The Reluctant Heiress

by Dilly Court

‘Harry wants his mama to leave Finsbury Circus immediately. He would feel much happier if both of you left London and went to stay in Warren House.’

  ‘Where is that?’

  ‘In a village called Walthamstow. It’s in Essex, on the other side of the River Lea. I went there yesterday and I think you would both find it very comfortable.’

  ‘And safe,’ Annie added fervently. ‘Aunt Margaret, you don’t know what the Monks gang are like.’

  ‘No, dear, I don’t.’ Lady Lyndon returned to her chair and sank down, sighing. ‘Surely an apology would suffice? Or perhaps a payment in compensation for whatever wrong they think has been committed against them.’

  Kate could see that the time for tact had passed. Lady Lyndon was a stubborn woman and she needed to know the truth. ‘I’m sorry to be blunt, your ladyship, but they are vicious criminals. They won’t care that you and Annie are women, or that you are a titled lady. They would have no compunction in razing this house to the ground, or they might try to abduct you and hold you to ransom. Harry chose to plead guilty to save your family name being dragged through the courts, but he also knew the risks you were facing, which is why he wants you to leave London.’

  ‘Oh, my goodness!’ Lady Lyndon clasped her hands to her bosom. ‘Harry was always such a good boy.’

  ‘He’s a man now, Aunt Margaret.’ Annie said firmly. ‘And despite the fact that he’s been mixing with the wrong people, Harry is a good man and he loves his ma. I’m willing to go with you, if you’ll agree to do as he wishes.’

  ‘But if I leave they might still burn my house down.’ Lady Lyndon’s eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip trembled.

  ‘I think the building would be safer if you were not in it, ma’am,’ Kate said firmly. ‘I’m sorry to say these things to you, but Harry was very clear. He wants you to leave London, for the time being at any rate.’

  ‘I see.’ Lady Lyndon sat for a moment with her hands neatly folded in her lap. Then she looked up, meeting Kate’s earnest gaze with a lift of her chin. ‘Heaven knows, the Lyndon family has weathered scandal after scandal over the past two centuries. I’ll go to Walthamstow, but only if Harry promises that he will appeal against his sentence. I don’t care what people say about us, I want my son back.’ She looked up as the door opened and Agnes entered, bobbing a curtsey.

  ‘You rang, my lady?’

  ‘Yes, Agnes. We’ll have tea and cake for the three of us.’

  Kate shook her head. ‘Thank you, but I’d better go now, Lady Lyndon. I need to ensure that the soup kitchen is running smoothly.’

  ‘Of course, my dear. You may see Miss Martin out, Agnes. Then bring the tea, and please tell Cook that Miss Blythe will be staying with us. You’d better advise Mrs Fulton so that she can make the rose guest room ready.’

  Kate leaned over to brush Annie’s cheek with a kiss. ‘I’ll be back soon, Annie,’ she whispered. ‘In the meantime, please do your best to persuade Lady Lyndon to make the move to Walthamstow.’

  ‘I’ll try but I can’t promise anything. Her ladyship has a mind of her own.’

  ‘I’ll go now, but don’t let her ladyship go out unattended. If you need someone to help you bring your things here, our footman will be glad to be of service.’

  Annie nodded and smiled.

  ‘What are you two plotting?’ Lady Lyndon demanded. ‘I don’t like being kept in the dark.’

  ‘It was simply about bringing my belongings here, Aunt Margaret,’ Annie said glibly. ‘I hope I’m not putting you to any trouble by coming to stay.’

  Kate left the room, closing the door behind her. With Annie on her side she might just succeed in persuading Lady Lyndon to move to Warren House, where she would undoubtedly meet her match in Martha Boggis.

  Kate left the house, stepping out into the heat of midday. She unfurled her parasol and set off in the direction of Finsbury Square, intending to call in at home before going to Cable Street. The sun blazed down from a cloudless sky and she could feel the heat from the pavement through the soles of her boots. Dust hung in the air, settling on the leaves of the London plane trees, dulling their greenness to pale grey. The smell of effluent made Kate cover her nose and mouth with her handkerchief. At this moment Walthamstow seemed like heaven on earth and Kate had a sudden longing for the peace and freshness of the countryside.

  She was almost home when the sound of running footsteps made her clutch her reticule in both hands. Even in the most respectable parts of the city there was the danger of pickpockets and petty thieves, but it was Frankie, Ivy’s eldest child, who caught up with her.

  ‘Miss Kate. You got to come with me. Ma’s in a terrible state.’

  ‘Whatever is the matter, Frankie? Slow down and catch your breath.’

  He grabbed her by the sleeve. ‘They set fire to the soup kitchen, miss. It’s burning.’

  ‘Is anyone hurt?’

  ‘I dunno, miss. It was that Mr Spears what come to our house. He told Ma and she sent me to fetch you.’

  Kate raised her hand to hail a hackney carriage, but it drove past without stopping. They waited a few minutes and eventually a hansom cab pulled up at the kerb.

  ‘Cable Street, please, cabby.’ Kate helped Frankie into the cab and she climbed in to sit beside him.

  ‘I ain’t never been in one of these,’ Frankie said, grinning.

  ‘I heard about the chicken pox. You’re obviously much better now.’

  ‘I was the first to get sick, then Jimmy and May. We’ve all had it, even baby John.’

  They lapsed into silence as the cab wended its way through the chaotic tangle of horse-drawn vehicle, handcarts and pedestrians, who seemed to have no fear when it came to barging across the road. Eventually, a pall of smoke made the cabby draw his horse to a halt.

  He opened the flap in the cab roof. ‘Can’t go no further, miss. You’ll have to walk the rest of the way.’

  Kate paid him and alighted, holding out her hand to Frankie, who ignored it and leaped to the ground.

  ‘The whole street is on fire,’ he said gleefully.

  Kate ignored his childish enthusiasm for what appeared to be a disaster, and she covered her mouth again, but this time it was to help her breathe in the thick smoke. Her attempt to reach the soup kitchen was foiled by a burly police constable.

  ‘You can’t go no further, miss. It ain’t safe.’

  She came to a halt, staring in dismay at the flames shooting up into the summer sky.

  Frankie tapped her on the arm. ‘That’s the man who come to our house, miss.’ He pointed to a bent figure, who emerged from the curtain of smoke, coughing and red-eyed.

  ‘Mr Spears, are you all right?’ Kate caught him by the arm as he was about to wander past.

  ‘Miss Martin?’ Spears’ eyes were bloodshot and runny, and his face was streaked with soot. ‘They done it – Monks’ gang – but the police don’t want to know.’

  ‘Are you hurt?’ Kate asked warily. ‘Perhaps you should go to the hospital.’

  ‘I ain’t hurt, but I’ve lost everything. I got nothing and no home to go to. I might as well hand meself in and go to prison.’

  ‘Let’s get away from here,’ Kate said urgently. ‘There’s nothing we can do.’

  ‘Got nowhere to go.’ Spears dashed his hand across his eyes. ‘I got no home and only the duds I stands up in.’

  ‘We’ll take Frankie home.’ Kate grabbed Frankie by the hand. ‘I need to speak to your ma, Frankie.’

  ‘She never done it.’ Frankie’s eyes widened in alarm. ‘You can’t pin it on any one of us, miss.’

  ‘Silly boy. Why would I think that?’

  He shook his head. ‘Dunno.’

  ‘We’ll go and see your ma.’ Kate turned to Spears. ‘You’d best come, too. I’ll help you get back on your feet, but first you need to get cleaned up.’

  ‘It’s the end of me. I should never had fallen in with Harry Trader. It’s all his fault.’ Spears trudged along behind them, grumbling to h
imself.

  Ivy greeted them with a solemn face. ‘What a state of affairs, miss. What shall us do now?’

  ‘I don’t know, and that’s the truth.’ Kate studied Ivy’s pale face. ‘What’s wrong? It’s not just the loss of the soup kitchen, is it?’

  Ivy shook her head. ‘Come inside. I don’t want the whole street to know me business.’ She ushered them into her tiny living room, where baby John slept in a wooden cradle and the twins sat cross-legged on the floor, playing with a roughly carved wooden doll, while Charlie sucked on a lamb bone.

  ‘Where are the others?’ Kate asked anxiously.

  ‘Nellie, May and Jimmy are out selling bootlaces. Not that it brings in much these days. I can’t manage without the money from the soup kitchen, miss. We’ll have to go to the workhouse – there’s nothing else for it.’

  ‘You won’t do that,’ Kate said firmly. She opened her reticule and took out her purse. ‘Here, take this, Ivy. It will keep you for a day or two while I try to sort things out.’

  Ivy hesitated. ‘I didn’t ask for charity, miss.’

  ‘I think we can count each other as old friends now, Ivy. Please take it, if only for the children’s sakes.’

  Reluctantly, Ivy took the coins and pocketed them. ‘Are you going to start another soup kitchen?’

  Spears slumped down on a rickety wooden chair. ‘No one asks me how I’ll manage. I could do with a cup of tea or a tot of rum.’

  ‘You won’t get either here, Augustus Spears.’ Ivy glared at him. ‘You’ve only got yourself to care about. I’ve got eight little ones.’

  ‘That ain’t my fault.’

  Kate held up her hand. ‘There’s no point in fighting with each other. How did the fire start, Spears?’

  ‘How d’you think? It were Monks hisself what set the blaze going. I tried to beat it out but the flames took hold and the whole place went up. I only just got out with me life.’

  ‘They know I used to work there.’ Ivy clutched Kate’s hand, squeezing it until Kate felt as if her bones would break.

  ‘They have nothing on you, Ivy,’ Kate said gently. ‘You should be safe here.’

  The words had hardly left her lips when a missile hurtled through the already cracked windowpane, sending a shower of glass onto the floor, which narrowly missed Charlie.

  Ivy scooped him up in her arms, and tears poured down her cheeks. ‘We ain’t safe anywhere, and all because I worked in a building owned by Trader. You’d better watch out for yourself. Monks is after the lot of us.’

  Kate eyed her curiously. ‘Why would he want to harm you or me? We’ve done nothing to him.’

  ‘I don’t think that matters,’ Ivy said grimly. ‘He hates anyone with a connection to Trader. You need to look out for yourself, miss. Monks is a bad man.’

  Kate bent down to pick up the brick that had been hurled through the window. ‘This was obviously sent as a warning. You must pack up your things, Ivy. Get the children together and be ready for a move. I’ll come back later this afternoon with the carriage and I’ll take you somewhere safe.’

  ‘Where would that be, miss?’

  ‘I don’t know yet, but I promise you that I’ll find somewhere for you and the children to live where Monks won’t think of looking for you.’

  ‘What about me?’ Spears muttered. ‘Don’t I count?’

  ‘I suggest you stay here and protect Ivy and the children until I return. I’ll think of something for you, Spears. Although you must admit you haven’t always been of much help to me.’

  ‘I didn’t approve of Harry letting you have the ground floor, and I’ve been proved right.’

  Kate moved towards the doorway. ‘Just stay here. Keep together and I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’ She left the small house and walked briskly to the end of Nightingale Lane where she managed to hail a cab.

  Kate walked into Lady Lyndon’s drawing room to find her ladyship relaxing on the sofa, listening to Annie, who was playing a haunting melody on her concertina.

  ‘I’m sorry to interrupt,’ Kate said apologetically, ‘but this is urgent.’

  Lady Lyndon was suddenly alert. ‘Kate! What are you doing back here? Have you news from Harry?’

  ‘No, my lady. I’ve just had some bad news and I need your help.’

  ‘Oh dear! What has happened?’

  ‘Is it to do with Harry?’ Annie asked tremulously.

  ‘It’s just another example of the Monks gang doing everything they can to make life difficult for anyone connected to Harry. The building he owns in Cable Street, where I’ve been running a soup kitchen, has been burned down.’

  ‘What are you saying, Kate?’ Lady Lyndon sat bolt upright. ‘What has this to do with me?’

  ‘Lady Lyndon, the time has passed for being too polite and tactful. The truth is that your son was the leader of a gang who ran illegal gaming clubs. Now, I believe there are mitigating circumstances, but that doesn’t matter now. The facts are that Harry’s internment has left a number of people exposed to the wrath of a ruthless villain called Monks.’

  ‘How frightening.’ Lady Lyndon reached for a bottle of smelling salts and held it under her nose. She sniffed, coughed and dabbed her watering eyes with a hanky. ‘Tell me everything.’

  ‘That’s the sum of it so far, but the woman who has been helping me to run the charity has been threatened by the gang. Her husband is in prison for theft, but she does not deserve to suffer, nor do her young children.’

  ‘Why are you telling us this, Kate?’ Lady Lyndon replaced the small brown bottle on the drum table at the side of the sofa. ‘What can I do to help them?’

  ‘I’d like to take Ivy and her children to Warren House. I know it’s what Harry would suggest, and it’s only temporary until I can find them somewhere else to live.’

  ‘By all means,’ Lady Lyndon said, smiling. ‘I wouldn’t want the poor woman and her little ones on my conscience, but that means there would not be room for myself and Annie. We will be able to stay here with a clear conscience.’

  ‘I’m afraid you might be next, Lady Lyndon.’ Kate laid her hand on Annie’s shoulder. ‘You’re both in danger and the obvious solution is for you to go to Warren House, too. It’s large enough and you would be safe.’

  ‘Perhaps you should give it some thought, Aunt Margaret,’ Annie said softly. ‘Kate is telling the truth and I can vouch for the fact that people in Whitechapel are terrified of Monks and his men.’

  ‘I want to see Harry,’ Lady Lyndon said, frowning. ‘I’ll only make the move to Walthamstow if he tells me so himself.’

  ‘Very well.’ Kate knew when she was beaten. ‘I’ll arrange it as soon as possible.’

  ‘Harry won’t make me do anything I don’t wish to,’ Lady Lyndon said smugly. ‘In the meantime you are welcome to take your friend and her children to Walthamstow. Perhaps you would like to accompany them, Annie?’

  ‘I would be happy to move to the country, but I would prefer to remain here with you, at least for the time being.’ Annie picked up her concertina. ‘What would you like me to play for you, Aunt Margaret?’

  Harry entered the small room where a surly warder had told Kate and Lady Lyndon to wait.

  ‘Mama, what are you doing here?’ he demanded incredulously. He turned to Kate, frowning. ‘Why did you bring her to this dreadful place?’

  Lady Lyndon rose from the wooden chair, which was the only furniture in the small room and she held her hands out to her son. ‘Don’t blame Kate. I insisted on seeing you, Harry.’

  ‘Sit down, please, Mama.’ Harry pressed her gently back on the seat. ‘Why did you want to see me?’

  ‘I’m your mother,’ Lady Lyndon said calmly. ‘Of course I wanted to know that you were being well cared for.’

  Harry laughed, but there was no humour in the sound. ‘This isn’t a hotel, Mama. This is a place of punishment and I knew what I was coming to when I pleaded guilty.’

  Kate cleared her throat. ‘I’ve been trying to p
ersuade your mother to move to Warren House, but she insisted on hearing it from your lips, Harry.’

  ‘Yes, that’s the most sensible thing to do.’ Harry nodded, raising his mother’s hand to his lips. ‘It’s too dangerous for you to remain in Finsbury Circus, at least for the time being.’

  ‘Monks or one of his men set your premises in Cable Street on fire.’ Kate fixed him with a searching look. ‘Ivy had a brick thrown through her window, so I’d like to take the family to Warren House, with your mama’s permission, of course.’

  Harry nodded. ‘That’s very sensible. You should be there, too, Mama.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave my home.’ Lady Lyndon’s bottom lip trembled. ‘I don’t want to stay in the country. Warren House was the family home of the Lyndons – I never liked that place.’

  ‘It’s a very nice house, Mama,’ Harry said gently. ‘You’ll be very comfortable there and you’ll be safe.’

  Lady Lyndon slapped his hand away. ‘I don’t like you being mixed up with evil men.’

  Harry kneeled down at her side, ignoring the fact that the dirt from the floor was ruining his expensive trousers. ‘I won’t be here for much longer, but please do as I ask, Mama.’

  ‘But your sentence was for twelve years,’ Kate said anxiously. ‘Are you planning to escape?’

  He rose to his feet, brushing the dirt from his knees. ‘In a way. I’m working with the police to bring Monks to justice. I couldn’t tell you before the trial.’

  ‘But what can you do from a prison cell?’ Kate met his smiling gaze with a scowl. ‘Don’t make a joke of this, it isn’t funny.’

  ‘No, indeed it isn’t.’ Harry’s smiled faded. ‘I’m sorry but I can’t tell you more at present.’

  Lady Lyndon shook her head. ‘I don’t understand any of this, Harry.’

  He helped her to her feet. ‘Go with Kate, Mama. I’m afraid there might be more trouble if Monks gets wind of what is planned for him. I’ll feel much happier if I know you are safe, and Annie, too. I hope it won’t be for long, but I want you to go to Warren House and stay there until I leave prison.’

  ‘I might be dead in twelve years’ time,’ Lady Lyndon said plaintively.