Book Read Free

Wishing For Rainbows (Historical Romance)

Page 22

by Rebecca King


  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Now that help had arrived, Ursula’s self-control wavered.

  “Trenton,” she gasped as she slid across the seat.

  He swept her against his side for a somewhat awkward hug and kissed the top of her head without taking his eyes off either Alfred or Hyacinth.

  “Are you alright, Ursula? Did they hurt you?” he asked without taking his eyes off the people on the seat opposite.

  Ursula shook her head. “No, they didn’t hurt me. Other than a fright, and a few bruises, I am fine.”

  “You alright, guvnor?” the coachman who had helped him race after them asked suddenly from the doorway.

  “Yes, but I need more help. Can you get someone to secure the horses and make sure they don’t run away on us? Also send someone to fetch the magistrate. We have three – no, make that two people here who have abducted this lady and need to be arrested. Tell them Viscount Atherbury sent you.”

  The man hesitated and nodded down the road. “That was the driver?”

  Trenton nodded and looked hesitantly at Hyacinth. “Gone?” he asked obliquely.

  The coachman peered inside, took one look at Alfred and the gun, and nodded briskly. “Aye.” He hailed a coachman heading in the opposite direction before Trenton could say anything else, and disappeared.

  Trenton mentally cursed when Ursula leaned out of the carriage and looked down the road toward Mrs Sinnerton’s body. Her head whipped back around and she stared at him in shocked disbelief. He nodded solemnly, and issued her with a look that warned her not to ask.

  “So,” Trenton began, not sure if he was talking to Hyacinth, or Alfred. He checked the gun to make sure it had shot in it before he sat back against the seat to wait. “Ursula, have they spoken to you?”

  Ursula nodded and relayed her conversation with Alfred.

  “So, Alfred, I know you are awake so I suggest you get up. I have your gun. The magistrate is on his way. The coach is guarded now so if you and your sister are stupid enough to try to get out of here, you won’t go far before you are shot. Kidnapping is a criminal offense, you know.”

  “He intended to force me to marry him,” Ursula told him.

  “I suspect that is because of your inheritance,” Trenton replied, and watched Alfred twitch once and then sit upright.

  “What?” Ursula stared at him. “Inheritance?”

  “What I want to know is how you knew about it, Sinnerton?” Trenton murmured thoughtfully. “After all, the only people who know about it are me, and her father, Jeremiah. I think Adelaide might know about it too, but she won’t divulge family secrets amongst the ton. She is too familiar with the way society in London works to be boastful about such circumstance until it has happened.”

  “What has happened?” Ursula gasped. “What inheritance?”

  “Your father will explain. Right now, I want to know how Alfred found out.” He leaned forward menacingly in his seat and watched Alfred look cautiously at Hyacinth.

  “Where is mother?” he asked.

  “Dead,” Trenton bit out. “She fell off the carriage when she refused to stop it.”

  Ursula closed her eyes. In spite of what they had put her through, she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for them.

  “It’s what we ran over, wasn’t it? Her?” Hyacinth said dully.

  When Trenton nodded, she said a silent prayer and thanked God before she tipped her head back and began to smile.

  “I take it you are not upset then.” It wasn’t a question. He was deeply horrified at the callousness of the both of them who looked more relieved than grief-stricken.

  “How can anybody be upset about losing someone who ridicules them and treats them like they are nobody?” Hyacinth snorted. “We weren’t people. We were her pawns to push and shove around at will.”

  “He treated you like you were nobody?” Ursula asked with a frown at Alfred.

  “No. Mother treated me and him like we were complete idiots,” Alfred snapped. “I shall be glad to be rid of her.”

  “Good Lord. You really mean that,” Trenton murmured as he studied them both and saw not one hint of grief on either of their faces. “What happened to drive you to this?” He gestured to the carriage they sat in.

  “This was all mother’s ridiculous idea. We told her it wouldn’t work but she never listened to anybody,” Hyacinth reported.

  “Kidnapping me, or the flowers?” Ursula asked, struggling to keep track of the conversation.

  “All of it. The assignation in the conservatory, the break-in at your house, following you everywhere, and the flowers; they were all her idea.”

  Ursula looked at Trenton, and was shocked to note that he didn’t look as shocked as she was.

  “You knew?” she gasped.

  Trenton nodded. “I suspected that it was Alfred because Brampton was busy with Barbarella,” he admitted on a sigh. “I just had no proof until now.”

  “Why?” Still focused on getting as much information out of Hyacinth and Alfred as he could, Trenton frowned at Alfred. “Besides the money?”

  “Money?” Ursula parroted. She was starting to get annoyed that nobody seemed inclined to answer her.

  “Because our dearest father was a scoundrel, that’s why,” Hyacinth snorted in disgust when Alfred remained silent. “To everyone else, he was a pillar of society; someone who could be trusted to deal with legal matters with integrity. In private, he was a gambler, and ran up debts he couldn’t hope to repay. Unfortunately, rather than stop gambling when he realised how bad things had got, as most decent people would do, Abraham continued and sank us all as deep as it was possible to go.”

  “He was a solicitor. A reputable man who ran a thriving business,” Trenton muttered. “Surely to God he didn’t ruin the business as well.”

  Alfred shook his head. “No, he didn’t, but only because he didn’t own the business outright. He did borrow money off his partner as well. I think his partner knew about his gambling and lent him the money knowing he couldn’t repay it. When it became evident that his creditors wanted their money back, father’s business partner demanded his money back too. Abraham was forced to admit that he couldn’t repay the debt, so the partner got Abraham to sign over his share of the partnership in lieu of repayment. It still wasn’t enough to clear all the money he owed, and once he had given up his partnership he could no longer work there after that. I lost my job too.”

  “Sounds reasonable,” Trenton countered less than sympathetic. “Did he have a lot of other debts?”

  Both Alfred and Hyacinth nodded.

  “Without the business, or a wage, he had no way of paying them,” Hyacinth murmured.

  “What happened to him? Is he in Debtors’ Prison?” Ursula asked, as horrified as she was enthralled by their story.

  “He took that gun and blew his brains out.” Alfred nodded to the gun in Trenton’s hands.

  Trenton stared down at it. “Do you expect me to believe that your father, or mother, knew about Ursula’s wealth, and your mother decided to come to London to get her hands on it?”

  It was too ridiculous a notion to contemplate and shook his head in disgust.

  “We faced eviction from our house because we couldn’t settle Abraham’s debts. Mother had some savings put aside, but they weren’t enough to cover our living costs let along any debt repayments. We needed to do something to change our circumstance, or we would have been living out on the streets with nowhere to go. Rather than use her savings to pay the creditors, we snuck out like thieves in the middle of the night. The only place we could think of disappearing to was London. We agreed to come with her in the hope that she would suggest we go out to work, and we would have a bit of freedom at last. Unfortunately, mother had other ideas.”

  When Alfred lapsed into thoughtful silence, Hyacinth glanced at her brother.

  “We had no recommendations so couldn’t get jobs. Mother had the idea that we could use the last of our savings to pass ourselves off as
aristocracy, or people who were well connected. If we could get into the ballrooms of the ton, we could find wealthy people to marry, and it would solve our financial problems.” She pierced Trenton with a dark glare. “Unfortunately, because of our situation, we would have to use force if necessary to persuade someone to marry one of us, or compromise them.”

  “God, you are merciless,” Ursula snapped in disgust.

  Hyacinth glared at her. “We were facing destitution. It is amazing what you will do if you have no money and nowhere to go. We baulked at the idea when mother suggested it, and tried to persuade her not to make us do it. She refused to listen to us. Instead, she brought her entire wardrobe with her, added lots of fripperies and lace, and created a wardrobe of slightly out-of-date clothes.”

  “How did you get a letter of recommendation though? I mean, you can’t just waltz into the ton, and have people willing to welcome you with open arms. You cannot be connected to anybody,” Trenton asked with a frown.

  It was an audacious scheme; and lunacy for someone so unused to the ways of the ton. The fact that they had even tried it, and gotten as far as they had, was a miracle on its own. He couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if the season had been in full swing.

  “My father was a solicitor. He knew of people in society who had estates in Somerset. We used one of their names and falsified a letter. It was a risk, but enough to get us into someone’s ball. Mother made acquaintances with people, but was too pushy at times and offended several people with her unsophisticated ways. She wasn’t used to the protocols of society and we all made a lot of mistakes. It was hit and miss for a long time. However, it didn’t take long before she overheard your aunt telling her friends that she was expecting you to arrive from Yorkshire. She was looking forward to being able to show you the sights of London and, hopefully, you would marry before your birthday at Christmas. She was telling her friends about the huge sum of money you were due to inherit when you reached five and twenty.”

  Alfred snorted disparagingly. “Mother was determined you would be our meal ticket to better times. The fact that you were due to inherit a lot of money made you a prime candidate.”

  “That, and the fact that your aunt told her friends that you came from Yorkshire, and weren’t used to the ballrooms of the ton,” Hyacinth added.

  Ursula looked at Alfred, who glared back defiantly. “I told her we were crossing the line into criminality but she wouldn’t listen to me. She had sniffed the scent of money and nothing would thwart her. Running away from our father’s debts was one thing. We were going to lose the house anyway. Abduction, kidnap, false imprisonment, and God knows what else she would have dragged us into meant we all faced jail if we were caught.”

  “Let me get this straight. Once you found out about her money, you planned to abduct Ursula and force her to marry you, Alfred, and then wait for her birthday. As her husband, you would gain control of any money she inherited and your family issues would be resolved. What about Ursula though? Did you not consider that she would object to the marriage? Did you not consider that her family would question why someone like her would marry someone like you, Alfred?” Trenton asked. He was physically trembling with rage and shook his head in disbelief at the outrageous scheming. He wasn’t entirely sure if it is stupidly arrogant or naively ignorant, but it was foolish to even attempt such a fete and hope to get away with it.

  Alfred looked hesitantly at Hyacinth. “The family wouldn’t question the marriage if she was ruined completely and with child. She would be a social pariah if she walked out on a marriage. I would claim that the realities of marriage had tipped her mind and, as her husband, I would take control of her life. She wouldn’t be allowed to tell anyone anything.” He looked straight into Trenton’s eyes. “Not even her family.”

  Trenton snorted. “You don’t know her family. Her Aunt wouldn’t allow you to get away with trying to block her from Ursula’s life because they know she would never do such a thing.”

  Hyacinth glared at him defiantly. “We told mother that we weren’t going to get away with it, but she wouldn’t be reasoned with. I told her I would get a job, but she wouldn’t have that either. She wanted me to be at home so I could fetch and carry for her.”

  “Hyacinth was nothing but mother’s maid,” Alfred announced sadly. He placed his hand comfortingly over his sister’s and they smiled sadly at each other for a moment before Hyacinth looked solemnly at them.

  “I had hoped that we wouldn’t get away with it, if I am honest. I would have much preferred time in prison to spending the rest of my days with mother. She was a witch, in the truest sense. She didn’t care one iota about us. We were merely there to serve her. I wanted to work to earn some money but she wouldn’t allow it.” Hyacinth looked at her brother. “We had discussed ruining her plans so she would forget the idea, but we knew mother would only try something else.”

  “If we failed at this she would have become impossible to live with. She would have made our lives miserable until we gave her what she wanted. At least if I married and had money, I could move me and Hyacinth away from her,” Alfred murmured.

  “But she would know what you did. Do you really think that she would allow you to just walk away with the money and turn your back on her?” Trenton asked with a frown.

  He was struggling to absorb everything they were telling him. It was a ludicrous scheme but the mere fact that they were sitting in a carriage by the side of the road, with a dead woman lying feet away, was testament to the fact that they had indeed tried it; and failed.

  “We were going to inform her creditors of where to find her if she posed a risk. They would hound her for their money and she would be forced to go to Debtors’ prison because she had no way of paying them. It would be enough to keep her out of the way,” Hyacinth reported matter-of-factly.

  “Why didn’t you do that to persuade her not to go through with her scheme to marry one of you off?” Ursula asked with a frown. She was only one woman, after all. Surely both of them weren’t so scared of her that they wouldn’t put up a united front.

  “We considered it. Alfred even tried, but mother said that she would make sure we were arrested for breaking in to your house.” Alfred nodded toward Ursula. “She also said that she would report to the magistrate here that we had been responsible for Abraham’s death.”

  “She blackmailed you to go along with it,” Trenton snorted, suddenly not feeling so bad for the woman’s demise.

  “She would have hated Debtor’s prison,” Hyacinth remarked to nobody in particular.

  “She could have died there as far as I am concerned,” Alfred snapped defensively. “Now though, it isn’t an issue. Even behind bars, we are free at last. We can serve our sentences and then get on with our lives.”

  “But you will have nothing,” Ursula mused.

  “We have never had anything,” Hyacinth replied. “Mother had it all and held it over us daily to ensure that we did as she wanted.”

  “Would she really have cast you out like that? I mean, with no job you would have no money, and nowhere to go. Would she have been that cruel?” Trenton asked doubtfully.

  “Undoubtedly,” both Alfred and Hyacinth replied in unison.

  Trenton looked at Ursula, who appeared to be just as stunned as he felt, but was prevented from asking anything else by the arrival of the magistrate. While Hyacinth and Alfred were arrested, Trenton handed Ursula down from the carriage. Together they stood back to watch them being shackled.

  “Do you think they told us the truth?” Ursula asked quietly.

  Trenton shrugged. “I think we have to be mindful of the fact that there is no proof to substantiate their story.”

  She nodded but couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for their situation.

  Trenton wasn’t so soft though and watched dispassionately as the shackles were placed on Hyacinth’s ankles and wrists. Just the thought of what might have happened to Ursula was more than enough to harden hi
s heart toward both of them, no matter what had driven them to it. As far as he was concerned they deserved whatever fate awaited them.

  When Alfred stepped down from the carriage, he looked directly at Ursula and stood still while heavy irons were put onto his wrists.

  “Take a word of advice from me?” Alfred said quietly as he looked from Ursula to Trenton. “Be careful of Roger Brampton. While I was in the park the other day, I overheard him talking to that Barbarella Somersby woman. They plan for Brampton to ruin you. She wants revenge for Calderhill refusing to offer for her. He wants you because of your connections to Adelaide.”

  Ursula lifted a horrified gaze toward Trenton’s. He studied Alfred for a moment and then nodded his thanks. It didn’t surprise him; he had already had suspicions in that regard himself.

  They remained silent while the criminals were led to the jailer’s cart. Once they were gone, Trenton thanked and paid the coachman who had been such an invaluable to aiding Ursula’s rescue and was then finally free to turn his full attention to the woman who meant the world to him.

  “Let’s get you back to Adelaide’s,” he murmured gently. He didn’t want to add to her already difficult day, but she had to meet with her father.

  “Thank you for everything you have done for me,” she whispered as he led her toward the carriage.

  “I could hardly allow you to vanish on me now that I have found you, darling,” he murmured.

  “It was very good of you to come after me,” she sighed. “How did you know what had happened to me?”

  He quickly explained what he had witnessed and paused when she gasped and looked panicked.

  “Molly? How is Molly? Did you see her?” she demanded.

  “I saw her. I think she was hit on the head, but she was standing up and talking.” He shrugged. “I didn’t bother to wait to find out if she had any injuries.”

  “I think we had better go and see how she is.”

  Trenton beckoned to the helpful coachman who was seeing to his horses and asked him to take them to Adelaide’s house before he handed Ursula aboard. Once she was seated he studied her pale complexion across the narrow confines of the conveyance and drew her into a tender embrace.

 

‹ Prev