Secrets in the Mist

by Anna Lee Huber

  “Not you.” Her lips pursed as if she’d bitten into something particularly sour. “Robert and Mister Reynard.”

  A tingle of unease started at the base of my neck. “Robert discussed me with Reynard?”

  “Yes.”

  I waited, sensing there was more.

  Kate plucked at the fringe on her dress. “Because Reynard has been trying to convince Robert to wed his cousin Sophie. He has been for months.”

  I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. “The girl whom he bragged played the pianoforte so well?” I asked, recalling Reynard’s comments.

  “Yes.”

  I nodded. “And is Robert interested?”

  Kate hesitated. “I don’t know. I didn’t think so, but…”

  But I had made him wait for my answer, likely wounding his pride and exposing him to Reynard’s venomous barbs.

  She sighed. “I don’t know.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder where Robert was now. Where had he gone on this sudden trip? Would he return with a bride like he had four years ago? I supposed it depended on whether she fascinated him like Olivia had.

  I shook away the bitter thought. I could contemplate Robert and the possibility that he was meeting this Sophie later. Kate didn’t need to be torn between her brother and me yet again. But still…

  “Thank you for telling me,” I said, doing my best to mask my emotions from her. This would normally have been more difficult, but she didn’t seem interested in analyzing my feelings. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, trying to understand her guarded demeanor. “Is that why you were so unfriendly when I caught you with Harry in the rose garden?” I had chosen my words deliberately to provoke a reaction, and she obliged.

  “You did not catch us.” She scowled. “There was nothing sordid in our meeting. We were merely talking.”

  “Oh, come, Kate. I saw the two of you together. There was more than conversation between you.”

  “And what of you and Jack?” she retorted. I thought I’d controlled my response quite well, but she laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, yes. Harry told me. So Robert isn’t the only one exploring his options.”

  Just what had Harry seen? Jack had limited his more engaging comments and attentions to the times when we were alone, and I’d been careful to keep my distance otherwise. Had Harry seen through my efforts to remain indifferent? Or had he followed us? The thought unsettled me.

  “I admit Jack is attractive,” I hedged. “But he’s a wherry man. There can be nothing between us.”

  Kate looked away with a mutinous expression on her face.

  “You do know that, don’t you, Kate?” I leaned forward, trying to catch her eye. “There could never be anything lasting between you and Harry.”

  “Do you think me simple? Of course I know.” She surged to her feet. “But you know nothing of the matter.” Her eyes sharpened to glare into mine. “So leave it be.”

  I sat mutely, watching as she stalked off. The very fact that she had actually warned me away told me there was much more going on than a simple flirtation. Just what had Kate gotten herself into?

  Chapter 26

  A

  fter my unpleasant altercation with Father over my grandfather’s letter, I made certain to rise early enough each morning to collect the mail. I was rewarded for these efforts one misty dawn when a post-boy from the White Horse trotted up to the cottage. I took the letter and paid him the coin he was due from my dwindling supply.

  Flipping it over, I noted Mr. Fulton’s precise handwriting and crossed the drawing room to the small writing desk in the corner. For days now, I had been expecting a missive from our solicitor to confirm that the funds the smugglers had advanced me had been received and my father’s latest fine had been paid. So it was with some relief that I slit open the seal on the letter and settled down to read.

  However, the contents were not all that I expected. My directions and the money from the smugglers had been received and the fine taken care of, but Mr. Fulton had more to tell.

  Another bank draft was also delivered to my office, in an amount slightly larger than that of the funds you had forwarded me with your directive to pay Mr. Wintertonís fine. This draft also included instructions that I utilize much of the money to pay said fine. As I have not received notice from you or Mr. Winterton regarding any additional expected income, I thought it best to inform you of this discrepancy and request clarification on how you wish these funds to be allocated.

  I sank back in my chair in shock. A bank draft? But from whom? And why?

  I turned to stare blindly at a bright square of wallpaper where a landscape painting had once hung. Evidently, the draft must be from someone who both knew of our predicament and possessed the resources to pay Father’s fine, but I had informed so few people, and no one who could afford such a thing.

  My brow furrowed. But Robert was not stupid, and he certainly had more connections than I had. It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to find out about the second fine, either by chance or because his suspicions were aroused. I readily admitted my behavior over the past few weeks had not been normal. As to whether he’d then taken steps to assist me anonymously I supposed remained to be proven, but I knew no one else who had both the means and the wherewithal to interfere.

  I folded the note and stuffed it into my pocket before pulling my light cloak from the hook by the door and draping it around my shoulders. Mrs. Brittle looked up as I came striding angrily through the kitchen.

  “Where are ye goin’ in all this damp?”

  “To confront an intrusive meddler.”

  I didn’t give her time to respond, slamming the door in my wake and not worrying for once if it woke my father.

  I knew that Robert was still away on his trip, but I expected Kate would have some answers for me. There was very little that her brother did that she didn’t know about. Olivia had been the ultimate exception. Kate might hem and haw at first, but eventually she would tell me the truth.

  Despite the recent strain between us, I knew she would understand my indignation. After all, she had been the one who held me as I’d wept bitter tears and later raged when Robert returned to Greenlaws with Olivia as his bride. She had been the one to hold my hand through the long days following my mother’s and then my brother’s deaths when my father had been too consumed by his own grief to notice me. And she had vented her own share of resentments and vexations over the years—of how impossible it was to please her mother, of how her brother never took her side, of how her father merely patted her on the head and sent her off to play as if her concerns were silly and she was a brainless ninny. Whether she agreed with her brother’s decision to intervene or not, I knew I could count on her as an ally at least in uncovering the truth.

  By the time I reached Greenlaws House, my thin cloak was nearly soaked through from the cool mist while my temper was as hot as ever. I was certain I looked a bedraggled mess, but the Rocklands’ butler didn’t so much as blink.

  “Is Miss Rockland at home?” I demanded.

  “Yes. I believe she’s with Mr. Rockland and Monsieur Reynard in the drawing room.”

  I hesitated at this pronouncement, unprepared to face Robert, who had apparently returned from his journey. I’d not forgotten his ultimatum. I scowled. Well, that would simply have to wait. If Robert was home, then so much better I confront him directly.

  The staff at Greenlaws rarely stood on ceremony where I was concerned, and the butler did not do so now as I charged past him. I halted in the open doorway to take in the scene before me. It wouldn’t do for me to start shouting if Reynard’s beautiful cousin was present. Not that I’d ever seen her, but I was certain she must be lovely. And accomplished. And perfectly poised.

  But I was relieved to discover she was not there, as I’d half-expected her to be. What did that say about the amount of trust I placed in Robert?

  Kate and her brother stood across the room near the hearth. From the sharpness of their gesture
s and the harsh, hushed tones of their voices it was clear they were having a disagreement. One they didn’t want Reynard, who was lounging in a chair near the door making no effort to feign disinterest in what was being said, to hear. He lifted his gaze as I entered the room, skewering me with the same sardonic amusement.

  I ignored him and marched across the room to confront the Rocklands. Kate noticed me first, sparing me but a brief glance, and then a lengthier one as the fury in my expression must have communicated itself to her. Robert took longer to note my presence, as he was in the midst of pleading some impassioned point, caught up in his own heightened self-consequence, no doubt.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” I snapped. “Did you think I wouldn’t know it was you?”

  Robert’s eyes widened and he glanced at his sister, who merely continued to scowl, albeit less ferociously. “Find out what?” he replied, pretending ignorance.

  “Who told you about my father’s second fine? Who relayed that choice tidbit?”

  Robert’s expression turned sheepish. “I…well…”

  “Don’t try to tell me you didn’t know. Save me that insult at least.”

  He straightened as if I’d slapped him. “Yes. I knew.”

  I wasn’t sure how or why my face began to heat, but it did. Evidently, I was still capable of feeling shame even in the midst of my rage. “And so you decided to pay it. There wasn’t a pianoforte or a necklace for you to furtively purchase, so you decided to just send Mr. Fulton the funds outright. Well, I didn’t ask you to do that!”

  I could hear how ridiculous I sounded, how hysterical and ungrateful, but if I’d needed any confirmation, the looks on Kate’s and Robert’s faces would have done it. There was no need to glance at Reynard to know it would be the same, but I couldn’t contain my outrage. Here I had been struggling to find a way to pay the fine and keep my father out of debtors’ prison, even sinking so low as to resort to smuggling to earn the money, and all of this was at least partially done because I didn’t want to be beholden to anyone, particularly Robert. So that I could consider his proposal without that impediment between us. But then he’d gone and done the very thing I’d wished to avoid. If I didn’t scream I was afraid I would weep, and I much preferred anger to tears.

  “I don’t want your money, Robert! I never have.”

  Inexplicably, his expression softened and he stepped toward me, extending his hand. “Ella.”

  I backed away from him, not wanting to be placated.

  He stopped, looking at me like he might a spooked horse. “I didn’t send Mr. Fulton any money.”

  I stared at him, not knowing whether to believe him. “You didn’t?”

  Robert offered me a tentative smile. “No.”

  I frowned at him skeptically, beginning to feel doubt for the first time. I’d been so certain, because who else would have done such a thing?

  I glanced at Kate, but she shook her head. “Don’t look at me.”

  I didn’t bother to suspect Reynard, which he seemed to find humorous. “Aren’t you going to ask me, Miss Winterton?” he mocked.

  I glared at him over my shoulder.

  “Mr. Fulton didn’t say who the money was from?” Robert asked, recalling my attention.

  “No.” I stood stiffly in the middle of the room, feeling incredibly puerile after the scene I’d caused. “I’m sorry,” I told them. “But after the pianoforte…”

  Pressing a hand to my brow, I turned toward the window. Their denial had left me completely bewildered, and more than a little unsure of myself and my perceptions. Were they lying? But if so, why? Not so long ago, I would have thought it impossible for me not to be able to tell if they were being untruthful, but so much had happened since. So much that I couldn’t help but wonder if I could really trust them to be honest.

  “Ella,” Robert said gently.

  I looked up, surprised to find him standing so near.

  He gestured toward one of the settees. “Perhaps you should sit down. We can ring for some tea.” He nodded to Kate who was watching me with her arms crossed over her chest. I could read the concern in her eyes, and something else I couldn’t immediately define.

  She made to ring the bell to summon a servant, but I stopped her.

  “No. I…I should go.” I hurried towards the door, anxious to escape.

  My hand was already on the front door when Robert caught up with me in the entry. “Ella, please stay. We need to talk. I…”

  “Robert, please,” I pleaded without turning to look at him. “Don’t press me now. I can’t. I just can’t.”

  I heard him exhale, and when he didn’t argue I pulled open the door and slipped out before he could change his mind and demand my answer to his proposal.

  The late morning sun had burned off most of the mist on the higher ground where the house stood, but as I plunged downward into the marsh, the wispy vapors closed in around me again. Though not as substantial or disorienting as it was at dawn and dusk, or in the deep of night, it was still a nuisance, forcing me to move slower than I would have liked. I squinted against the brightness of the sunlight reflected off the white haze, passing in and out of patches of fog. One second it would be bright and clear and the next I would feel the mist condensing on my face, momentarily blinding me to much of my surroundings.

  Now that I knew the Lantern Men were simply Jack and his fellow smugglers in costume, it seemed that I should be more comfortable passing through the fog. But apparently memory was long. I found my eyes scanning the haze and my shoulders inching upward whenever a small sound penetrated the silence. No matter how much I tried to convince myself there was nothing to be concerned about, just frogs and insects, my mind simply would not listen.

  So when a faint light appeared in the distance beyond one of the fog banks, I stumbled to a halt. My heart had risen into my throat, and it took me several seconds to collect my wits. When I did, it was to scold myself for such foolishness.

  “Jack,” I called out crossly. “Is that you?”

  But no one responded.

  “Who’s there?” I demanded. “Harry? Freddy? Is this some sort of jest?”

  Still there was no reply, and the hair at the base of my neck began to stand on end.

  “Stop it!”

  The light seemed to move toward me all at once, and my breath caught. Why weren’t they answering me? My feet began to scramble backward as I tried to decide whether to stand and face whoever this was or turn and run.

  Just when I was about to shout at them again, the light suddenly vanished. I blinked hard, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks, and then a hand landed on my shoulder.

  Chapter 27

  I

  shrieked and whirled around to face whatever was behind me.

  “Ella! It’s only me,” Jack exclaimed, clasping his hands around my arms to keep me upright before I fell backward in my haste to escape.

  My knees nearly crumpled beneath me in relief.

  “Must you scream?” He pressed a hand to one of his ears and cringed.

  “Must you sneak up on a person?” I snapped back.

  He glowered in accusation. “You called my name.”

  “Why didn’t you answer?” I pointed toward the path, now behind me. “And who’s prowling around with a lantern?”

  “It’s daylight. Why would someone need a lantern?”

  “I don’t know. But I just saw one through the mist, over there.” I gestured again, before standing taller to glare at him. When he didn’t reply, I paused to consider what he’d just said. “You didn’t see it?”

  His glower turned puzzled. “When?”

  “Just now. When you were sneaking up on me.”

  He arched his eyebrows at my testy tone. “I didn’t see any lights.”

  I turned back around to stare at the spot I’d last seen it. Had I imagined the whole thing? I discarded that possibility with a firm shake of my head. “No. I know I saw something.”

  “Probably
a light from a passing boat,” Jack offered in explanation. “Maybe the river is choked with fog.”

  I nodded, but I hadn’t heard any boats or barges.

  “What are you doing out here?” he asked, linking my arm through his and pulling me down the path toward Penleaf Cottage.

  I pushed a damp lock of hair back from my cheek. “I was at Greenlaws.”

  “Ah,” he replied in comprehension. His voice was tight. “Giving Rockland your answer.”

  I’d forgotten he’d overheard much of my and Robert’s previous conversation. “No.”

  Jack looked at me in question and I sighed.

  “As it happens, accusing him of rendering me aid,” I replied in chagrin. “Probably falsely.” As I’d suspected, it sounded as ridiculous as I’d thought it would.

  His eyebrows arched again.

  “Someone sent my solicitor money to pay my father’s fine. Someone other than, or to be more precise, in addition to whoever Himself is. I thought it must be Robert.” I frowned, still finding it difficult to believe it wasn’t him. “I don’t know anyone else who would have the motive or the means to do such a thing.”

  “But I take it he denied it.”

  “Yes.”

  “What of your relatives? Could one of them have rendered you aid?” he suggested, borrowing my phrase.

  I glared up at him through my eyelashes. “Don’t you think if that were even an option I would have asked them for the money first instead of getting involved with the lot of you?”

  “I would have hoped so.” His brow furrowed in thought. “But sometimes family are the most difficult to be beholden to, lest every favor, every mistake, every sin be tallied against you.”

  I watched him out of the corner of my eye, suspecting he was talking more about himself now than me. I shook my head. “It’s not them.”

  He fell silent, though it was obvious he was still considering the matter, the same as I was. When he spoke, it was to voice the very question I was asking myself. “There truly isn’t anyone else?”