and boring, and he’s definitely not popular. Seemingly, he doesn’t like to travel, which his staff have taken umbrage to because he is the head of the mining division.’
‘That’s absolutely true about the travelling,’ Alfredo said. ‘And that was one of the complaints Mr Richard had about him. Masters has long ignored our mining interests abroad, has never gone to India, South Africa or South America, and he’s only once been to Carrara. Somehow, Masters has always managed to shove those field trips onto his underlings. I’ve long doubted his ability, and most people are at odds with him. As for the peculiar diet, I don’t know anything about that, and I don’t think it really matters.’ Shaking his head, Alfredo finished, ‘Everyone believes as I do, that he’s in that job because he’s the cousin of Henry Grant.’
‘My father said the same,’ Edward murmured, and glanced at Neville, laughed hollowly. ‘It’s a pity Aubrey Masters is in such good health.’
‘Isn’t it just,’ Neville responded, with a cold smile. ‘But please, don’t bring up that famous old phrase…who will rid me of this turbulent priest? Or whatever it was. We don’t need murder in the cathedral at this moment.’
‘Too true, Cousin. Let us not turn Masters into a martyr like Thomas à Becket.’
Alfredo changed the subject. ‘Earlier you asked me how long I would be in London, Mr Edward. I have another week of working at the head office, but I can stretch it to two weeks if you wish. I have a great deal to do on the situation in Carrara, and there are decisions to be made, so it could take longer.’
‘Do you think Masters will agree to your suggestion of purchasing new quarries?’
‘It’s a decision for the board. However, I believe they will listen to me. The old quarries are almost depleted. We must buy new ones to stay in business. What I think—’
Neville interrupted when he exclaimed, ‘I think you must try and stay here as long as you can, Oliveri. We need you to gather as much information as possible, since you’re our only inside man with access to everyone. You’re invaluable, you know, having been so long at Deravenels, and because you are so well trusted. And there is another reason…it allows me to breathe easier, knowing you are with Edward on a constant basis.’
Nodding, Alfredo answered, ‘I know, and I will do my best to extend my visit. I’m as anxious as you to know what they’re planning, and I agree, it’s good for me to be able to keep an eye on Mr Edward.’
Focusing on Neville, Amos said in a firm voice, ‘Mr Watkins, I know you worry about your cousin, but in my opinion I think Mr Deravenel is perfectly safe, sir. I doubt that John Summers will do anything to hurt him, or have him hurt by others. There’s been excessive gossip about the fire in Italy and the family losses. After all, your father and Mr Richard Deravenel were well-known figures in the business world. Summers is far too canny, too astute to do anything rash, he wouldn’t want to attract attention to himself or to the Grants. Not after the fire in Carrara. Nor would he want to stir up old animosities…The Grants are not particularly popular in the City. Some old hands haven’t forgotten about Henry Grant’s marauding grandfather.’
Something struck Edward, and he murmured, ‘That’s another thing, why not get some propaganda going about that old story? It won’t do us any harm to paint the Grants black, you know. Actually, it would gain us even more sympathy if we remind people about those events, don’t you think, Finnister?’
‘I do indeed, sir. I’ll get my chaps on to it at once.’
For the next hour the four men remained seated at the dining table, discussing their plans. And as the afternoon drew on they became confident of their success and of their ultimate triumph over their enemies.
‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to attend the lunch yesterday,’ Will Hasling said, his gaze fixed on Edward, who was sitting opposite him in the hansom cab. ‘As I explained to you, I had to be in Leicestershire to meet with the family solicitors. About the legacy my aunt left me.’
‘So you said,’ Edward replied, then added, ‘I hope it was a decent inheritance.’
Will laughed. ‘Very decent indeed, Ned. Really generous. I was her only nephew, and as I told you, she never married, so there were no children. I was her sole heir. Anyway, I couldn’t get back to London until last night. How was the lunch with Neville and Oliveri?’
‘It went very well,’ Edward responded. ‘I was very impressed with this man Amos Finnister. He’s the private investigator Neville is using. I think he’s going to prove invaluable to us. He’s already dug up a lot of dirt, and, most importantly, he discovered that Henry Grant was incarcerated
