The three commissioners looked at each other and the president cleared his throat. ‘Mistress Fletcher, the late Earl died without a will … ’
‘He had a will … I saw it … ’ Agnes interrupted. ‘He kept it in a wooden box in his room.’
The Commissioner shook his head. ‘An extensive search of the property has been conducted and inquiries made, but no such will has been discovered.’
‘He would never have gone to his death without making proper provision for the children. He told me that I was named their guardian … ’ She glared at Tobias. ‘You destroyed it!’
‘Mistress Fletcher, control yourself!’ The commissioner rose to his feet and brought the flat of his hand down on the table with a resounding thump that made his fellow commissioners start and the clerk reach for the inkpot.
Agnes fought to control her breath, her fingers clenched together so hard the knuckles showed white.
‘In the absence of a will, it has been decided that your petition must be refused,’ the president declared. ‘A woman cannot take on the legal responsibilities you seek.’
‘No!’ Agnes took a step toward the table as the full enormity of their decision hit her. ‘Dear God, no! What is to become of the children?’
The president held up a hand. ‘Colonel Ashby,’ he indicated Tobias with an ingratiating smile, ‘is the direct heir to the estate of the Earl, after the boy, and it has been decided that he shall be appointed guardian and protector not only of the children but of the entire estate.’
She swung around to face Tobias. ‘Not you. Anyone but you!’
Tobias’s lip curled into an ingratiating smile. ‘Mistress Fletcher, I know this is a shock to you … ’
She whirled back to face the commissioners. ‘But what about me? I can stay with the children? Surely … ’
The president fixed her with an unblinking stare. ‘You come from a family of known traitors. It is quite unthinkable that you should have continued access to such young, innocent minds. After discussing the matter with Colonel Ashby, we agree that you should not be allowed any further contact with the children.’
They couldn’t possibly be separating her from the children! She must have misheard … but she knew she hadn’t.
‘No! No … the children are my life. They are all I have. Please don’t take them away from me. Please … ’
The breath left Agnes’s body and her knees threatened to fail her. She caught the edge of the table to steady herself.
‘Mistress Fletcher, compose yourself,’ the man’s tone softened. ‘I know this comes as a shock to you but believe me, we have the welfare of the children to consider. What you choose to do is your own concern, and we believe it is in their best interest that you have no further contact with them.’
Agnes forced herself to straighten and she looked every man in the eye, including the hateful Tobias.
‘They are only young. They won’t understand. If you have a shred of human decency, at least let me prepare them and say farewell to them,’ she said.
Tobias shuffled his feet. ‘I would rather … ’ he began, but the president interrupted him.
‘We are not entirely heartless, Mistress Fletcher. You may return to your lodgings with Colonel Ashby for the express purpose of packing the children’s belongings and ensuring they are in a fit state to return to their home at Charvaley with the Colonel. That is all. You may leave now.’
In a trance, Agnes turned and walked toward the door. Dimly she was conscious of Tobias following her, but she took no notice until she felt his hand on her sleeve.
‘Mistress Fletcher … Agnes … A word in private.’
She shook off his hand and turned and looked up at him, the anger rising like gorge in her throat. ‘Why you?’
He directed her into a dark, wood-panelled room and shut the door behind them.
His moustache twitched as he smiled. ‘Why me? Why not?’
She studied him for a long moment. As James’s closest male relative, Tobias would be the Earl of Elmhurst, had it not been for Henry’s birth. Tobias, who had betrayed James without a flicker of conscience.
‘James told me of your part in his downfall. Your promise to turn coat and then, the soldiers … ’
Tobias shook his head. ‘It is regrettable that he involved himself in such foolishness. However, that is all in the past. We must now look to the future and ensure the children are kept safe, and that no blemish of their father’s treachery will attach to them. On which subject, I have a question to ask of you, Agnes.’
She glared at him.
‘You were close to my cousin; was he wont to confide in you?’
Agnes looked away. James did confide in her – when it suited him.
‘What do you mean?’
Tobias’s gaze slid past her. ‘My cousin was directly responsible for the theft of some valuable property of the Commonwealth and the death of a good man. He went to his death without revealing the location of the property. Did he confide its location in you?’
Oh yes, she had held the shuttered lantern as James hurried the men and their heavy leather satchels into the house. But she had not asked, and he had not told her, what the satchels contained or indeed where he had secreted them.
‘No,’ she answered, truthfully. ‘My concern was, and always will be, the children and the children alone. James’s politics were of no interest to me.’
Tobias’s eyes narrowed and she wondered if he disbelieved her. She had always been a bad liar.
‘You are a gem among women, Agnes Fletcher, if your sole concern was with hearth and home and not the business of men.’
The gall gathered in Agnes’s stomach at the sarcasm that dripped from his words.
‘The business of men saw the death of the children’s father. You alone … ’ she jabbed a finger in his direction ‘… have James’s blood on your hands. Those children are orphans because of you and now you would take them from me. If you hurt one hair on their heads, Tobias … ’
‘My dear, Agnes, you quite terrify me.’
He looked down at her, his mouth curling in a sneer. Small and slight, she hardly presented a physical threat to a man who stood nearly a foot taller than her.
He held up a placating hand. ‘Enough of these games. Please believe me, Agnes. I will take care of the children as if they were my own. They are my closest blood kin.’
She searched his face, looking for evidence of his veracity. It remained implacable. She had no choice in the matter but to trust him. She had to believe that he would act in the best interests of the children.
She sighed. ‘I know what the commissioners said, but surely it’s within your power to let me come with the children?’
Tobias’s eyes hardened. ‘Even I cannot go against an order of the Committee, Agnes.’ He raised a hand as if to lay it on her shoulder in reassurance but thought better of it, making a pretence of straightening his collar. ‘You have my word. The children will be safe in my care.’
A knock on the door made them both start. Ashby opened it to admit Septimus Turner. “Tobias’s faithful hound”, James had called him. Turner was a slight man with ginger hair, moustache and beard, probably well into his forties. Not much above middle height, his figure was trim and he carried himself well. He had served at Tobias’s side since the first engagement of the war.
He had with him a woman so pale as to be translucent – green-blue veins could be seen beneath the skin of her forehead and hands. Even her tightly compressed lips seemed bloodless.
‘Captain Turner,’ Agnes said with barely concealed distaste. ‘I might have thought you would not be far away.’
Tobias gestured toward the woman. ‘I do not believe you have met Septimus’s sister, Leah?’
Agnes turned to face Leah Turner. She was dressed austerely in a dark grey gown with plain collar and cuffs, with her hair tucked beneath a matronly white cap. Only the ginger colouring of her eyebrows indicated that it might be a similar hue to her
brother’s.
By rights, the woman should have curtsied to another of superior rank, but she remained as still as a sentinel, her grey eyes fixed on Agnes’s face. Agnes shivered and looked away from the unnerving stare.
‘The coach awaits, sir,’ Turner addressed his commander.
‘Very good.’’
‘They are only young,’ Agnes made one last attempt to secure her position. ‘Two men such as yourselves are not suitable to the care of such young children.’
Turner raised one ginger eyebrow and indicated his sister. ‘The children will be in the care of my sister, Mistress Fletcher. You may rest in the assurance that they will be in capable and godly hands.’
The flesh on the back of Agnes’s neck crawled. She didn’t know Turner’s sister, but her acquaintance with the mealy mouthed Turner only increased her fear for the children.
She turned back to Tobias.
‘What about me? Charvaley was my home … Where am I to go?’
‘Charvaley was only your home by James’s grace and favour. I am under no obligation to you.’ Ashby’s lip curled into a derisive smile. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. ‘My dear Agnes, you’ve a pretty face. By all accounts you have already bedded an Earl. It shouldn’t be too hard to find yourself another protector.’
Anger flared and she raised a hand to slap him, but he caught her hand before it connected with his face.
‘Now, now. That will never do. Of course, should you remember details of the matter we just discussed, I may reconsider your position. In the meantime, I gave you my word. You may say your farewells to the children.’ Squaring his shoulders, he turned to the Turners. ‘I want to be away from London before dark. Let us go.’
***
Agnes hunched into the furthest corner of Tobias’s coach like a sparrow caught in a trap, wilting under the unrelenting gaze of Leah Turner. The woman seemed to be enjoying her misery. Beside her Tobias had puffed up like a peacock, the buttons of his coat straining even more. He had gained control of the one thing he probably coveted more than anything, the earldom and estates. True, it was as a trustee only, but he had years before Henry reached twenty-one.
At the thought of Henry, a band tightened on her heart. It had never occurred to her that she could be separated from the children. Henry was only four, still in petticoats, still a baby. What could she say to them that would ease the parting – for all of them? How could she explain that she would not be returning with them to Charvaley?
At the sign of the Blue Boar the coach turned into the courtyard, and Agnes dismounted even before the groom could put the footstool down. She took a deep, shuddering breath and, without looking back to see if Tobias and the Turners were following, she returned to the inn room where she had left the children in the care of one of the hostelry maids.
She stood in the doorway removing her gloves as the children ran toward her. She signed for the maid to leave, which she did with a quick dip of a curtsey.
‘Aunt Agnes!’ At their shrill cries of welcome, her heart broke just a little more.
In normal circumstances she would have hugged them tight, but she could not bring herself to move. If she touched them, she could never let them go.
‘That’s enough,’ she said, employing a hard tone that drove the nail deeper into her heart. ‘Children, pack your belongings. You are leaving.’
‘Where are we going?’ Lizzie asked. ‘Back to Charvaley?’
‘Yes,’ Agnes answered. She glanced behind her as a shadow darkened the doorway. ‘Cousin Tobias has come to take you home.’
Henry shrank back against Agnes’s skirts at the sight of Tobias. Behind him, the Turners hovered like dark birds of prey.
Instinctively Agnes’s hand fell to Henry’s shoulder, drawing his little body against her. He huddled behind her drawing her skirts around him.
‘Are you coming too, Aunt Agnes?’ Lizzie, older and more attuned to the complex undercurrents of adult life, glanced up at her.
Agnes swallowed and straightened her back, holding her head high. ‘No, Elizabeth. Cousin Tobias is now your lawful guardian.’
‘But I don’t want to go with Cousin Tobias. I want to stay here with you!’ Henry began to cry.
‘Now, now, children,’ Tobias said, in a tone that he probably thought of as soothing, but coming from a large man in a military uniform it caused both children to shrink back against Agnes. ‘Charvaley is your home. You belong there.’
‘But not with you!’ Lizzie declared. ‘Why isn’t Aunt Agnes coming with us? I’m not leaving without Aunt Agnes!’ She took a step forward, her hands on her hips, three feet of aristocratic outrage. ‘I know what you did. You betrayed our father.’
Agnes thought she saw Tobias flinch at the harsh but truthful words, and wondered how much more Elizabeth knew about her father’s betrayal and death. Adults always underestimated children.
‘That is not the concern of children,’ Tobias said. ‘Mistress Fletcher, see that these children are packed and ready to leave in ten minutes. I will be waiting at the coach.’ At the door he turned and looked at her. ‘And don’t think of trying to escape with them. Say your farewells and bring the children to me.’
‘Colonel … ’ Leah Turner stepped forward. ‘I can see to the children.’
Tobias held up his hand. ‘Thank you, Mistress Turner, but I suggest you come with me. We will wait for them in the inn yard.’
‘Thank you,’ Agnes said, recognising that by leaving her alone with the children he was at least affording her an opportunity of a proper farewell. She supposed for that small kindness she should be grateful.
She waited until the door closed behind him and went down on her knees, her skirts billowing around her. The children fell into her arms.
‘Please don’t make us go with Cousin Tobias,’ Lizzie said, her voice muffled against her shoulder.
‘I have no choice, Lizzie. The Colonel has promised he will take good care of you.’
‘I hate Cousin Tobias,’ Henry said with a vehemence that almost made Agnes laugh.
‘You don’t know him. He has your best interests at heart.’
Lizzie stood her ground, her eyes blazing. ‘He did betray Father, didn’t he? I heard Father telling you –’
Agnes straightened and fixed the child with a hard, uncompromising stare of disapproval. ‘Eavesdroppers hear no good of themselves, Lizzie. Shame on you! I do not know what part, if any, Cousin Tobias played in your father’s arrest and it is not for you or I to judge him.’
Lizzie’s mouth tightened and her eyes narrowed. ‘Yes … but … ’
Agnes held up her hand. ‘It will not be spoken of again. What is past is done. You must be brave and strong. It would be what your father would expect of you. In a few days you will be back at Charvaley with the animals, and … ’ She named all the members of staff who had known and loved the children all their lives. ‘Come on, let’s pack your box.’
There was little to pack. Apart from their clothes, the children had few possessions — an odd assortment of wooden animals, the leather ball that Agnes had bought from a street vendor, and Lizzie’s precious wooden doll. She tied the strings of their cloaks and settled hats on their heads. Handing the doll to Lizzie, she gave the children one last kiss and a hug.
‘Come children, Cousin Tobias is waiting for you. Be very good for him and for Mistress Turner. It is a long journey home.’
She threw open the door and ordered the soldier waiting outside to bring the box.
As the children emerged onto the open gallery that encircled the courtyard, Henry pulled back at the sight of the large, black coach. Agnes tightened her grip on their hands.
‘Remember your father. He was a very brave man and he would want you to be brave,’ Agnes whispered to Lizzie, wondering if she was, in fact, trying to convince herself.
‘Good.’ Tobias all but rubbed his hands together as they descended the rickety stairs into the inn courtyard. ‘Come c
hildren, into the coach. I promise you a special treat if you are good for me.’
‘What?’ Henry demanded.
Tobias glanced at Agnes in mute appeal.
‘If you are very good, Cousin Tobias will stop at the baker on the corner and buy you one of those sugar swans.’
Tobias’s lips tightened. ‘Sugar swans?’ he muttered.
Agnes fixed him with a hard glare. ‘They are Henry’s favourite.’
Henry’s fingers tightened on Agnes’s and she recognized the jutting of his jaw, so like his father. Not even the promise of sugar swans would pry him away. Agnes went down on her knees, wrapping the small, sturdy body in her embrace, breathing in the scent of him, holding her to him. Captain Turner grabbed her arm, wrenching her away.
Henry was lifted up by one of Tobias’s soldiers and carried away, screaming Agnes’s name. Another soldier had Lizzie firmly in his grip. Both children were unceremoniously dumped into the coach and the door slammed on them. Agnes had a brief impression of Lizzie taking her little brother in her arms as Tobias climbed in after them.
Lizzie’s face, wet with tears, appeared at the window of the coach. She appeared to be wrestling Henry, who screamed uncontrollably and would have thrown himself out of the coach had not Tobias caught him by the collar and dragged him back. Agnes, still on her knees, covered her ears with her hands and doubled over on the filthy cobbles of the inn yard, her body wracked with sobs.
‘Agnes!’
She could not shut out the child’s screams as the coach turned out of the inn yard into the street beyond.
***
Returning from his visit to the Ship Inn, Daniel arrived in time to witness the spectacle unfolding in the inn’s courtyard. He recognized Agnes Fletcher kneeling on the muddy cobbles and his gaze moved from the sobbing woman to a large, portly man who stepped around the coach to harry the children inside.
The man glanced in his direction and Daniel drew back into the shadows, letting out a long exhalation of breath as he recognized the face of the man he had come to kill.
Tobias Ashby.
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