Her voice shook with fury and Serena alone understood that it was not just Pepper she referenced.
Serena put her arm around Pepper and guided her toward an empty guest room, firmly closing the door behind her. Tears came fast as she gathered the girl into her arms. “I’m so sorry! I thought he was downstairs but even so—it never should have happened! I never could have stopped him quickly enough and you should never had endured a single second of—“
Pepper pulled away, her tear streaked complexion mottled with the ravages of terror. “He got my skirts up but that was…he hadn’t gotten round to the worst of it so you came in time, thank God! I…was so frightened! But you came in like an answer to my prayers and—“ Pepper pressed her fingers against her lips. “Did you get him? I mean…like you said you would?”
Serena nodded, wishing she felt more relief. Even without the final act, the assault was no less repugnant to her senses. “Yes, it’s over.”
She put her hands on Pepper’s shoulders and looked her friend squarely in the eyes. “You are never doing that again, Prudence.”
Pepper smiled weakly, the first sign of her merry spirit returning to her. “Oh, well now I know you’re serious, using that name.”
“I mean it. The next time you offer to help, I’m going to lock you in a closet and ask the twins to stand guard.” Serena touched her maid’s cheeks, cradling her face in her hands. “How will I ever forgive myself for what I’ve done to you?”
Pepper sighed. “You did nothing and, besides,” she leaned her head to one side to savor the contact between them, “I think you’ll feel better once you get a good look in a mirror. I think you clearly got the worst of it, mistress.”
“I don’t care. Bruises heal.”
Pepper was quiet for a moment, then blinked a few times. “Oh, the twins did you say? I think I’d like that!”
It made no sense but tears gave way to laughter and the women clung to each other, grateful to be alive and safe.
Chapter Nineteen
The doctor spoke to Phillip in the hallway outside of James’ bedroom, apparently unwilling to involve the ‘delicate sensibilities’ of the women in the matter. “I’ve slowed the bleeding and applied a poultice. It’s a prick, or even a small stab wound but…without seeing the weapon I cannot ascertain how deep or what damage he might have sustained.” The doctor cleared his throat. “No one has found the source of it?”
Phillip shook his head. “The women were unarmed. A quick search revealed nothing. Not even a pair of sewing scissors.”
“Well, he’s certainly well enough for conversation and the constable is eager to get to the bottom of things, so I shall give him leave to do so.”
“Thank you, Doctor Greene.”
The man nodded solemnly. “It’s a sordid business this.”
“Sickening, sir.”
Phillip waited outside the door to try to summon his own control. Fury hummed through him and the desire to stride through the door and murder James was palpable enough to make breathing a struggle.
There was no question of James’ guilt in the attack. Caught in the act, the women’s injuries and his own mumbled admission that “it was a weakness” of his. Pepper had been ice cold in her terror but he didn’t think he would ever be able to forget the sight of Serena. Bloodied and bruised though eerily calm at James’ feet, his fist pulled back to strike her again.
He’d have run into the room if Pepper hadn’t thrown herself against him, hysterically crying for them to save her mistress. He had never felt so helpless and so numb with rage.
No. That wasn’t true. The sensation was eerily familiar though the circumstances were altogether different. No. No similarities at all. Except for—Raven Wells.
Phillip closed his eyes as everything began to turn. He fought it the way a lunatic fights the invisible hands that pull at his skin. For there was nothing to doubt. James was guilty. The horrible scene was over.
Except a part of him couldn’t stop looking at Serena and wondering what her part had truly been. He didn’t want to fall into the trap of the past and lose her in a blind cloud of suspicion.
But there she’d been. Proud and calm in the middle of pure chaos, and Phillip’s instincts sang in alarm. Lady Serena Wellcott had been in command where one least expected it and anyone who’d missed it was a fool.
Enough. She is innocent and no one but James is to blame.
Phillip returned inside James’ bedroom, leaving the door open. James was sitting in bed like a petulant toddler.
“God, what an unthinkable fuss over a piece of tart!” James barked.
Phillip strode over to the bed, giving in to the icy fury filling his chest. He’d hauled his cousin’s husband up by his nightshirt and began to shake him like a ragdoll before James realized his mistake. “You, worthless animal!”
James fought back weakly, blubbering. “Warrick! I…I am a gentleman! The maid swore she liked it rough and I was intrigued. I acted only to spare Delilah—a man’s appetites are—I am….”
Phillip shoved him back on the bed in disgust then moved to yank on the bellpull. “Shut up, James! Stop talking or I swear to God, I will beat you senseless!”
The constable came quickly with two local strong men at his back. What Phillip didn’t expect was to see Lady Serena Wellcott and Delilah also coming into the meeting. The bruise over Serena’s eye had bloomed into a dark purple and her cheek was swollen but she was defiantly beautiful, holding his cousin’s hand.
“Where is the maid in question?” the constable asked.
“She is resting in the blue bedroom. The doctor gave her a sleeping draught but if you need to question her, it can be arranged later,” Serena said without emotion. “I am Lady Serena Wellcott, her mistress, and I was the one who interrupted the assault only to be…struck by Mr. Osborne.”
“Let’s not trouble the girl as yet but hear your side of it, Lady Wellcott.”
A quick recounting of the morning’s events was made and then Delilah added her voice to the fray. Phillip listened in amazed admiration at her courage.
“I have learned that this is not his first violent act in this house, Mr. Preston,” Delilah said softly, her voice also level and strong. “My housekeeper made notes at my request to recall an accounting of the maids who have suffered and left our service as a result. I am sure those girls will testify to the worst of it.”
“When did you ask her for these notes, Mrs. Osborne?” the constable asked.
“Just yesterday. Lady Wellcott’s maid, Pepper, confided that she was afraid of my husband and I was inspired to make inquiries. I am ashamed my instincts were so slow to understand why we have lost so many young women from our service.”
“Delilah!” James roared. “This is—a ridiculous conspiracy!”
Every eye turned toward him and it was clear that the only thing ‘ridiculous’ in the room was James Osborne clutching his bleeding bandaged balls and braying about his innocence.
“Here are Mrs. Watson’s notes,” Delilah held out a folded paper to the constable. “I am sad to say that I have read over them and can verify their accuracy… I fear it is a chilling and true accounting.”
“Think of the scandal, Delilah!” James moaned. “What are you saying?”
Lady Wellcott sighed and stepped forward to touch her friend’s shoulder. “He does have an unsettling point. The scandal will affect you all—even your unborn child, Mrs. Osborne.”
Phillip gasped at the revelation, instantly gripped by joy and sadness for Delilah. God, how long has she prayed for a child? And now to be faced with this mess? But he was also set back on his heels at the unexpected twist of Serena cautioning against exposure. Surely the best revenge is seeing James tarred and feathered for his assault?
“What do you wish to do, Lady Wellcott? Mrs. Osborne?” the constable asked. “If he is charged with these crimes, it cannot be kept from the locals and from the papers.”
“If I may,” Serena spoke again,
“perhaps now is the time to strike an agreement. I’d advised Mrs. Osborne that I would be amenable to a compromise but only if her husband agrees to it.”
Delilah looked at her husband, her gentle shy spirit giving way to a woman infused with fury. “My husband will sign over the running of the house and holdings to me, he will leave this house shortly thereafter and he will leave England before the week is out. James has always had a fondness for the west.”
“I will not be thrown out of my own house!” James protested.
“Then you can be hauled out and rot in prison or be shipped off to Australia in exile,” Delilah countered calmly. “But make no mistake, James. You will not live here with me.”
“Delilah!”
“I am sparing you a divorce only because I don’t want to rob our child of his legacy and I am offering you your freedom, James. You will leave. Leave and never come back! If you do, then be aware that the constable will retain that record of your transgressions. Only prison and ruin will greet you if you return.”
Phillip clenched his jaw but said nothing. He wasn’t entirely sure that it would be legally binding, the notes of a housekeeper years after crimes had been committed or even the testimony of his victims if a judge refused to hear them, but it was clear that James had no sense of it to argue. And of the recent attack, there’s no question at all, and that’s the noose he won’t climb out of.
“If you agree to everything immediately and sign the legal paperwork directly, then I am offering to send a small stipend to assist with your expenses.” Delilah held up a hand before he could protest the word “small”. “Fight me and I will give you nothing, not one penny.”
“Delilah! I’m a man! Surely all this fuss over—“
Delilah turned to the constable. “The youngest girl on that list was twelve. These are not hardened women of the street. These were good girls who came to our service entrusted by their families to make better lives for themselves and—“
“Very well! Very well! I will…go.”
Lady Wellcott took Delilah’s arm. “We’ll draw up the paperwork to ensure that Mrs. Osborne has her due and her child is acknowledged as the heir. Mr. Osborne can sign them before the sun sets.”
“Mr. Preston,” Delilah said to the constable. “Please. Stay until the papers are signed if you can and then see that Mr. Osborne is safely escorted to the mail coach.”
“Yes, ma’am. With a glad heart,” the constable said and the men retreated to the hallway.
“I’ll meet you in the study downstairs,” Serena said. “We can draft the agreement and have it ready by the time the solicitor arrives.” She turned to Phillip. “Will you witness it when the time comes, Sir Warrick?”
He nodded. “If it protects Delilah…”
James growled from the bed. “Traitors and thieves! All of you!”
Phillip shook his head. “You’ll leave with your reputation intact and a chance for a new life, James. It is more than you deserve, God help you.”
But why do I have the sinking feeling that you’ve only begun to pay for your sins, James. Because that was so much tidier and painless than—than Lady Serena Wellcott’s gaze promised when she was looking at you.
You, James, are screwed.
Chapter Twenty
“That was…” Delilah sank into a chair by the fireplace and the women sat together to try to recover from the day’s events. “I can’t believe it is over.”
“The constable left with him and they’ll see him to the midnight mail coach.” Serena watched the flames. “I saw him and I must say with vast satisfaction, James did not look well.”
Delilah became very still before she whispered, “Did you poison him, Lady Wellcott?”
Serena smiled. “Not exactly.” She shook her head and refocused on Mrs. Osborne. “But I think it is too soon to reveal the details. Why not savor your freedom and the relief of knowing that not another maid in this house need work in fear or dread walking the halls?”
“I am truly the mistress of Southgate Hall thanks to you, Lady Wellcott!” Delilah sat up a little straighter, a new light flooding her eyes. “Dell and I will travel abroad for my “confinement” and when we return, there will be a baby in this house, at long last! A baby to banish nightmares and bring happiness to us all!”
Serena laughed. “I think it is the perfect end to this tale!”
Delilah laughed as well but then sobered. “I am stronger than I look. You said as much, Lady Wellcott. Tell me. Tell me everything.”
So much for diverting her with talk of baby names…
“Very well.” Serena shifted in her chair and resumed the mantle of the Black Rose. “James is a rapist and while I knew I could remove him from the house, it was hard to ignore the greater picture. Any woman in his path would be in danger.”
“Oh, god. You did poison him!”
Serena tipped her head to one side, absorbing that sweet, shy Delilah Osborne sounded less horrified than expected. Even so…
“I gelded him.”
Delilah gasped, her fingers flying to her lips to cover a wicked smile before she blushed at her own daring. “That’s—brilliant!”
“It is a bit grim but here,” Serena said as she reached up to remove the entire hair pin and sheath from her hair. “See the jade carving? And the blade?”
“So cunning!” Delilah pulled the blade out but then stopped as she realized that it was still coated with her husband’s blood. “Oh, god…it is a deadly thing, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Lady Wellcott agreed. “Every day, Pepper obtained fresh ingredients to taint the blade.”
“Fresh ingredients?” Delilah asked, returning the weapon to Serena.
“From Dell’s chamber pot.” Serena closed the weapon with a soft click to safely set it back into the curls atop her head. “Revenge can be a messy business. But I used your maid’s filth along with a few other things to guarantee that that one small puncture will cost him at the very least his sexual powers and if he refuses amputation when the infection sets in, potentially his life.” Serena smoothed out her skirts. “But if he dies, it is by his choice.”
“Like Lord L,” Delilah whispered.
“Like Lord L.” Serena stood. “Welcome to the Black Rose, Mrs. Osborne. I will naturally, stay in touch and will want to hear news of how you, Dell and your beautiful baby are faring.”
Delilah also stood, her expression steady, her eyes clear. “I am forever in your debt, Lady Wellcott.”
“Ah, the small price of membership,” Serena said with a smile. “Tonight, I will leave as well.”
“No! Please do not rush off!”
“If I have learned anything in the last few years, it is to anticipate when my departure is eminent.” She kissed Delilah’s cheeks. “We will see each other again. Don’t fear.”
Serena retreated without looking back and made her way upstairs.
There was no putting it off. She would have to face Phillip.
And she was determined to hold nothing back.
Win or lose.
Chapter Twenty-one
She knocked on his bedroom door, a woman resigned.
“Is he gone?” Phillip asked his voice rough with emotion as he pulled her into his room. He locked the door without a thought. “I still can’t believe what happened.”
“Can you not? Mr. James Osborne tried to rape my maid,” she answered, the quiet in her tone a complete contradiction of the storm inside of her. “My Pepper. Did you know that she was with me in the orphanage? That I met her there? My precious girl?”
His brow furrowed. “My god, I can hardly credit it! He has always seemed so—“
“Do. Not. Defend. Him.” Her hands clenched into fists so tightly she knew she’d drawn blood. “Make such a mistake at your own peril, Phillip. There is no question of his guilt, no smattering of doubt for you to quibble over his manly virtues.” She took a step closer to Phillip, squaring up like a warrior for combat. “He tried to rape my maid an
d would have succeeded had I not come in the room!”
“I wasn’t defending him. Can you not allow a person to be shocked to find that someone they’ve known for years has revealed themselves to be a criminal?” He crossed his arms, determined for her to see the irony of their argument. “I am not the enemy, woman.”
“No.” She pressed cool fingertips to her temples. “It has been—a difficult day. I never wished to see Pepper in danger and it has taken its toll on my peace of mind. Forgive me.”
“What? What did you say? You never wished to see her in danger?” His expression changed slowly until his eyes glittered with anger. “Did you knowingly put your maid, your ‘precious’ Pepper, in danger, Serena? Is this part of some scheme?”
Guilt fueled her own furious response. “Truly? Are you so late to the party, Sir Warrick? Yes. Your cousin requested my aid with her rapacious troll of a husband after he attacked her lady’s maid and I came. Yes. I blindly thought that it would be an easy matter and have learned that nothing is easy when someone you love is in harm’s way! But let’s get straight to the heart of the matter, shall we? If she had asked you, what would you have done? Would you have done better? Or would you have advised her to simply make sure her next lady’s maid was less attractive and given Osborne a brotherly lecture on being more discreet with his affairs?”
“That is—unfair! I would have…” Phillip’s words trailed off as he flailed on the horns of the dilemma. He knew as well as she that there was no simple path through the tangle of a maid who tried to accuse her employer of such a thing; that the legalities fell onto the man’s side of the case, but it was difficult to accept it. “I don’t know what I would have done. But I would not have slapped the man on the back and wished him well.”
“That is comforting. I’m sure Delilah and the women of Southgate would have slept better at your raging commitment to justice.” She folded her arms. “My hero.”
Lady Rises (The Black Rose Trilogy Book 2) Page 14