A Wealthy Widow

by Anne Herries

  ‘Yes, we must call on her to discover what is going on on her land,’ Charles agreed. ‘And we shall take our pistols in case those rogues are still around—but I do not believe that Arabella could be involved in this affair.’

  ‘I do not know her,’ John said. ‘I must bow to your superior knowledge, Charles—but I suspect her of being more involved than you think. During the struggle, I heard one of the rogues say that her ladyship wanted to question me herself—and I think it must be Lady Arabella they were speaking of—’ He broke off as a knock came at the door, calling out that the maid might enter and retiring behind a screen as she did so. He came out again as the door closed behind her. ‘If you will be patient for a few minutes, Charles, I shall finish washing and then we shall pay a social call…’

  ‘It is only for a day or so,’ Arabella told May as they sat in the back parlour talking. ‘Mr Grant had the man tied up, but somehow he escaped. I do not know who these people are—or even if you are the girl they seek—but we must be very careful until we discover their purpose.’

  May looked at her, her eyes shadowed by anxiety. ‘I wish I could remember something, Belle. I told you that sometimes I see a house with lovely gardens, but then it all goes black and I cannot remember the rest. I know that something happened in the garden. Before that I was happy, I am sure of it, but then…’ She gave a little shudder. ‘I simply cannot remember.’

  ‘Does the name Sarah mean anything to you? Do you feel that it might have been your name?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ May wrinkled her forehead in concentration. ‘I have thought and thought but if it was my name I have forgotten it. Why do you think that is? Surely I ought to remember my own name?’

  ‘Well, do not try too hard, my love,’ Arabella said. ‘It may come back to you one day, but first we have to make sure that you are safe. My aunt arrives tomorrow, as you know. I shall talk to her, because if someone has discovered your whereabouts it might be best that we go away—perhaps abroad—to escape them. Of course, it might be to your advantage. Perhaps your family is searching for you, May.’

  ‘Would they not have found me before this if they had been looking?’ May asked, a hint of tears in her eyes. ‘Supposing I have done something dreadful…murdered someone? They might want to arrest me.’

  Arabella’s laugh was warm and husky. ‘Oh, my dearest one,’ she said. ‘I do not believe that you could kill anyone—unless it was in self-defence, and even that is unlikely.’

  ‘It is one of my fears,’ May told her. She hesitated, then, ‘I have nightmares sometimes, Belle…I see these strange creatures in the firelight and it frightens me. I scream out and then I am running…running into the darkness. Then I wake up and I cannot remember anything more—except the darkness.’

  ‘What a horrid dream,’ Arabella said, looking thoughtful. ‘What kind of creatures, May?’

  ‘I do not know. I think one had a mask and horns on his head, but the other…had the body of a man, and he was naked…’ She blushed a bright pink. ‘How could I dream such a thing unless I had seen it?’

  ‘I do not know,’ Arabella said. She had turned cold of a sudden, and she shivered as she heard shouting from outside the house. Something was happening! ‘Go up to your room quickly, May. I think my men may have caught someone snooping. Stay inside and do not unlock the door until I come to tell you it is safe.’

  May gave a little squeak of fright, her face turning pale. She did not need to be told a second time and ran out of the room and up the stairs. She could hear shouting outside the front door, and it hastened her steps. She did not pause to hear the outcome of what was obviously a struggle, hurrying into her own room to lock the door.

  Arabella rose to her feet. The shouting and argument was growing louder, and then, all at once, the door of her sitting room was thrown open and a group of men came in. Four of her servants were surrounding the two visitors, who carried pistols in their hands. They were all watching each other warily. It might even have been comical if it had not been so startling.

  ‘They threatened us, ma’am,’ Thomas Grant said. He and two of the other men were carrying pitchforks and it seemed to be a stand-off between the opposing factions, though, had they cared to use them, the gentlemen with pistols would have won the tussle. She could only be glad that no blood had been shed. ‘Said as they’d come to call, Lady Arabella—but that one is the cove we caught sniffing around the cottage, and he’d been asking for Miss May.’

  ‘Charles! Mr Elworthy…’ Arabella stared at her visitors in dismay. ‘What is going on here? Why have you threatened to shoot my servants?’

  ‘Why did they surround us with pitchforks?’ Charles asked, clearly angry. ‘And what have you done with my sister? Have you been keeping her here against her will?’

  ‘Your sister?’ Arabella was stunned. ‘Are you saying that May is your sister?’ She recalled hearing her aunt say something about Mrs Hunter’s daughter who had gone to stay with friends in Scotland. ‘The girl you seek is Sarah Hunter…’

  ‘Yes, Sarah is my sister,’ Charles said and his eyes glinted with anger. ‘We have been searching for her for nearly seventeen months since she was abducted—and, from information received, I believe that she may have been here on your estate for much of that time.’

  ‘Yes, perhaps,’ Arabella said. ‘Put your pistols away, gentlemen—and you may go, Mr Grant. I do not think these gentlemen mean to harm me.’ She looked at John Elworthy. ‘I think I owe you an apology, sir. My men had instructions to bring anyone acting suspiciously on the estate to me—and you were at the cottage doing just that—but that does not excuse the way you have been treated. Please forgive us. We had a particular reason for doing what we did, but I am sorry that you were tied up.’ She turned to her bailiff. ‘Please tell Mr Elworthy that you are sorry your men were a little too hasty, Mr Grant.’

  ‘Ah, well, that’s as may be,’ Thomas said, reluctant to let his prisoners go. ‘He were where he shouldn’t ought to have been, ma’am, and that’s a fact. I’ll stay close by if you need me. Just you call and I’ll deal with them right enough.’

  ‘I hardly think that necessary,’ Arabella said as the pistols were slipped into coat pockets. ‘Please sit down, gentlemen. I think we should attempt to discuss this in a civilised manner, don’t you? Perhaps you would care for some refreshment?’

  ‘No, I damned well should not,’ Charles said and glared at her. ‘I want to see my sister at once, ma’am—and I demand an explanation.’

  ‘Do you, indeed?’ Arabella drew herself up, her manner cold and haughty, as he had only once seen her before. Her eyes gleamed with a silver light and she gave him a look that would have slain most men. ‘I think that if anyone is owed an explanation it is I. It is true that I have a young woman living with me who may or may not be your sister. She came to us in great distress…to Nana, actually. She was dressed only in a white silk shift, which was torn and filthy, and she was near starving. Her feet were bare, covered in cuts and dried blood for she had walked a long way. She was very ill and Nana nursed her back to health. Later she repaid that favour by caring for Nana until she died. I do not know where she came from, for she cannot tell us—but it was quite a distance by the state of her feet.’

  ‘Nearly thirty miles as the crow flies,’ John remarked. He looked at Charles who was tense and tight, veins standing out at his temples. ‘Sit down, Charles. We may as well hear what Lady Arabella has to say. I am prepared to forget what happened in the circumstances, for I should perhaps have come to her instead of trespassing on her land. I think perhaps we have taken the wrong end of the straw. If I am not mistaken, those men we thought rogues have been protecting Sarah.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ Arabella’s eyes snapped with temper. ‘Did you imagine that I had held her here against her will for some nefarious reason? It has always been my intention to search for May’s family when she was ready, but until now she has been too distressed—and now she is terrified. I sent her
upstairs to lock herself into her room until I called her, because I thought someone was trying to take her from us, for what purpose I knew not. She has been badly hurt, that much I do know, and I am not prepared to let it happen again.’

  ‘Yes, she has been hurt,’ Charles said and flung himself down into one of the elegant elbow chairs. ‘But not by her family. She was abducted by evil men who sought to use her for their foul purposes. We were told that she had run away from them by one of the rogues, who confessed his shame in the affair—but all our efforts to find her have come to nothing. Unless she is the girl you call May.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘It was at the beginning of that month last year that she was taken.’

  ‘And at the end of it when she came to us. She was begging for food, but she fainted and was very ill,’ Arabella said. ‘She lay in a fever for a long time and we feared that she would die. Nana cared for her and she sent for me. I visited them every day until I came up to London. It was my intention to set an agent to search for her…’

  ‘Why did you wait so long?’ Charles demanded, still angry. ‘My mother was ill for months. She despaired of seeing her daughter again. You have neglected your duty, ma’am. Did you not think that her family would be in agony all this time?’

  ‘I did not know what to think,’ Arabella replied in a gentler tone. Her anger had passed and now she understood that bleak expression she had seen in his eyes. ‘May could recall nothing but a beautiful garden. Of late she has begun to have nightmares concerning some kind of ritual, I think…’ Charles started up from his chair and she knew that she had touched a nerve. ‘Forgive me. She only spoke of it today.’

  ‘I must see her! I must know if she is Sarah.’

  Arabella hesitated and then got to her feet. ‘Wait here, if you please. I shall go upstairs and see if she will come down. You must accept that she may have changed, Mr Hunter. And she may be afraid of you. The man you sent to search for her frightened her—and then, when we knew someone else had come to look for her, it made her nervous.’

  ‘I shall go out into the garden,’ John said as Arabella left the room. ‘If it is Sarah, she will not want me here, for I know her only slightly as your sister. I shall wait for you, Charles.’

  He rose and went out through the French windows, walking towards a little summerhouse at the far end of the garden. Charles got to his feet and went over to the window, watching his friend walk away. For a moment he was tempted to follow. What would Sarah look like? Would it be her? He was not sure that he could bear the disappointment if it was yet another false trail. Hearing footsteps outside the parlour, he tensed, his shoulders squared. Whatever happened, he would stand by Sarah, care for and love her for the rest of her life. He turned slowly as he smelled a certain intoxicating perfume and knew that Arabella was once more in the room.

  At first glance he thought that the girl with her could not be Sarah. Sarah had long golden hair and she was a child…this girl’s hair had been cut short and now brushed the back of her neck, just above the lace collar of her black gown, and it had streaks of white in the front where it was caught back from her face. She looked much older, older than her years, but as he stared at her his heart missed a beat and he knew that she was indeed his sister.

  ‘Sarah, my dearest,’ he said and started towards her. She gave a little cry of fear and clutched at Arabella’s arm for protection. ‘No, do not be afraid. I shall not hurt you. I am Charles—your brother. Do you not know me?’

  May shook her head. ‘I do not know you,’ she whispered. ‘How can you be my brother? I do not know you…’ Her voice caught on a sob and tears trickled down her cheeks. ‘I have never seen you before. Who are you? Why have you come here?’

  His face contracted with grief at her rejection. ‘I am Charles Hunter and you are Sarah Hunter, my only sister. I love you, Sarah. I have been searching for you since you were abducted. I have come to take you home to your mama, who has been breaking her heart for you all these months.’

  ‘No!’ May shrunk against Arabella, trembling. She turned frightened eyes on her. ‘Please do not let him take me, Belle. I do not know him. How do I know that he is my brother? I do not want to go with him.’

  ‘You must come home,’ Charles said, his frustration getting the better of him. Why was she behaving this way? Surely she must know him? ‘I have been searching for you for so long. I shall take care of you, Sarah. We shall go home and then perhaps we shall go abroad and you will learn to know us again.’

  ‘No!’ May moved behind Arabella. ‘I shall not come with you. Do not let him take me, Belle.’

  ‘I shall not let anyone take you unless you want to go,’ Arabella promised, turning to take her in her arms and comfort her. ‘You must not be frightened. I do not believe Mr Hunter means you any harm—but he shall not take you. Your home is with me for as long as you please.’

  ‘You cannot keep her here,’ Charles said. ‘I do not know what you have done to her—what you have told her to poison her mind against her family—but she belongs with us.’

  Arabella’s manner became cold and haughty once more. ‘I have done nothing that would turn May against you, sir. You harm your own cause by this display of temper. If you will listen for a moment, I may have a solution to your problem.’

  ‘And what is that, pray?’ Charles glared at her, blaming her unfairly for a situation that he found unbearable. To have found Sarah at last, only to be told that she would not allow him to take her home!

  ‘May will remain with me and you will fetch your mama to her,’ Arabella said. ‘She is welcome to stay with us until they become accustomed to each other.’ She smiled at May, drawing her forward. ‘You would like to see your mama, I think?’

  ‘Yes…’ May lifted her head, pride conquering her fear now that she knew herself safe. ‘If you are my brother, I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you. I wish I knew you, sir, but I do not. Please bring my mother to me—and perhaps then I shall remember. Surely I must remember my own mother?’ She looked at Arabella, trembling on the brink of despair.

  ‘I shall ask John to bring her here,’ Charles said and looked grim. ‘I shall stay at the inn. I do not intend that Sarah should disappear again. I shall call every day to see her—and hope that time will ease her fear of me.’ He inclined his head to Arabella. ‘If I have offended you, ma’am, I apologise. I may have been too hasty—but I believe you ought to have sought Sarah’s family before this. Excuse me. I shall send for your mother at once, Sarah.’

  May nodded, her face pale as she watched him leave via the French windows. She saw another gentleman come to join him and a little shiver went through her as she turned to Arabella.

  ‘Do you believe that I am Sarah Hunter?’

  ‘Yes, I think it is likely to be true,’ Arabella said. ‘You must not be frightened of Charles. He is very angry, but I think he must care for you a great deal. We shall wait until your mama comes, and then I think we shall know for certain who you are.’

  ‘Why can I not remember?’ May asked, her eyes wide and dark with distress. ‘Why can I not remember my own brother—if he is indeed my brother?’

  ‘I do not know, except that you were very ill when you came to us,’ Arabella said. ‘But whatever happens, I shall always care for you, May—and no one shall take you from me until you are ready to go.’ She smiled at her. ‘I believe that it is perfectly safe for you to walk in the garden when you choose and even as far as the village—for I believe neither Mr Elworthy nor Mr Hunter is a threat to you.’

  ‘No, perhaps not,’ May admitted. ‘But he was very angry. The way he looked at you…’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ Arabella agreed. ‘But he is angry with me, not you. He thinks I should have done something to find your family a long time ago—and perhaps he was right.’

  ‘But I did not want you to…’

  ‘Which is why I made no enquiries. Yet Mr Hunter does have some right on his side. But do not be anxious. As I told you, I am sure you stand in no danger
from him or Mr Elworthy.’

  Arabella thought that if anyone was in danger from Mr Hunter it was she herself. The look he had given her before he left was angry and bitter, as if he blamed her for keeping his sister from her family. In London she had hoped that perhaps he was coming to care for her, but now she thought that it was a forlorn hope. Charles Hunter did not like her at all!

  Chapter Six

  Fortunately, Arabella did not have long to dwell on her unhappy thoughts for even as she finished speaking to May there was the sound of wheels at the front of the house.

  ‘That will be Aunt Hester,’ she said and looked out to see the carriage in the drive. ‘I must go and greet her at once. I shall bring her to meet you in a few minutes.’

  ‘But how shall you introduce me?’ May asked. ‘Am I May—the girl you befriended—or Sarah Hunter?’

  ‘I think that perhaps you are both for the moment. You must make up your own mind, love.’

  Arabella left her to ponder the problem and went out into the hall to greet her aunt. Lady Tate was accompanied by two maids, from whom she had told Arabella she could not bear to be parted; she was at that moment being greeted by Arabella’s housekeeper, who knew her well from previous visits, and was helping her off with her bonnet and pelisse.

  ‘How was your journey, Aunt? I am so very glad to see you here. I suppose you have not heard from Ralph?’

  ‘Not a word,’ Lady Tate said. ‘But I did not expect it. He quite often does not visit me for ages. Indeed, the only time—’ She shook her head, conscious that they were not alone. ‘The journey was very tolerable, my dear, but I am glad to be here.’

  ‘Your rooms are ready for you,’ Arabella told her. ‘The pink suite is where my husband’s parents lived for some years. I had it refurbished only last year, for I thought I might move there myself. The bedchamber looks out towards the south and has a pleasant view of the lake. I believe you will be comfortable there, Aunt, and you may be private when you wish.’ She extended her hand in invitation. ‘Will you come and meet someone? She was staying with Nana until recently, but now she has come to live with us—at least for the time being.’ She glanced behind Lady Tate at Tilda, who had been organising the disposal of a mountain of luggage that was to be taken up the back stairs. ‘Welcome back, Tilda. I trust your journey was comfortable?’