“You will not be compromising the Queen or the Royal Family by talking to me. I am bound by an oath to protect them. Did you father a child by the name of Henry?”
“I did not know about him until Prince Leopold informed me of his existence. I was prepared to do the honourable thing. My offer was rejected. Leopold is clever, far cleverer than Victoria gives him credit. He knows how to write a letter that passes the scrutiny of his mother’s spies. He informed me that last spring Charles Locock’s son was moved into an apartment near Saint James’s Palace. Then Frederick Locock hastily married Mary Blackshot and four months later, they adopted a baby boy. My sources tell me that Frederick receives a sizable allowance. Though I cannot prove it, I believe the child is a relation of our Queen. A very near relation. That is all I’ll say on the subject. You have enough to put the pieces together without a full confession. It was only this unjust posting that provoked my indiscretion. A word of warning: Victoria has gone to a great deal of trouble and expense to hide this secret. We have all had toe the line. I advise you and your servant here to do the same.”
§
THE HOUSE near Saint James’s Palace was grand. “It would cost a great deal to live in such a house,” she observed. “The rents are astonishing in this neighbourhood.”
Tanner glanced around sharply. “Take care. Remember you have no voice. I’ll ring the bell.”
“If I cannot speak, how do you intend to do this? I am the only one qualified to ask after Henry. He is my concern, not yours. You said you would help me find him and you have lived up to your word. I know you are eager to be away.”
“You have not yet seen the boy. It may not be him. The servants will show me into the drawing room; while I am waiting to be received you go around the back to the servants’ entrance and present yourself. The cook will admit you. Keep your eyes open for a baby and your mouth shut. You may pick up something from the servants’ talk. I will try to confirm the child’s identity and send for you when our visit is concluded.”
Laura did as Tanner instructed, but when she arrived at the back of the house she heard a woman’s voice speaking to a child. The baby answered with a laugh and Laura was drawn to the sound. She swung open a white picket gate that led into a garden bordered by a green leafy hedge. There, on the emerald grass, sitting on a blanket was a young woman and her little charge, a baby boy standing on his chubby legs.
One look confirmed Henry’s identity. He was the image of Louise. There was no denying it—she had found Henry.
His young nurse jumped to her feet when she saw Laura. “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry I startled you. I am a friend of the little boy’s mother. I came to say hello.” Laura’s brain worked feverishly for an explanation.
“A friend of Mrs. Frederick Locock?”
Her eyes cast doubtfully over Laura’s appearance. She wore the clothes of the stable boy and her face was dirty. Her hands were greasy with gun oil that she had wiped on her vest.
“Oh, you must excuse my appearance! I am going to a fancy dress party.” Laura was delighted with the inspiration. “I am going as stable boy and I hope to surprise my hosts. Mary and I are old friends from school and I have met her father-in-law Dr. Charles Locock many times at Windsor Castle. I only recently learned of her marriage to Frederick. I was so pleased to hear that she had adopted a baby boy. Mary was always the maternal one of the two of us. I thought I’d get a look of the little fellow on my way to the party.”
The nurse’s youth and inexperience gave Laura courage. She took advantage of her relaxed guard to sit on the blanket beside the child. Henry’s guileless face met hers with unblinking observation.
“Well, hello there, little man. What is your name?” Laura cooed in a high a singsong voice.
A wide smile creased the baby’s face and he waved his chubby fist. Tears sprang to her eyes. She caught the palm of his hand, kissed it and fell to weeping. It was him. It was truly Henry. He was safe, sitting on a blanket with his nurse in a pretty hedged garden. Not sealed behind brick and stone, suffocating, alone, and unloved.
She pressed her fingers to her eyes and tried to stop the tears before the nurse became suspicious. “My, I am emotional of late,” she laughed, wiping her eyes.
“Perhaps you are broody, miss. Wouldn’t that be a fine thing, Henry? You would like Mama’s friend to bring around a little fellow for you to play with, wouldn’t you?”
“I shall have to find a husband first.” Laura quickly kissed the boy on the cheek. “It was lovely to meet you, Henry. You are the image of your mother. I must go now. Good-bye, darling boy. Be good for Nurse. I hope we shall meet again.”
Laura jumped to her feet and darted through the white picket fence before the tears overcame her. She moved quickly around the side of the house to the front stoop and rang the bell for Tanner. Dropping her voice to a gruff, rude accent, she said: “Tell Master Caine, his servant waits for him in the carriage with urgent news.”
Tanner emerged from the house, unsmiling. He took the seat beside her. “I learned very little. Their new higher standard of living rests on their silence. We shall never penetrate it. It is not a threat that keeps them quiet, but the generous allowance they receive. If I were them I would not jeopardize it either. We have gone as far as we can. What is your news?”
“I’ve seen him.” She gripped his hand. “I’ve seen him, Tanner. They will never say where he comes from, of course not! But I’ve seen him. Henry.”
She lifted her face. Her sea green eyes were overflowing with tears. These tears were different from the others she had shed for the child. She was not happy but neither were these tears of distress.
“He was sitting on a blanket with his nurse. I opened the gate and there was a little garden filled with sunlight and butterflies and bright spring flowers. His nurse was playing with him and he was laughing. I recognized him, Tanner.”
Tanner did not attempt to hide his skepticism. “You recognized an infant you have not seen since the day he was born.”
“Yes!” She laughed. “I don’t care what anyone says about me now. I have seen Henry!”
Chapter Eight
TANNER SIGHED heavily and rubbed his fingers over his eyes. This information was not welcome.
“A connection was forged with Henry that I don’t expect you to understand with your faithless mind. But in practical terms, the baby bears a striking resemblance to Louise. There is not a doubt. As he gets older, it will be evident that he is her son.”
“One day we will live in a world where a princess may love whom she chooses. That is not this day. Was the nurse the only witness?”
“Yes. I said I was a friend of Mary’s on my way to a party. There is no danger. I feel terribly sad and bereft for some reason. I’m glad I saw him. I am glad he is safe. But I feel empty. Does that make sense?”
“You have been looking for him for a long time, believing he was in danger. Searching for Henry gave you a purpose. Now that it is resolved, there is emptiness.”
“Oh God—what if Louise does not know, Tanner? What if she is wondering this very minute where he is—if he safe? I must tell her! I must cable her in Germany!”
“Calm down,” he said tightly. “The Princess is not in Germany. I lied. I had to say something to stop you. She is at Kensington.”
Laura frowned. “You lied? But you knew she was my only friend and the only one who could corroborate my story. Louise was the only one I could trust to get me out of Gateshead.”
“And yet it was not Princess Louise who got you out of Gateshead—it was me! Take care, Laura. They will throw you to the wolves if you get above your station. Do not imagine your interests and your friend’s interests are aligned. We will seek an audience with Princess Louise for the purpose of letting her know the child is safe, and that will be the end of it. I have tried the patience of Queen Victoria long enough. I will not have her suffer any longer.”
§
LOUISE SET the broadsheet
down and buried her face in her hands. Killed in a tragic accident after a daring escape from Gateshead Asylum. Laura Mayhew was dead. Her only friend and the last connection she had to Henry was gone.
The months after her baby was removed from her arms were unbearable. Louise had suffered depression and fits and had to be sedated. At last her nerves had settled into a numb place of existence. She was able to speak, receive visitors and appear contented. A feat only managed by disappearing from life. Lieutenant Stirling’s wild young love had been humbled by the shock of it all going so wrong, so quickly. She had lost too much to risk losing anything else and this news was a terrible blow.
“Princess Louise, there is a gentlemen here to see you. He says he has information regarding Miss Laura Mayhew.”
Louise received Tanner Caine’s card with trepidation. This visit could be a trick of her mother’s. After Henry was taken from her she dared not ask her mother where the baby had gone. Leopold was launching an effort to find out but Louise did not hold out much hope. Nevertheless, secrecy was crucial. No one could be trusted.
“Tell Mr. Caine I am ready to receive him. Thank you, Cameron.”
A tall, rather beastly-looking man entered the room followed on his heels by a scruffy young lad of about fifteen. Her Royal Highness Princess Louise straightened and peered at the boy. He looked familiar.
“What is the information you have about Miss Mayhew, sir?”
The boy stepped forward. “Please don’t be frightened, Louise. It is me—Laura. Oh darling! Oh dearest, don’t cry! They will hear you. I am all right. I am not dead. Dearest, I am sorry, it was necessary to fake my death to find Henry.”
“Oh my God—Laura? Laura, it is you!”
Tears stood in their eyes.
Tanner cleared his throat. “I will absent myself from the room so you may talk in private. Do not tarry. The queen is probably being informed of my visit even now.”
Laura clasped her friend’s hands. “There is not much time. I’ve come to tell you I found Henry and he is safe! He has been adopted by Sir Charles Locock’s son Frederick and his wife Mary. I saw him, darling, and he is well. Your baby boy is healthy and happy. I saw him.”
“What? What are you saying? Frederick Locock has Henry?”
Louise’s composure broke. She buried her face in her hands and wept loudly.
Laura stood at a respectful distance, choking back tears of her own. “We will go together and fetch him back. Henry will live here with you. A child needs his mother.”
The Princess wiped her eyes and gave Laura a joyful smile. “Henry has a mother, a loving father and mother. He is happy. That is all I need to know to be glad again. Laura, think of it! He will have such an ordinary life, getting into all sorts of mischief as little boys do. I envy him. I would not wish this life on any child.”
“You don’t know what you are saying. After everything you suffered—!”
“Darling, I have no regrets about any of it. I am grateful to you most of all, you have restored me. But Laura, you must not tell anyone what you know. Think of Henry. Let his life be his and not a mistake. Will you do that for me, my friend?”
“Yes.” She choked. “Yes, if you wish it.”
Louise’s eyes filled with tears. “I have only one sorrow and that is Mr. Stirling. I loved him. I fear I made rather a fool of myself there.”
“No—not at all. You must not regret loving him, Loosey. I met with him. He helped me find Henry and—and he spoke very warmly of you. He expressed his feelings in the sincerest manner. He loves you still.”
“Did he say so?” Louise wiped her eyes of tears. Her mouth wobbled but she was willing to be persuaded.
“Yes, he did. Stirling confessed his love for you, though he knew it could never be. He is being posted overseas to Canada. He leaves within the hour.”
“Mother would not have done that if she did not feel he was still a threat.” Louise struck the tears from her eyes. “Oh Laura, I can bear it if I know that I had his love once!”
“You did, dearest. You do.”
Louise clasped Laura in an emotional embrace. “You must be happy too now that you’ve found Henry. I insist upon it. There must be no more insanity for either one of us.”
“I will try.” Laura nodded and bit her lip. “I fear I do not have your capacity for happiness.”
“What of your friend, Mr. Caine? The newspaper account hints at an elopement. Is it true?”
“I can confess this to you, Loosey, and no one else. Marrying Mr. Caine began as a solution to a problem and it has become the problem itself. I have lost my gift. I can’t hear his thoughts. The ability has deserted me since I met him.”
“Darling friend, you have been seeking after something from the age of thirteen, thirsting for something you could not speak about and did not comprehend. Your gift was an extension of that seeking. It developed like a sixth sense.”
“Then why has it left me when I need it most?”
“It did not leave you. It is waiting for you in the next room. You have found what you were seeking. Love. You have found it, Laura. You are in love with Mr. Caine. Perhaps it was not a little boy you were meant to save, but a grown man.”
§
“HOW DID the princess take the news?”
“She was happy for her son and content to let him grow up with Frederick and Mary Locock. As well, she was gladdened in her heart when I told her that Mr. Stirling loved her.”
“But he did not. He has hardly given her a thought.”
“So much has been taken from her,” Laura snapped. “I will not take that from her as well. At least she can be happy now. At least she has peace.”
Laura flushed with painful grief. Hot tears threatened.
“This outcome has delivered you peace as well, has it not? Henry is not in danger. Not unloved. And it must give you a measure of satisfaction to have proved me wrong.”
“Nothing about this has made me happy or brought me peace. I found him but now I must forget he exists. Victoria has got what she wanted in the end.”
“I will not forget he exists,” Tanner said curtly. “The Queen lied to me. You were not the traitor she made you out to be. If I cannot trust my sovereign to be honourable, I cannot serve her.”
“I’m sorry. I know what she meant to you. We have both lost something precious in this.”
The rain started falling almost as soon as they left the Princess’s residence. They walked in silence for several blocks. Laura’s hair dripped but she did not notice. Tanner suggested a carriage.
Laura shook her head. “The walk will do me good and I don’t mind the rain.”
“You may change your mind. A stable boy’s vest does not offer much protection from the elements.”
She lifted her face to the soft drizzle, a spring rain, warm and yet refreshing. Laura rubbed her face clean of the ash and pushed back her wet hair. “I shall be glad to be a girl again! I have not said it but thank you, Tanner. You went to great lengths to help me find Henry, risking your profession and reputation. Though the baby was in no danger, not knowing for certain was a torment to me. It would’ve remained so without you. Princess Louise plans to visit Mary and Frederick in a few months time to make their acquaintance. If they agree she will visit Henry regularly. Louise is adamant that her visits are considered beneficial and do not upset his adopted parents.”
“She does well. That is a greater testimony to mother love than if she insisted on having her own way.” Tanner cleared his throat. “It is not easy to understand how a mother could walk away from a child.”
“She would do so if she was convinced the child was better off where he was; that his future held more promise in his current place than it did with her.”
“I expect that is what she was thinking at the time.”
Laura lifted her head, puzzled by this remark. “Who are you referring to?”
Rain bounced in a light patter off his hat and frosted his cloak. “A lady I knew a long ti
me ago was in a similar predicament, only it was her adopted son she left behind with his biological father. I always wondered why. I thought there must’ve been something wrong with the boy.”
“I imagine it happens more often than we would care to think about. Families are separated by necessity. Most often, it is out of love that we leave one another behind. That is what I believe now. I didn’t think so until I saw Henry in the garden and Loosey so happy to hear that he was safe and well. Her own sorrow and loss was nothing compared to his happiness.”
Tanner nodded but he seemed lost in thought.
“I suppose you will be glad to leave me now that our business is resolved.” She said this carefully, hoping to learn what was in his mind.
Tanner squinted. His mouth tightened. “Your mother and father should hear the news from you directly that you are still alive. Cable them tomorrow and tell them you’ll be joining them in France. I’ll pay for your passage. It may be awkward for you to remain in London once I have begun divorce proceedings.”
“You do not want a wife complicating your pursuit of Arabella.” Laura nodded. “She will be pleased to have you to herself again.”
Tanner glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow. “Does that trouble you?”
“Everything about you troubles me.” Laura bit the inside of her mouth, willing herself not to cry. “In any event, I cannot leave until you are cleared of suspicion and the Queen has restored you to her service. I’ll tell Her Majesty that I threatened you into doing what I wanted.”
“You threatened me?” He grinned. “Exactly how did you threaten me? Queen Victoria will want to know how her henchman could be bullied by a nineteen-year-old girl.”
Mark of Caine Trilogy: Book Two: Whispers in the Shadows (Victorian Villains) Page 7