The Mayfair Affair by Tracy Grant Page A

fallen first. I've often wondered if Trenchard regretted that Robespierre didn't hold on to power just a bit longer."
    Malcolm released his breath. He had always known, of course, but this was the first time he had relived those months since he'd learned O'Roarke was his father. As often as he told himself it shouldn't change anything, in some ways it changed everything.
    "Did Trenchard take further action?" he asked.
    "Yes, but nothing so drastic. Oh, there was the time in the Peninsula he thought he betrayed me to the French, but since I was in fact working for the French it came to nothing."
    "Have you had an agent in his house all this time?" Suzanne asked.
    "No." O'Roarke took a sip of whisky and crossed his legs. "It was Archie Davenport who put me on to Trenchard recently." Archibald Davenport, the uncle of Malcolm's friend Harry, was an Elsinore League member who had been feeding information to Arabella Rannoch and O'Roarke for years. "Archie isn't part of their inner circle," O'Roarke continued, "but a couple of months ago a stray comment made him think Trenchard was seeking political backing from other Elsinore League members. Precisely what for was unclear. But they resisted. It was enough to make both Davenport and me want to learn more. Establishing a source in Trenchard House seemed prudent."
    Malcolm dropped down on the sofa beside Suzanne. "You said nothing of it to us."
    O'Roarke's gaze flickered between Malcolm and Suzanne. "I've been doing my damnedest not to intrude on either of you. You've had enough to contend with in recent months. And this isn't your fight."
    "You and my mother made it our fight."
    "Fair enough. I didn't have enough information to come to you as yet. All we were doing was gathering intelligence."
    "What was Trenchard's connection with Laura Dudley?" Suzanne asked.
    "I didn't know of one until tonight. I still don't know the nature of it." O'Roarke crossed his legs. "An interesting woman, Miss Dudley. I always thought there was more to her behind the governess facade than she let on, though I had no notion it was this."
    "Not that we know what 'this' is," Malcolm said.
    "Quite. But from what I observed this evening, I'd lay even money that she didn't kill Trenchard."
    "What you—" Malcolm stared at his father. Beside him, he felt Suzanne's absolute stillness. "You were at Trenchard House tonight?"
    O'Roarke took a sip of whisky. "I didn't mention that?"
    "You know damn well you didn't."
    "Stop playing games, Raoul," Suzanne said.
    "Sorry." O'Roarke set his glass on the table beside his chair. "I didn't think it was best to have this conversation in the street."
    Malcolm eyed his father, a host of possibilities racing through his head. "When precisely did you get to Trenchard House?"
    "When I heard Trenchard was dead, I thought it best to have a look at the scene."
    "No one saw you?"
    O'Roarke reached for his whisky. "Does that surprise you? I knew about the secret passage from my investigations. I waited in the passage until the study was empty. I believe I got a look at the study before you did."
    Malcolm stared at O'Roarke. "What makes you sure of the timing?"
    "Because if you'd found what I did, I'm quite certain you'd have removed it."
    Dread coiled within Malcolm's chest. "What was it?"
    O'Roarke's fingers whitened round the etched crystal of his glass. "A letter from Trenchard to Suzanne, threatening to reveal her past."

Chapter 6
    For several seconds, shock held Suzanne motionless. Swiftly followed by a dip in her stomach and a wave of nausea. The certainty that she should have known all along that this was bound to happen sooner or later slammed through her. Ever-present fear transformed to reality in a bone-crushing instant.
    She could feel the same fear coursing through Malcolm, for he dropped his arm round her shoulders as though he could physically shield her from the threat. Foolish. But heartening.
    "Did you know Trenchard knew about Suzanne?" Malcolm asked in a voice of