by Vikki Vaught
With eyes as large as saucers, Wallace replied, “I won’t tell nobody. Me lips are sealed yer lordship, and if ‘e shows back up again, I’ll make sure ‘e stays ‘ere till ye get ‘ere.”
When Matthew returned home, he met with Wells and the guards he’d hired and told them what he found out in the village. He let them know they needed to be ready at a moment’s notice. “When the innkeeper sends for me, I want two of you to come with me. When we get there, I’ll confront the bastard by myself, but I want you nearby. If he starts to run, you’ll need to stop him. I just know he’s the man we’re looking for.”
Wells nodded in agreement. “Whatever you need, my lord. We want to catch this man as badly as you do. Lady Collingswood has been so gracious to everyone since she came here to live. We hold her in very high esteem, so we’ll do anything we can to help you.”
That night, Matthew told Helen about what he found out in the village. “I’m going to take two guards with me, so Louis won’t be able to get away. I’ll get him to tell me everything. Once I get the truth out of him, then we’ll have Cecilia.”
Helen looked relieved. “Oh Matthew, I hope this works out. I just want this to be over with so we can get on with our lives. I’m tired of always having a guard watching me. I also miss our rides on the beach. Until we get her to confess, I know I’m not completely safe.”
“I promise you sweetheart, I’ll get her to confess, and then I’ll have her arrested for attempted murder. Then she’ll be out of our lives forever. I miss our morning rides and the picnics we took on the beach last year also. It won’t be much longer. I have a good feeling about this. I think Louis will show up quite soon, hopefully before the party. Now let’s go upstairs and we can continue this discussion in bed.”
Chapter 27
End of May 1821
The next two days went by, and Matthew didn’t hear anything from Wallace. Tonight was the last night before the party, and he certainly hoped Louis would show up. It would make it so much easier to get Cecilia to confess, if Louis told them everything.
That night at ten o’clock, the message came. Louis was at the inn. Matthew sent for Wells. The two guards that were coming with him were armed and ready. The other guards would stay at Collingswood and make sure Helen and his sons were safe. When he arrived at the inn, Wallace pointed out a man in the corner. He certainly fit the description that Helen had given him. The two guards came in and made their way to a table next to the one where Louis was sitting. Matthew approached Louis and sat down.
“Mind if I join you, Louis?” Matthew asked.
Louis looked at Matthew, and his eyes opened wide. Matthew could see that he was very nervous. “That’s my name, but how do you know me? I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. If you’ll excuse me, I was just getting ready to leave.”
When Louis stood up and started to leave, Matthew stood up and blocked the way. “You’re not going anywhere, you bastard. We’re going to have a long talk, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll cooperate. I can have you arrested for kidnapping my wife and sons. So you had better answer all my questions!”
Louis had broken out in a cold sweat as he looked at Matthew. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, I’m leaving, so move out of my way.”
Louis tried to step around Matthew, but Matthew grabbed his arm. “I was hoping we could talk about this like two civilized gentlemen, but obviously that isn’t going to happen. Guards, grab him!”
Louis pushed Matthew away and dashed towards the door. Matthew and the guards gave chase, and before Louis could get through the door, the guards subdued him. Matthew turned to the innkeeper. “Wallace, I need one of your private dining parlors. Can you please show me to one?”
“O’ course, milord. Just follow me.”
The guards pulled Louis along, and soon they were in the private parlor. Matthew said to the guards, “Tie him to the chair.”
Once that was done, he pulled a chair over, sat down, and began to question Louis. “Why did you abduct my wife and children?”
Trying to bluff his way around the issue, Louis drawled, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never even met your wife. Why would I do something like that?” Louis struggled against the ropes that tied him to the chair as he said this.
“I don’t know why you did it, but I know you’re responsible. It’s obvious that you were working for someone else. There’s no need for you to take all the blame. You do realize that kidnapping is a hanging offense, don’t you?”
Louis’s eyes darted around the room as he replied, “My lord, I have nothing more to say. Now release me this instant!”
“Enough!” Matthew bellowed, “Start talking, and you better give me the answers I want. My wife can identify you, so I’m sure your punishment will be swift. If you cooperate with me, I’ll see that you aren’t hanged, even though you deserve it. When I think of what could have happened to my wife in that brothel, it makes me want to kill you. So start talking if you value your life!”
Louis sat there tied to the chair and hung his head. “I did it for my cousin, Cecilia. She thinks that if your wife is dead, you’ll turn to her and marry her,” Louis explained.
Matthew stood up with so much force his chair fell backward. “I knew Cecilia was behind it! Did she want her dead, or just abducted?”
Louis looked up. “She wanted her dead…and your sons. She wanted your wife killed last fall. It was Cecilia’s idea for me to cut the girth on your wife’s saddle. When that didn’t work, she had me cut some of the spokes on the wheel of your carriage, hoping she would be killed when the carriage overturned. As you know, that didn’t happen.”
“You bastard! What else did you do at Cecilia’s bidding? Tell me everything!”
Louis struggled against the ropes that held him bound to the chair as he replied with fear causing his voice to shake, “When your w-wife had your sons, Cecilia became a bit unhinged and demanded that I k-kill them and your wife. I refused to kill the b-babies, so I suggested we send them to a baby farm. I was supposed to kill your wife and leave her body on the beach, so it would look as if she’d drowned, but when it came time for me to do it, I just couldn’t.”
“You better be glad you didn’t kill her. I would have hunted you down. No place on earth would have protected you from my wrath! Now tell me the rest. How did my wife end up in the brothel?”
“When I realized that I couldn’t kill her, I came up with the idea of selling her to a brothel. Madame Lucille assured me there was no way for her to escape, but evidently that wasn’t true, because she obviously did, or either you rescued her.”
Matthew felt fury roll through him like a tidal wave. “You’re damned right I rescued her, and you better be glad no harm came to her. If it had, you’d be a dead man right now!”
“You’ve got to believe me. I never wanted to hurt your wife, but Cecilia’s been good to me,” Louis pleaded. “I was an outcast with my own family, but Cecilia never turned her back on me. I felt as if I owed her. Besides, it’s very hard to tell Cecilia no.”
“Better an outcast than a murderer! Tell me what she has planned, now that she realizes that my wife is still alive.”
“You need to know she hasn’t given up on killing your wife. She plans to do it tomorrow night at the party. I don’t know how she plans to do it, but I do know she’s very serious about getting rid of her. Cecilia has always been temperamental. I fear this has caused her to lose her mind. Be very careful tomorrow night, or she’ll succeed.”
“Now that I know what she has planned,” Matthew retorted, “I’ll thwart her. She shan’t get the chance to harm my wife. You should thank the heavens above that I found out before she could do anything.”
“I’m so sorry for the grief I caused your family. All I’ll say in my defense is that if I hadn’t done it for Cecilia, she would have found someone else, and they wouldn’t have balked at killing your sons or your wife. What are you going to do to me?”
“I’m going to take you to the magistrate and let him deal with you. I’ll tell him that I don’t want you to hang, but you’ll probably be transported. You’re going to tell the magistrate everything you’ve told me.” Matthew had the guards untie Louis from the chair, but he told them to keep his hands tied. Grabbing Louis by the arm, Matthew pulled him out of the inn. Then Matthew and the guards took Louis to the magistrate. When they turned him over to the magistrate, Louis told him everything.
After the magistrate finished questioning Louis and had him sign his confession, he stated, “I’ll arrest Mrs. Arlington in the morning. With Louis’s sworn statement, I’ll be able to get a conviction, and she’ll hang.”
Frustrated when he heard this, Matthew spoke up. “I need you to arrest her now. I won’t rest easy until she’s put away and can’t harm my wife.”
The magistrate continued to refuse. “I’m sure everything will be fine if we wait until morning. Louis said her plan is to kill your wife tomorrow evening at the party, so there’s no reason for her to try something sooner. Now, I don’t want to hear any further discussion. I’ll arrest her tomorrow morning at first light, and that’s final.” Grudgingly, Matthew and his guards left.
When Matthew got home, he went upstairs to tell Helen what had happened. He found her in their sitting room pacing back and forth. “We got him! He’s been arrested and is under guard at the magistrate’s house. The magistrate is going to arrest Cecilia in the morning. I tried to get him to arrest her tonight, but he refused. I just hope all goes well tomorrow morning. I’ll not rest easy until she’s put away for good.” Yawning deeply, he added, “Well, my dear, I’m exhausted. I just want to go to bed and hold you in my arms.”
Helen went into his arms. “Oh, thank goodness. It’s almost over, and we’ll be able to put this all behind us. I do wish the magistrate had arrested her tonight. It has been a tiring day. I’m exhausted too. Let’s go to bed.” Matthew took her hand and led her into his bedroom. After Helen crawled in bed, Matthew joined her, and then they held each other as they drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, when the magistrate went to arrest Cecilia, she was nowhere to be found. Her servants couldn’t give them any information. Matthew and his guards went out to search for her with the magistrate. They searched all day and couldn’t find her. It was as if she had fallen off the face of the earth. They questioned Louis, but he couldn’t think of anywhere she might have gone. Matthew arrived home at six o’clock, just in time to get ready for the party. He had a bad feeling about this situation with Cecilia, especially after what Louis had told him about her plans for Helen’s demise. He had Wells find footmen attire for all the guards so they could move freely among the guests that evening.
Helen and Matthew’s guests started arriving at eight o’clock, and soon everyone they invited was there, except Cecilia. They went into dinner, and everything was going smoothly. After dinner, Helen led the ladies to the drawing room so they could leave the gentlemen to their port and cigars.
Once the gentlemen joined the ladies, Helen led them to the music room where she had the card tables set up. The guests paired up, and they began to play whist. Helen and Matthew were playing with Vicar Winslow and his wife, and they were having an exceedingly good game. Matthew might not be much of a gambler, but he was an excellent whist player.
After they won the first set, Helen stood up. “I need to go check on something. It will only take me a moment. I’ll be right back.” Matthew looked alarmed, but then Helen whispered in his ear, “I’m just going to the retiring room. I’ll be fine. The guards are patrolling the halls.”
When she got to the retiring room, it was empty, or so she thought. As she got ready to leave, someone sneaked up behind her, grabbed her, and pulled a knife on her. Helen was afraid to fight back because the knife was digging into her side.
“Who are you, and what do you want?”
Cecilia whispered, “I’ve got you now. We’re going to take a little walk out to your garden. Don’t make any sudden movements, or you’ll regret it. Start walking out the door and keep a smile on your face. I’ll kill you if you raise the alarm in any way. Then I’ll find your children and kill them too.”
When Cecilia mentioned her sons, Helen became paralyzed with fear. She just hoped Matthew would come looking for her before this mad woman killed her or hurt her sons. The hall was empty, so she turned toward the back of the house. As directed, she walked down the hall until they came to the back door, which led out to the garden. Helen opened the door and stepped outside, all while Cecilia had the knife digging into her side.
Once they were in the garden, Helen started to move away from Cecilia, but she pulled her back. “Any more moves like that, and I’ll kill you right now.” By this time, they had reached the shed. Cecilia said in a low voice, “Open the door and slowly walk inside, but don’t think you can get away from me.”
“Why are you doing this? You won’t get away with killing me or my sons, and you’ll never have Matthew. Louis has already confessed to the abduction of our sons and me. He told Matthew you were the one behind the kidnapping and that you told him to kill my babies and me.”
Twisting Helen’s arm, Cecilia retorted, “I just know you’re the reason that I can’t have Matthew, and if I can’t have him, then you can’t have him either. He doesn’t deserve to have his brats. I’m going to make him suffer for turning away from me. Once you and his sons are dead, I’m going to go to the continent, and he’ll never find me!”
Helen knew she had to keep her talking to give Matthew enough time to find her. While Cecilia was talking, she released Helen, not realizing she had done so. Helen slowly moved backward while she kept Cecilia talking. As her back hit the shelf, she remembered that the garden claw was on the shelf where it had been left after she had finished helping Christina and Catherine plant a new rosebush. If she could just get it, then she would have a weapon to use against Cecilia.
Helen kept Cecilia talking and distracted as she felt around behind her for the tool. There was no way she was going to let Cecilia kill her, or her sons. If she had to, she would kill her rather than let her harm her babies. Thank goodness for the darkness, because Cecilia couldn’t see what she was doing. Helen found the claw and eased it down to her side.
“I’ve told you enough. It won’t matter to you anyway, because you’re getting ready to die!”
As Cecilia raised the knife over her head and started to bring it down to stab her, Helen knocked the knife out of Cecilia hands, but she was too fast for Helen. Cecilia grabbed her arm before she could get away. It was amazing how strong Cecilia was, since she was a small woman. Helen still had the claw, but she couldn’t get in the right position to use it. Finally, she was able to swing it at Cecilia and it caught her in the shoulder. Helen pulled down with all her might. Cecilia screamed out in pain, just as Matthew burst through the door of the shed.
Helen ran into his arms. The guards captured Cecilia before she could get away. Cecilia was bleeding profusely from the shoulder, so it was easy for the guards to overpower her. Finally, it was over. Helen buried her head into Matthew’s chest, and he hugged her close.
While Matthew continued to hold Helen, he directed the guards. “There’s a rope on the shelf. Get it and tie Mrs. Arlington up so she can’t get away. There should be some clean rags on the shelf to bandage her shoulder.” Cecilia was so unhinged, she was babbling incoherently. It was clear she was mad. “Keep Mrs. Arlington in the shed, and after I get Lady Collingswood inside, I’ll come back so we can take her to the magistrate.”
Matthew picked Helen up and carried her into the house. Helen smiled at Matthew. “Put me down, Matthew, I’m fine. Let me deal with our guests while you take Cecilia to the magistrate. I’ll just tell them you had to handle some estate business, and you'll return shortly, if anyone asks where you are. We’ll keep this quiet to avoid any type of scandal. Here, let me straighten my clothes.” Patting her hair and straightening her g
own, she asked, “How do I look?”
“You look incredible. I don’t know how you managed it, but you don’t look disheveled at all. You’re truly a remarkable woman.” Matthew gave her a quick kiss and rushed back outside.
Helen took a deep, cleansing breath before returning to the music room where their guests were still playing cards. Meredith looked at Helen and asked, “Is everything all right? Matthew acted worried and left the room. Did he find you?”
“Yes, and he received a message from our steward, so he had to go take care of a slight problem that couldn’t wait. He’ll be back shortly.” Helen turned to her guests. “Everyone, if you’ll follow me into the drawing room we shall have our tea.”
Everyone followed her into the drawing room and Helen served tea. After they finished enjoying their tea, the guests began to leave. Helen was so relieved the evening was over. She just hoped everything went smoothly for Matthew. It was such a relief to not have to worry about Cecilia trying to kill her anymore.
Colin and Meredith came over to Helen. “We had a marvelous time this evening. Thank you for having us. We have a committee meeting tomorrow at two o’clock. It’s at the rectory and I hope you’ll be able to attend.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it tomorrow, but I’ll definitely be there next week. I’m glad you had a good time tonight. We’ll do this again in the near future.” After everyone left, Helen went up to her room where Sally helped her get ready for bed. Then she dismissed Sally and told her she wouldn’t need her again. Helen curled up on the sofa in the sitting room to wait for Matthew.
Matthew and the guards got Cecilia to the magistrate and turned her over to him. Once she was in his custody, Matthew asked, “What’s going to happen to her?”
“It’s obvious that Mrs. Arlington is mad, so I’ll be sending her to Bedlam in London. She’ll live out the rest of her life in captivity because she would be a danger to others and herself. I’ll get Dr. Moore to treat her wound. By the way, how did she get injured? Thank God you caught her before she could hurt your wife.”