Alan’s head was spinning. None of this made any sense. He had thought he would come to meet Williams, angry about his affair with Agnes. This, was way off. Who had done this wicked thing to him? He looked at Victoria who stared at him, her gaze hard and unflinching. There was something else there, but now wasn’t the time to try to decipher it.
“You must believe me, Williams. This is the work of someone trying to sabotage our relationship and ruin my name. As you said, I have more than I could ever hope to spend if I lived for two hundred years more. Why would I do this thing?”
It was Victoria who answered. “Greed. Why else do people do these things? Men. Wealth is never enough, is it?” She rose and went to her husband’s side to take his hands in hers, offering comfort. “And oh … you have lost the right to address my husband by his name. You shall acknowledge his title and the fact that he is above you whenever you speak to him from now on.” She smiled so sweetly, and Alan saw why he never liked her, as much as he adored Williams and the girls. Still, he bowed his head.
“My apologies, My Lord and Lady. It is only that this is as much a shock to me as it is to you. Please, I pray thee. Tell me how you came about this so that I may carry out some investigations of my own and expose this fraud for what it is. I have to clear my name.” It was the very least he could do. He was agitated by the implication of this. The Duke would never trust him again, and if word got out about this, he would lose a lot of associates. Whoever had gone to this length could easily do the same with others.
“It was received from a trustworthy source. If you are indeed innocent, you may go on about clearing your name on your own. Until then, I choose to believe this is true. You might have had your guess already, but I will say this still, to avoid any confusion. Whatever relationship we had has been severed. Business-wise, and the likes. There shall be no more transactions between Birmingham and Sheldon and sons. You are not allowed to show up anywhere around my vicinity after you leave today. I do not even want to see you or have anything to do with you. You must also bear in mind that this is not about the money. It is about my trust which has been betrayed. I treated you like the son I never had, opened my doors and welcomed you into my home, and you choose to repay me in this manner …” Williams took a pause as he released a deep sigh.
“Leave, and never return.”
Alan willed the ground to open up and swallow him but knew he would have no such luck. The deed had been done, and there was nothing more to say. He looked at the parchment in his hands and considered dropping it but decided otherwise. He would clear his name, and he would be needing this to do so. Nothing he said here would be trusted. It was best he obeyed the Duke’s wishes.
Without a word, he turned and left the study. His head remained bowed in defeat as he walked. He had been right to have been afraid. This was so much worse than he had bargained for. He felt weakened, left with no strength to do anything. The look in Williams’s eyes would haunt him until he cleared his name, and he would.
He had already stepped out of the door when he heard the Duchess call out to him. Hers was a voice he could never mistake. What now? He turned to look at her, wondering if she was here to gloat. She had never failed to express what she thought of him. He knew she had barely been tolerating him. He could only imagine how glad she would be to finally be getting rid of him. At that thought, his eyes narrowed. The forgery had the perfect timing, and while he had not been able to think of anyone who had a score to settle with him, he wouldn’t put it past the woman in front of him.
“It was you.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.
His thoughts were confirmed when she gave into theatrical laughter. How did a man like Williams Birmingham end up with this woman?
“I see you have it figured. You are definitely an intelligent one. Let’s see what else you have figured out – my reason for doing this? I mean, what could I possibly have against you, uhm?” She narrowed her eyes as she searched and he kept his, akin to slits, his jaw set in a hard line.
“Hum …? Could it be the fact that I have a general dislike for people who refuse to know their place in the society? Or perhaps … the fact that you have been engaging in a secret affair with my daughter, behind my back?” Her smile was gone in a flash, and Alan’s eyes widened in surprise. So, this was it. She knew. He grappled for words to say but came up with nothing. What could he possibly say? She continued, anyway.
“Now, I know that you have plans to make your investigations and clear your name, but I would suggest that you do not. I make a formidable enemy, Alan, and I will crush you like the ant you are. You must remember this. There are more documents where that came from, each to expose your supposed fraudulent dealings with your other associates here in London. Your name will be ruined, and they will not be as kind as my husband. By the time they all collect the money you have swindled them of, you will be left with nothing but bankruptcy.”
Alan was speechless and was still trying to wrap his head around it all when she stepped closer and in a lower voice, she added her last note of warning.
“It would be in your best interest to leave London as soon as possible. The wedding is shy of two weeks away, and all must go according to plan. Next season, you may return. Agnes will be happily wedded and mayhap, even with child. If you refuse, I shall tell Williams of this, also. I shall tell him that you have been deceiving Agnes with lies to steal her virtue, and her fortune. I know how much you respect my husband. We can come to an agreement that his disappointment in you as of now, is sufficient, can we not?”
Alan was shocked to the bones. Beyond that, he was appalled. To think that he had fancied having this woman as a mother-in-law. Clearly, he had underestimated her. She was even more evil than he had reckoned. He swallowed hard, wetting his suddenly parched throat.
“What would Agnes have to say about that? Do you think she would keep quiet as you spread these lies about me and slander my name?”
He was startled as she busted into a gale of laughter. Now, what was this? he wondered. Patiently, he waited until she recovered from her fit. Her eyes still danced with her delight, though.
“How do you think I came to know about this in the first place? My sweet girl came to me with the truth.”
All he had felt that day could not be compared to what he felt at that moment. An arrow pierced through his heart and lodged itself there. Filling him with agony, every moment he dared to breathe.
“You tell lies, Victoria. I would consider that low, even for you?”
“Oh, poor boy. Denial, is that? Well, I’ll have you know that I have no need to feed you with lies to get rid of you. After all these years, why do you think my daughter has finally agreed to settle down? It is because she has fallen in love with the future Duke of Yorkshire. True love!” she chimed, ever her dramatic self.
“The scales have finally fallen off her eyes, and she now sees why it is best for her to marry a man deserving of her. Someone of equal social standing. I am afraid, but you will never be that man. Caught in a web of confusion, she came to her mother, because mother knows best! You can imagine my initial shock and disappointment, but they soon vanished to be replaced by pride. As I stroked her hair in comfort, I told her not to worry, that Mother will handle it. Now you see? It matters less if you believe or not. Just keep in mind that I do not make empty threats. Goodbye Alan. The next time I will be running into you in London, it had better be next season.” With that, she pivoted and floated back into her house, her skirts bouncing behind her.
Broken, devastated, Alan knew it was time to go. He could not believe Agnes would betray him so, but his mind and head were too muddled up to think clearly. Isabelle had said Agnes was miserable; he could remember how she had responded to his touch over a week ago. How could it be true?
Slowly, he turned, and through blurred eyesight he managed to find his way to his carriage. As he climbed on, he called out to his rider.
“Home.”
A whip crack
sounded, horses neighed, hoofs pounded against the tarred ground, and his wheels began to roll, carrying him to his place of solace. As they rode, he managed to bring his emotions into check and sort through his feelings. By the time his carriage came to a halt in front of Peak Hall, he had processed his way through the stages of grief, to the point of acceptance.
As he entered his home, head still bowed in defeat, a woman’s voice called out to him.
“Alan, is that you?”
He looked up at his mother as she stepped out of the drawing room. With one look, she instantly knew something was terribly wrong.
“Oh dear. Come on. I have just finished brewing tea. We shall take some, and when you are up to it, you shall tell me everything.”
He followed her to the drawing room, and they did just that, had tea and talked about all that had just happened. When he finished recounting the tale to his mother, he felt empty like he had been purged. All these years, and he had ended up losing on more than one end.
As Regina Sheldon watched her son go up to his chambers, resigned to fate, she sent for a piece of paper and quill. Alan might have given up so soon, but she did not believe a word that had spilled from the Duchess’s mouth. If her son would not fight for his happiness, then she did not mind doing it for him. She knew of their plans, and they had to go on.
As she settled down with the paper and quill, she began to write.
Dear Benjamin…
Chapter 27
Embroidery … it was Agnes’s escape these days. Especially since there was little else she could do to keep herself from thinking about Alan, that night, and the fact that she would have to marry Nicholas. There was no way out now; as the wedding date drew nigh, that became clear, and she was finally beginning to accept her fate. She cast a look at the many needleworks she had completed in the past days. Her mother had been right after all. Perhaps, if she had not been born into such a privileged home, life wouldn’t have been so bad for her. She really was good at what she did, and she would have made an honest living off it. More than that, she would have been free to marry a man of her choosing. Perhaps not Alan, for she doubted she would have met him still, under that circumstance. Regardless, she was certain that she would have met another man who would have made her soul sing, and then she would have fallen in love with him, and he with her. Then, they would become one and live happily ever after. A fairytale, one might call it, but one could dream. As for all of her works, she planned on selling them off and giving the profits to the less privileged. Like the ones she often saw by the roadside, apparently homeless and hungry. Yes, that would do a lot of good. She supposed there always was a blessing in disguise in every situation. One just only had to look closer.
A knock sounded on her doors, and she called out to usher the person in. She looked up as soon as her doors came open and beheld her mother. Before she could acknowledge her presence, Victoria addressed the maids.
“Leave us.” The way her mother sounded arrested her attention. She instantly knew something was amiss. She held back her questions until the last of the maids left and closed the doors behind them. Then, she rose from the wooden chair she often used for her work and joined her mother by her bed. A terribly boring life she lived; she was aware of this. Needlework, outing, tea time. Perhaps if she had not been born a Duke’s daughter, she would have lived an otherwise exciting life. The list of what could have been seemed to get longer by the minute, yet, she could not suffer herself to have any regrets. Many wished for what she had, she knew this. She had to remain grateful, beyond it all. No one had it all.
Okay, quit it! she chided herself as she reached her mother. Those thoughts had been nothing but distraction from the grim look on her mother’s face. She feared that something grave had happened and was not too keen on receiving any awful news. But if she must, she would. With that resolve, she gestured at her bed. As they sat down, a parchment in her mother’s hands caught her attention.
“Is all well, Mother?” She kept her voice as light as possible, even as she prepared for something heart-breaking. Her mother wasn’t one to stall; she announced it as it was. Yet, her hesitation was obvious. Whatever weighed heavily on her mother’s lips was not something to be taken lightly.
Refusing still, to say a word, Victoria raised her hands to hold her cheeks. She could see the sadness in her mother’s eyes and the dread took over her being.
“You will have to speak at some point, Mother. Tell me. What has happened?”
It was at that moment that she finally decided to speak. “Oh dear. I am so sorry. I was going to be cross with you, but I cannot find it in me to do so any longer, not after this horrible discovery.”
Agnes’s breath caught in chest as her heart flew to her throat. She had not done anything of late to get her mother cross. If she was, then it simply meant one thing. She knew. Her throat suddenly felt parched, so she swallowed her saliva in her attempt to moisten it.
“What have you discovered, Mother?” She had to be certain. She might be wrong – this could just be one of her mother’s performances, some sort of prank. It would not do to expose herself without being completely certain that she had been caught. The hope she had been nursing got crushed as soon as her mother spoke again.
“Agnes, I believe you know what it is I am talking about.” How did her mother know she had been making guesses? Had she betrayed anything in such a brief moment? Trying one more time, she evaded the question.
“I embroider, Mother. I also make a mean caribou stew when I am allowed, but I’m afraid I do not possess the power to read minds.”
She was rewarded with a small smile as Victoria gave her cheeks a soft squeeze and withdrew her hand. “You may as well. After all, it is rumoured that your father’s grandmother–”
“– was a witch. Yes, Mother, I am aware of the rumour. It is too often told, yet you know who people consider to be her spun. Now please, let me know that which you learned that has left you so grim. Is someone ill?” A thought struck her as she said that.
“Wait … it is not Nicholas’s father, is it?” The Duke had been making slow recovery in recent times, and everyone was hopeful that perhaps, he may yet overcome this dreadful illness. Surely, he could not have been taken away so soon?
“What? Of course not. The Duke is well.” Relief washed through her at her mother’s reply. So what was her mother going on about? This suspense was killing her.
“You may want to tell me what it is that has happened, anytime from now, Mother.”
She hated the anxiety that was crawling up her spine. If truly her mother had found out about her secret, then this must certainly be a ploy to get her to tell the truth. She mustn’t, not before her mother let the cat out, herself.
Victoria stared at her, long and hard, but Agnes refused to budge; she simply looked away, unable to hold her gaze. Finally, the older woman spoke.
“Very well then. If you insist you do not know that which I speak of, then I shall tell you myself. I know … of your affair with the merchant, Alan Sheldon. I am aware. Although, I must confess, I only recently learned of it, and of course, you can imagine how appalled I was by the news and the great disappointment I experienced. A merchant, of all people, Agnes? I had hoped I did a better job raising you.”
Agnes’s world came falling apart at that moment as her heart sunk. What she had feared all these years had finally come to pass, and now, she had to deal with the consequences that were certain to come as punishment for her lack of conduct. How much did her mother know? Did she know how long this had been going on? Did she know how far she and Alan had gone? Her mother must have had powers to read minds, for she promptly answered the questions in her head.
“I do not know exactly how long this has been going for, but I am inclined to believe it has been years. Above that, I considered if you had been so foolish enough to lose your virtue to that … man.” The distaste in her voice was apparent. There was no love lost between her mother and Sheldon. There
never would be; Agnes knew this.
A Scandalous Love for the Enticing Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 20