“What seems to be the trouble, gentlemen?” he asked. But the guards weren’t listening to him.
The next thing Harvey knew, he was in shackles and being carted off towards the main courthouse to stand trial.
“No!” he shrieked yet again, but no one seemed to heed his cries. Who was this man sat across from him? To Harvey, he looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t be certain wherefrom.
Desperately, he turned to the man. “I’ll make a deal with you,” he said. At last, the other man appeared to be listening. “Bring me to the trial of Dr. Ellington. I’ll tell you who really murdered the man.”
The man frowned, his eyes considering Harvey thoughtfully. “If you are confessing to the murder of Dr. Ellington as well as the assault of his daughter, I hope you know that the sentencing won’t be light,” the man finally said.
“Perhaps we could strike a deal,” Harvey said. “I’ll tell you who is really responsible – who was the money behind the venture. And you let me off with an easier sentencing.”
The man cocked his head to the side, and Harvey felt disgust rise in him again over the acute unfairness of it all. Here was a man who was no better than a hunting dog, turning his head to the side while he thought, his every emotion visible on his face.
Yet he was the free man, and Harvey knew that he was basically begging for his life at this point.
If they were willing to hang Dr. Ellington, then they would no doubt be even more willing to hang the real killer of Lord Henrich. They would see it as justice for the murder that Harvey had committed, and justice for his part in framing the doctor.
Still, Harvey knew that he, himself, was an innocent man. Any other man would have acted the same in his position. Any other man would have taken the money and done just what he had done. That was the way that London was.
“Lord Ambrose paid me,” Harvey found himself saying, before the other man had made up his mind on whether to be lenient. “He wanted Lord Henrich murdered. I poisoned the lord, but only because I was afraid of what Lord Ambrose would do to me if I did not follow his orders.”
It was a lie, and a galling one at that. Harvey had of course never been afraid of the snivelling lord with his petty complaints against the other peer of the realm.
But it seemed to interest the man across from him again. “And Dr. Ellington?” the man asked. “Was he involved at all in the poisoning?”
Harvey laughed bitterly. “If he hadn’t had me removed from the medical college when I was an apprentice, then perhaps things would have gone differently,” he said. “Perhaps Lord Ambrose and I would never have crossed paths.”
“So you mean to say that the only reason Dr. Ellington was involved was because you framed him?” the man pressed, his eyes piercing.
Harvey shrugged. He knew that if he admitted the doctor’s innocence now, then his whole plan to have the man hanged would be foiled. However, if it bought Harvey his life, then perhaps there would be other chances to kill off the doctor.
Even if not, Harvey doubted that Dr. Ellington would ever practice medicine again. His soul might be untarnished with murder, but the same could not be said for his reputation.
No one in their right mind would go to the man for medicines. All would fear that he had, in fact, had a part in Lord Henrich’s death, regardless of what the courts had determined.
Perhaps it was better that the man didn’t die. Perhaps it was better that the man live in ruination.
In ruination without his precious daughter, too, Harvey thought gleefully. For as soon as the doctor was released from prison, he would learn that his daughter had run off to the dirtier parts of the city. He would never find his daughter there.
Harvey had nearly managed to spoil her. It was only a matter of time until someone managed to.
So he nodded slowly at the other man. “Yes,” he said simply. “I framed Dr. Ellington. The man deserved to die.”
The other man looked momentarily disturbed, and Harvey worried that his words had come off too strongly. No sense foiling his whole plot if Harvey also failed to gain he man’s clemency.
“It is an old grudge, and one that I ought to be long rid of,” he admitted, staring down at his hands as though he were truly repentant of what he had said.
He remembered something about his earlier conversation with the man in the pub. A detective, no doubt, but a man who thought that the priests were most transcendent of all.
Perhaps this man was the same sort of weakling who put his faith in the gods because it gave him an excuse for all the matters he was too afraid to take into his own hands.
“I should have spoken with the priests long ago about my anger,” Harvey said quietly, still staring down at his hands in an attempt to look contrite. “They would, no doubt, have been able to guide me towards redemption.”
He risked a quick look up. What he said appeared to be working. The man looked as though he pitied Harvey. That stuck in Harvey’s craw, but he forced himself to continue to grovel.
“Alas, I fear that it is too late now,” he sighed miserably.
“It is never too late to seek God’s forgiveness,” the other man said gently. “Telling the truth is the first step to becoming a changed man. A man worthy of Him.”
The other man sounded thoughtful. Harvey wondered what sort of punishment they might concoct for him if not hanging. As long as he was still alive, it would be all right.
As long as he was still alive, Harvey could hope to escape, and to come back to finish his revenge.
It was the plan that informed each of his actions, after all. It was the plan that kept him from acting on simply emotion.
Perhaps they would confine Harvey to one of the monasteries. The monks would be no match for him when he decided to escape, he was certain. Perhaps he would murder a few of the snivelling fools as well, just to remind everyone who really ruled the world.
It was the men who were willing to take power into their own hands and act upon their desires. Harvey was such a man. Alas, he lamented, not many others were.
Chapter 36
Lord Eric Cumberland, Duke of Havenport
Eric tried not to watch Charlene too carefully as they made their way to the better parts of the city. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, but he couldn’t help glancing over frequently.
He wanted to make certain that she was all right, and that she wasn’t regretting her decision to come back with him.
Not that there was anything that he could do to stop her from running off again.
Except chase after her. Now there was an amusing thought. What would they say of the two of them, if they were to see the duke chasing after the young spinster? Nothing good – of that, Eric was certain.
He no longer worried about what they would think of him, if they saw him with Charlene. Something inside of him had changed. If he could not have Charlene and remain a duke, then it was the dukedom that he would give up.
He could no more give up on his love for Charlene than he could quit breathing.
He was simply glad that he had finally been able to put together a solid case against Harvey Parsons, one which would exonerate Dr. Ellington.
Truth to tell, Eric was worried about what the end of this case would mean for his budding relationship with Miss Ellington. Would he lose her, now that there was no longer any reason for the two of them to work together?
He couldn’t lose her. If she moved back to Bath to be with her father, then he was going to need to spend more time in Bath as well. He couldn’t lose her.
He should probably take her straight back to her aunt’s house, Eric knew. The woman must be worried about her niece. Especially since she still didn’t know that Eric had the evidence needed to free Dr. Ellington from prison.
However, the Duke had no desire to let Charlene out of his sight, especially not until he heard for certain that Harvey had been captured. Last night still weighed heavily on his mind. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Charlen
e.
So he led her back to his own home. Charlene made no comment on the fact, although he could tell from her eyes that she was nervous.
She probably expected that she would be the talk of the town again if someone saw them heading into the manor together.
Let them talk. Eric knew that it was easier for him than it was for her, but if he had his way, there would never be any suspicious gossip about the two of them again.
He wanted to marry her.
But first things first, they needed to get through this trial.
Eric had scarcely opened the front door when one of his men came rushing out to meet him. “Duke Cumberland!” he greeted, his eyes passing curiously over Charlene for a moment. But he hurried to get out his news. “The trial for Dr. Ellington has begun this morning!” he cried. “There was no warning.”
Eric swore under his breath. He had known that the trial must begin soon. They were lucky enough to have had the reprieves that they had had. He had hoped, however, that the trial would wait until after he had Harvey Parsons in his custody.
However, his hired man wasn’t done speaking. “As for Harvey, we finally caught him and turned him over to the authorities. He admitted to all his crimes, including framing Dr. Ellington and accosting his daughter.”
Again, the man’s eyes wandered over to Charlene, lingering for a little while longer this time as though assessing her.
Charlene hardly paid his gaze any attention, though. Instead, she turned to Eric, grabbing his arm in a vice grip. “We need to be at that trial,” she said.
“Yes,” Eric agreed immediately, steering her back out the door that they had just entered.
The courtroom was busy when they arrived. At first, the guards did not wish to let them inside. However, when Charlene told him that she was, in fact, the daughter of Dr. Ellington, he relented.
They entered just as Harvey’s testimony was coming to a close.
There were scandalized whispers throughout the room, and Charlene wondered exactly what the man would say. Perhaps she would never know, but she nearly sunk to the ground in relief as she saw the jailors removing the shackles from her father’s wrists.
“This is absurd!” Lord Ambrose thundered, getting to his feet and pointing a long finger at Harvey. “You truly believe this man’s lies? It’s preposterous!”
The judge eyed him mildly. “Lord Ambrose, do you mean to tell me that the paper evidence that was submitted to this court is incorrect?” he asked.
He flipped through the information in front of him. “Not only do these papers offer a clear motive for Harvey’s attempt to pin the blame on Dr. Ellington, but the missives from yourself to him corroborate what he had just told the court.”
“That evidence was submitted anonymously!” the Marquess said, a hint of desperation to his tone. “He could have sent it himself!”
The judge snorted derisively. “Given the pains that this man went to in hiding his work, I doubt that he would suddenly decide to submit all the evidence that we needed to prosecute him, especially while he remained here in the city of London.”
“You would trust him over me?” Lord Ambrose demanded. “This is an outrage! I’m a peer of the realm! He has no land, no title…”
“From this moment forward, neither shall you,” the judge decreed. “In light of your role in this case, as well as your gross misuse of power when it came to Miss Ellington, I order you stripped of your lands and title. I also charge you with conspiracy to murder in the death of Lord Henrich.”
Guards stepped forwards to put shackles on the chubby man’s wrists and led both him and Harvey away. Harvey was whining about leniency the whole way, but something about the judge’s expression told Eric that there would be no leniency. It would be Harvey Parsons, and perhaps Lord Ambrose, who were hanged.
Not Dr. Ellington. He was now a free man.
Eric smiled a little to himself. His plot had worked. He hadn’t had to admit to the courtroom at large that he was the one who had sent those letters and other documents to the judge. The judge had taken them at face value. Some of it had been fabricated, of course, but with Harvey there to tell the truth, it mattered little.
Eric’s gamble had paid off. The right men would go to jail.
Charlene was staring over at him, like she could barely believe what he had done. “How did you…” she began.
Eric shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, my dear,” he told her in an undertone. “Let’s just say that you weren’t the only one who wanted to see Lord Ambrose locked away.”
She shook her head, still marvelling, but then saw that her father was being released. She grabbed Eric’s hand and dragged him out to the hallway.
Epilogue
Miss Charlene Ellington
Charlene wasn’t entirely certain what had happened during the trial, and something about the ‘anonymous sender’ of the documents made her curious. Of course, she was certain Eric was the one who had sent them, but the only reason he would choose to remain anonymous was…
If there was some reason that he had to protect his reputation.
Were the documents real, or had he uncovered as much of the story as he could and then falsified evidence? Surely he wouldn’t have done that!
But then, she knew that he had been desperate to save her father. And she now knew just how far he was willing to go to help her. He loved her, and he would do anything for her.
Should the fact that he was possibly willing to falsify official documents bother her? Surprisingly enough, it didn’t. She was certain that he had found the truth, and Harvey had apparently admitted to all of it.
Anyway, she couldn’t let it bother her. Her father was free, and that was the only thing that mattered to her right now.
Outside the courtroom, she flew into her father’s arms, giving him a tight hug. She could practically feel his bones, and she knew that even though his time in jail was over, it had been an ordeal, one that would likely stay with him for the rest of his days.
But he was safe. He wouldn’t hang.
She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes as she clung to him. “Oh Father” she murmured as he lightly stroked her hair.
Then: “Charlene!” the quiet gasp behind her made her turn. It was her aunt, who immediately gave her a hug. “Charlene, I was so worried about you,” Helene said.
She pulled away. “If you ever do anything that stupid again, I’ll…” She trailed off, not even seeming capable of coming up with a threat bad enough of what she would do.
Charlene couldn’t help but smile wearily back at her. “Well, thanks to Eric – um, Duke Cumberland – I should never have to deal with Lord Ambrose again,” she said.
Helene arched an eyebrow at Eric. Dr. Ellington looked confused.
“I must have missed some developments while I was interred,” he said slowly, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Charlene was suddenly aware of how close behind her Eric was. If she but leaned back, she was sure that she would brush against the man’s chest. As though even that weren’t enough, Eric stepped closer, putting a hand on Charlene’s lower back. When Charlene looked up at him, there was a challenge in his eyes.
It made a shiver run up her spine. But she bit her lip as she looked back at her father. Would he approve of them? She didn’t even know exactly what Eric was trying to prove at the moment.
Slowly, her father nodded once. “I assume that I have you to thank for all the work in proving my innocence?” he asked.
Eric nodded. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you sooner,” he said, sounding regretful.
Dr. Ellington’s lips quirked into a small smile, and he inclined his head towards the duke. “I consider your earlier promise fulfilled, and I’m sure my daughter agrees,” he said. “Charlene once saved your life, and now you have saved mine.”
“More than fulfilled,” Charlene said fervently. “Eric, thank you.”
She couldn’t seem to keep his Chri
stian name from slipping from her lips. It wasn’t right for her to address him thus, not here in public as they were. She couldn’t help it, though.
Eric smiled at her and then turned back to her father. “I always respected you,” he said. “It’s my pleasure to have been able to aid you. As for Charlene…”
His eyes, when they found hers again, were searching, as though he was trying to gauge the depth of her own emotion. “I’ve loved Charlene from the moment she found me dying in Raven’s Hollow.”
There was a momentary silence. Dr. Ellington’s eyebrows were nearly disappearing into his receded hairline, and Helene looked as though she might faint. She looked around to see who might have overheard that, but fortunately, most people were still inside the courtroom, buzzing over the trial.
A Wicked Scandal For The Bluestocking (Steamy Historical Regency) Page 26