by Joyce Alec
“We have arrived,” Lord Stephen stated, finally turning his head to look at Julia. “Recall that we are to go within the arbor and the carriage is then to remove itself from this place so that it will not cause Lord Forrester any anxiety.” He gestured to the tiger as the door was pulled open. “A tiger will remain nearby and will hurry to fetch the carriage back should Lord Forrester appear.”
Julia nodded and accepted the tiger’s hand as she climbed down from the carriage. The arbor was in a rather bedraggled state, although there was climbing ivy all along one side. Arbors came in various shapes and sizes, but this one appeared to be quite large, with an open door that led to a large, sheltered space within. The roof was clearly in need of a little repair, for as she walked in, she could spy various small holes that let in little streams of light, but there were two large, open windows that let in the fresh air.
The problem was that there appeared to be very few places to hide.
“If Lord Forrester walks in and sees us here, then he will immediately turn around and run,” she said, turning to see Lord Stephen frowning hard. “If he has even a hint that we know what he has done, then he will simply make his escape.”
Lord Stephen’s frown deepened and he rubbed at his chin, just as the carriage began to roll away. “Then what would be your suggestion?”
She ignored the frightened thumping of her heart and looked at him steadily. “Lady Ann and I will remain in here,” she said, glancing at her friend. “If Lord Forrester appears, he may not think anything too untoward about two friends shading from the sunshine.” She spread her hands. “You and the tiger are just outside the door, ready to prevent his escape when he admits to what he has done.”
“No.” Lord Stephen shook his head, spreading his arms out wide. “You are not to say a word to him.”
“He may give himself away more easily to Miss Hawkins and myself than to you,” Lady Ann interjected, her voice quiet but her expression firm. “Consider carefully, Lord Stephen. Miss Hawkins and I will be quite safe with both yourself and the tiger outside.”
For a long moment, Julia thought Lord Stephen would argue with both herself and Lady Ann, for his jaw worked furiously, his brows furrowed, and he was shaking his head slowly, but in the end, he let out a heavy sigh and turned toward the door.
“Be careful, I beg of you,” he said over his shoulder. “I will come in the moment there is even a hint of danger.” Looking at Julia, his eyes held hers with a deep intensity, sending her courage suddenly soaring. “And I beg you not to do anything rash.”
“We will be very careful indeed,” Julia assured him as Lady Ann came to stand alongside her, linking arms in solidarity. “I promise.”
13
It went against all of his instincts to step away from Miss Hawkins and Lady Ann, but there was logic to what she had suggested and, on top of it, there had not been time for him to argue. Now, remaining hidden but with the alcove in sight, Stephen waited for Lord Forrester to appear.
Of course, he considered, as the sun beat down on him, Lord Forrester might not appear at this particular alcove and could instead go to either the one where Lord Haddington was waiting, or to where Lord Bentham now stood, but in any case, Stephen was determined to see Lord Forrester brought to justice.
Something snagged his vision and he narrowed his eyes, seeing the figure of a gentleman approaching the arbor. His heart turned over in his chest as he saw Lord Forrester walking nonchalantly along the path, looking neither anxious nor afraid. He did not even look over his shoulder as he made his way to the door of the arbor, perhaps having done this on so many occasions before that he felt quite safe in his steps.
“Oh!”
Stephen moved at once upon hearing the two ladies give a loud exclamation—a little overly loud, mayhap, but enough to let him know that Lord Forrester had entered the arbor. The tiger, who had been waiting a short distance away from Stephen, began to run off in the opposite direction in order to fetch the carriage, just as he had been instructed, whilst Stephen made his way carefully around a large tree. He moved with great care, not wanting his feet to snap on a twig and alert Lord Forrester to his presence. Making certain to stay out of sight of the two windows of the arbor, Stephen prayed that Lady Ann and Miss Hawkins were managing to speak to Lord Forrester as easily as they had anticipated. With quicker steps, he hurried across the grass and then pressed his back against the rather wobbly wall of the arbor, relieved that he could hear Lord Forrester’s every word.
“It is a very warm afternoon indeed,” he was saying, sounding quite pleasant. “But would you not prefer to be returned to your guardians by now? You know you should not be out here alone.”
“My companion is waiting a short distance away,” Miss Hawkins replied, and Stephen could just imagine her waving a hand. “There is no need to trouble yourself, Lord Forrester.” There was a momentary silence and Stephen closed his eyes, feeling a wave of nervousness wash over him. “Might I ask what you are doing here this afternoon?” Miss Hawkins continued, her voice a little harder now. “Were you also feeling it very warm indeed?”
Lord Forrester laughed, but it was not a kind sound. “I am simply taking a walk across the park,” he said with a smile in his voice that Stephen was sure did not reach his eyes. “And sometimes I am obliged to escape all manner of conversation for a time, since it can be quite overwhelming.”
“I am a little surprised to see you so contented out in society,” Lady Ann remarked, a coldness to her tone. “Miss Hawkins told me that you were dear friends with Lord Atherton and now that he has passed away, I quite expected you to show him a little more respect than to continue on as though nothing untoward has occurred.”
There was a beat of silence and when Lord Forrester spoke again, it was with a hard edge to his voice.
“How I show my grief is entirely my own concern, Lady Ann,” he said, but was instantly interrupted by Miss Hawkins.
“I expect you have no grief whatsoever, Lord Forrester,” she told him, shocking Stephen by her forward manner. “Given that you were the one to kill him.”
Every muscle in Stephen’s body tensed and he stared straight ahead, fearing that there would soon come a scuffle from within the arbor and perhaps a cry of terror from Miss Hawkins.
“You are very clever, Miss Hawkins.”
Stephen caught his breath, his body shaking with the urge to storm into the arbor but forcing himself to remain precisely where he was.
“However did you manage to work that out?” Lord Forrester continued nonchalantly, clearly quite content to admit to Miss Hawkins what he had done—perhaps thinking that it would be easy enough to silence both her and Lady Ann one way or another. As Stephen listened, he saw his carriage coming into view and, within a few moments, his tiger was rushing back toward him, only coming to a stumbling stop when Stephen held out one hand. The man needed to be cautious. There was too much of importance in this moment.
“You stabbed Lord Atherton at the ball,” Miss Hawkins said, her voice calm and clear. “That was after you had encouraged him to buy the house. You intended to use this rumor of a curse to your own advantage, for the majority of the ton would be fixated on the idea that Lord Atherton had succumbed to the curse and would not even think to look at you. But your attempt to strike him down did not quite work, did it?” There was a momentary pause, but Lord Forrester said nothing. “Thompson came to tell you that the attack had failed and immediately, you rushed back inside to offer your assistance.” A small, dark laugh escaped her and Stephen shuddered, recalling the scene in almost perfect clarity. “You thought I would forget you, thought I would think nothing of your offer to send for a doctor, did you not, Lord Forrester? But this doctor was one that you used for your own devices. He has kept Lord Atherton drugged with laudanum until you could decide what was best to do. You wanted to take Lord Atherton’s life from him yourself, wanted to kill him by your own hand, but in the end you had to have Thompson do it.”
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��Thompson was easy enough to manipulate,” Lord Forrester muttered with a shrug. “Money does a good deal to those who have little of it, Miss Hawkins. Besides which, all that matters now is that he succeeded in doing as I asked.”
“Except,” Lady Ann said, sounding just as calm as Miss Hawkins had been, “Thompson did not succeed.”
Stephen did not know what it was that made him act but in that moment, he felt the air shift. There was danger now. Danger in how Lord Forrester would react, now that he knew his plan had failed.
“What do you mean?” he heard Lord Forrester ask, just as he rounded the doorway and stepped inside.
Lord Forrester jerked and turned around, his eyes flaring wide at the sight of Stephen framed in the doorway.
“I knew it was you,” Stephen said softly, seeing the angry glint beginning to form in Lord Forrester’s eyes. “Thompson told me the truth, believing that you would have him swinging from the gallows in your place. That little scene you watched, where I was approached by a footman and then rushed from the room? The conversation you had with Miss Hawkins about the death of my brother?” He waved a hand, a scornful look on his face. “There was no truth in that.”
“It—it is a lie?”
Lord Forrester’s voice had dropped to barely louder than a whisper, his face drained of color and a look of despair in his eyes.
“You have failed,” Stephen answered, still standing firm and ready in case Lord Forrester should attack. “My brother still lives and you, Lord Forrester, have been found out.”
Miss Hawkins drew herself up all the more. “You came to deliver money to Thompson, believing he had been successful, when in truth, Lord Forrester, we are the ones who have found success.”
Lord Forrester whipped around, one hand raised, one finger pointing toward Miss Hawkins. His demeanor had changed in an instant and as he advanced toward the two ladies, Stephen charged forward.
“This is your doing,” Lord Forrester screamed as Stephen grabbed one of Lord Forrester’s arms and dragged it behind his back. “I do not know how, Miss Hawkins, but I can tell that it was you.”
“It was Miss Hawkins, yes,” Stephen answered, puffing and panting as the tiger rushed in through the door and helped secure Lord Forrester’s arms behind his back. “You have failed in your attempts to kill my brother, Lord Forrester.” He let go of the man’s hands, leaving his tiger to hold Lord Forrester fast. “I just do not know why.”
Lord Forrester glared at him, his face dark with anger and a fury set so deep in his eyes that Stephen practically felt it pouring out of the man.
“Because of my sister.”
Those four words sent Stephen reeling back, seeing now that there was not only anger held in Lord Forrester’s face but also a bubbling, agonizing pain.
“She was nothing more than a toy to Atherton,” Lord Forrester spat, beginning to struggle against the tiger. “He took her and did as he pleased with her, only to send her away when he discovered that she wanted more than just a few stolen moments of affection.”
Stephen swallowed hard, but held his head high. “That is no reason to want to kill—”
“She was engaged to another,” Lord Forrester cried, his face etched with misery and anger. “She was to marry Lord Gardener, only for Lord Atherton to pull her from him. I did not even know that Atherton was doing such a thing, that he was stealing kisses from her—but Lord Gardener discovered it.” Clenching his jaw, he looked at Stephen with a wretched expression. “My sister’s engagement was broken. Her reputation was ruined. She died within a year of the scandal.” His throat worked, his eyes glistening with angry tears. “And it is all Lord Atherton’s fault.”
“I—I did not know,” Stephen said, his anger beginning to fade as he saw just how broken Lord Forrester was. “I have never been too interested in society and—”
“And it was some years ago,” Lord Forrester finished angrily. “Lord Atherton laughed at what had happened, as though it meant nothing to him. I could have challenged him then, but I knew what he was like when it came to a duel.” His eyes narrowed. “His aim was much too good and all of society knew it.”
“So you waited.” Miss Hawkins stepped closer, her eyes holding both compassion and abhorrence. “You continued to maintain your friendship with Lord Atherton until a time came where you could take your revenge.”
Lord Forrester’s lip curled. “And I almost succeeded,” he said, his tone now falling flat as he gave up the struggle against both the tiger and Stephen’s restraining hand. “If I had just driven the knife in a little further, then...”
Stephen shook his head, stepped back, and released Lord Forrester into the hands of the tiger. “Take him to my carriage,” he said with a wave of his hand. “And hold him there.”
Lord Forrester said nothing more but dropped his head, the fight gone completely from him. Stephen did not know what to think or what to say. He recalled his fear that the urge to throw his own judgment down upon Lord Forrester would take hold of him, but he was astonished to discover that he now felt almost a deep sympathy for the man. He could not imagine what it would be like to have a sister so cruelly treated. One glance toward Miss Hawkins told him that she, too, felt precisely the same way.
“Lady Ann and I will walk back toward the center of the park,” she said softly, putting one hand on his arm as Lady Ann quietly left the arbor, leaving them both alone. “We will take a hackney back to the house.” Her eyes searched his, her gentleness reaching out and taking a hold of his pained heart. “How do you feel at this present moment, Lord Stephen?”
He let out a long breath, wishing that he could give her a more concise answer. “I do not know,” he said, finding her hand and holding it tightly in his own. “I thought I would be glad to see Lord Forrester caught and feel relief at his undoing, but now that I know the reasons behind his actions, I find my heart tugging toward compassion and understanding, although I certainly do not think he ought to have attempted to kill my brother.” Closing his eyes, he raked one hand through his hair, feeling how she pressed his fingers. “It is not at all what I expected.”
“You have a good and kind heart, Lord Stephen,” she told him as he opened his eyes and looked down at her. “It is not at all surprising to me that you should feel so.” Her free hand reached up and ran along his brow and down his cheek before resting on his shoulder. “But it is at an end now, no matter what you choose to do next.”
Another breath loosened the tension around his chest. “That is true,” he agreed, looking down at her and seeing the gentle smile that curved her lips. “And now I can consider all that might now be waiting for me since the mystery has been brought to a close.” Lowering his head, he kissed her tenderly, her arms around his neck in a moment as he pulled her close against him. His heart began to soften from the pain and confusion that had broken over it only minutes before, leaving him feeling both contentment and relief. This was what he should be thinking of now, what he should be looking to. A future with Julia, a future where she belonged to him and he to her. Everything else seemed to fall away as he angled his head to deepen the kiss, feeling his heart fill with love for the one lady who had stood by his side from the very first moment they had met: the beautiful, kind, intelligent, magnificent Miss Julia Hawkins.
Epilogue
“Well?”
Julia was on her feet the moment Stephen walked into the room. The rest of The Shadows as well as Lord Bentham were all taking tea in the drawing room but had tactfully left Julia waiting for Stephen’s return in the library. It was the day after their success with Lord Forrester, and Julia had barely slept a wink the previous night, worrying about what Lord Stephen would do.
Stephen smiled, his face free of all the lines of worry and fear that she had seen so often there. He held his hands out to her and she went into his arms at once, her head resting on his shoulder as a sense of relief filled her.
“My brother is awake, conversing, and completely repentant,” Lord Stephen
told her as she lifted her head to look into his eyes. “I am not certain that this change of character will be permanent, but once he is fully recovered, I have every intention of speaking to him with more firmness than I have ever done before.”
She nodded, her throat working hard as tears of happiness stung her eyes.
“I returned with Lord Forrester, as you know,” Stephen continued, his smile fading slightly, “and he is now held in the same room as Thompson. However, upon discussion with my brother, there is no consequence that we can bring that would be justified, other than to force him to leave England’s shores for a time.”
“Oh?” Julia blinked back her tears as Stephen sighed and reached to take her hand, his head lowering for a moment. “You mean not to speak to anyone about this matter?”
It took a moment but eventually, Stephen shook his head. “We could go to Prinny,” he said, referring to the Prince Regent, “and mayhap Lord Forrester would be meted out a suitable punishment, but my brother also would have to face the consequences of his actions.” Pressing his lips together, he looked straight into Julia’s eyes. “Lord Forrester, therefore, is to go to the continent for some years, as will Thompson. Thompson will remain for the rest of his days, whilst Lord Forrester might see fit to return after some time has passed.”
“And are you contented with such a thing?” she questioned, her hand pressed lightly against his chest, her eyes searching his. “Do you feel that such a consequence is the right one?”
To her relief, Stephen immediately began to nod. “I do,” he said with conviction. “When I did not know the reason for Lord Forrester’s actions, I wanted nothing more than to bring a swift and cruel punishment down upon him. But now that I have discovered his reasons for doing so, I confess that my heart no longer holds the same need for revenge.” One shoulder lifted. “I hope that does not make you think less of me.”