Lying inside was his mother’s satchel with the necklaces Louisa had taken three nights ago.
His throat choked with emotion and his eyes became misty. Shaking his head slowly, he told himself he would not let this affect him. Using his finger, he moved the necklaces around, noticing a paper underneath. He pulled out the paper and opened it up. Beautiful handwriting slightly slanted lined the page. The date on the letter was yesterday.
My Dearest, Since you would not let me explain the other night, I have decided to write you a missive—if only for my own state of mind. I pray you read what I have to say. What I wanted to tell you the other night was that although I had originally started to take the jewels, I had changed my mind and was putting them back when you caught me. Before this had happened—the day I had left to see if I could force my memory to return—I did remember what happened. I remembered everything about my life and especially the day I ran in front of your vehicle. I had found my family that day, but before I could tell them, Macgregor stopped me and threatened to harm them, and especially you and the twins, if I didn’t steal your mother’s jewels. Believe me when I say, I did not want to, but I also know Macgregor would have hurt you, so I had no choice. When you walked in on me, I had changed my mind and was coming to tell you the truth to see if you could help me find a way to stop him. Not to worry, though. I will find a way to stop him. Maybe then I will be able to forgive myself for all the terrible things I have done while in Macgregor’s employ. And mayhap one day you will soon come to forgive me, which is the thing I want the most. Please do not let my family know I’m alive. One day I will feel confident enough to tell them the truth, but until then, I cannot forgive myself for everything I have done in the past. Give the twins a kiss from me and tell them I love and miss them. Yours Always, Elizabeth Louisa Hamilton.
Tears blurred his vision and he quickly blinked them away. What was wrong with him? Could he really believe what she wrote? Had she indeed tried to save his life by stealing his mother’s jewels for Macgregor?
Deep in his heart, he believed her. Yet the things he’d heard about her from those other children who had worked for Macgregor made Trevor doubt she was so sweet and innocent.
Groaning, he buried his face in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. His head throbbed with indecision. So maybe she had been a thief…but while she was with him, she brought love, laughter and happiness back into his home. His children loved her. He had loved her.
Curse him, he loved her even now.
Expelling a deep breath, he straightened in his chair. His gaze fell to the opened newspaper. In bold letters the article announced, Notorious thief, Richard Macgregor, found dead—stabbed in alleyway.
Trevor gasped and picked up the newspaper to read more. He scanned the article quickly, then read through it once more to try and make sense of what happened. Macgregor was dead. Murdered. But the paper didn’t sound like the police were diligently looking for his killer. Why would they when Macgregor had been a wanted criminal for years?
Then a name jumped out at him. Miss Eliza Watson. Trevor quickly read on. She’d been in front of the hospital that night with her maid and saw a man stabbed down the street, and running away was a woman.
A woman? Why would a woman want to kill Macgregor? Trevor chuckled, knowing he had wanted to strangle the man a time or two. Even Louisa had motive…
Louisa.
Trevor jumped up, knocking his chair over. Had she killed Macgregor? Although Trevor didn’t blame her, would the police see it the way Trevor had?
She needed help. His heart could hear her crying through the letter. Indeed, she was alone and helpless, and she did need his help. Louisa also needed her family’s help. She’d asked him in her letter not to tell her parents, but Trevor felt he had to. They needed to know, didn’t they?
“Hobbs, have my horse brought around,” Trevor barked as he hurried out of the dining room, marching toward the front door. “Never mind, I shall do it myself.”
He opened the door, ready to rush out, but stopped quickly. A gentleman and a younger boy stood at Trevor’s doorstep.
“Oh, forgive me for almost running you over,” he quickly apologized. “I am in a hurry and—”
“Lord Kensington?” a small voice asked.
Trevor lowered his gaze back to the boy. He didn’t recognize the lad at first, but then the eyes and smile looked familiar.
“It’s me, Norman Boyd.” He pointed to the man standing beside him. “And this is my father, Baron Grisham.”
Trevor blinked several times. The boy looked entirely different all cleaned up; like a gentleman’s son.
Trevor smiled. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“Forgive us for coming unannounced,” the baron began, “but Norman said he needed to speak with you.”
“Forgive me, I’m in a hurry,” Trevor told them, but then motioned for them to come inside, “but I do have a few minutes to visit since my horse has not yet been saddled.”
“This will only take a moment, Your Grace,” Norman said. His expression suddenly changed as a frown claimed his face. “I want to apologize, my lord. That day you caught me…I was told to lie to you.”
Trevor shook his head. “Lie to me? By whom?”
“Macgregor. He told me to watch you and try to pick your pocket, but he wanted me to get caught, and when I did, I was to lie to you.” Norman took a deep breath after his hurried speech.
Folding his arms across his chest, Trevor nodded. “Pray, please tell me what you lied about.”
“About Louisa. Those things I told you were a lie.” He shrugged. “Well, most of it, anyway. Louisa was Macgregor’s best pupil, and she did teach us how to steal, but…” He licked his lips then swallowed hard. “She never did kidnap any children and she never did kill anyone. That was the lie.”
Relief poured through Trevor from the boy’s admission. Although it upset him to think the lad lied to him, which created doubt in his mind about Louisa, Trevor did understand why Norman did it. Macgregor had all of the children frightened to death.
“Do you forgive me, Your Grace?” Norman asked with a sincere voice.
“Of course, I do.” Trevor ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled. “Thank you for letting me know. This has worried me since you told me.” He looked up at the baron. “And thank you for bringing him.”
“You are very welcome, Your Grace.”
The man turned with his son and started out the door, but Trevor quickly stopped them. “One more thing, if you don’t mind.”
Baron Grisham arched his eyebrows. “What is it?”
“If we had never discovered that Norman had been kidnapped, would you have wanted to find your child even though he may have been in a band of thieves for several years and was considered a criminal?”
Tears filled the older man’s eyes. “I wanted my son back. It didn’t matter to me what he’d done. I just wanted him back with the family who loved him.”
This was the answer Trevor wanted to hear. “I thank you, Baron Grisham. Have a pleasant day.”
If Trevor’s daughter had been kidnapped, he would move heaven and earth to try and find her…just as he knew Louisa’s father would.
And that was exactly what Trevor planned to do. Whether it took moving the heaven and earth, he would find her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Shivering, Louisa huddled in the corner of a stall wrapped in a horse blanket. In those six years she practically lived on the streets working for Macgregor, she knew where to go to keep warm and where she could find food to steal. Her memory had returned completely now, and she knew exactly what to do in whatever situation she was placed in. It was as if she’d never left and spent a whole month being loved by two adorable children and one very handsome and kindhearted man.
Sickness rolled in her stomach, but not from lack of food this time. Instead, disgust for the life she now lived—because of her wrong decisions—weighed her down and made her miserable.
&
nbsp; The weather had turned chilly today. At least she had a warmer dress to wear instead of the rags she’d been in when Trevor had hit her with his curricle. And the cloak and bonnet she had on when he kicked her out of his mother’s house were her only possessions. Still…they were much better than what she’d been accustomed to for six very long and miserable years.
A noise from the front of the stable brought her alert. Fear crept upon her, making her heart thump wildly. She couldn’t be discovered hiding in the stable. She didn’t want anyone to catch her. Instead, she wanted to surprise Eliza Watson whenever her childhood friend left the house.
Slowly, Louisa rose and peeked over the stall. Whistling, a groomsman walked around the carriage, preparing it for travel. For the first time in three days, hope grew inside of her. She prayed Eliza would be the one needing the vehicle this morning so that Louisa would get her chance to speak with her former friend.
Going without seeing Trevor or the twins for so long had put Louisa in a melancholy mood, and she couldn’t stand to be miserable any longer. She was determined to formulate a plan and stop Macgregor, along with confronting her childhood friend before making an appearance to her family. Living like this was destroying her heart, and she refused to take this abuse even one more minute.
“Mornin’ Joe.” Another stable hand walked up to help the groomsman.
“Good morning.”
He ran his hands over his wide middle. “Who needs the carriage today?”
“Miss Eliza. Who else in this miserable family wants us to wait on them hand and foot?”
Surprise flipped through Louisa, and she quickly covered her mouth before a laugh escaped. Obviously, the servants did not approve of their mistress.
The stable hand shook his head, his long black hair slapped against his neck. “Honestly, I cannot wait until she marries. Good riddance to the spoiled chit, I say.”
“And I would say the same.” The groomsman nodded in agreement. “The sooner she becomes Lady Wellesley, the better for us all.”
Louisa gasped and sank down the wall. Eliza…engaged to Frank?
As children she and Eliza were inseparable and Eliza was always over at Louisa’s house. When they became older, Louisa realized her friend had an infatuation with Frank. By this time, Louisa and Frank had become betrothed, and not wanting to go against the wishes of her parents, she didn’t argue with their decision. Secretly, however, she had wished Frank would rebut the betrothal and marry someone else. Somebody more his age, or prettier, or even wealthier—anything, but wanting to marry her. Eliza had been starry-eyed whenever Frank was around, and Louisa had wondered if Frank was interested in her friend.
One day she’d asked him, praying that he found Eliza better suited for him. Instead, he’d rolled his eyes and flipped his hands in the air. “She’s too chubby for me,” he’d said.
From what Louisa had seen of her old friend yesterday, the years had been kind to Eliza. She’d lost her baby fat, thank heavens. So perhaps that was why Frank changed his mind.
“Where is Miss High-and-mighty off to this early in the morning?” the younger man asked the groomsman.
“I don’t know for certain, but I heard her telling the butler she had to visit with the policeman about that man’s death the other day.”
“Oh, that Macgregor fellow—the thief from Seven Dials?”
Louisa gasped again, and slapped her hand over her mouth. Macgregor? Dead? Cautiously, she slid back up the wall to peek at the two servants.
“Aye. The same fellow.” The groomsman shook his head. “It makes no sense to me. Miss Eliza says she saw the man stabbed while she was coming out of the hospital that night. Yet…”
Pausing, the tall man took a quick look around, probably searching for anyone who would overhear. Thankfully, he didn’t see Louisa.
“What was she doing at the hospital?” the groomsman continued in a lower voice. “She has never gone there before.”
“Do you think she’s lying?”
“I do.” The groomsman scrubbed his unshaven chin. “She did take the carriage that night, and indeed she went into the hospital, but she never once mentioned why she was there. Not only that, but when I saw her come out of the hospital, the police had already been summoned to the commotion happening down the street. I do not think she saw any stabbing at all because the killer would have already taken off by that time.”
“Very interesting, indeed.” The stable hand nodded.
Louisa thought the same thing. Interesting… So what was Eliza up to this time? Whose life was she trying to destroy? Of course Louisa still wanted to know why her childhood friend ruined her life when they had been such good friends.
“Well, I had better take the carriage around to the front now and wait for her to come out.” The taller man adjusted his hat before buttoning his overcoat.
As the groomsman drove the carriage out, Louisa snuck out of the stall and quickly ducked in the next one. She listened close for any noise that she’d been discovered. After a moment of silence, she hurried to the next stall, and continued the pattern until she reached the doors. Thankfully Eliza’s family didn’t have many servants, because it made sneaking easier than Louisa had planned.
The carriage was now stopped in front of the house. Nobody stood around waiting, except for the groomsman and he sat atop in the driver’s seat, his attention turned the other way. On quiet feet, Louisa crept to the carriage, opened the door, and as gently as she could, climbed inside.
Just as she closed the door, the vehicle moved as the groomsman jumped down. Panicked, her heart stalled. He must have felt her climbing in.
“Good morning, Miss Eliza,” the man called out.
Louisa expelled a relieved breath and huddled on the seat in the corner. The curtains were pulled down, giving the box very little light. Although, when the door opened, she would certainly be noticed.
“Please take me to the police headquarters. They are expecting me.”
“As you wish, Miss Eliza.”
Louisa held her breath. The door opened and Eliza climbed in, her head down as she focused on stepping inside without tangling her gown and cloak—a habit most ladies did when entering a vehicle.
Before Eliza was completely in her seat, the door closed.
Blinking—probably adjusting her eyes to the semi-darkness—Eliza scanned the inside of the box…until she spotted the unknown person in the carriage. “Oh!” Eliza shrieked.
Immediately, Louisa jumped next to the other woman on the seat and covered her mouth. “Say one more word and I swear I shall snap your neck in two with my bare hands. Do not think I won’t, either.” Louisa hated to sound so threatening, when she would never follow through with the promise. Hopefully, Eliza didn’t realize this.
The other woman calmed quickly as she narrowed her gaze. “L-L-Louisa?”
Louisa slowly released her hold. “Strange how you would think that, considering I am supposed to be dead. Something—I might add—you have known about since your uncle kidnapped me.”
Even through the shadows, Louisa could tell when the other woman’s face lost color. Betrayal crushed Louisa, and she wanted to cry in fury, but she’d give her so-called friend time to explain before lashing out her own anger.
“I—I thought you were dead,” Eliza muttered.
“Indeed? When did this happen? We exchanged letters for two months before your uncle sold me to a man who was Satan’s own child. And yet my family had heard I had drowned at the girl’s school—the very school we had attended together until the day your uncle came.”
Eliza shook her head. “Honestly, Louisa. I didn’t know.”
“You lie!” Louisa grasped the other woman’s shoulders and shook her hard. “Tell me the truth for once in your miserable life.”
“Beg pardon,” Eliza snapped as she pushed Louisa away. “If you are assuming that I do not speak the truth, then you are sadly mistaken.”
“No, you are the sad person in this situati
on, Eliza. Because you convinced yourself that your lies are in fact the truth, and in doing so, you ruin people’s lives.”
Eliza huffed. “I don’t have to take this abuse from you. Leave my carriage this instant.”
“Not until I get some answers.” Anger pumped through Louisa stronger than it had ever done before. She wanted to cause physical harm to this woman, when she’d never experienced such fierce anger before. The newfound feeling frightened her.
“Well, I don’t know what you want me to say, especially if you will not believe a word of it.”
Shaking her head, Louisa sat back in the seat and folded her arms. “Why do you hate me so? What did you think to gain from sending me to hell and telling my family I had died?”
Eliza stared at Louisa in silence. Only the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves and the rattle of the carriage were heard. Malice darkened Eliza’s expression and slowly she bunched her hands into fists on her lap.
“You had everything a young girl could ever want,” Eliza spat. “And you flaunted it in front of others.”
“I did not.”
“Your parents spoiled you and treated you as if you were the Queen herself. And I—I had nothing.”
“Eliza, what are you talking about? Your parents saw to your comfort just as mine did for me.”
“No. My father was a drunk and gambled away our money. My paternal grandmother was the one paying for my schooling. I knew once I was out of school, no man would want me for his bride because I would not have a dowry to give him. I was not as pretty as you. You have no idea how badly I wanted to be you.”
“Eliza? What does any of this have to do with having your uncle kidnap me?”
“Because I wanted to be your parents’ daughter. I wanted to be the one betrothed to Frank—a boy I had loved for many years. But I knew it would not happen unless you were dead. I didn’t want you dead, but I wanted you to disappear. I once caught my uncle kidnapping a child, and I threatened to inform my family of his crimes. Uncle Percy had fallen out of the good graces of my family, and he was desperate to be reclaimed, and he begged me not to turn him in. He told me he would do anything for me. That was when I realized he could kidnap you and take you far away. I would tell everyone you had drowned in the river. Then and only then could I take your place in your family’s heart. It took time, of course, but now they look upon me as their daughter. Not you.”
The Sweetest Touch Page 25