‘They may have thought he had no interest in the boy. You said the two of you parted on bad terms and the rest of the village must have been aware of it,’ Valbourg pointed out. ‘Nothing remains secret in a place like this. I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few people suspected you of being Thomas’s mother, but were afraid to say anything. You might even hear from some of them before we leave.’
* * *
Catherine didn’t put any stock in Valbourg’s statement. People were too caught up in their own lives to worry about anyone else’s. If they spoke to her at all, it was to congratulate her on her success on the London stage.
At least those who were kind enough to speak to her. Some simply ignored her, making it very clear what they thought of her career in the theatre.
‘Never mind the rest of them, I know for a fact Mrs Humphries thinks you’re marvellous,’ her father said over dinner that evening. ‘I suspect she was peeking through her curtains for a glimpse of you when you arrived. Especially with Lord Valbourg at your side.’
‘Oh, dear, I’ve likely started another round of gossip in the village,’ Catherine said with a sigh. ‘You will have much to contend with after I leave, Papa.’
‘And contend with it I shall,’ he said, grinning. ‘I shall put in their place those who dare to criticise you and agree with those who tell me you are marvellous.’
‘And how will you deal with those who ask about Thomas?’ Valbourg enquired. ‘Or do you think it unlikely the subject will arise?’
Mr Jones looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘I honestly don’t know. As I told Katie, there are some who suspect her of being Thomas’s mother. No one has said anything directly, of course, but it is impossible to deny the events that took place around that time.’
‘I intend to fight to get Thomas back, Papa,’ Catherine said quietly. ‘Reverend Hailey told me he would return Thomas to me when he was five if I did everything he asked of me, and I have. That was what kept me going. I had to prove myself worthy and financially capable of providing for Thomas. Thanks to my work, I have been able to do that.’
‘Then why did Reverend Hailey change his mind?’ her father asked. ‘Surely a clergyman would be the last person to go back on his word?’
Catherine felt Valbourg’s eyes on her, then told her father the details of the story, only omitting the kiss she and Valbourg had shared in the carriage. Thankfully, his reaction was the same as Valbourg’s.
‘So he condemned you on the reports of others,’ he said at the end of the recounting. ‘And he had you spied upon! Shocking! I shall tell him what I think the next time I see him.’
‘No, Papa, you mustn’t say anything!’ Catherine said. ‘Please do not involve yourself in this. Lord Valbourg has offered to help me. He knows the right people to talk to.’
‘I can’t make any promises, of course, but I will do everything I can to that end,’ Valbourg said. ‘I have connections with those who may have some sway in the matter.’
‘Well, I am very glad to hear it. My poor Katie has suffered enough,’ her father said. ‘I long to see her happy again. Yes, Mrs Parkes?’
The housekeeper bobbed a curtsy. ‘Excuse me, Mr Jones, but there’s a young lady to see you. Or rather, to see Miss Catherine and his lordship.’
‘Who is it?’
‘Miss Megan Hailey, sir. And she said it was very important that she see Miss Catherine as soon as possible.’
‘Yes, of course. Show her in,’ Mr Jones said. ‘I wonder what on earth has brought Megan here at this time of night?’
‘Thomas!’ Catherine whispered, her throat tight. ‘Something’s happened to Thomas.’
‘Don’t go jumping to conclusions,’ Valbourg cautioned as the door opened and Megan walked in, the hood of her cape pulled low over her face. ‘Good evening, Miss Megan. What a pleasure to see you again.’
‘Lord Valbourg!’
‘Is Thomas all right?’ Catherine said, too concerned with her son’s welfare to waste time with greetings. ‘Has something happened?’
‘Nothing’s happened, miss. Thomas is fine,’ Megan assured her, slipping back her hood. ‘Good evening, Mr Jones.’ She glanced shyly at Valbourg. ‘I didn’t know whether you would be here or not, my lord.’
‘Mr Jones kindly invited me to stay for dinner,’ Valbourg said with a smile. ‘Do your parents have any idea you’re here?’
Megan shook her head. ‘They are dining with Mr and Mrs Bullen and won’t be home until late, so I thought it would be safe to come.’
‘But why did you come?’ Catherine asked, her voice calmer in the wake of hearing that Thomas was all right.
The young girl bit her lip. ‘Is it true, miss? Are you really Thomas’s mother? I heard what Stepmama said to you this afternoon and I remember what Papa said to Lord Valbourg in the church, but I didn’t know what to think. So I thought I should come and ask you for the truth.’
Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise. So, someone had been listening at the door this afternoon...and that someone had been Megan. Catherine felt her father’s and Valbourg’s eyes on her and realised how important the moment was. ‘Yes, Megan, I am. And since you heard the conversation, you know why Thomas is not with me.’
Megan sighed. ‘I always thought Eliza’s story seemed a little odd. She never talked about having a sister or a brother who might have had a child. She just said Thomas was her nephew and that she had to raise him because no one else could. Now I understand why. It was all a lie.’
Catherine got up and crossed the room to put her hands on the girl’s shoulders. ‘I am so sorry. You shouldn’t have had to find out like this, but it is better you know the truth.’
‘I know. And I know you love him. I can hear it in your voice when you talk about him.’
‘I do love him,’ Catherine said. ‘With all my heart. And I came back to get him because he belongs with me.’
‘I know that,’ Megan said in a sad voice. ‘I know that’s what I would want if he were my son.’
Having made that pronouncement, she turned and walked out of the room.
‘Megan?’ Catherine said anxiously. Surely the girl hadn’t come all this way just to satisfy her curiosity about Thomas’s birth? But when the door opened again, Catherine had her answer. ‘Thomas!’
‘Mama!’ He ran to her arms and buried his face in her skirts. ‘You came back! I was afraid I wasn’t ever going to see you again.’
Catherine scooped him up and held him tightly in her arms. ‘You should have known better,’ she murmured into his hair. ‘No one’s going to keep us apart, my darling. Not any more.’
‘This is a wonderful thing you’ve done, Megan,’ Valbourg said quietly. ‘But I fear your father will be very angry when he finds out.’
‘I know, but I shall speak to him in the morning and try to make him understand.’ Surprisingly, Megan didn’t look afraid. ‘He’s not a bad man, Lord Valbourg. He’s been a wonderful father to me. We were always close, and after Will and then Mama died we became even closer. Then Eliza came along and everything changed. After Papa married her, she took charge of the household and everyone in it. She tolerates me because she knows how much Papa loves me, but I don’t think she likes me very much.’
‘I’m sure that’s not the case,’ Catherine said gently.
‘Yes, it is,’ Megan said. ‘But I have learned to make the best of it. For the most part, I try to stay out of her way and not to make her angry.’
‘This is going to make her very angry,’ Valbourg said.
Megan looked at him with an expression far too mature for a girl of her tender years. ‘I know, but what matters is Thomas. I never knew if his real mother was alive or dead,’ she admitted, glancing at Catherine again. ‘Now that I do and understand how hard you’ve worked to get Thomas back, I can’t ignore that and
let Eliza have her way. She was wrong to try to keep Thomas.’
‘Still, neither your father nor Eliza will approve of what you’ve done,’ Catherine said. ‘They may punish you.’
‘If they threaten to do anything, I shall tell Papa I will leave as well. I don’t think he would like that very much.’
‘No, he wouldn’t,’ Valbourg said. ‘He does love you, Megan. I saw that in the church the day we met. Nevertheless, you are a very brave girl and we are eternally in your debt. If you ever wish to come to London, you can be assured of having a place to stay.’
The girl’s eyes lit up. ‘Really?’
‘You have my word on it.’
‘I can’t thank you enough for this, Megan,’ Catherine said. ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’
‘Just send me a letter when you are back in London and let me know everything is all right.’
‘We will,’ Valbourg said. ‘And I think we should probably set off at once. I would rather be well on the road to London before Reverend Hailey returns home and finds out Thomas is gone.’
There was a round of embracing and many tears as Megan and Thomas said their goodbyes.
‘You will come to see me in London, won’t you, Meggie?’ he said, clinging to her.
‘Of course I will come! You know how much I want to see London and now I shall have the very best reason for doing so!’
After another round of hugs, Megan slipped away. Thomas seemed inclined to stay close to Catherine, but the first thing she did was introduce him to her father, who had been watching the boy avidly since his arrival in the room. ‘This is your other grandfather, Thomas. Grandfather Jones.’
‘Hello, Thomas. I’m very pleased to meet you at last,’ her father said, tears shimmering in his eyes.
Thomas looked equally serious. ‘Hello, Grandfather. I’m sorry it’s taken so long.’
‘It doesn’t matter, because we know each other now. I hope we will be seeing a lot of each other in the future.’
‘I promise you will, Papa,’ Catherine said. ‘But right now, we had best hurry. Like his lordship, I would rather be well on our way to London before the Haileys find out what has gone on this night.’
* * *
They stopped briefly at Gwen’s house to pick up their belongings and say their farewells.
‘Goodbye, dearest,’ Gwen whispered as she hugged Catherine close. ‘I shall come and see you in London very soon. I think it is about time I had a little adventure of my own.’
‘You would be more than welcome and I would love to see you,’ Catherine said. ‘And please do go and see Papa. He mentioned you at dinner tonight.’
‘He did?’
‘Yes, and judging from the colour in your cheeks, you might enjoy seeing him as well.’
After one last embrace, Catherine hurried out to the carriage where Valbourg and her son were already waiting. Thomas fell asleep not long into the journey, curled up in Catherine’s lap.
* * *
‘Do you think Megan will be all right?’ she asked after a long silence. ‘We owe her so much. This could never have happened without her.’
‘It certainly would have been a great deal more difficult,’ Valbourg agreed. ‘But I expect she will be fine. She has a good head on her shoulders and, though Eliza may make her life miserable for a while, I believe she will be able to convince her father that she has done the right thing. If not, I suspect we will see her in London very soon. In which case, I shall ask Mary to sponsor her next Season.’
‘You would do that?’
‘Happily. Mary will delight in buying her new clothes and dressing her up like a proper lady. And she will introduce Megan to the kind of gentlemen she would never have met in Grafton.’
Catherine smiled as she gently rested her chin on her son’s head. She was glad the worst was over and that she and Thomas were together again. Though the memory of the kidnapping in the park was still fresh in her mind, she felt confident that as long as she kept a watchful eye out in future, she would be able to keep him safe.
But what about when she was performing? She wouldn’t be able to take Thomas with her when she went to the theatre for rehearsals in the morning, or for her performances every night. He needed to be schooled and to have a safe environment in which to grow up.
Was it time to think about giving up the theatre and becoming a full-time mother?
‘So, when do you start performing again?’
Catherine glanced at Valbourg in amusement. ‘Have you developed the ability to read minds as well as everything else, my lord?’
‘No, but I suspected it might be in your thoughts. Having Thomas living with you will necessitate certain changes in your life, just as Sebastian’s arrival necessitated changes in mine.’
‘I know. I just haven’t had time to figure out what they are. But I will. And you have weighty matters to ponder as well,’ Catherine said, striving to keep the sadness from her voice. ‘Christmas is not all that far away.’
Valbourg turned his head away, a muscle twitching in his jaw. ‘You know this is not how I would have matters between us, Catherine.’
‘I know, but it is the only way they can be.’
He didn’t pursue the matter, as they both knew she was right. He couldn’t have a life with her. His father would be furious and his sister apoplectic. But it wasn’t their life to live, Catherine thought angrily. It was Valbourg’s, and she desperately wanted to spend it with him. She wanted to go to bed with him every night and wake up in his arms every morning. She wanted them to be able to enjoy all that life had to offer. Was that really asking so much?
* * *
For the first few days after their return to London, Catherine kept a close eye out for the presence of strange men or suspicious carriages lurking in the area. On the few occasions she and Thomas went to the park, she held on tightly to his hand and went right to the edge of the pond with him to feed the ducks. He slept in a new bed in the room next to hers and every night she made sure the window was securely locked.
Thomas didn’t seem to mind all the extra attention. He was quiet his first few days back in London and seemed almost as reluctant as Catherine to set foot in busy public places. He had endured more in a month than most children did in a lifetime, but as the weeks passed and nothing of an untoward nature happened, they both began to relax and settle into their new routines.
Of Valbourg, Catherine saw nothing. No doubt he was spending time with Sebastian and his family. She hoped he occasionally found time to think of her and remember with pleasure all that had passed between them, even though she knew nothing was going to change. By necessity, his focus would be on his future. Christmas would be here before they knew it.
She was pleased and relieved, however, to receive a letter from Megan Hailey. It was brief, saying that both her father and Eliza had been very upset over what she had done, but that she had convinced her father not to take any further action with regard to Thomas. She said she was looking forward to seeing Thomas again when she came to London in January, and that she hoped she might be able to stay with Catherine until things were more settled at home.
Catherine had folded up the letter and immediately sat down to write one of her own. Megan hadn’t gone into detail about what had happened, but Catherine had read between the lines. She suspected Reverend Hailey had forgiven his daughter for interfering, but that Eliza had not. She was unlikely to have let the girl off lightly, in which case, Megan was welcome to stay for as long as she liked. Catherine rather liked the idea of having both a son and a ‘daughter’ living with her.
Theo Templeton decided to stage a few more performances of Promises before closing for the year. The first couple of times Catherine took Thomas with her, reluctant to let him out of her sight. She knew Mrs Rankin would have defended the boy
with her life, but she felt better knowing he was in the building with her. He stayed with Theo or Tandy during the performances, but as soon as they were over, he was back with her.
* * *
She saw Valbourg for the first time about a month after their return from the country. She had been invited to a soirée given by Lady Duffington, a woman who, like the Templetons, often invited artists and businessmen to her gatherings, and it was there in the elegant blue-and-gold drawing room that Catherine saw him again. He had a lady by his side; a beautiful young woman dressed in the height of fashion, her dark hair caught up with an elegant arrangement of flowers.
‘Lady Phoebe Shore,’ Tandy whispered in her ear. ‘Daughter of the Earl of Montpare. Her parents are actively encouraging the match.’
‘She’s lovely,’ Catherine said, turning away. ‘I assume Lord Alderbury approves.’
‘Why not? The girl’s an heiress and her blood is as blue as his. They know the same people, move in the same circles and understand what is expected of them.’
‘Do you think he loves her?’ Catherine asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.
‘I don’t know. At one time, I thought his affections lay elsewhere,’ Tandy said softly, ‘but Valbourg has always been a difficult man to read.’
Catherine caught the expression of concern...and sympathy...in the older woman’s eyes and knew Tandy had figured it out. ‘I feel sure,’ she said, ‘that...whoever that other woman was, she knew how lucky she was to have had his good opinion, even if only for a short time.’
Tandy sighed, pressed an unexpected kiss to Catherine’s cheek, then moved away, leaving Catherine to stare into her glass and pretend her heart wasn’t breaking all over again.
‘So, the delightful Miss Jones is back in society. We missed you.’
Catherine raised her head, surprised to see Valbourg’s brother standing beside her. ‘I’m sure no one noticed my absence, Lord Hugh.’
‘You underestimate your charm, dear lady. I always notice the absence of a beautiful woman, especially one so closely aligned with my family.’
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