The Purchased Peer

by Giselle Marks

  Your servant

  Sally Preston

  Xavier had no trouble identifying the fop named Arthur, his former mistress Lady Selena or Arthur’s meddling servant who had always seemed to be up to some scheme or other for his master, Mordecai Ferris. He went looking for Sir Arthur Devereaux and those he passed as he searched took one look at Xavier’s expression and got out of his way fast. Who had been stupid enough to annoy the Earl of Kittleton they wondered, but they made room for him, without saying a word fearing it might draw his attention to them. It seemed the only person who was oblivious to his fury was the baronet, Sir Arthur Devereaux himself. That said gentleman was apparently passing some jest to an elderly lord who saw Kittleton coming and moved out of his way.

  “I knew you had not forgiven me for spitting you, Devereaux. I should have gutted you, for the cowardly yellow poltroon you are. But I never thought you would lower yourself so far as to strike at my woman.”

  Xavier’s friends Lord Valentine Shadforth and Leonard Fenwick had moved and tried to hold him back, because it was clear that he meant to do Sir Arthur and injury.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about Kittleton, are you in your cups? If your wife has run off with some fancy man, you can hardly blame me.”

  Sir Arthur declared, bluffing, believing that Xavier really had no knowledge of his plot. His face had first gone ashen white and then had flushed with blood as he considered the risk he was in, even in a crowded ballroom, Kittleton could be lethal. Arthur’s friends had warned him he had been lucky to escape with only the damage to his leg, after their original falling out. He was beginning to fear he had pulled a tiger’s tail and should perhaps have stayed out of Xavier’s affairs.

  I won’t let him force another duel on me. That would be suicidal. Look at the man, he is an absolute savage, Arthur thought.

  Arthur was beginning to sweat and shake a little as it was clear Xavier’s friends were struggling to hold him back and Xavier would soon succeed in shaking them off. The orchestra stopped playing although they had not come to the end of the dance. Everyone turned and waited for someone to do something to prevent the fight, expected to ensue. Sir Arthur stepped back and tried to raise some support from the party goers.

  “Kittleton has lost his mind, slandering me in such a way,” he blustered but not one person said anything in support of Sir Arthur. Lady Charlotte came over to her great nephew.

  “What is all this about, Xavier?” She asked. In reply he shrugged off his friends and handed over Sally’s note to his great aunt. She stood reading the note and went pale.

  “You know the person who wrote this and trust them?” she finally asked.

  “Absolutely, Aunt.”

  “Sir Felton would you have Xavier’s carriage brought to the front door immediately. Go Xavier I will deal with this toad. Call out the watch, but meanwhile, Shearer,” she said addressing her butler and pointing to Sir Arthur. “Have this man locked in the laundry. Lady Selena, you should leave and be aware you are no longer welcomed in my house. I allowed you some leeway for your husband’s sake, but your behaviour has now gone beyond the pale.”

  Sir Felton soon had Xavier’s carriage brought round and he ordered his driver to head towards Northeston Road where he would start his search for where his wife had been taken.

  ***

  Once the man and woman had been trussed, Jack bundled them into one of the empty downstairs rooms. They were unsure how many kidnappers remained. Sally had seen two men, but Ferris might have stayed as well. There might be more than one upstairs. So the ground floor being vacant, they approached the stairs. It was dark but they did not bring the lantern. Jack went first, followed by Sally who had now armed herself with a heavy frying- pan from the back room. Dan followed on as Blanche continued to yell her demands for money. They ran up the stairs and started opening doors as fast as possible. Dan followed on their heels. They were in luck because in the first door was a key and when turned revealed an unlit room, containing some dark bedroom furniture and Celestina lay unconscious on the bed. Jack put his finger to his lips and gestured Sally over to the bed. The room had heavy curtains pulled closed, but Sally dragged them open, now the light of the early stars and moon shone in making it easier for Sally to see. Sally checked Celestina for a pulse and rubbed her shoulders and arms, then she tried to shake her awake. Celestina groaned slightly and twitched, but her eyes remained closed.

  Sally looked around the room and found a water jug and a towel. She dampened the towel and wiped Celestina’s face with it, discovering that her hands and feet were bound. Even if she revived her, the ropes must be removed before she could walk away. So Sally set about untying the knots binding Celestina. These unravelled fairly easily which made Sally think that the men had little knowledge of how to tie knots. She wondered how Jack and Dan were doing, but concentrated on trying to wake Celestina. She poured a little water into Celestina’s mouth and she spluttered as her eyes opened briefly, before closing again snap.

  Sally heard noises next door and some yelling, before it all went quiet again. She tried swinging Celestina’s feet off the bed and then draping one of her arms around her shoulders to try and get her upright. The movement woke Celestina a little and her eyes opened although they looked a little glazed.

  “They must have slipped you some kind of a sleeping potion, my lady. See if we can get you awake and moving now,” Sally coaxed and started half dragging her around the room, but after a few steps Celestina began to move on her own, now she was upright.”

  Celestina coughed and vomited in the corner of the room.

  “That’s better out my lady,” Sally said wiping her face with the damp towel. She then tried to steer her to the door and down the stairs. Jack and Dan joined them on the landing and took over helping her ladyship down the stairs. It seemed to Sally to take forever, but they staggered to the front door and out to the carriage which Big Blanche followed them out to. Blanche heaved herself in, before they bundled Celestina into the carriage and Sally climbed up beside her. Jack joined the driver on the box and Dan squeezed in next to Blanche. They set straight off for Kittleton House but Dan had news for Blanche.

  “Ferris weren’t there, Miss Blanche, we trussed up the cove who was upstairs, although he was mostly five parts drunk, but he couldn’t tell us where Ferris had got to.”

  “Getting the countess home before anything worse happens to her is most important. The likes of Ferris can wait.”

  ***

  Xavier found the right house a few minutes later and discovering the two men and woman trussed, called the watch and a constable to have them arrested before returning home, where Celestina was now beginning to make sense of what had happened. Amy hustled her off to bed and her doctor had been called once more, but the earl arrived just before he did. Xavier was relieved to hear his stentorious pronouncement that “her ladyship will suffer no ill effects, but should take a couple of days in bed to rest after such a traumatic experience.”

  After briefly checking on his wife and telling her how much he loved her, he thanked Sally, Blanche and her supporters and promised to thank them properly when he had dealt with Sir Arthur. Blanche had Sally driven home, before leaving with her cohorts. Xavier then dashed back off to Lady Charlotte’s. He arrived to find that the ball was ending early and carriages were drawn up waiting for their owners to board.

  “Avery, drop me off here, park where you can see the queue and return to the house when the other carriages have departed, please,” Xavier told the driver.

  He walked the rest of the way to the house, discovering that now he knew Celestina was safe, his anger was cooling to an ice cold fury. This time Sir Arthur would be held to account and would hang for his misdeeds.

  Entering the house, he was directed to the library where Lady Charlotte was seated and in some distress. She was seated and dabbing at her eyes with a tiny lace adorned handkerchief. On seeing Xavier enter, she stood up and rushed to him.

&nbs
p; “Oh I am so sorry Xavier, I have failed you. That bounder Devereaux has escaped and left poor old Shearer with a pistol shot in his arm. The doctor is taking out the ball now, I am so sorry. Did you manage to find Celestina?”

  “Yes, she is now home safely and the doctor says she will be fine, but recommends she rests for a couple of days because she is enceinte. I am sorry to hear about Shearer, he’s been with you for as long as I can remember. Will he be all right?”

  “I expect so, but he passed out and banged his head when he went down. I am not sure exactly what happened, but one of my footmen said he thought he saw Devereaux’s man, Ferrin is it? A little before they found Shearer injured. They left the back door open and the gate to the back yard as well.”

  The door was knocked upon and the doctor was announced.

  “How is Shearer, Doctor” Lady Charlotte enquired.

  “Rather poorly my lady, but he will rally. I have given him a sleeping draft and will check on his tomorrow. I believe I should suggest a similar remedy for your ladyship. It will not do for you to allow yourself to fret over these matters.”

  “Humbug doctor, I’m as tough as old boots,” Lady Charlotte declared and waved the doctor away.

  “I had best go and find where Devereaux has gone to ground. I doubt if he has been stupid enough to head for his town house, but now I know who I am looking for, he will not get far.”

  As Xavier predicted Sir Arthur had not headed for his town house where his servants seemed unsettled.

  “I want to see your master at once,” Xavier declared to the footman who opened the door.

  “Sir Arthur’s not in, he went out to some ball earlier, is not yet back, my lord,” the footman declared in some trepidation. He made to close the door, but Xavier pushed it open. The footman backed up and made no effort to prevent Xavier from entering.

  “I will check he is not here,” Xavier stated sternly.

  There were plenty of servants around who gawped at this uninvited intrusion, but none of them sought to prevent Xavier from searching the house for their master.

  Seeing no point in heading for Devereaux’s Gloucestershire country estate, Xavier decided to deal with the other conspirator first. If Sir Arthur had chosen to go into exile then Xavier would wait until he was identified on the continent and then arrange discreetly for his early demise. If he was hiding out in London, then Xavier intended to hit him until his face was a bloody mush. And then perhaps hit him some more. Arthur had a few associates in society who might harbour him, so Xavier set off to visit them and warn them he would thrash them as well, if he discovered they were sheltering Sir Arthur.

  Chapter Twenty-seven - Lady Selena’s

  Lady Selena burst into tears and fled in distress from Lady Charlotte’s ball. She had been cut a few times by members of the ton in the past, but most treated her politely, for her husband was well respected. Lady Charlotte’s open dismissal and rejection of her hit hard. Many would follow Lady Charlotte’s lead in cutting her and she would no longer receive invitations from the majority of respectable society. If she wished to continue to live in London, she would be ostracised and only be invited to those events on the edges of society. She would be treated like a courtesan of the demi-monde. Despite all her affairs, she had tried to be reasonably discreet. It was one thing for people to suspect, but another to be spoken of openly as a woman with no morals.

  Selena had headed straight to her town house and indulged her temper in a small tantrum of destruction throwing a number of valuable ornaments at the walls and fireplace, shattering them into tiny pieces. Her servants stepped quietly and cleared up around her, bringing her a decanter of the best sherry and some sweetmeats without her request.

  Gradually she came back in control of herself and not knowing the contents of Sally’s note, drafted a letter of apology to Lady Charlotte, distancing herself from Sir Arthur Devereaux. She promised she would cut the connection and never allow him to escort her again. She spent some time over the missive, writing a number of versions. As Selena wrote, she found herself far angrier with Sir Arthur than with Lady Charlotte. Her ladyship’s behaviour Selena considered understandable, since Sir Arthur had clearly been caught red handed in his attempt to bring down the Kittletons. However apart from being so stupid as to accept his escort to the ball, Selena did not believe she herself was in any way, implicated.

  However if Sir Arthur was in disgrace, she was doing the best thing to end the friendship, she had been reluctant to terminate their affair, as he had been a generous benefactor and her jewel box enjoyed several additions of expensive new pieces, which reflected the ardour he felt for her. Unfortunately she considered his bed skills barely adequate, but Selena acknowledged she could not expect everything from a man.

  They seemed to either have money or know how to please a woman. Few were blessed with both. As she considered a replacement for Sir Arthur, she considered a few of the younger men in society. They would have more energy and she could train one to her tastes. That idea cheered her and having finished the apology she sealed it, feeling more cheerful that she might be able to persuade Lady Charlotte to forgive her faux pas. She was not to know that she had been identified and overheard plotting with Sir Arthur. So she had a footman deliver her note to Lady Charlotte and instructed Yeatman, her butler not to admit Sir Arthur.

  Selena wondered what Arthur would do. Xavier had a prodigious temper and his prowess with swords, pistols and fists were discussed by Corinthians with awe. His boudoir skills were what intrigued the ladies however. If Arthur escaped he should head for the coast and the first ship leaving. Even if Xavier did not personally kill Sir Arthur, he would be at risk of arrest and might be sentenced to hang. Sir Arthur had been locked up by Lady Charlotte’s footmen and the watch called. Sir Arthur would not be fighting a lesser man without the finances to ensure his conviction. Celestina Blighton’s fortune would surely see him damned. There was nothing Selena could do to help him, she hoped he would not involve her name in Celestina’s abduction, or she could face a similar disgrace and end.

  If Sir Arthur escaped to the continent, she would be quite safe from arrest. Ferris was a nasty little weasel but he seemed loyal to Arthur. If Ferris had not been taken, then he would do his utmost to get him free. Selena managed not to feel guilty for not aiding her lover’s escape and the contents of the sherry decanter lowered. Selena drank herself into a good mood, convincing herself she was not at serious risk of discovery. Until she heard Yeatman denying someone entrance and being pushed out of the way by her erstwhile lover.

  Selena stood up in some consternation, as Sir Arthur barged his way through her servants and into her boudoir. His man, Ferris was close behind him.

  “Did you reveal our plans to Kittleton, Selena? I don’t see how he has figured it out, if you had kept your mouth shut?” He yelled at her.

  “I said nothing, why should I? You saw how Lady Charlotte treated me, what had I got to gain from revealing your plans? Now I am going to be snubbed because you got caught. I thought Lady Charlotte ordered you locked up? Did she let you go?”

  “No, Ferris came back and saw them locking me up. He stuck a pistol ball in that prig of an old butler of hers. He dropped like a sack even though he only hit his upper arm. Ferris locked her servants up instead of me. But I can’t risk going home, can I? That will be the first place Kittleton will look for me. While Ferris returns for my things, you have time to have your bags packed so we can head for the coast at dawn. You’ll enjoy a continental tour.”

  Selena smiled at Sir Arthur and wondered how she could get out of travelling with him. Her reputation might be tarnished, but she might yet coax society to forgive her. If she deserted her husband and ran off with Sir Arthur, she would never be received anywhere again. It was too much of Arthur to think she would just flee the country with him. Looking at him, she realised his temper was still up and he looked like he would stubbornly refuse to be shifted from his plans.

  “Do you really th
ink it is necessary for us both to flee, Arthur? If I stayed here, isn’t there something I could do to put in a good word for you? So the matter could be brushed under the carpet. These things can always be hushed up if you grease the right hands.”

  “You don’t think Kittleton is going to forget about this. The man was practically foaming at the mouth, I thought he was going to tear me limb from limb. Order your women to pack and tell Yeatman to stop hovering and get me some brandy. Ferris go now and pack my traps, be back within the hour. You know what we will need to take with us.”

  “Yes sir,” Ferris said bowing his way out. Yeatman who had followed them upstairs had been waved off to fetch the brandy, by his unsettled mistress. Selena stalked back and forth sobering up. She pulled the bell and a maid and her dresser ran to do her bidding.

  “Quickly pack my bags for a trip to the continent at once,” she ordered.

  They took one look at Sir Arthur’s purple face and did not question her orders. They moved to Selena’s dressing room and could be heard packing up her clothes at some considerable speed. They could see Sir Arthur was in no temper to be denied.

  Yeatman appeared with a tray containing a decanter of brandy, two glasses, a plate containing bread, ham, chicken and cheese and another with some large slices of fruit cake. He poured Sir Arthur a generous measure and left him to brood over his supper. Yeatman had the measure of his mood and a couple of brandies later and having eaten a sizeable amount of the food, he was beginning to seem calmer and more even tempered. Selena was wary still though.

  Selena knew Xavier might be fast to anger, but he would never hit a woman. She was beginning to fear Arthur might have no such scruples, she realised she was frightened by his rage. If she had loved Arthur or if it had been Xavier and there had been enough money for a soujourn through the continent, she might have been tempted, but the more she thought about it, the more she disliked the idea of fleeing England with him.