Jasper flinched and shoved down the riot of emotions that rose up in him at that statement.

“There isn’t enough cash in your coffers to make up for it,” Maitland continued. “I need it back, and Anne is my…she’s my way to make certain that you take me seriously and work very hard to find what I want.”

“Took something of yours?” Jasper said, and thought of Reynolds’ words about Maitland wanting to take any objects Solomon left behind. Had he been looking for this mysterious item even then?

Maitland leaned closer and a glint of desperation entered his stare at Jasper’s confusion. “Don’t play like you don’t know, for I’m certain you must have come up with some record by now. Your brother took a treasure that…it doesn’t matter what or why.”

“Treasure,” Jasper repeated, and almost laughed but for the danger of this situation. “I assure you, Mr. Maitland, I know nothing about a treasure. If I did, I wouldn’t be in the very public position that I am now.”

Maitland’s jaw set and his fist flexed on the table. It took a moment for him to respond, like he was trying to rein in his emotion. “That is a very sad story for you, my lord, because you see, I will not return your Anne to you until you get me what your brother stole from me.”

Jasper shifted. He had to play this very carefully. If Anne was near this man—which by all accounts she had been, though not now—she was in danger. Whoever Maitland’s associates were, they could be no better. Right now Maitland felt she had value.

But if the bastard thought she didn’t, then perhaps he would release her.

“You needn’t give her back,” Jasper said carefully, and tried not to flinch as he thought of what Thomasina would say about his cold dismissal of her beloved sister. She would hate him, even if he tried to explain why he was doing this.

“What?” Maitland’s mouth dropped open in shock and for the first time his confidence in his plan seemed to falter.

“Keep her,” Jasper clarified. “You see, she has no value to me. I am marrying someone else, one of her sisters. I never cared about her—I care about her family fortune. So you may keep her.”

Maitland stared for a moment, seemingly stunned by this turn of events. Then he shook his head. “You’re more of a bastard than Solomon was. Who would have thought that was possible?”

Jasper held steady, although his stomach turned. “Perhaps that is true. And so is this: I don’t know a damned thing about a treasure. If my brother had it, he likely got rid of it one of his drunken nights when he didn’t know his head from his ass.”

Maitland lunged to his feet, flipping his chair back in the process and causing every head in the bar to turn toward him. Slowly, Jasper got to his feet too, readying himself for attack even as he flicked his wrist at Reynolds to keep him away. He didn’t want the interference. Not yet.