Arabella made a sympathetic noise. “It does seem strange, leaving such good circumstances to come to such a low place to marry a complete stranger? You must’ve done something terrible.”
Minnie’s face heated as she realized that suddenly, everyone was staring at her. Before she could come up with an answer, Hugh entered the room. At least his presence would keep her from facing this woman’s ridicule. He wouldn’t tolerate it, and perhaps it would make him move up the time of the wedding so that they could-
Minnie closed her eyes. Her wedding night would be tonight. She still hadn’t determined what she was going to do about the humiliation. But surely it couldn’t be worse than having this woman picking at her in front of everyone.
Finally, Minnie stood. At least that’s how she thought she was supposed to behave around a duke. Or a duke’s son. Her mother had tried explaining to her the proprieties of how to act around people with titles, and she still wasn’t sure. Even though he’d asked them not to tell everyone that he was the son of a duke, it was still difficult not treating him as such.
“Good morning, Hugh,” she said.
Arabella snickered, like Minnie had done something wrong. But either Hugh didn’t notice, or he was too much of a gentleman to point it out. He walked up to her and greeted her warmly.
“Good morning. It’s a fine day for our wedding, isn’t it?”
Oh, how she wished she could rub Arabella’s smug nose in those words. But it was enough that she’d witnessed them.
“Indeed, it is. I couldn’t be prouder to marry you on such a day.”
He escorted her back to where she had been sitting, then sat in a nearby chair. “The Reverend will be by soon. I told him we didn’t need much fuss, but of course, I thought I should check with you to see if other arrangements should be made.”
Anything to get out this horrible place with these horrible women. “I believe your plans will suit me just fine.”
He smiled, and it warmed her in a funny way. It felt good to be looked upon with such affection, or maybe it was approval. She wasn’t sure. But it didn’t matter. It demonstrated that her prayer for a kind man had been answered.
“Minnie was just telling us about the family she came from,” Arabella said.
“No, I wasn’t,” Minnie said. “They are of little import to any of you, and I prefer to respect their privacy.”
“Or you have something to hide,” Arabella said. “As a representative of the Duke of Hallstead, I’m not sure I can allow Hugh to go along with this farce if we don’t at least know where his bride comes from.”
The woman was impossible. And yet, it was clear she wouldn’t rest without an answer. Minnie had never been good at lying, and the lies she’d already told weighed heavily upon her.
She took a deep breath. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I do not wish to increase my status by using a family who has treated me so well. They’re good people, and my time with them was quite enjoyable.
“If it was so enjoyable, why did you leave?” Arabella’s taunt made her uncomfortable in the face of the man she was to marry. Especially because others in the room were now listening to the conversation.
“It’s no secret,” she said. “My mistress was going to be married. Her future husband said there was no room for her to take her own staff. I’m sure I could have found another position, but I’ve always hoped to someday become a wife and mother. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
Minnie had told this to the benevolent society. The other women in the room murmured as if they understood. And why wouldn’t they? She’d been telling them that same story as well.
“Who knew that a servant would have such lofty aspirations?” Arabella said, snickering again.
Hugh cleared his throat. Minnie turned and looked at him, and he gave her another smile. “It’s good for all of us to have dreams. It is the thing I love the most about being in America. A man could be born into any circumstances, and then he can make his life what he wants. I’m grateful you entrusted me with your future.”
Her heart swelled, and once again, she was reassured that marrying him was the right thing to do.
“Aspirations are dangerous things,” Arabella said. “Particularly when they involve a future duke. I must insist-”
“Arabella.” He glared at her
She stood. “I will not have it. It is ludicrous that you are not using your title, Lord Hugh. You could be the next Duke of Hallstead. And we must know if the mother of the future dukes is worthy.”
“Madame, you forget yourself. And you forget the sons you have borne. They are the rightful heirs to Hallstead. And if not them, then my brother Gerald. You are wasting your time. Given your complete lack of respect for my wishes in sharing our family business, I will allow you no say in any of this. Kindly refrain from speaking of it or harassing my future wife again.”
Hugh looked like he was about to storm out, but then he stopped and looked at Minnie. “Is this how she’s been treating you since her arrival?”
Minnie nodded. He returned to his seat. “Then I will remain with you, a faithful companion as you had been to your mistress.”
A faithful companion. That was exactly what she had hoped for. What made her heart hurt every time she thought of her maid. She’d let Minnie go so Minnie could have happiness, only Minnie had found death.
Arabella gave an exaggerated huff as she returned to her chair. “I still think we should be concerned about her lack of background. If she has nothing to hide, then she’d tell us who she worked for. You’d do well to have the sheriff make sure she’s not wanted by the law.”
Minnie remained silent, but one of the other girls looked at her suspiciously. Would these women, who Minnie wanted so desperately to befriend, also fear her? As more glances came her way, Minnie felt that she owed it to the people she’d be sharing this town with.
“I worked for the Coveney family. I refuse to gossip about them, as they were good people, and I will not give them cause to think ill of me.”
Arabella’s eyes widened.
“Coveney? As in Coveney Coal?”
With Coveney Coal stamped on so many signs, she couldn’t lie. “Yes.”
She looked like she had dozens of questions, but Minnie shook her head. “As I have said, I will say no more on the family.”
But that only made the lines on Arabella’s face deepen. “Then there is indeed a problem.”
She stood. “Someone should call for Sheriff Draven. Margaret Coveney, Minnie’s so-called mistress, is missing. There are notices everywhere. The family is quite desperate for news of her. I’m sure he would like to question anyone who claims to know the daughter. Who knows, you might have even had a hand in it.”
Margaret sank back against the chair, and closed her eyes, wanting to be sick. She should have known her parents would search for her. She left her mother a note that she’d paid a newspaper boy to deliver. She expected that perhaps her father would have investigators look for her, but she hadn’t expected them to make a big fuss. Too much embarrassment.
Opening her eyes, Minnie said, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
But even Hugh looked at her like he expected her to go to the sheriff and tell him what she knew of Margaret’s disappearance.
Arabella got up and walked over to her. “It was all over the papers. The Coveney heiress is missing, and her maid was found dead. So, you are either lying about being the Coveney’s maid, or you are Margaret Coveney.”
Then she gave a satisfied smile. “And I believe, given that your manners are too fine to be a maid’s, but not fine enough to be a duchess’s, you are really Margaret Coveney.”
Minnie’s insides churned. It had already been so difficult, living a lie. But now what was she to do with her lie exposed? Was it finally time to tell the truth?
She looked over to Hugh, hoping that he would be sympathetic, considering he, too, had hidden his true identity.
Arabella’s words were almost inco
nceivable. Hugh couldn’t imagine Minnie hurting anyone, let alone killing anyone. And while she could have easily lied about working for the Coveney family, that had been one of the truest things he had sensed from her. If she was Margaret Coveney, it only made sense why he had thought she was better than she said she was. It would account for her inconsistencies.
He looked at Minnie. “Are you really Margaret Coveney?”
As Minnie nodded, tears ran down her cheeks.
Though he was grateful she had admitted the truth, part of Hugh felt ill. He couldn’t marry a young lady whose parents thought she was missing, especially not the heiress to Coveney Coal. Everyone in Colorado knew Arthur Coveney was a shrewd businessman who wanted nothing but the best for his family. The real Minnie probably had been every bit as sheltered as Margaret had claimed. When he’d first come to Denver, he’d heard about the Coveney heiress and how nothing other than a lord would do. Hugh might have the courtesy title, but he didn’t have the official title Coveney would require for his daughter.
“We must notify your father that you’re safe,” he said. Then he stood. “I need to talk to Sheriff Draven, and then I will stop by the telegraph office to let Margaret’s father about his daughter.”
Hugh wanted to be sick. Not only had he almost married an heiress, but Arthur Coveney was an extremely powerful man whose ire would be enough to destroy Noelle. It would be very easy for Arthur to influence the railroad’s decision to come to Noelle. More importantly, if he was angry enough, he could refuse to supply the railroad with coal should they come to Noelle against his wishes.
Minnie, no, Margaret, stood. “Please tell me we’re still getting married.”
He turned and looked at her. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure I can answer that. I need to speak to your father. It was a foolhardy thing you did, coming here. Your family must be incredibly worried.”
Margaret squared her shoulders. “They’re only worried because my mother’s dream of my being Lady Whatever has been dashed. They have plans to marry me off to a horrible man, Lord Milliken. I can’t do it. He did something terrible to Minnie that made her afraid. She told me she was a coward because she wouldn’t be able to accompany me once I was married to him. So, I helped her get a place here with Benevolent Lambs, only she was killed in a carriage accident en route. I got to her side as she was dying, and she begged me to take her place.”
Tears streamed down Margaret’s face as she looked at him. “Please, I beg of you. Marry me. Minnie told me that she prayed every day that I would find a way out because Lord Milliken was so horrible. I don’t know what he did to her, but she said it was unspeakable.”
The fear in Margaret’s voice was real. And though Hugh had never met the man, he had heard of him. Back in England, Milliken had gambled away his family’s estate, and it was well known that the man needed a wealthy bride. Somehow, in the intervening years, he’d become so desperate as to seek a wealthy American heiress.
How much of Margaret’s words were the truth, and how much an exaggeration? He’d already known he couldn’t trust her. Now, he was even more uncertain.
“You are engaged?” Mrs. Walters stared at Margaret.
Margaret nodded slowly.
Though engaged wasn’t married, it might as well be, with the various contracts that had to have been signed. As Hugh looked at Mrs. Walters, he knew she must be thinking of the consequences, as well.
Mrs. Walters shook her head. “The Benevolent Society of Lost Lambs exists to help women in trouble, but we have no precedent for women who are already married or engaged. But you fear him, you say?”
“Minnie was terrified of him, and even though she refused to give me details, I knew it was for good reason. We were close enough that I didn’t need them. Something about the way he looked at me frightened me. We found a way out for Minnie, and it wasn’t until I lost her that there was one for me.”
More tears streamed down her face, and Hugh knew Margaret was telling the truth. But even here in America, where people had greater freedom than in England, one didn’t just take a young woman from her family and marry her when she was already promised to another.
She turned to him again. “Please. You must help me.”
What was he supposed to do?
Mrs. Walters murmured softly, like she was praying under her breath, then looked up at Margaret. “I’ll see what I can do. No one should be forced into an unwanted marriage.”
Though Hugh agreed, he also knew that it was easier said than done, considering Margaret’s father was one of the most powerful men in this part of the country.
He could feel Arabella’s eyes upon him. And when he turned to her, the knowing look she gave him made the sick feeling in his stomach worse. She thought she’d won. Without a bride, he was more vulnerable to whatever plot she was hatching.
But what was her plan?
“I see I have preserved the family once more,” Arabella said, looking entirely too satisfied with herself. “Now there is no reason for us to not marry. It is as if Fate herself has stepped down to offer a blessing upon our union. The family will grow and prosper through us, and we will someday look at this little escapade and laugh.”
He glared at her. “You are forgetting your sons and my brother. They will inherit before me.”
“As I have said, these are things easily handled.”
He shook his head. “Not in the way you are implying.”
He would have to look into things back home, and caution his brother about Arabella’s visit, and her wicked plans. Such a woman did not deserve to play a role in the family’s future. But first, he needed to have a word with Draven and Charlie. They needed to figure out what to do about Margaret. As for Arabella, he could also use help containing the situation.
As he left the building, he spotted Charlie headed for the assayer’s office.
“Charlie! Walk with me to see Draven.”
He stopped. “I was on my way to see you. The men found some new ore I’d like you to take a look at.”
Hopefully something promising. The ore had been looking rather thin lately, and Charlie had had to lay off some of his miners. Charlie might not want to admit it, but he seemed to genuinely care for his men. With the bad news Hugh was going to have to deliver, they could use something positive.
“I’ll be eager to examine it. First, we have more urgent business.”
On the way to the sheriff’s office, they ran into Draven. “Is it time for the wedding?”
Hugh shook his head. “Unfortunately, there isn’t going to be a wedding. Not today. Maybe not ever. I’ve just discovered that Minnie isn’t who she says she is.”
Charlie stared at him blankly. “Is anyone who they say they are?” he asked, looking at Hugh, then at Draven, then back to Hugh.
Draven shook his head. “I hear you’re some kind of lord. I hope we’re not supposed to bow to you now that your secret is out. I guess our jokes about your lordship weren’t far off the mark.”
Hugh groaned. This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted anyone to know who he really was. “I never lied,” he said. “But that’s not the point. Minnie is really Margaret Coveney, daughter of-”
“Not Arthur Coveney?” Charlie said, sounding more discouraged than surprised.
“The one and only. How did you come up with his name so quickly?”
“I got a wire about a missing girl. I meant to bring it up to Draven, but I must have forgotten.”
Charlie relayed the details of the report he’d gotten, and Hugh nodded. “That sounds like the story Arabella told.” He then shared what Minnie had told him.
“I’ve heard of Lord Milliken,” Charlie said. “He’s come to Colorado on hunting trips. There are stories about what he’s done on those trips. Terrible things. I pity the woman forced to marry him. She’d be better off marrying you.”
The three men went to the telegraph office, where they sent messages to their respective contacts. The first message went to Arthur Coveney,
who responded almost immediately. He had men nearby, and they would come for Margaret. It saddened Hugh to hear that the man’s response conveyed more annoyance than concern. Of course, one couldn’t discern a man’s tone in a telegraph message, so perhaps Hugh was reading too much into it. But shouldn’t the father ask how his daughter was? Surely a rich man could afford the expense of those few lines. He’d actually referred to Margaret as his property. No wonder Margaret had been so eager to leave.
When he showed the messages to Charlie, he shrugged. “I’m not surprised. It follows what I’ve heard about the man.”
Something about Charlie’s attitude made him even more fearful for Margaret.
“What do we do, then?” Hugh asked. “You’ve already admitted that Margaret will be marrying a terrible man. And her father doesn’t seem to care. How do we help her?”
Charlie shook his head. “I don’t know. Arthur Coveney is a terrible man to cross. His vindictiveness is well-documented in the papers. He would ruin us all, and Margaret would still be marrying Lord Milliken. I’m not sure how to keep her here without putting the town at risk.”
Reverend Chase Hammond entered the telegraph office. “I hear there is a problem with one of the brides and the wedding.”
Hugh filled him in, and as soon as he mentioned the Coveney name, Chase’s eyes widened.
“Not Arthur Coveney’s daughter.”
At everyone’s automatic response, Hugh wondered how Margaret could have thought she was going to get away with her plan. Had she actually thought that her father would let her go so easily? And that when her father did find her, what had she thought he would do when he discovered her married to someone not of his choosing?
The Reverend looked at Hugh. “It’s well-known that Coveney will settle for no less than a lord to marry his daughter.”
All eyes turned to Hugh. Draven spoke first.
The Lord_The Tenth Day Page 4