After an hour, Martin sat back. "This is getting us nowhere. Even if we prove he was up there, it's another thing to prove he pulled the trigger. And even if we did, there's nothing to connect that with Sarah and Buxton."
Luc grimaced, but his eyes were hard. "It's Sarah I'd like to see him pay for. That's where it all started." He sighed. "If only she'd said something-chattered to her nurse…?"
Martin shook his head. "Mrs. Crockett was adamant, and she wouldn't have forgotten-"
"Wait!" Amanda grabbed Martin's arm. "That's it!"
"What? Sarah left no clue-"
"No. But only the four of us and Mrs. Crockett know that."
Luc's eyes narrowed. "We fabricate something-"
"Not exactly." Amanda waved for silence. "Listen. This is what-as far as anyone beyond this room knows-is going on." She drew breath, her mind whizzing from point to point as the details fell into place. "Martin has offered for my hand, and that means he has to resolve the old scandal. So for the first time, he's revisited the scene and asked questions of the people involved. The murderer knows Martin's been back home, so all that fits.
"One of the people he'd naturally have spoken with is Mrs. Crockett. While she didn't know anything, after we'd left, she rummaged through the trunk where Sarah's father had put Sarah's belongings. She hadn't previously looked because she'd assumed Martin was guilty."
Amanda glanced at Martin. "I know that's not the case, but it's better for my story if she thought all these years it was you. That explains why she didn't until now look in Sarah's diary. You were hauled away, essentially convicted of the crime-no proof was needed years ago. Now… after we left, Mrs. Crockett remembered the diary, but wasn't sure it still existed. But when she looked in the trunk, she found it, and in it, of course, Sarah doesn't name but describes enough to identify the man who forced her, the one who's babe she was carrying."
She glanced at her audience. "All men think young girls write everything in their diaries, don't they?"
Luc shrugged. "If one was dealing with innocents, it would be a concern."
Amanda nodded. "Just so. Mrs. Crockett sent word to Martin, asking what you wanted her to do with the diary. You wrote back to send it to London." She looked at Martin, Luc, Reggie. "The diary will be delivered here, on a certain day at a certain hour, because it'll come down with the coach, so when it arrives will be fixed. And we'll be here, waiting for it to be delivered, to open it and read what's written there-"
"And Edward will move heaven and earth to stop that happening." Luc sat forward, his expression intent. "It might work."
"And," Martin said, "the scheme will work even if it isn't Edward." When the other three looked at him, he went on, "Other than circumstantial evidence, we have no proof it is Edward. We'd be foolish to assume it's definitely him." He glanced at Amanda. "Which is why your plan is so sound-it'll work no matter which of the five on our list is the one. Whoever he is, he'll try to stop us reading the diary."
"But we haven't got a diary," Reggie said.
"Any book will do." Martin glanced at the shelves all around them.
"No, it won't," Amanda countered. "It should at least look the part. I've an old schoolroom diary with ribbons and roses on the front. It hasn't got my name on the cover-I'll write Sarah on it. That will look convincing."
Luc frowned. "If it was me, I'd try to get the diary back from Mrs. Crockett. I'd turn up at her cottage and say Martin sent me to fetch it."
"You won't have time," Martin told him. "We're going to settle this quickly." He glanced at them all. "The diary will arrive tomorrow evening-the coach from the north arrives at St. Pancras at five o'clock. To make it more realistic, and to make sure the diary arrives here and no attempt is made to waylay it en route, I'll send Jules up north to fetch it. In reality, we'll wrap the diary, give it to Jules, and one of my grooms will drive him to Barnet at dawn tomorrow. He'll be there to catch the coach when it stops on its way south later in the day."
"But what about Jules?" Amanda turned to Martin. "We know the murderer's dangerous. We don't want Jules harmed."
"You needn't worry about Jules-he can take care of himself." When Amanda didn't look convinced, Martin's grin turned wry. "Jules is an ex-Corsican bandit, an assassin, among other things. He was once sent to kill me."
Luc considered Martin. "He obviously wasn't much good at his job."
Martin raised his brows. "Actually, he was very good-I'm just better."
The cousins exchanged cousinly glances, then turned back to the business at hand.
"However, just to make sure, and lend further verisimilitude to our tale, I'll send two grooms to meet the coach at St. Pancras and escort Jules and the precious diary back here."
Luc nodded. "Yes. That will do it. Setting guards about the diary is a masterstroke-you wouldn't bother unless you were convinced the evidence it contains is crucial."
"As it would be in more ways than one. It would prove I was falsely accused, clear me of the old scandal, restore my standing within the family, pave the way for me to marry Amanda-connecting me with the Cynsters-and ensure I'm the darling of the ton for the foreseeable future." Martin glanced at Luc. "If it is Edward and he craves social standing and also resents me as you say, then the combination of all that good to come my way, all hinging on the information in the diary, will make it utterly impossible for him not to react."
The next day dawned, and everything was in place. Amanda had unearthed her old diary, written "Sarah's" on the cover; wrapped in brown paper, it was now in Jules's possession. Together with one of Martin's grooms, he'd left for Barnet at dawn.
All of them had their allotted tasks. Reggie remained at Fulbridge House in charge of the command post. The others reported to him throughout the day, confirming their tasks completed, checking that all was on track.
After intense discussion, they'd agreed on how to get their story to all five gentlemen still on their list. They needed to be sure that all five received the message-the warning of impending exposure-before five o'clock that afternoon. It took the combined arguments of Amanda, Luc and Reggie to convince Martin that it was impossible to keep the matter private.
"However," Amanda had pointed out, "the best way to make sure the story is repeated enough to be believed, quickly, is to tell it to selected people 'in confidence.'"
Luc had studied Martin's stony countenance, then sighed. "You can't have it both ways-it's either going to be quick and public, or drawn out and potentially more dangerous if we try for secrecy."
Martin had finally capitulated and they'd settled on their approach. Even though it had been by then very late, Luc had left to do the rounds of the clubs to seed the story into the right circles. After that, he would stop by the ball his mother, sisters and brother were attending, but let Edward sense no more than that there was something in the wind. Something to do with Martin.
This morning, Luc would visit Limmers; later, he'd swan through the clubs, idly coming upon the other four on their list, checking they'd heard without asking. They would assuredly ask him for the latest news, which, of course, he'd give.
As for Edward, they'd agreed he should hear the news from a source he'd never suspect-his sisters, Emily and Anne. Amanda was delegated to tell them the tale; with
Amelia beside her, primed to lend assistance, she set out with Louise in the carriage that morning for their usual drive in the park.
Meeting the Ashfords, deciding to join the girls strolling on the lawns, was normal practice. As usual, Edward remained close but did not walk with them. Amelia and Amanda artfully turned the conversation to Amanda's upcoming wedding. Emily and Anne peppered her with questions, innocently enthusiastic about what would be their first haut ton wedding.