The Reluctant Heiress

by Dilly Court

  ‘But is it safe for you to stay in town, miss?’

  ‘I don’t know and that’s the honest truth, but there’s nothing else I can do for the moment, anyway.’

  ‘Ma is in her office below stairs if you wish to speak to her, miss.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right, Jenny. I must start as I mean to continue. I’ll go and see her now.’

  The house in Finsbury Square was in mourning. The clocks had been stopped at the assumed time of death, mirrors were covered in black veils and the curtains were drawn. Kate took her mother to Jay’s of Regent Street, a mourning warehouse, where they were both outfitted in black silk trimmed with crepe. Arabella barely spoke to Kate during their shopping expedition, and Kate’s efforts to comfort her mother were repulsed with a shrug.

  With the help of Mrs Marsh and Jenny, Kate had everything organised down to the smallest detail, but on the day of the funeral Arabella refused to attend the church service. No matter how hard Kate tried to cajole, persuade or shame her mother into accompanying herself and Perry, Arabella would not be shaken.

  In the end Kate left the house with Perry and the cortège proceeded to the church, which was packed with mourners. She was surprised by the number of people, mainly from the legal profession, who had taken the time and trouble to attend. Sir Bartholomew in life had not been an easy person to get on with, but it seemed that he was highly respected amongst his peers and Kate wished wholeheartedly that her mother had plucked up the courage to say a last farewell to her husband.

  After the interment in the cemetery, Kate turned to Perry in desperation. ‘I have intended to invite some of Papa’s colleagues and friends back to the house, but with Mama in such a state I don’t think it’s a good idea.’

  ‘No, indeed. I could suggest we adjourn to an inn to raise a glass to the memory of the departed.’ Perry glanced round the mourners, who remained standing in groups, talking in low voices. ‘It’s all gentlemen, so I think it more appropriate, especially in the circumstances.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right. Please do that.’ Kate shot a sideways look at Fellowes, her father’s valet for more than twenty years. ‘Please take Fellowes with you. The poor man looks as though he’s been crying. He was devoted to Papa and now he’ll have to find work elsewhere.’

  ‘I’ll do all I can for him. I do know of someone who is looking for a gentleman’s gentleman. Anyway, you should go home, Kate. I’ll call to see you later, if I may.’

  She eyed him uncertainly. Perry had not mentioned their last fateful meeting, and for that she was grateful. His support before and during the funeral had been invaluable, but she did not want to give him false hopes.

  ‘Might we leave it a day or two, Perry? My mother is obviously taking Papa’s death very hard, and I have to respect her wish for privacy, but thank you all the same. You’ve been such a great help during these past difficult days.’

  ‘Kate, you’ve done far more for my family. I can never thank you enough for taking care of Ivy and the children.’

  ‘They are safely away from London and won’t return until Monks and his gang are arrested and sent to prison. I won’t rest easy until that happens.’

  ‘You must allow me to contribute financially to their upkeep.’

  ‘I won’t hear of it. What are friends for if they cannot help each other in time of need?’ Kate glanced over her shoulder. ‘My carriage is waiting, Perry. If you’re certain you can deal with the gentleman without me, I’ll go home and see if I can comfort Mama.’

  He took her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘Of course, you must. Just send word to my chambers if you need me, and I’ll come immediately.’

  She smiled, acknowledging his words with a nod, and walked away, leaving the mourners to follow their own inclinations.

  Kate arrived home but the moment she walked through the open front door she sensed that there was something wrong. There was no sign of Henry, and the house was even more silent than when she had left earlier. Her footsteps echoed eerily as she crossed the marble-tiled entrance hall. She went straight to the drawing room, where she expected to find her mother. The sight that met her eyes as she opened the door made her come to a sudden halt, and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a cry of dismay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kate immediately recognised the large man with the scarred face, who was obviously terrifying Arabella. Her face was ashen and her eyes wide and staring as she sat upright in her chair, seemingly too scared to move.

  ‘So you’ve come home at last, miss. Allow me to introduce meself.’

  ‘What are you doing here, Monks?’ Kate said angrily.

  ‘You’re a bold one and no mistake. I come here to give you a friendly warning.’

  ‘You’re frightening my mother. Say what you have to say and go.’

  ‘Not very hospitable, are you, love?’ Monks pulled up a chair and sat down, causing the cabriole legs to bow beneath his considerable weight.

  ‘What do you want with us?’ Kate demanded. ‘This is a house of mourning, as you will have noticed.’

  ‘I can’t say I’m sorry for your loss. Your pa was responsible for me going to prison in the first place. He was the prosecuting counsel and I was little more than a boy. It’s too late to settle the score with him, but I ain’t fussy. You two will do.’

  ‘My husband is dead.’ Arabella’s voice shook with emotion. ‘You must have broken the law to have been in the dock.’

  Monks curled his lip. ‘That’s all you know, lady. Kindly keep your trap shut. I weren’t speaking to you.’ He jerked his head in Kate’s direction. ‘She’s the one with the brains, but she’s been consorting with my sworn enemy. I know what Trader is up to and you can tell him to leave well alone if he wants to see your pretty face again.’

  ‘You’re wrong,’ Kate said furiously. ‘Harry Trader is in Newgate Prison – what harm can he do you from there? Or is it easier for you to make war on helpless women?’

  Monks leaped to his feet. ‘One more word from you and you’ll feel the back of me hand, miss. You will do as I say if you don’t want to end up in the cemetery with your pa. And that goes for her ladyship over there as well.’ He pointed to Arabella, who shrank back on her chair, closing her eyes.

  ‘Say what you have to say.’ Kate managed to keep her voice calm, but inwardly she was quaking.

  ‘You’ll tell Trader to leave off. I know what he’s up to. He’s a snitch and I reckon he’s done a deal with one of the high-ups – the sort what patronises Trader’s illegal gaming houses. If he doesn’t do what I say it’ll be you and your ma who’ll suffer.’ Monks paused, glaring first at Arabella and then at Kate. ‘But I suspect he’s too much of a gent to let that happen. D’you understand me, girl?’

  ‘Say yes, Kate,’ Arabella cried faintly. ‘Say anything to get him out of the house.’

  Kate met Monks’ gaze squarely. ‘I will visit him in prison, and I’ll tell him what you just said.’

  ‘Make it sound good, love. I ain’t playing games. I got a reputation to keep up, but if you fail you’d best remember what happened to the soup kitchen.’

  ‘I’ve said I will speak to him. I can do no more than that.’

  Monks picked up his battered top hat and put it on at an angle. ‘You’d best try your hardest, girl. You’ve seen what I can do, so don’t think you can get the better of me.’ He tipped his hat to Arabella with a mocking smile and sauntered out of the room.

  Kate hurried over to her mother, going down on her knees in front of her. ‘You mustn’t let him scare you, Mama. He’s a thug and a bully.’

  Arabella gazed into the distance, her breath coming in short gasps. ‘He’ll kill us and burn the house to the ground.’

  ‘I won’t allow that to happen, Mama.’

  ‘You silly girl, how do you think you can stop a man like that? Your father kept the sordid side of his work from me, but I’ve seen and heard enough of these dreadful people to know that they do awful things. We escaped being murd
ered in Delhi, but now we’re facing danger in our own country and our own home.’ Arabella’s eyes focused on her daughter’s face. ‘But it isn’t my home, is it? This house and the money that your father should have inherited all belong to you.’

  ‘Mama, stop saying these things. This is still your home. I told you that. I never wanted the money or the house. I’ll give it all to you if it would make you happy.’

  ‘Happy?’ Arabella’s voice rose to a shriek. ‘How can I be happy without your father? We loved each other, which is something you can’t understand. I know that you refused Peregrine’s offer of marriage. He came here to see me, brokenhearted. You are a cruel girl, Kate.’

  ‘He only offered to marry me out of pity and a sense of duty, Mama. Perry doesn’t love me any more than I love him.’ Kate stood up and backed away. ‘This is getting us nowhere. I think the best thing I can do is to get you away from here to somewhere safe.’

  ‘Leave me alone, Kate. I feel one of my headaches coming on.’

  ‘I’ll send Miss Barnet to you, Mama.’ Kate hurried from the room and made her way to the servants’ quarters where she found Miss Barnet in the sewing room.

  ‘Miss Barnet, I’ve decided that my mother needs a change of scene. I hope a sojourn in the country will help to raise her spirits.’

  Miss Barnet looked up from the garment she was mending, her brow creased in a puzzled frown. ‘Bereavement can take people in many ways, but I thought that her ladyship was being particularly stalwart, all things considered.’

  ‘An unfortunate incident occurred that has set her back somewhat. I want you to go to her room and pack everything she might need for a reasonably long stay in the country. We’ll be leaving this afternoon.’

  Miss Barnet’s eyebrows curved in astonishment. ‘This afternoon?’

  ‘Yes, that’s correct. I think you deserve some time for yourself. I will pay you, of course, but perhaps you have some relatives you would like to visit?’

  ‘But Lady Martin needs me. Who will look after her if I’m not there?’

  ‘I’m sure we’ll manage, although of course you will be missed. You must leave a forwarding address and I’ll notify you when we decide to return to London.’ Kate was not in the mood to argue and she left the room, to find Jenny waiting in the passage.

  ‘What’s going on, miss?’ Jenny demanded anxiously. ‘Ma told me that you’d come looking for Miss Barnet. Something’s up – I know it.’

  Kate took her by the arm and led her along the corridor so that there was no possibility of Miss Barnet overhearing their conversation.

  ‘Monks was here, Jenny. Mama and I have to leave London for a while and I want you to come with us. You know too much and you might also be in danger.’

  ‘Are we going to Warren House?’

  ‘I think that’s the safest place. I want you to pack for me and for yourself. Miss Barnet will see to my mother’s things, but I have to go out. I need to see Trader before we leave town.’

  Jenny nodded. ‘I understand. I’ll make sure everything is ready for your return, but what shall I tell Ma?’

  ‘You’ll think of something,’ Kate said, chuckling. ‘Make is sound convincing, but don’t alarm her, Jenny. It’s safer for everyone here if the servants know nothing.’

  Jenny grinned. ‘I’ve had plenty of practice. I used to tell Ivy’s nippers all sorts of tales to keep them amused when we was at the soup kitchen.’ Her smile faded. ‘I just feel sorry for all those folk we had to let down. I hope they found somewhere else to go for a bowl of soup.’

  ‘I’ve made a donation to a small charity who have started something similar in Spitalfields, so I hope the people we’ve helped will go there. I’m off to the prison to see Harry Trader, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  The prison seemed even more unwelcoming than it had on Kate’s last visit, and she had to force herself to enter the building. The warder on duty appeared to remember her and had obviously jumped to the wrong conclusion. He grinned and winked in a suggestive manner that might have offended her had her nerves not been so fraught. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting in a dismal cell-like room that smelled of damp and unwashed bodies, another warder shoved Harry over the threshold.

  ‘Five minutes,’ he said tersely, and slammed the door.

  ‘Kate?’ Harry stared at her frowning. ‘Why have you come here again? This isn’t the place for you.’

  ‘I returned from Papa’s funeral to find Monks in our drawing room with my terrified mother.’

  ‘The devil!’ Harry said angrily. ‘If he hurt you I’ll—’

  ‘He didn’t touch either of us, but he made it clear that he knows you’re working with the police. He said if you continued to do so it would be the worst for Mama and myself.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Kate. It was wrong of me to involve you in the first place, but at the moment my hands are tied. My sentence was genuine, and probably richly deserved,’ he added with a humorous glint in his eyes. ‘But my men never hurt or terrorised anyone. They were there to keep Monks and his gang away from my clubs. We kept the peace in a manner of speaking, although admittedly we were on the wrong side of the law.’

  ‘Monks needs to be stopped. I don’t expect you to give up your efforts. I’m sure I was followed here, so at least he knows that I kept my word.’

  Harry took both her hands in his. ‘You must get away from London. This isn’t your fight, Kate.’

  The warmth of his grasp sent a pleasant shiver down her spine, but this was neither the time nor the place for letting down her guard and she snatched her hands free. ‘It became my battle when Monks entered my home and scared my mother. Now it’s become very personal, Harry. Your mother and Annie will be at Warren House by now and I’m going to take Mama to join them, whether she likes it or not.’

  ‘You’ll stay there, too?’

  ‘I will, although I wish there was something I could do to bring Monks to justice.’

  ‘Leave that to me. Now that I know my mother and Annie are out of danger I can go ahead with my plans.’

  ‘How will I know when it’s safe to return to London?’

  ‘I’ll get word to you somehow. Who knows? I might be released early due to my co-operation with the authorities.’

  She found herself responding to his smile, but Monks’ visit to her home had left her on edge, and she must not forget the time. ‘I have to go now, Harry. If I’m to get Mama to Warren House before nightfall we must leave soon.’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, of course. Reassure my mother when you see her, but don’t tell her anything. She could never keep a secret.’

  Kate was about to reply when the door burst open.

  ‘Time’s up, miss.’ The warder ushered her from the room before she had a chance to speak.

  It was early evening when Kate, her mother and Jenny set off for Warren House. Arabella had insisted on bringing almost her entire wardrobe and she clutched her jewel case, refusing to let anyone else touch it. Barnet had packed everything but her set expression made it clear that being left behind had offended her deeply. Mrs Marsh sent Jenny off with a basket of provisions that would have kept them well fed for a much longer journey, but eventually the trunks and boxes were strapped to the roof of the carriage and they were ready to leave.

  It was getting dark when the carriage trundled along the road that crossed the marshes. Jenny gasped, pointing in wonder at the eerie lights of the will-o’-the-wisp, floating above the boggy ground, but Kate was too deep in her own thoughts to comment. She was as sure as she could be that whoever had followed her to the prison had given up by the time they left Finsbury Square, but she could not help wondering how long they would have to remain in virtual exile. There was no guarantee that Harry would manage to bring Monks to justice from his prison cell, and although Warren House might provide sanctuary for a while, they could not return home. Her mother had spent the first part of the journey complaining bitterly, and then she had fallen asleep. How she woul
d react when she discovered that she was to share the mansion in Walthamstow with Lady Lyndon, Annie, Ivy and eight young children was another matter.

  The first thing that Kate noticed when she alighted from the carriage, was the heady perfume of roses and night-scented stock, adding to the fruity aroma of damp earth and the slightly musty smell of the marshes. The air was cool and fresh and a breeze fanned her hot cheeks, but there was a hint of approaching autumn in the air and a warning that summer was almost over.

  ‘Where are we?’

  Arabella’s querulous voice from the interior of the carriage brought Kate abruptly back to the present and she held out her hand. ‘We’re at our destination, Mama.’

  ‘Wherever that might be.’ Arabella yawned and stretched. ‘I’m so stiff.’

  Aided by Jenny, Kate helped her mother from the carriage.

  ‘We must have been travelling half the night,’ Arabella said crossly. She gazed at the dark shape of Warren House with the moonlight caressing its roof and reflecting playfully off the top-storey windows. ‘This is the back of beyond, Kate. Why have you brought me here?’

  ‘We’ll be safe from people who wish us harm, Mama.’ Kate rapped on the knocker. She could only hope that Arthur Boggis might venture through the maze of passages to open the front door.

  ‘The house looks deserted,’ Arabella muttered. ‘It’s probably haunted.’

  Jenny clutched Kate’s arm. ‘You don’t think there are ghosts and ghouls in there, do you?’

  ‘Of course not.’ Kate knocked again, and this time she could hear footsteps on the flagstone floor. ‘Someone’s coming. Thank goodness for that.’

  The door opened and a shaft of lamplight quivered in the darkness. ‘Who’s there?’ Arthur’s voice boomed out into the night.

  ‘It’s me, Arthur,’ Kate said hastily. ‘Miss Martin. I’ve brought my mother with me, and my maid. Sir Harry wishes us to stay here for a while.’

  ‘Sir Harry?’ Arabella poked her daughter in the ribs. ‘Who is Sir Harry, Kate?’