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Richard raised his head, staring at the ceiling in frustration. “I was at Drury Lane with the countess. When I stepped out of the box, Lord Stanford happened to be passing by. Without so much as a word, he turned and punched me square in the face, accusing me of carrying on with his ace of spades.”

“Ace of spades—he is involved with a widow? Never say you mean Lady Partridge? I thought you decided to stay away from that woman when she tried to convince you to⁠—”

“I know why I steer clear of that woman. Her preferences are far too eclectic for my sensibilities.”

Perry choked back a laugh. “Eclectic! My, what a gentleman you have become.”

“I would have no soul left to redeem if I followed the paths she wished to lead me down. She and Father would have made perfect companions with their questionable indulgences. But that is beside the point, because Stanford claimed a friend told him they saw me leaving her home in January.”

“But we were at Saunton Park for the entire month of January!”

“Precisely. It seems the enemy I have made is not above bending the truth to stir up trouble. I visited the woman’s home only once, and that was back in the Season of 1818—before I realized the nature of her tastes. Either my adversary has been digging deeply into my past, or they are using scraps of idle gossip from over the years to craft plausible falsehoods.”

“Given the frequency of these attacks, I would say he is posing plausible lies. How could he have the time to do otherwise? Unless he is well-financed and has a team doing his bidding?”

“We are going about our own investigation the wrong way. It is too slow, and I need results. We should make a short list of who would be this energetic, vicious, unrelenting, and angry. Then direct the runners to investigate those men first.”

“Agreed. There is no predicting what this lunatic will try next.”

Richard stood hesitantly in the middle of the room. He was so weary, his body felt like it was being crushed by the weight of failed responsibility. Walking over to the bed, he dropped down and asked the question which had been haunting the dark recesses of his mind these past weeks.

“Perry, am I our father?”

“Jingo! No!” His brother’s reply was so utterly vehement that Richard was distracted from his worries. “Lord Saunton—ahem—I mean, our father was the devil incarnate. Why would you think you are him?”

“I have spent years indulging in reckless pursuits, and now my wife and son are paying the price,” Richard admitted, his voice heavy with regret.

Perry let out a hollow laugh. “Reckless, perhaps. But our father? He went far beyond recklessness before I was even born. The man had no conscience—no moral compass of any kind. I was glad when he finally passed. You, however … I would mourn deeply if something happened to you. That is why I am helping you now. Do you think I would lift a finger to aid the fiend who sired us? Never. I would sooner be out on the street lobbing rocks myself. But you, brother, are a far better man than he ever was.”

Richard groaned. “Stuff, Perry, now you provide me with new worries! Do you think, mayhap, once this is over, that I will need to determine if we have illegitimate kin out in the world?”

Perry shuddered, his head falling forward in his pained despair to rest on the forearm balanced on the mantel. “I had not stopped to think, but I would say it is almost a certainty.”

One step at a time, Richard.

“Never mind that thought for now. We will settle this disaster first. Once it is done, we can discuss if we wish to investigate the sins of our father.”

Perry raised his head and nodded. “I will inform Shaw to come and assist you. We can meet in your study once I find some sustenance.”

Knocking on the door of Richard’s study before entering, Sophia stopped in dismay when she saw that one of the windows facing the street was boarded up and a maid was sweeping up glass from the floor.

Perry rose when she entered and made to leave the room. “I will look into this, brother.” With that, the Balfour brother left the study.

Richard dismissed the maid and came around his desk to gather Sophia’s hand in his. Once the door was closed, he led her to the armchairs and had her take a seat before settling in the opposite chair.

“What happened?”

“Someone threw a rock at the window in the early hours of the morning.”

Sophia’s fear and irritation soared. “Are you going to continue to pretend this is not a campaign of some sort?”

Richard contemplated her for a moment. “I should have known better than to attempt to fool you. Perry and I believe this is the work of one person.”

“So you finally admit it!”

“I apologize. I did not wish to alarm you while I investigated the matter. But I should have realized you are too clever to not make the connections.” He looked away, his expression pained. “I feel terrible about this. My past behavior is plaguing our household, and it is not fair to you. I hope you will forgive me while I try to sort out the havoc I have caused.”

“That is not what upsets me. I thought we agreed to work together, and now you finally admit that you have been shutting me out. I could have contributed to solving this situation, but instead you decided to keep it from me like I am some sort of witless fool!”