***
The days that followed Fin’s visit to the judge were filled with family meetings—with her family, of course—interviews with witnesses and audiences with her victims, including Lady Beecham, who was the most difficult of all of them.
“That little witch robbed us,” she cried, clearly outraged that Fin even had the gall to show up on her doorstep asking her to drop the charges against Victoria. “She took my precious rubies!”
“Yes, we are all aware of what she took from you, Lady Beecham,” Fin said to her. “But does it not help to know that the sale of those precious rubies went to good causes?”
She skewered him with her glare. “I donate quite a bit to charity, Leyburn. Why, last year alone we gave nearly fifty pounds to…to…a charitable cause.”
“Generous, indeed,” Fin agreed. “And your rubies were worth how much?” he asked. Those rubies were worth quite a bit more than the paltry fifty pounds.
“You may goad me all you want, Leyburn, but it doesn’t change the fact that she took what was not hers and she should be punished accordingly.”
“I’m sure your husband would feel similarly about the other men in your life.” It was a low blow to bring up her numerous affairs, but Victoria’s life hung in the balance. He couldn’t let this harridan get in the way of saving the life of the woman he loved. “Perhaps we should put all of them on trial for taking another man’s wife. Certainly you are more valuable than a few ruby baubles.”
There was silence as Lady Beecham seethed at him, her nostrils flaring with every breath she took. Fin held his peace, waiting for her to make the next move.
“I am not the only victim in this, Leyburn,” she said at last. “There is no possible way you could get everyone to agree to drop her charges.”
Fin smiled and nodded. “It was not an easy task, of that you can be sure. But you are the last hold out, the only one that stands between Victoria and her freedom. Surely you don’t want the ton to think of you as the woman who sent that young do-good to Gaol.”
Another pause. And then, “You will finish painting me.”
“Happily.” He would see to Victoria’s freedom and deal with the nude painting later.
Her brows rose. Clearly she didn’t believe him, but for some reason, she pretended she did. “Fine,” she said with a sigh of exasperation. “I will drop the charges.”
Fin could hardly believe his ears. He wanted to jump up and down with joy and happiness, but he refrained for the time being. “You will not regret your decision.”
That interview with Lady Beecham was the day before Victoria’s trial. Her ladyship, along with all the other witnesses would appear in court to publicly declare that they were dropping the charges against Vickie. But the most compelling arguments would come from her witnesses. All one hundred twelve of them. They were all ready to speak of her kindness and generosity. Sarah and Holly would be there as well to tell of all the good Victoria had done for the hospital. And Sally, of course, would tell the judge how Victoria had found her on the street and taken care of her and her mother.
It didn’t hurt that Victoria’s extended family comprised of some of the most powerful and influential members of the ton. When Fin and Sally entered the courtroom that morning, they were all there. The Duke and Duchess of Weston, the Marquess and Marchioness of Eastleigh, and the Viscount and Viscountess Hastings were all piled into the same pew right behind Victoria’s parents and Tom.
Fin took his place next to Tom, and Sally settled in beside him. He was jumping with nerves, filled with hope and dread at the same time, desperate to see Victoria. Was she well? She’d been in prison for more than a week now. It was no place for a lady—of that he was certain. But if any lady could survive such a place and still keep her spirit intact, it was Victoria.
“How are you holding up?” he asked Tom.
Tom looked like he hadn’t slept at all the past week. “Better than my parents,” he whispered back.
Lord and Lady Grantham had been disgraced when the news came out. No amount of cajoling from Tom and Fin could persuade them to believe that what she’d done was actually good. But when they saw the outpouring of love and support from those she’d helped, they’d had a change of heart. Perhaps their attitude toward their daughter would change going forward. Fin just hoped it wasn’t too late for Victoria to see how proud they were of her.
The door to the courtroom banged open at the back, echoing loudly in the large chamber. A hush fell over the crowd as Justice Powell proceeded to the bench. Once he was settled, all eyes turned back to the doorway where Victoria was being led in by two guards.
Fin’s heart ached at the sight of her. Clearly she hadn’t been eating well. Her skin sagged on her bones, and her gown—the same one she’d worn to the masquerade—hung far away from her body. Her usually shiny, luxurious hair was matted and dirty, and she looked as if she’d been rolling about in dirt. But she held her head high as she walked past her friends and loved ones, sparing a glance for no one as she made her way to the stand.
One could have heard a pin drop in the vast room. Everyone sat on tenterhooks, waiting for the trial to begin. Sally slipped her hand into Fin’s, and he squeezed back, praying the girl wouldn’t have to watch another motherly figure in her life be lowered into the ground.
“Miss Victoria Barclay,” the judge began, “you are brought here on the charges of sixty-seven accounts of highway robbery. How do you plead?”
Victoria lifted her head high and rolled her shoulders back until she was standing straight as a soldier. “I plead guilty, Your Honor.”
Shocked murmurs spread throughout the courtroom until the judge called everyone back to order.
“Have you anything else to say?” Justice Powell asked her.
“Only that I am not sorry. I did what I had to do, for the sake of those less fortunate, for those who have suffered fates worse than death because they didn’t have money or station. I am sorry, however, for the shame I have brought to my family. And I am sorry that I could not do more. It is my fervent prayer that after my death, others will carry the torch of goodwill to those in need.”
Fin hadn’t cried since he was a boy, but hearing Victoria speak, hearing the bravery not just in her words, but in her voice, caused a lump to form in his throat. She was a woman like no other, and he loved her like he could never love anyone else.
“Thank you, Miss Barclary,” Justice Powell said, and then he turned to Fin. “Lord Leyburn, I believe you have brought some witnesses here today to testify in favor of Miss Barclay, is that correct?”
Victoria turned to look at him finally. Their eyes met. Hers were wide, as if she couldn’t quite believe he’d gone to any such lengths for her. If only she knew that he would go to one end of the earth and back just for a few more moments with her.
“I have, Your Honor,” Fin said, surprised his voice worked at all just then. He motioned for the first witness to take the stand.
A young woman by the name of Anna stepped forward, a small babe in her arms. “If it weren’t for Miss Barclay, Your Honor, I’m most certain my babe and I wouldn’t be here right now. She saved our lives when I was in labor. Her kindness will never be forgotten.”
One by one they stepped forward and told their stories of how Victoria had helped them, either physically or monetarily. Tears glimmered on her cheeks as she listened to the accounts. After ten or so of the hundred and twelve, the judge declared that the jury had heard enough. But Fin wasn’t finished. He had something he needed to say.
“Your honor, if I may?” he said, raising his hand as he stood from his seat. “I would like to make one final plea to the jury.”
Justice Powell nodded and Fin stepped forward, closer to Victoria. He swallowed, knowing what he wanted to say, but having a hard time getting started with all these hundreds of people looking on.
“I have known Victoria Barclay my entire life,” he began. “I was eight years old when she was born, and I re
member holding her in my arms when she was a baby. I was there the first time she fell and scraped her hands and knees. I rushed to her side to make sure she was all right, only to be reminded that at the ripe age of four, she ‘was no shrinking violet.’ I remember thinking then that she was a bold and daring and incredibly unique creature.
“But there was only one problem with having such bravado from such a young age: she never learned to ask for help. She took the weight of the world upon herself, always, not realizing that if she had only asked, others might have come to her aid.”
He paused to take a breath and to get down on one knee before her. A collective gasp echoed through the chamber, but Fin paid them no mind. He cared only what Victoria thought of him in that moment.
“Victoria Barclay, I think that I have loved you my entire life, but like a fool, I was too dense to realize it, or maybe just too stubborn to admit it. But I cannot deny it any longer. You are the most incredible woman I have ever known. You have sacrificed everything—even your own life—to take care of others. There are not many that can claim such a thing.
“Victoria, I don’t know what the outcome of this trial will be, but I must tell you this now, before God and all of these people, that I love you. I love you with all my heart, with everything that I am. I cannot comprehend a world without you in it, but I will live peacefully knowing that I told you this today. And should the jury find you not guilty, it is my most fervent prayer that you would agree to live the rest of your life with me, as my wife.”
Victoria was crying in earnest now, the tears dripping to the floor, just missing the tips of Fin’s boots. Everyone was waiting for her response, but Justice Powell was the one to finally demand an answer from her.
“Well, Miss Barclay, what say you to this gentleman’s request?”
Victoria fell to her knees without a word and collapsed into Fin’s arms. He held her tight, praying he would never have to let her go.
It seemed an eternity before the jury returned from deliberation. In reality it was only a matter of minutes, but when the life of the woman one loves hangs in the balance, minutes can feel like days. But at long last, the judge announced there was a verdict.
The room held its collective breath as Justice Powell opened his mouth to speak. “Miss Barclay, on the charges of sixty-seven accounts of highway robbery, you have been found…not guilty.”
A roar rose up from the crowd, and Victoria dissolved into a puddle of tears on the stand. Fin went to her and gathered her in his arms. He lifted her off the ground and swung her in a circle, overjoyed that he would get to spend the rest of his life with her.
Epilogue
“Fin, where on earth are you taking me?” Victoria asked for what seemed like the hundredth time since they’d climbed aboard the carriage. The blindfold—lacking in eyeholes this time—prevented her from knowing anything about their location.
“I told you, darling,” Fin said, “it’s a surprise.”
“Yes, but couldn’t you give me just a little hint?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You are too curious, my dear. But don’t worry, we’re almost there. You won’t have to wait much longer.”
True to his word, the carriage came to stop only minutes later. Fin led her out onto the street after checking to make sure her blindfold was firmly in place, with no opportunity for her to peek. She took his hand, firm and reassuring, and let him lead her about until they had apparently reached their destination. People whispered around her as they passed through rooms, but she still had no idea where they were.
“My dearest Victoria,” Fin said, as he stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. “It is my deepest desire to never have you face the gallows again, and so this is my wedding present to you.”
He tore off the mask, and Victoria blinked several times, trying to figure out what was going on. They were in some kind of sitting room. It was clean, perhaps just built even, with lots of windows and seating enough for twenty or more people. But it was the walls that caught her attention. They were lined with paintings, clearly done by the same artist, and above the fireplace was a painting of her. It was life-sized, and so beautiful that she hardly recognized herself.
“Fin,” she said a bit breathlessly, “where are we?”
“This, my dear Vickie, is the Victoria Barclay Hospital for the Poor.”
She turned abruptly to look at him. He couldn’t mean it. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you don’t have to sneak about to help people anymore. And you don’t have to rob anyone to fund it. That’s what the paintings are for.”
“Fin, these are your life’s work. You can’t just sell them to fund my hospital.”
“They are my life’s work, and therefore I can do whatever I bloody well want with them. And I’ve decided that twice a month we will hold auctions here, in this room. All proceeds will benefit the hospital.” He paused and turned to look at the painting of her over the fireplace. “Except that one. That particular piece is priceless. It’s the mask on the subject that makes it so.”
Victoria looked up at her husband, still amazed that she could call him that now. “I love you, Phineas Dartwell,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “And I promise I will never do anything illegal again as long as I live.”
“Well, thank God for that!” Fin kissed her then, and it was the sweetest, most wonderfully shocking kiss she’d ever known. Highway robbery couldn’t compete with the thrills she got from kissing the man she’d married.
The End
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Jerrica Knight-Catania
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About the Author
Jerrica Knight-Catania left her “glamorous” life as an actress in favor of becoming a romance author, where she could write about truly glamorous lives. She currently resides in New York City with her real-life hero of a husband, their shy Russian Blue, Dr. Snuggle, and their beautiful daughter who is most definitely a princess-in-training.
Jerrica loves to hear from readers! You can send her an email at [email protected]
Visit Jerrica’s official website to learn more about her other books, the Wetherby family and to see what’s new in her writing world!
www.jerricasplace.com
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The Robber Bride (Regency Historical Romance) Page 28