Nettie’s Secret. Dilly Court

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СКАЧАТЬ clenched her hands behind her back, digging her fingernails into her palms. She wondered how Duke could stand there, looking as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, when he had brought them to a state of near destitution. ‘He’s having some difficulty in finding a studio and suitable accommodation. I wondered if you might be able to help.’

      Dexter smiled. ‘I’d be only too happy to assist in any way I can, Miss Carroll. I’ll be at the gallery for an hour or so tomorrow morning, between nine o’clock and ten o’clock, if you and my friend Robert would like to call on me. I’ll see what I can do.’

      ‘How splendid,’ Constance said eagerly. ‘And how fortunate that you came to see me today, Duke. You will stay awhile, won’t you?’

      ‘Of course I will, Connie. I couldn’t come to Paris without spending some time with my favourite ward.’

      Constance’s eyes widened. ‘You have another?’

      ‘It’s a manner of speaking – an English eccentricity. Miss Carroll will understand.’

      ‘I understand a great deal,’ Nettie said, rising to her feet. ‘But I must go now. My father will be wondering where I am.’

      ‘I’ll see you out.’ Constance followed her to the front door. ‘You will come again, won’t you?’

      ‘I’ll try, but it depends on what we’re doing. We might have to leave Paris if we can’t find more suitable accommodation.’

      Constance clasped her hand. ‘I’ll speak to Duke. If anyone can help you, he can. He pretends to be world-weary and cynical, but he’s a kind man at heart.’

      Nettie left the house, trying hard to equate her vision of Duke Dexter with that of his adoring ward, and failing miserably. Duke was a skilled confidence trickster, a purveyor of forgeries, and behind that urbane smile she suspected lay a heart of solid stone.

      ‘Where have you been?’ Byron demanded. ‘Robert didn’t know where you’d gone and we were both worried that something might have happened to you.’

      Nettie laid her shawl on the bed and took off her bonnet. ‘I need to find Pa. Do you know where he is?’

      ‘He was sitting at a table outside the café when I last saw him, but you haven’t answered my question. I was worried about you, Nettie.’

      She met his angry gaze with a smile. ‘I’m not a child, Byron. I can look after myself, and I’ve been taking care of my father ever since I can remember.’ She took the visiting card from her reticule and handed it to him. ‘I didn’t tell you or Pa, but Duke Dexter was on board the ferry. I met him by chance and he gave me this card. I went to investigate.’

      Byron studied it. ‘This says Marc Gaillard. Who is this person?’

      ‘It’s Duke using an alias.’ Nettie glanced at the bare table beneath the skylight. ‘Have we anything to eat? I’m starving.’

      ‘Nothing, I’m afraid. I haven’t eaten all day.’

      ‘Have you any money?’

      ‘I’ve got enough to buy us a meal tonight, but after that I’m broke. I tried to find work again today, but there was nothing.’

      ‘We need to catch my father before he spends what little he has left, and I have something to tell Pa. He won’t like it and neither will you, but I don’t think we’ve any alternative other than to ask Duke for help. I’ve arranged for us to meet him at the gallery tomorrow morning.’

      ‘Is that wise, Nettie? Dexter is nothing but trouble.’

      ‘And we’re fugitives from the law with little or no money, and no prospect of earning anything legally – unless you can come up with a brilliant solution, Byron, because I can’t think of anything.’

      He slumped down on the rickety chair. ‘This is the time when I wish I knew how to find my mother’s family. The life of a water gypsy is becoming more and more attractive.’

      Nettie eyed him thoughtfully. ‘Have you made enquiries?’

      ‘What’s the point? It’s over twenty years since my mother ran away from her bullying father. I expect the old man’s dead or in prison, from what my father told me about him. She had a brother, but I doubt if he’d want anything to do with me.’

      ‘I don’t know,’ Nettie said, giggling. ‘If you find them and tell them you’re wanted by the Metropolitan Police for aiding and abetting a criminal, they’ll probably welcome you with open arms.’

      ‘I’m glad you think it’s funny.’ Byron spoke severely, barely disguising a chuckle. He rose to his feet. ‘If we can persuade your father to forgo wine this evening, I’ve just enough money for two bowls of soup and two cups of coffee. We’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes.’

      As Nettie wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and picked up her one decent bonnet, she could not help thinking of Constance living in her grand house. If only she had eaten more of the delicious cake that had been served with the coffee, she might not feel so weak and lightheaded now, but she had not wanted to appear greedy.

      ‘I’m coming,’ she said stoutly. ‘And I suggest that we go for a walk along the river bank after we’ve eaten. If we make enquiries we might find someone who remembers a family of bargees who had a daughter called Lisette.’

      They found Robert at the café, and, as usual, he was the centre of attention, chatting volubly in English, regardless of whether his audience could understand him or not. He illustrated his life story with charcoal sketches, and Nettie was horrified to see that he had used up almost a whole pad. Paper was expensive and charcoal was not cheap, but he was using it as if the supply was inexhaustible and free.

      Nettie waited for the audience to disperse before she sat down next to her father and told him how she had met Duke on board ship. Robert studied the visiting card and tossed it back at her.

      ‘Marc was a fool,’ he said casually. ‘I knew him well, but he was no businessman. He loved art but he would have been bankrupt if Duke had not taken him in hand. I know now that Dexter is a crook, but he’s a clever fellow.’

      ‘Not so clever that he didn’t get found out.’ Byron emptied his pockets of money and laid it on the table. ‘This is all I have left, Mr Carroll. What about you?’

      Robert leaned forward, putting his finger to his lips. ‘Not so loud, boy. I’m travelling incognito. My name is not unknown, even in Paris.’

      ‘I doubt if the people here are very interested in art,’ Nettie said hastily. ‘Anyway, Pa, I’ve arranged for us to meet Duke at the gallery in the morning.’

      Robert sat back in his chair, a stubborn look masking his handsome features. ‘I’m not going.’

      ‘But, Pa, we need help. Can you think of any other way to raise money, or to find alternative accommodation? Madame will throw us out the moment she discovers we can’t pay next week’s rent.’

      ‘Do you want me to spend the rest of my life working for that criminal? I believed in him, Nettie, and he betrayed my trust.’

      ‘I’m just trying СКАЧАТЬ