Page 8 of A Rogue at Stonecliffe

“Yes, sir, I’d say so.”

“With our watchman having been hit over the head, I’d say there’s little chance it was an accident,” Sloane went on. “I presume it was Parker. Apparently he thinks he can intimidate me into letting him take over the shipyard.”

“Has to be.” Haskell nodded. “Bloody bastard. First he tipped off customs that the Marie Claire was carrying smuggled goods. Before that, there were the thefts at the other warehouse. And smashing up the tables at your club and the tavern. Brawling with your men.”

“Yes, he’s certainly determined to bring my part of the docks under his ‘protection.’ But the other incidents were minor compared to this. Arson, assaulting Baker...the lad could have died in that fire, unconscious as he was.”

“It’s worse,” Haskell agreed. “And more personal-like, isn’t it? Everybody knows you were proud of the new warehouse—I mean, it’s your second and the first one you’d built yourself. Do you think he knew you were planning to move your office into it?”

“It wouldn’t be hard to learn. Parker meant to offer insult as well as damage. The others I could shrug off. I just hired extra guards. But this...this is more than a threat.”

“He knows if he can bring you in, everyone else on the wharfs will follow. If you can’t stop it, they know they haven’t a chance in hell of standing up to him.”

“Then it’s a good thing I don’t intend to give in to him, isn’t it?” Sloane’s smile was a fearsome thing. “We’re going to hire even more guards, step up our patrols. Get Cole Agency. I’d like to get more information on this man.”

“Nobody at the agency—out on jobs, I guess.”

“Keep checking. I want plenty of men here and at the timber yard. Reliable, competent men. And I believe I may start keeping watch on the whole wharf, give the others some protection to keep them from giving in to him.”

“Aye, sir. But you be careful. He’s got it in for you. Hurting you personally would be the surest way of bringing you down.”

“Trust me, I don’t intend to be caught unaware.”

Sloane spent the ride home sunk in thought, weighing choices and making plans. It was clear he and Parker were heading toward a direct confrontation. It had been inevitable since the moment Parker moved into this area, expanding his operations. The man ran various illegal enterprises from thievery to prostitution to crooked gambling dens, but perhaps his most successful endeavor was providing businesses with “protection” that they hadn’t needed until his gang came along.

But Parker had met firm resistance to his operations in Sloane. This was his territory, his businesses, and his regular patrols had kept the entire wharf safe. Sloane wasn’t about to let this ruffian turn the area into a dangerous spot, and he certainly wasn’t going to give the man any sort of control over his property. Sloane Rutherford might be what others considered a scoundrel, but he sure as hell always took care of his own.

It was in this mood that he entered his house a few minutes later, slamming the door behind him and striding toward the staircase. His father appeared in the doorway of the drawing room, and Marcus’s jaw dropped.

“Good Gad, boy,” Marcus said, taking in Sloane’s grimy face and clothes. “Have you become a chimney sweep?”

Sloane grimaced. “My new warehouse burned down.”

“Oh, my.”

Sloane started to walk on, then stopped and turned back to his father. “I think you better go back to the estate.”

“What? Why? Surely you can’t think that I had anything to do with that.”

“Of course not. The thing is, there’s a man who is orchestrating all this—there have been a number of smaller things before today. He’s trying to extort money from me. Gain control of the docks. I don’t intend to let him.”

“But what does that have to do with me? I haven’t done anything scandalous or lost money to anyone. I haven’t gone gambling even once since we got here. That’s two whole weeks.”

“Yes, I know,” Sloane said, struggling to keep any note of sarcasm from his voice. Given his father’s nature, two weeks probably was an impressive amount of time. “It’s just...”

“I promised you, and I intend to keep that promise. So I won’t be doing anything in the future that he can use against you, either.”

“I know,” Sloane repeated, even though he had his doubts about how long Marcus would continue his good behavior. “And I appreciate that. But I’m not talking about debts. It’s your safety that concerns me.”

“My safety?” Marcus goggled at him.

“Yes. Parker has escalated his attacks. I think he chose to destroy the warehouse because he knew I had a certain pride in it. But when he sees that I’m still not giving in to his demands, he’ll realize he needs to use a bigger threat as leverage, someone whom I...who is important to me. That’s why I want you out of London. Parker won’t venture all the way to Cornwall.”

“Well.” Marcus raised his eyebrows a little. “I’m a bit surprised. Flattered, too, of course, that I would qualify as such.”

“You’re my father,” Sloane ground out. “Surely you know I wouldn’t want you hurt.”

Marcus’s mouth twitched at the corners. “Well, familial ties are not always enough to make one care.”