Chapter 12
Liza stared hard at the note, trying to make out the words. She knew her letters, but this person’s handwriting was virtually indecipherable, what with all the loops and curlicues. She glanced up irritably at the boy who’d delivered the note.
“What’s it say then? I can’t make heads or tails of it.”
The boy looked uncomfortable, torn between passing on the message and revealing that he knew what it contained. There was no seal, just a ribbon tied around the scroll, but Liza had correctly surmised that the boy had read the message.
“It says that you are to appear at the trial of Lady Everly this Sunday at the church of St. Nicolas.”
“Whose signature is that?” she demanded. It didn’t look like the note had been written by Reverend Snow.
“Bishop Cotton. He’s in charge.”
The boy turned on his heel, eager to leave, but not before Liza grabbed him by the arm.
“Wait a moment. Does this mean the Everlys are back in Cranley?” she asked, suddenly nervous. What if they found out somehow that the accusation had been made by her before the trial? Hugo Everly would find her and rip out her entrails for denouncing his wife. He was a man of admirable restraint, but if Liza knew anything about Hugo Everly, it was that he wouldn’t take kindly to a threat against the mother of his children. Every man had a breaking point, and this just might be his.
“Just her ladyship. Lord Everly has been arrested for treason. Haven’t you heard? He’s being held in the Tower.”
“Arrested for treason?” Liza breathed, shocked to the core. Hugo Everly was the most honorable man she knew. The accusation against him couldn’t be true, but it certainly made her life easier. Not having him at the trial would guarantee her own safety, unless….
“And what about Archie Hicks? Is he back?” Liza asked fearfully. Archie Hicks didn’t have the restraint of his master, and wouldn’t hesitate to silence her. He hadn’t actually killed anyone, as far as she knew, but he was capable, of that she was sure. Liza was a woman of keen instincts, and she knew a threat when she saw one. She’d heard that Archie married Lionel Finch’s widow. God only knew what led to that match, but even love, if that’s what it was, couldn’t tame the fire that burned within him.
“Not that I know of, but his wife is. She’s holed up in Everly Manor with her mistress,” the boy replied, desperate to get away.
“Has Lady Everly not been arrested?” Liza persisted.
“No, she’d under orders not to leave the house. They have someone keeping an eye on the place should she decide to flee. Are you done with the questions now? I have to get back.”
“Right. Thank you,” Liza said as she released the boy’s arm and stepped back into the house. This news changed everything. She’d be safe until the trial with Hugo and Archie out of the way, but she’d planned to approach Hugo just after the trial, after his wife had been convicted and her fate hung in the balance. He’d pay any amount then to have her withdraw her testimony, but Hugo wasn’t there and had problems of his own. If Liza hoped to get any money, she had to approach Neve Everly directly. If Neve paid her off, she would simply withdraw her accusation before the trial, or better yet, take the money and still testify. Kill two birds with one stone, one might say.
“Avis, I need you to look after Johnny for the afternoon. I must go to Cranley,” Liza called out to her sister, who was spooning porridge into Johnny’s mouth. The younger girl looked up, clearly annoyed. She likely had plans of her own. If Avis had it her way, she’d be betrothed before the summer, and dreams of a June wedding already clouded her flighty mind. Of course, having one less mouth to feed would be a blessing, but if Liza were honest, Avis was a big help around the house and with Johnny. She genuinely loved the boy, as did her other sisters. They doted on him, which in some small way made up for the fact that the boy would never know his father, a duplicitous captain who’d deceived Liza and promised marriage. Too bad he already had a wife and children up north.
“What, again?” Avis moaned. “Do you have a lover there or something?” she demanded sourly. “I’ve plans of my own, you know.”
“I must appear before the committee ahead of the trial. To give my statement,” Liza lied.
Avis just shook her head. They’d argued bitterly over what Liza was doing, Avis taking the side of the Everlys. “Liza, what goes around, comes around. You send that woman to her death, and the Good Lord will see to it that you meet a sorry end,” Avis said wisely. She was only eighteen, but at times she sounded like an old woman. However, her warning gave Liza the creeps.
“Oh, shut your trap, Avis. I didn’t hear you complaining when I came back from London flush with coin. Lived like a princess you did. Got a new gown and shoes, and even a warm cloak for the winter. If you feel so righteous about it, then I just won’t share my windfall with you. How does that sound, you shrewish little minx?”
Avis didn’t reply, but Liza saw the look of uncertainty in her eyes. She’d hit a sore spot; she knew that. Avis was a vain little thing, and would take anything given to her, and more. She was resentful of the unfairness that befell her through an accident of birth. She truly was beautiful, and had she been born into a family of higher standing, might have made an important marriage, or at the very least, lived in comfort. As things stood, the best Avis could hope for was the son of a farmer, and although her intended was besotted with her and would give her a good life once they wed, Avis always dreamed of what might have been, and grabbed at anything which might give her a taste of the finer things in life.
“Fine, go,” Avis spat out. “But be back by nightfall.”
“I will. The roads are dangerous after dark.”
**
This time Liza didn’t stable her old nag at the inn livery, but went straight to Everly Manor. Neither Hugo nor Archie were there to manhandle her, and she wasn’t intimidated by the women. She knocked on the door, bold as brass, and waited until Harriet let her in.
“You again. I wonder you have the nerve to show your face around here again,” Harriet hissed. “His lordship is not here.”
“It’s your mistress I’ve come to see. On urgent business. She is allowed visitors, is she not?” Liza asked, directing her question to Mark Watson, who sat by the door, looking bored and irritable. He nodded and turned back to examining his nails. Liza was of no interest to him.
“What possible business could you have here?” Harriet fumed.
Liza had intended to approach Harriet and urge her to testify against Neve, but changed her mind. Harriett was timid, and too God-fearing to lie, especially when she had nothing to gain and everything to lose. Now she wouldn’t need her support anyway. This would all be over before it began.
Liza swept past Harriet and Master Watson and walked straight to the parlor without being invited. She took a seat, proud of her own insolence. She was as good as Lady Everly, wasn’t she? God only knew where Neve Ashley had come from. Not like anyone ever heard of who her people were. Liza wouldn’t be made to feel insignificant by the likes of her; she held the woman’s future in her hands, and she would enjoy watching her squirm. Liza waited patiently in the parlor until Lady Everly finally walked through the door. She looked pale and tired, but her head was held high, and she fixed Liza with a look of such loathing that Liza felt as if something had just walked over her grave. Lady Everly closed the door and positioned herself in front of Liza. She didn’t sit, but stood with her arms crossed, eyes blazing. “What now, Liza? Haven’t you harassed us enough?”
“This is not about my son,” Liza replied defensively.
“Oh? So you admit that he wasn’t fathered by my husband?” Neve demanded, her tone full of derision.
Both women knew that Liza had lied when she accused Hugo of fathering Johnny. She’d only wanted to extort money, but the ploy hadn’t worked; Hugo had thrown her out, and Neve had threatened to take Johnny away and send him to Holland to act as a servant to her distant relations. Well, this time h
er plan would work. Lady Everly’s life was truly in danger, and she’d be singing a different tune once she found out that Liza held her sorry existence in her hands.
“I’ll make this brief,” Liza snarled as she rose to her feet and drew herself up to full height. She was a few inches taller than Neve Everly, and stared her down, which made Liza feel superior. “If you give me twenty crowns, I will withdraw my testimony and there will be no trial on Sunday. If you don’t, I will make them believe that you are the Devil Incarnate. You will hang, or be burned, but you will not talk your way out of this one, especially with your fancy lord not being here to protect you this time. Come to think of it, you might even meet your maker on the same day, what with him being accused of treason and all. Wouldn’t that be something? You can go to Hell together — you burned to a crisp, and him missing a head.”
Liza watched with great satisfaction as Neve opened and closed her mouth like a landed fish. Two bright spots of color appeared on her pale cheeks. “You bitch!” she spat out.
“Not all of us marry rich. Some of us have to struggle just to survive. All you had to do was give me some money for my Johnny, and I would have left you alone, but you were too mean to part with a few coins. Well, now your life is on the line. Will you still deny me?”
Liza allowed herself a small smile. She was enjoying this very much. Lady Everly looked as if she was going to be sick, her face deathly white except for the unnatural crimson blush staining her cheeks. She was furious though, that was obvious. Her eyes blazed in a way that made Liza want to take a step back, but she wasn’t backing down, not this time. She would get what she came for. Twenty crowns were enough to see her family fed for the rest of her life, and she’d put aside something for Johnny’s future as well. A good apprenticeship would ensure that he was set for the rest of his life. He’d learn a trade and make a life for himself, and he’d have her to thank for it, not his worthless father who didn’t care if his son lived or died.
“Yes, I will deny you,” Neve Everly replied hotly. “I don’t believe for a moment that you will ever stop. People like you are like parasites who feed off others. Even if I give you the money, you will come back for more. So, do your worst Liza Timmins, and see where it gets you. Now, get out of my house before I have you thrown out. I am still mistress here.”
“It’s your funeral,” Liza replied spitefully. Things hadn’t gone as she expected, but the trial wasn’t until Sunday, and Neve would change her mind. Once she had time to think it over, she’d see that a few coins were a small price to pay for her freedom. What were twenty crowns to someone as wealthy as her?
“Give my regards to your children,” Liza added for good measure as she stormed out past young Jem, who gaped at her in amazement.
“What are you looking at, you little bastard?” Liza spat out as she swept past him. Why had he come back? Did his father no longer want him? Liza wondered. Probably had a legitimate son now and had no need for this worthless little guttersnipe. Served him right, knowing who his mother had been. No man in his right mind would believe that any child she bore was his. Margaret bedded so many men, that it’d be a wonder if she herself knew who fathered her brat. And to think that they were cousins. Margaret never had time for Liza, she was too busy bewitching every man in the vicinity.
Liza was angry and frustrated as she galloped away from Everly Manor. This was her third attempt at extortion this year, and she hadn’t seen so much as a half-crown for her pains. Well, Neve had two days to change her mind. Two days.
Chapter 13
Jem made himself scarce after Frances rushed to the parlor to comfort Lady Everly. Neve was shaking with fear, tears of rage sliding down her cheeks. Now she knew who her accuser was, and was helpless in the face of such hatred and ill-will. Frances convinced Lady Everly to sit down and took a seat next to her, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. The two women sat huddled together, their heads bent as they spoke quietly, so as not to be overheard by Master Watson, who sat just outside the door. Frances was pale as well. She was different when Archie wasn’t about, timid and frightened.
Jem’s heart squeezed with sorrow. Lady Everly and Frances were the only two women in this world whom he truly loved. Lady Everly had been a mother to him before his father came to Paris to fetch him, and Frances was the closest he’d ever had to an older sister. She teased him, called him names, and frequently told him to go away, but he knew in his heart that Frances cared for him, and would spring to his defense if anyone so much as said a word against him. She’d cried when they said goodbye in Paris and made him promise to write to her, a promise that he hadn’t kept. But he loved her with all his heart, as he loved Archie, who, in Jem’s opinion, was the only man worthy of Frances’s affection. This family, although not his own by blood, was the only family that was real and worth fighting for.
Jem took a final peek to make sure that Frances had the situation in hand before slipping out of the house and making for the stables. Mark Watson watched him go, his face a mask of indifference. Jem wasn’t under house arrest, so was free to come and go as he pleased. Archie had given him clear instructions. He was to give him a daily report of what went on in the house, and alert him to any possible developments. Neither Frances nor Lady Everly knew that Archie was in Cranley, but Hugo had entrusted Jem with the secret so that he could act as go-between if need be.
“Going for a ride?” Joe asked as Jem asked for a horse to be saddled.
“Yes, it’s a fine afternoon,” Jem replied. He hated lying, especially to Joe, who was always kind to him, but he couldn’t break Lord Everly’s or Archie’s trust. Jem hung around until Joe saddled the horse, and took off, purposely heading in the wrong direction until he was well out of sight of the manor house. Then he rode hell for leather to Horatio Hicks’s farm a few miles away. He hoped Archie would be about because this news couldn’t wait. Jem’s heart pounded with excitement. He knew who the accuser was, so now Archie would be able to stop Liza from hurting Neve Everly. Archie would know what to do; he always did.
Jem found Archie outside, chopping wood. He looked somewhat worse for wear with a bruised cheek and a sprained wrist bandaged with linen, but he didn’t allow his discomfort to stop him. Archie hacked at the wood as if the logs had personally offended him, taking out his helplessness and fury on the firewood. Archie set down the axe and watched as Jem brought the horse to an abrupt halt and slid off, nearly falling on his behind. Jem righted himself, then gave up on any pretense of dignity and ran toward Archie.
“Archie, it’s Liza. She’s the one who spoke up against Lady Everly.”
“How do you know this, Jemmy?” Archie asked, burying the axe in the chopping block and turning all his attention to the boy.
“She just came by the house. Demanded that Lady Everly give her twenty crowns to stop her from testifying.”
“How did Lady Everly respond?” Archie demanded. He was seething with anger — shoulders tense, hands on hips, lips curled in a snarl.
“She threw her out, but she is scared, Archie. Very scared,” Jem replied.
Archie nodded as he turned toward the house. “Jem, go back and keep an eye on the women. You are the man of the house until Lord Everly returns. I’ll take care of Liza.”
“What will you do to her?” Jem asked with interest, trailing after Archie. He’d missed him so much, and he wasn’t ready to leave and go back to Everly Manor. The atmosphere there was so melancholy. He just wanted to spend a few moments in the company of his idol.
“Silence her,” Archie replied as he reached for his weapons. “Now, go.”
Jem mounted his horse and turned toward home, but then changed his mind and decided to go for a ride instead. He’d missed the Everlys and thought of them constantly while living with his father and stepmother, reminiscing about the days aboard the ship to France and the months after that. He never thought of the day Hugo was shot while walking with Jem by the river; that memory was too painful. Instead, Jem often re
membered how they went out for morning walks and ate fresh crepes while watching the boats on the river.
Archie had taken him on outings too, and he sometimes tagged along with Frances and Luke Marsden and was treated to a cup of chocolate and a pastry at a brasserie Frances liked. Jem even missed his lessons, which he shared with Frances. They used to make faces at each other while Hugo’s back was turned, and made jokes once the lecture was over. Those were good days, days when he felt like he was really a part of the family. Jem knew that Hugo Everly could never legally adopt him and make him his son and heir, but he also knew that he was loved like a son, and that had been enough. He hadn’t even realized how happy he’d been, childishly assuming that life as he knew it would go on forever.
But now, everything had changed. Lord and Lady Everly had problems of their own, and whereas before he was treated as one of the family, now he was underfoot. Lady Everly was too polite and preoccupied at the moment to ask him to return home, but she would as soon as the trial was over, and he would have to leave. Lord Everly had his own son now, and a daughter. Jem wished he could have met the little girl who died. He’d have liked to know Elena. She sounded like a feisty little thing. Michael was a sweet boy, but he was too babyish still. He reminded Jem that he had his own brother back at home, another squalling baby who usurped his place. Still, he would go home in time, but not before he completed the task Lord Everly had entrusted him with. He would see Lady Everly’s name cleared, and then go to London with Archie to help the master in his hour of need.
Chapter 14
Comes The Dawn (The Wonderland Series: Book 5) Page 7