Secrets of Scarlett Hall Box Set: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Collection

by Jennifer Monroe

  “No, no, no,” the professor shouted. “That will not do. You speak as if you are bored of my selection of material.”

  “It is a beautiful selection,” Eleanor said, shocked at this sudden burst of anger. “I can assure you I believe so.”

  “A writer must feel the words in order to write them. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, I do,” she replied. She, in all honesty, did understand, for that was how she felt as the words poured from her heart onto the page every time she wrote. “I am sorry.”

  “This time,” He took her hands in his. “Speak the words as though you feel them.”

  Eleanor’s heart quickened. Why had this man deemed it appropriate to take her hands? She did not like it, not one bit. “I-I do not believe this is acceptable behavior…”

  “It is simply to help you,” the professor said as he looked down at her hands for a moment. “We are adults rehearsing lines, just as those at the theater. If you wish to consult another tutor, then I shall inform Lord Lambert immediately…”

  “No!” How would she ever explain to Charles her reasons for wanting a new tutor? He would take any excuse as suspect, and she certainly could not tell him the truth. No, her husband had been in a foul mood as of late; he would use any excuse to take away the one thing she cherished most that was all her own. “I apologize. Please, forgive me.”

  Rather than commenting, the man simply nodded, and Eleanor began again. With each word she spoke, the smile the tutor wore grew wider. Soon, his thumbs were brushing the backs of her hands, and she closed her eyes and pictured it was Charles to whom she was reciting those lovely words.

  Then she reached the final line. “‘Shall my love kiss me until the sun rises?’”

  Then her heart rose to her throat when she felt lips upon hers as Professor Downing pushed her back into the couch. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  “I see the way he speaks to you,” the professor said, no longer the dry headmaster. “And the way you look at me.”

  “I do not see you…”

  The man lunged forward, his hands taking hold of her arms, and he kissed her face, her neck, and to her horror, moved downward. Terror raged through her, and she fought, but the weight of his body upon hers made attempts at movement mute.

  “Our love for one another is special. We share a passion we can no longer deny!”

  Eleanor tried in vain to push him off her, and when she tried to scream for help, his lips silenced her. Her vision shimmered as tears filled her eyes, but the man would not remove himself from her.

  Then the man’s eyes went wide before he rolled off her onto the floor, and over her stood Charles, a look of such rage as she had never seen before in her life, a bronze statue that once stood on a nearby table in his hands.

  “You!” he shouted. “I come home to retrieve my purse, and I find you in the arms of another man!”

  “Charles!” Eleanor wailed. “It was not I…” Her head flew back and her cheek burned from the impact of his hand on her face.

  “Quiet,” he seethed. “After all I have done for you, and this is how you repay me? By seeking the admiration of another?”

  “It is not as you believe,” she cried.

  Forbes entered the room, and his eyes widened. Eleanor followed his gaze. Professor Downing had not moved since Charles had struck him, and she detected no movement from his breathing.

  Charles also turned and squatted beside the man, his hand on his chest. “My wife,” he said, “has been in an appropriate relationship with her tutor. Were you aware of this, Forbes?”

  The tutor shook his head. “No, my Lord. I have seen no such thing.”

  “I suppose you would not,” Charles snapped. “Like me, you are not here when my wife is alone with the man. What a fool I was to not see what was happening right under my own roof!”

  Eleanor rose from the couch and stepped over the professor, wondering when the man would awaken. “Charles, please. If you would simply listen…”

  Her husband turned so quickly, Eleanor thought he would strike her again. “You will listen to me,” he said, a finger poking her chest. “I will not have my family name ruined, nor have my daughters living in shame when they learn their mother is a harlot! The man is dead, Eleanor. Do you realize what that means?”

  Eleanor covered her mouth as she turned to look at the lifeless form. “No,” she whispered.

  “Yes!” Charles said through clenched teeth. “I will not take responsibility for this murder. It will be you who stands trial; I will see to it.”

  “But Charles…” Eleanor cried as she reached for her husband.

  He slapped away her hand. “No. You will bear the consequences for your actions.”

  Sobbing, Eleanor imagined the magistrates taking her away from her children and the sentence of death that would await her.

  “Go on,” her husband shouted. “Cry for the death of your lover all you want; I care not!”

  Eleanor shook her head. How had the man come to hate her so much? Could he not see that the professor’s advances had been unwanted? Did he not see how she struggled beneath the man’s body?

  Then a thought struck her. Perhaps she had not fought hard enough. Perhaps this had been all her fault after all.

  “My Lord,” Forbes said, breaking Eleanor from her horrible thoughts, “there is a ravine at the edge of your property.”

  “Yes. What about it?”

  “Allow me to dispose of this problem there. If Lady Eleanor were to stand trial, it would ruin your family name forever.”

  Charles rubbed his chin. “And if someone comes across the body? Will they not come to me asking questions?”

  “I am certain Lady Lambert has already written a letter to the professor asking why he did not keep his appointment. Of course, we were both here this day, for you had reprimanded me in the dining room just next door as I cleaned the silver.”

  How casually these men spoke of disposing the body of a man they knew! It was as if they made plans for organizing a gathering that was of little consequence!

  Charles turned to Eleanor. “You must thank our butler for saving you,” he hissed. “I will tell the driver to return to his quarters. We will place the body in the carriage and take it tonight to the ravine.” He stormed from the room.

  Eleanor stared at Forbes. “I did not…It was he who…”

  “I understand what happened, my Lady,” Forbes said, his voice kind. “There is no need to explain the truth to me. I must ask you to leave, for you do not want to witness what I do. You must prepare the letter and send it immediately.”

  Wiping at her eyes, Eleanor nodded and hurried from the room. The fear and sickness of what Professor Downing had done combined with his demise and her husband’s accusations were all too much to bear, and she collapsed in her bed, sobbing until her chest hurt.

  ***

  That evening, under the watchful eye of the moon, the body of Professor Archibald Downing was buried in the ravine. Although Forbes had requested that Eleanor not be in attendance during the ordeal, Charles insisted, for, as he mentioned, “She is the cause of all this!”.

  Eleanor had never felt number in all her life. She had trusted the professor, had such expectations of what he would do for her, she never considered his feelings for her. As Forbes threw the last piece of driftwood over the freshly turned dirt, she stood watching, Charles at her side.

  “We shall never speak of this again,” he said. “You will never be allowed alone with a male caller, and you are no longer to work on that accursed book again. Do you hear me? Never! I no longer trust you, nor will I ever again. You will attend to our children and keep producing children until you produce an heir. A harlot is not worthy to remain with me, and therefore you will move into your own quarters this night. Never again will you ask me for anything because you deserve nothing. Is that clear?”

  “Yes,” Eleanor whispered as tears streamed do
wn her cheeks and her heart shattered.

  Charles turned to Forbes. “Do you wish for money? Land? How do I repay you for what you have done tonight?” He reached into his coat pocket, but Forbes stopped him.

  “Allow me to continue to serve you and watch over your family.” His eyes met those of Eleanor for a brief moment, and she saw kindness in them.

  “Very well,” Charles replied. “If that is what you wish.” He turned and opened the carriage door. “Let us leave this unpleasant night behind us.” Without waiting for Eleanor to enter first, he jumped inside the carriage and plopped himself into the seat.

  Eleanor whispered two simple words to Forbes, words of gratitude, for although she had lost a husband, she had been able to keep her children.

  “Thank you.”

  The man said nothing but instead gave a nod before she entered the carriage. He closed the door behind her and climbed up into the driver’s seat.

  As they rode back to the house, Eleanor realized that her life was forever changed and would never be the same again.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “That is the reason I was in fear for you concerning this man, Albert,” her mother said as she finished her story.

  “What a horrendous experience for you, Mother! “Hannah said, holding her mother tight against her as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Never again will I refuse your words of wisdom.”

  Her mother kissed her head before their embrace broke. “That is the secret I have kept for so long,” she said as she pushed a strand of hair behind Hannah’s ear. “You must never reveal it to anyone, not even John.”

  “I promise I will not,” Hannah swore. In her heart, she knew it would be the only thing she kept from him, but it was an important secret to keep. What good would come from revealing such information? Her father was now dead, and it had been he who had caused the death of the professor.

  Her mother smiled and wiped a tear from Hannah’s cheek. “Many times, as I watched you read beneath that tree in the garden, or as you scribbled in your book, I knew my old dream had been replaced by a new one. I wanted you to enjoy what I once had, and I hope you will continue with completing your book.”

  “I will,” Hannah replied. “More than ever, I wish to finish it and realize my dream. I’m sorry for the words I said before I left. My behavior toward you over the last year was atrocious. I love you, Mother.”

  “And I love you. I know that, for a period of time, I was not available to you when you needed me the most. However, I have some issues with which I am dealing.” Her mother sighed and rose from the chest. “Let us just say that I will continue to deal with them.”

  What her mother said made no sense, but Hannah decided not to question her. The woman had earned her right to secrecy.

  “Get some sleep.”

  “I will,” Hannah replied.

  When her mother was gone, Hannah walked over to the vanity table and picked up the hair clip Forbes had given her. She had always cared for the man, and now she realized she truly loved him, not as she loved John but rather in the way a woman loves an uncle or an older brother.

  Smiling, she set the pin down and went to lie on the bed. She pulled the blankets over her and reviewed the story her mother had told her. Never in her life would she have expected to learn her family held such secrets, that her father would have taken the life of another and be so callus in doing so.

  However, as she considered it all, she realized that it revealed who her mother truly was—a strong woman who cared for her children and continued to do whatever it took to keep them safe. At one point, Hannah had held such anger at the woman, but that was now replaced with an admiration she had never thought possible.

  As she closed her eyes, the fear finally gone, she pictured John, and her heart was at peace once more.

  ***

  Eleanor sat in the servants’ quarters, the candle on the table beside her flickering in the chill draft and a cup of tea her only companions. It was late—the party had ended hours earlier and the sun would soon rise—however, she refused to go to bed until Forbes returned. What was taking him so long?

  Her mind reviewed the events of the night, and she struggled to quell the fear she had felt when Hannah’s safety had been compromised, and the fear in revealing a secret she had hoped would be buried with the man in the ravine.

  Scarlett Hall had born witness to many generations, and each had secrets of their own, much like the ones Eleanor bore. Many of those secrets had been collected in journals, which Eleanor had secreted away, some she had written while others had been written by its former residents. However, it was the one journal she had thought well-hidden that had almost destroyed her family that made sleep illusive. How could she have been so careless!

  Sharing her secret with Hannah had lightened her burden somewhat, although the guilt still lingered after all had transpired this night. Hannah was safe, but she could not eradicate the memory of that crazed man hurting her beloved daughter who was so much like her mother and did not realize it.

  For a moment, she closed her eyes, imagining her children as they once were. They were in the garden at home, none of them over the age of eight at the time, and Isabel was instructing Juliet on how to be a lady as Hannah sat beneath her tree with a book in her hands. Nathaniel was no more than a dream at the time.

  Such lovely memories were threatened in times past, as much as the present, wishing to bring an evilness to her daughters that Eleanor would never allow. That is why she had sent Nathaniel off to boarding school as soon as he was able, so he would be safe from the secrets his legacy carried, at least for now. She would see him protected from that which he had no reason to know, and she would continue to protect him for as long as she possibly could.

  Opening her eyes, she took another sip of her tea, although it had grown cold. When the sounds of footsteps came to her ears, she rose from the chair just as Forbes entered the room. She hurried over to the butler.

  “Is he…?” she whispered as she gazed into the man’s blue eyes.

  “He has been delivered to the justice he deserves,” Forbes replied. “As I promised.”

  She reached up and placed her hand on the side of his face. “You are a good man, and I thank you.” It was then that she noticed the rust-colored stains on his usually stark-white shirt. “Were you hurt?”

  “I am no one for whom you should be concerned,” he replied as he took her hand in his. “It is Hannah for whom I am worried. Has she recovered from her ordeal?”

  “She has,” Eleanor replied. “But what of Mr. Moore? What has…”

  “There are matters with which you should not concern yourself,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

  She glanced down at his hands and realized that they, too, had that same rust color splashed on them.

  “It appears the man has made quite a few visits to Scarlett Hall,” Forbes continued. “He has been collecting trinkets with each visit.” He pulled out a bracelet that belonged to Juliet, as well as an ornamental hairpin belonging to Hannah. The last made her breathing catch, for it was a ring she knew should have been in a box on her vanity table.

  “My ring. I remember the day…” She could not complete the statement lest she be overcome with pain. Shaking her head, she put the items in her dress pocket and looked back up at Forbes. “To think that man was in my home,” she said, her stomach churning. “While my daughters slept, he was in their rooms! Oh, the things he could have done!”

  “He will never hurt any of you again,” Forbes said. “Ever.”

  Eleanor gazed into the face of the man that had saved her before. It was Forbes who believed that it had been the fault of Professor Downing that day and not her, and he had kept her, and her children, from heartbreak by offering a way to rid the family of the problem.

  “I will never be able to thank you,” she whispered.

  “Knowing you and your family are safe is all that matters.”

  “I know this,”
she said, her voice trembling. “I have always known this.”

  Then Forbes rolled his hands into fists and raised them above his head, the blood on them and the sleeves of his shirt even more prevalent. “For a hundred and fifty years, Scarlett Hall has stood far above everyone else, just as have those within it. As long as I draw breath, I will see that the children and their heirs reign for a hundred more.”

  Nothing more needed to be said, for Eleanor knew what had taken place since she and Hannah left Forbes in the park earlier. It was as he had done before when they stood beneath the moonlight near the ravine as she spoke her words.

  “Thank you.”

  To many, those words were simple and meant to compliment the receiving of a gift. However, to Eleanor, they signified far more, and she knew Forbes understood her meaning. And just as many years ago, the man simply replied with a nod.

  In silence, she stood looking at the man, thankful for him being a part of her life, and she felt at ease in his presence.

  “It is time for you to sleep,” Forbes said. “Hannah and Isabel need a mother well-rested to continue to care for them as you do.”

  Eleanor gazed at him a moment longer and then replied, “As always, you are right.”

  She walked to the door and paused. Turning, she looked back one more time, her heart going out to the man. She reached into her pocket and removed the ring given to her so long ago. With a smile, she slipped it onto her finger, returning it to where it belonged.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Several months had gone by since Hannah’s first arrival to London, a place she had once loathed but had come to love. Since that fateful night in the park, John had not only saved her from Albert, but he had changed her life by proposing marriage, and from that day forward, their love nearly doubled each day that passed.

  The plan was that she and John would marry by special license, with Laurence and Isabel to witness, and then they would return to Scarlett Hall as a married couple. However, she would only return for a visit, for they were to make London their permanent residence.