“I have an important conversation awaiting me.” Luci gave him a knowing smile and left his room.
Luci’s search of the immense house turned up no sign of her father anywhere. Her mother and her aunt were out, too, which she found odd. They would perhaps have gone visiting at that time of day, but surely not with Lord Ambergrave lying injured in the house?
Finally, she heard hushed voices coming from one of the rooms she rarely entered—her father’s private study. Tiptoeing towards the door, Luci leaned down to peer through the keyhole and saw movement within, more than one person from the looks of it. Their hushed voices matched their frantic movements as they moved about the room quietly.
“What are you doing?” Luci demanded, opening the door wide to see her mother and Lady Hardigree rifling through the drawers and cabinets.
“Oh, Luci! You startled me,” her mother cried, turning around suddenly. “I’m looking for some papers that belong to your father. Hurry, help me look.”
“Why? Where is Father?” Luci asked, stepping in and closing the door behind her.
“He’s gone to his offices at the harbor to look there,” Lady Hardigree said quickly, taking books from the shelf one by one and flipping through the pages. “We’re tackling this room while he’s gone.”
“But what are we looking for?” Luci asked, coming over and helping reach the books. She handed another one to her aunt then replaced the one the Duchess has already looked through.
“It’s a sheaf of papers, tied with a ribbon and sealed with wax. They’re rather old but never opened.” Her mother opened another drawer and moved things around until she saw there were no pages within.
Luci moved to the other side of the room where the shelves of books reached to the ceiling. Climbing on a ladder that leaned against the shelves, she began looking as well.
“What is important about these papers?” Luci asked as the search carried on. She caught the glance that passed between her mother and her aunt, but noted that neither spoke first. “I would like to know. What is so important that we’re ransacking Father’s belongings?”
“Luci, we’ve learned of Lord Ambergrave’s accusations against your father, and he believes he knows what they pertain to,” Lady Thornshire said cautiously.
“You’re saying his words were true?” Luci asked, horror-stricken at the thought. “I thought to only humor him in his belief until I could speak to Father, but now this?”
“No, no. We do not know for certain, as he was very vague in his letter to us,” her mother continued. “But your father has spent these past few days since that awful night and the letter that followed trying to discern what Lord Ambergrave could have meant. There is only one instance that comes to mind, and thankfully, there is proof of your father’s innocence in the matter. But we have to find it. Otherwise, it becomes only an instance in which Lord Ambergrave merely has to believe him.”
“I should think that if Lord Ambergrave were told the truth,” Luci said, sniffing with an air of disdain for her mother’s plea, “he would be such a man as to believe it.”
“Not where this is concerned, my dear,” Lady Hardigree replied instead. “You are not yet wise in the ways of the world, so let me explain it thus. When your heart is injured by someone you thought you could trust, there is nothing short of evidence that can mend it completely.”
“What do you mean?” Luci said. “I have had my heart injured—rather recently, if you’ll recall, and yes, even by those I trust the most in the world—yet I believe them when they tell me they are innocent of wrongdoing.”
“It will be that much easier to believe if there is proof. And there is such proof. We only need find it,” Lady Thornshire called over her shoulder.
Reluctantly, Luci continued her search. If the pages themselves were so important as to exonerate her father of a crime, why would they not be in a more secure place? She worked the answer like a puzzle, trying to imagine where her father might have hidden papers that were so crucial to his livelihood, and to his very life.
Think what Lord Ambergrave told you. Luci was remembering the painful saga he’d shared only that morning. His parents died in a storm, their ship sinking…
Her father would never want these mysterious papers to fall into the wrong hands, so they must be well concealed. Luci came down from the ladder and turned in a slow circle, looking about the private room for anything that caught her attention.
And there it was.
“Mother, help me with this,” Luci cried, pointing to a painting of an enormous regal ship sailing through the churning waves. They converged on the painting, crossing the room to a far wall and moving a large sofa out of the way. Behind it, a table held an enormous exotic palm plant whose spiky fronds jutted out in every direction. “Careful, the leaves are rather sharp to the touch.”
Together they moved the potted plant and then the table upon which it sat. Taking one side of the gilt-edged frame apiece, they counted slowly and lifted the painting from the wall. There, glued to the paper on the back, was a packet of papers sealed with the wax mark of the Inspector General.
“Luci, you’ve done it,” her mother breathed excitedly as Lady Hardigree came over to see for herself. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t, I merely guessed at its location after what Lord Ambergrave told me. His parents didn’t die in the fire at Ashworth Hall,” Luci declared, plucking the sheaf of papers from the painting carefully. “They died in a shipwreck… a ship that Father owned.”
Lady Thornshire pressed her hand to her mouth while Lady Hardigree let out a soft cry of surprise.
“All these years, Gideon has blamed Father for their deaths. He claims that Father sabotaged his own vessel in order to recover the money through an insurance policy,” Luci said mournfully.
“How utterly ridiculous,” Lady Thornshire cried indignantly. “If that man wasn’t bedridden from his injuries, I’d horsewhip him myself.”
“So what do these important papers prove, Angeline?” the Duchess asked, peering at them over Luci’s shoulder. “No, don’t open them! The seal proves they have not been altered or falsified in any way.”
“Oh, right. Good point,” Luci said sheepishly. “I can only assume that if Father kept these papers for safekeeping but kept them out of sight, they prove that the shipwreck was purely an accident, a consequence of the storm. No?”
“I don’t know. I try to distance myself from your father’s business dealings,” her mother admitted. “But I don’t understand why he would have forgotten something so important as where these papers were kept. Perhaps he’s had so much on his mind as of late, first with his business being ruined, then with attempting to rebuild it.”
Lady Hardigree clapped her hands sharply and cried out, “It does not matter what the reason was, the pages are found. That is all that matters now. When he returns, we shall give them to him to do with as he intends. Angeline, why don’t you put them somewhere that they will be protected but not forgotten… again, I should say.”
“Good idea. I’ll take them to my room and put them in my desk. Luci, would you ask Derwall to inform me the moment your father returns?” Lady Thornshire asked before leaving the room.
“Come, my dear,” Lady Hardigree said, holding out her hand to Luci. “All of this has given me quite a case of nerves. Let’s walk outside, shall we?”
Luci followed her aunt to the stone pathway that wound through the gardens, delighting in the gentle wind that ruffled the tops of the trees all around. Birds drifted from one branch to the next as they walked, always keeping their distance.
“I suppose I should ask how married life is treating you,” Lady Hardigree began once they were outside, “but I doubt you’d have a sensible answer. This has been a chaotic case of one misfortune after another, has it not?”
“Yes,” Luci said, laughing without a hint of mirth. “I should like to return home and find a herd of cattle in the dining room. It would be a refreshing change from t
he ordinary.”
“It’s wonderful that you can keep a merry thought about it,” Lady Hardigree replied, praising her as she linked her hand through Luci’s arm. “I envy your mother greatly for her marriage to your father. They are such a happy couple, perhaps not enamored of one another but certainly fond. And they’ve been able to weather terrible events over the years without growing distant or bitter towards one another.”
Luci didn’t know how to respond. She’d only heard snatches of conversation over the years, but knew her aunt’s marriage to not be a very happy one. As soon as Luci’s cousins had grown of age, Lady Hardigree had moved to her own estate where she currently resided. Luci did not know if she had ever returned to her husband’s home in Austria, or whether she would wish to.
“Still, darling, I know the fashion is to marry one for whom you have great affection,” her aunt continued, “rather than only thinking of securing one’s future with fortunes and titles. I am very pleased for you in that it appears you have now found both.”
“I hope so, Aunt Mary,” Luci answered, leaning her head affectionately against the woman’s shoulder for a moment. “Although it grows harder and harder to know what to do in any situation. I feel as though every day it’s a new test of some kind, one that I have forgotten to study for.”
“Ah, child. That is life. It is true for all of us, from the richest member of the peerage down to the simpleton who mucks that master’s stalls. Never fear, I think you shall find that you are very well prepared for these tests after all.”
“How so?” Luci asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Because you have a good head on your shoulders and a kind heart beating within,” Lady Hardigree pronounced, as though it were a known fact. “Those two things alone stand you in greater stead than many people who walk this countryside. Never forget it, my dear.”
Epilogue
Gideon awaited Lord Thornshire’s return with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Luci had sat by his bedside throughout the day, but he sensed that there was something she was not telling him. She seemed to be as pleasant as always, but when pressed as to whether or not something was the matter, she assured him she was all right but would venture to broach a new topic.
Finally, the moment arrived. The sound of voices below and servants moving quickly past the door told Gideon that the master of the house had surely returned.
“Should you go to greet your father?” Gideon asked, but Luci did not get up.
“I think not. I’m still uncertain as to everything that has transpired, and I don’t know what to believe,” she said, but Gideon frowned.
“Luci, though I am grateful, yet undeserving, of any loyalty you may have for me now, remember that he was your father first,” he chided gently.
“Yes, a father who sold me to a man who ruined him in business,” Luci retorted sharply, “which may have only happened because he killed someone carelessly… or even intentionally. I should think you would understand my hesitation?”
“Luci,” Gideon growled, a hint of warning in his voice. “Do not let this harden your heart. Your father’s actions—and mine, in truth—are the work of men who were desperate to ease their own suffering. You are only caught in the middle of it, and I hope you can come through to the other side with both your husband and your father held in good esteem.”
“We shall see, won’t we?” she asked coyly. “I venture that is him coming this way now.”
Sure enough, there was a knock at the door. Luci looked to Gideon for a long moment before he nodded. She rose and opened it, then looked blankly at her father’s harrowed face.
“Luci! I’m so glad you are here as well. I wish to speak to both of you, it is an urgent matter,” Lord Thornshire said. Luci looked over her shoulder to Gideon before stepping back and opening the door wider.
Lord Thornshire hurried inside the room and moved to sit down, then muttered an apology as he remembered it should be Luci to sit beside her husband.
“Forgive me, your new status is still strange to me, daughter,” he said, covering his embarrassment with a laugh. He cleared his throat and brought over another chair from the desk, then sat down.
“I have just returned home and Lady Thornshire has presented me with a very important document,” he began before turning to his daughter. “Luci, I have you to thank for discovering it, I had completely forgotten where I’d hidden it.”
Lord Thornshire opened his coat and retrieved the now-familiar papers. He held them out so that Lord Ambergrave might look at the seal, still intact.
“Please note that these papers have not been opened since the investigation into your parents’ deaths,” the Earl said solemnly. Luci instantly looked to Gideon, who looked alarmed.
“There was an investigation?” he asked, his interest fixed on the papers.
“Of sorts. The investigation was actually into the person responsible for the damage to the ship,” Lord Thornshire continued. “One of the sailors on board, a man who happened to survive the sinking and be plucked up by a nearby vessel, had been hired to cut a hole in the bottom of the ship at the first sign of a storm.”
“But who would hire a man to do such a thing? And what kind of monstrous person would even think to follow through with it?” Luci demanded, clearly repulsed by this news.
“That is where the investigation was so crucial. As this crew member lived, he told all in an effort to be spared the gallows,” Lord Thornshire continued. “It was the client whose cargo was on board my ship, who was faced with insurmountable debts. He sought to recover his fortunes while causing great loss to me and my company.”
“Further,” the Earl continued, “I had no knowledge of any passengers on board. It is always left to the captain I’ve hired to book passage and ensure a pleasant voyage for any travelers as he sees fit to bring on board. I’ve found that if the captain has this fee with which to pay his men, in addition to his wages from me, he runs a tighter ship and the journey is an enjoyable one. The cargo also gets to port on time or even sooner, since the passengers do not wish to be delayed.”
“That does make sense,” Gideon acknowledged, the first he’d spoken since Lord Thornshire began.
“But Lord Ambergrave, there is something more that you must know.” Lord Thornshire was quiet, a tear escaping his eye. “I knew not who the passengers were until after the terrible accident occurred… and I received the manifest with my own brother’s name listed.”
Luci stifled a cry and Gideon reached for her, wrapping an arm protectively around her shoulders despite the pain in his side. She wept quietly at the look of anguish on her father’s face.
“Yes, my youngest brother, the lad I had grown up with. We were the best of friends, not merely brothers. He’d been but nineteen years old at the time, and his life was taken from him in the most unimaginable way. To this day, I see his face in my nightmares at times, a cry of terror escaping his throat as he submerges beneath the waves.”
Luci covered her face with her hands as Gideon held her, and she felt the way his shoulders shook as well.
Lord Thornshire cleared his throat and said, “In any event, here are the documents. I want you to know that I do not hold any ill will towards you for seeking revenge against me, but I assure you, I had naught to do with their deaths.”
Gideon looked at the papers for a moment, then took them from Lord Thornshire. He held them in his hand and let the heft of them weigh heavily on his mind. He looked at Luci as well, noting the grief she felt at learning of her father’s loss.
“I shall not need these, My Lord,” Gideon said, holding them back out. “I quite believe you, and I am terribly sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. I was mistaken in my plot against you, and I can never repay the harm I’ve brought against you.”
“But you already have,” Lord Thornshire argued gently. “You paid a handsome sum that kept me from ruin, and you have proven to be a devoted husband to my daughter.” He smiled at Luci, and said, “If this was the
circuitous route we had to endure to reach this destination, it will have been worth the awful journey.”
Lord Thornshire stood up and returned the chair to its place, then stood by the door and addressed both Luci and Gideon. “But there is one other matter, one that I cannot explain away. You will have to decide for yourselves if you are enough for one another.”
Gideon watched Lord Thornshire go, then turned to Luci, who was still sitting nestled in the crook of his arm.
“What say you, wife? Ours is a rather twisted tale, but I find that it is now irrevocably entwined. Do you wish to remain the love of my life, the one I place above all others?”
“Nothing could prevent me!” Luci said, crying softly as she leaned her head against Gideon’s shoulder. “Not tragedies or revenge or even loss of those we care about… I am forever yours.”
A Court of Thorns for Lady Ambergrave: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 26