Chapter Ten

J ames generally felt confident about fulfilling his duties as the Duke of Dunloch – but he did not particularly enjoy dealing with issues involving the staff. Especially female staff, as they had a tendency to cry and make him feel rather uncomfortable.

Thankfully, over the years, there had not been many occasions where he needed to speak to the staff about a problem, and so it was with a rather heavy heart that he went downstairs to speak with Mrs Simmons that evening.

The housekeeper was surely approaching retirement, for she had been housekeeper for as long as James could remember – he was pretty sure his entire life. And yet, she still ran the house with confidence, never seeming to tire, even with the endless stairs and boundless duties.

He just could not understand why, after so many years of loyal service, she would inflate figures. He very much hoped that she had a reasonable explanation for her actions.

He knocked on the door to the little sitting room in the servants' quarters which belonged to her, and when she saw who it was, she bobbed her head and went pale.

"Your Grace! What a surprise. Is there something you require?"

"I must speak with you on a rather serious matter," James said, not relishing the task. "Perhaps we could close the door and sit down."

She nodded and hurried to close the door as he took a seat on a large armchair.

"I'll be direct, Mrs Simmons. You have worked here for a long time, and I have never had any cause to fault your service."

"Thank you, Your Grace," she said, not quite meeting his eye.

"But when studying the books, I'm afraid I found some discrepancies." He did not feel the need to disclose that it had actually been the mysterious female visitor who had noticed the issue; he was sure, with a little more time, he would have noticed it himself. "And it is in reference to the household ordering – a task which I believe you are in charge of."

Her face went paler still, and she nodded. "Yes, Your Grace."

"There is nothing incorrect in my summary, is there? There is no one else who has taken on the ordering in your stead?" He assumed that such a change would have been reported to him, but he wanted to be sure, before accusing her of anything, that he was correct in his assumptions.

"I still do the ordering, Your Grace," she said quietly.

"Then I assume you are aware of the issue to which I am referring." When she did not answer, he continued, "For the last two months, the amounts quoted as being spent on household goods far exceed their true cost, or the amount spent in other months. I cannot find any explanation for this sudden increase. Do you have one, Mrs Simmons?"

Tears filled her eyes, and James found himself looking away, unsure how to proceed. Tears made him uncomfortable. He rarely had to deal with women's emotions, and none of his training to be the Duke of Dunloch had taught him what to do when a woman suddenly cried.

"I'm ever so sorry, Your Grace," she choked out.

"So you admit to inflating the costs?"

She simply nodded.

James frowned. "But I do not understand why. What on earth could have possessed you to do such a thing when you have worked here for so long without ever being involved in such theft?"

"I–I–"

"Mrs Simmons," James said, his voice stern. "Let me be clear. Unless I can understand what has happened here and be reassured it will never happen again, I have no choice but to dismiss you."

"I cannot say," Mrs Simmons whispered through tears. "But I must tell you, I did not take the money for myself. I would never do such a thing. Your Grace has been so generous to me, to all of us. I would not dream of–"

James clenched his fist, frustration coursing through him. "But you have, Mrs Simmons. And I must know why. I cannot accept that there is no reason for such behaviour."

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and James felt extremely uncomfortable in the presence of the crying woman who had known him since he was a baby.

"He threatened to tell everyone my secret if I did not pay him," she choked out between sobs.

"Who threatened you, and what secret?"

"Please, don't make me share it. But Mr Cavin, who runs the Fox and Hound in the village… He must've discovered it, somehow. And he began to send notes and demand money. And I didn't know what else to do. It is not money I have, and so I thought if I could just take a little from the estate's purse, I could pay it back in time. Once he left me alone…"

James's eyes narrowed. "So this Mr Cavin has been blackmailing you. But you will not tell me what about?"

She shook her head. "I cannot. But please rest assured, it is from the past. A very long time in the past. But I could not have him spreading rumours about me, ruining my good name, my standing… And I just thought if I could pay him off quickly, and repay the money…"

James closed his eyes for a moment. "And when you paid him, did he leave you alone?"

The tears flowed even faster as she shook her head.

"When blackmailers get what they want, they just want more of it," James said. "I wish you had come to me, Mrs Simmons, instead of stealing from me."

"I'm so incredibly sorry, Your Grace. I did not know what to do, and I know what I did was wrong, but please believe me that I was going to repay it. It's just that every time I paid him, he demanded more… And I became so desperate…" She took a deep, juddering breath. "Please, I know you should dismiss me instantly. But I would hate to leave Dunloch Castle. Is there anything I can do to persuade you?"

"Do you promise me that nothing like this will ever happen again?" he asked, and she was nodding before he even finished the question.

"I swear on my life."

"And if something like this happens again, I want you to come to me. I will deal with it – but I do not like being lied to or deceived."

"I understand," Mrs Simmons said, looking pitiful.

James stood, rather keen to remove himself from this room and let her recover. "Then we will consider this matter put to rest. I will send somebody over to Mr Cavin to ensure he knows that I will not accept blackmail or bullying towards any of my staff, nor from any of my tenants. And you may repay the money stolen from your wages – and we will say no more about it."

She was still thanking him as he strode from the little room and headed for the stairs.

As unpleasant as the encounter had been, he felt a sense of relief. He knew where the money had gone and why – and although he did not like the thought of blackmail going on beneath his nose, or of a long-term member of staff being deceitful, he thought the matter could be put to rest. He would send his man of business to see this Mr Cavin, and if that did not work, he would pay the man a visit himself.

And Dunloch's accounts would all be in order the following month, he was sure of it. He trusted Mrs Simmons and knew she must have been desperate to have done such a thing.

Had the mistake in the accounts not been noticed, he wondered how long the villain would have continued blackmailing her.

It was a good job that the mysterious lady was quite so nosy… Although he would certainly never tell her that.