A Woman of Honour

Chapter 21

Within an hour of Lady Emley's departure from his study at Fallbrook House, Ralph was outside his brother's office at Horse Guards. Even though Alex was no longer a commissioned officer, he still maintained an office. Alex rarely talked about his work, but Ralph suspected that he still worked for Haverstock.

'Ralph,' Alex said jovially, 'you're a sight for sore eyes. From the look of you, I would guess that you have been up half the night celebrating your betrothal. Though why you chose Miss Hepworth is beyond me. However, you have made our mother incredibly happy.'

'I haven't come here for a lecture,' Ralph said, a warning note in his voice. 'And I'd rather you didn't mention our mother.'

'Then why have you come?' Alex said as he sat back on his chair and offered Ralph another one on the opposite side of the desk. 'I take it; this is not a social call.'

'Do you still have any dealings with Haverstock?' Ralph said, looking directly at his brother.

Alex nodded. 'Now and again,' he said noncommittally.

Ralph knew that Alex did not like talking about his work, and he had always respected his brother's privacy regarding his job, but today he was desperate. 'Do you know if he has a Helen Wakefield masquerading as the Countessa de Aquileia working for him?' Ralph's voice was steady and did not betray the myriad of emotions he felt.

After a pause, where Alex sat still in silence, Ralph continued. 'Did you know that she was approached by Haverstock at Belmont Hall when she was a guest under my roof?'

Alex's facial expression still showed no emotion, but he nodded. 'I would have come myself, but I was still in Yorkshire with Octavia. Anyway, she wasn't a guest, she was just a lady's companion.'

Ralph stood up. He was beginning to feel the anger that he had earlier subdued rise to the surface. 'I will have you know, Alex, I love her.'

'I'm sorry, Ralph, I didn't know,' Alex said softly, 'I suppose that is why you have been behaving erratically. Does Haverstock know?

'Of course, he does,' Ralph spat out bitterly, 'he was spying on us a Belmont. You have to get her out,' Ralph said as he paced towards the window, 'she's in danger.'

'I'm afraid, I cannot do that,' Alex said, 'Anyway, the Countessa knows the dangers. She is very competent and has already provided us with some top-class information.'

Ralph swore at his brother. 'Her name is Helen,' he said, trying to control his anger. 'She only agreed to Haverstock's mad suggestion so that she could get guardianship of her son. She is not some whore you can play with for your own ends.'

'I'm sorry if I've offended you, Ralph,' Alex said penitently, 'but there is very little I can do to help. I'm not all that involved in that operation.'

'She thinks Lavorel is on to her,' Ralph said, as he looked out of the window to the street below. 'She thinks her life is in danger.'

'Did she tell you this?' Alex replied.

'No, but...' Ralph began to say, but he was interrupted by Alex.

'Ralph, we cannot run our operations on hearsay and speculation. We need proof that Lavorel knows who she really is. She is giving us excellent intelligence about the men Lavorel is in league with here in London.' Alex leaned back on his chair and looked over at Ralph. 'You do know that she did this for Haverstock in Spain,' he added. 'She was Lavorel's mistress for nearly a year.'

Ralph was beginning to get frustrated with his brother. It felt like he had hit a brick wall. 'She is going to have my child,' he said, turning around and looking directly at his brother.