Degrees of Hope (21 page)

His tears spilled over and this time it was Hope who held him.

“Hush,” she soothed. “We don't have to talk about this now. Come on, let's get you inside. You'll feel better once you've had a bath and a change of clothes.”

James pulled away and looked down at himself. Although he had not been in jail for long, it had taken its toll on his appearance.

“Yes, indeed. I-”

“This way,” Lucien said, coming up behind them. He gave Hope a quick kiss on her cheek, then guided James inside.

James went up to his room to settle in and change, whilst Lucien joined Hope and Martha in the back parlour. After they had caught up on Hope's news, which she glossed over, they gave her some more detail on what had happened since she had left but even they didn't know much.

Finally James joined them, looking a little better but still not himself. Hope might almost call him withdrawn, which definitely wasn't in his character. Lucien fetched him a glass of brandy and once he had regained a little colour, they pressed him for details.

He explained how he had been unable to forget Hope's final words, and how he had searched for and eventually found Honoria's diary. Although he didn't go into too much detail, it was clear that what he had read was far worse than any picture they could have painted for him.

Feeling guilty and needing to avenge his sister, he had challenged Malcolm to a duel.

“But how did you get him to agree?” Hope asked, for that was surely the most incomprehensible thing in this whole story. Malcolm was a coward and she simply couldn't picture him endangering his life to salve his pride. Besides, in his mind at least, he hadn't done anything wrong!

“I insulted him, repeatedly, in front of his detective and his staff, then I threatened to get Honoria's diaries printed and hand a copy to every one of his acquaintance if he didn't agree.”

Well yes, she could see how that kind of threat might make him agree.

“I'm not sorry,” James continued. “Someone had to stand up to him. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.”

“Did you keep the diaries?” Hope asked.

“I don't know what happened to them,” James confessed.

“I collected them,” Lucien said. “When I went to collect your belongings, they were sitting on your dresser.”

“The lawyer said we would need them for the defence.” Hope smiled at her father's foresight.

“No,” James sat forward. “No defence. I will take my punishment. I deserve it.”

“James-”

“No!” He cut Hope off. “I have failed my sister. I deserve to pay, if not for shooting Malcolm, then for not listening to her, not helping her.”

“James, if you plead guilty, it will be an automatic death sentence!” That wasn't quite true, according to Edward Klein, but it was a risk. “If Honoria could see you now, she would be horrified! And no doubt blaming herself. Is that what you would want?”

“She is safe now,” he said. “She is with God and her child. What I do cannot hurt her.”

Hope looked to her parents, seeking their permission. After a silent conversation with each other, Martha nodded at Hope.

“She isn't dead.” Hope told James.

“Of course she is,” he said sullenly. “Either by his hand or her own.”

“No, James.” She moved to sit next to him. “She isn't dead, I swear it.”

He looked up at her, staring deep into her eyes as though he could discover the truth in them.

“How do you know?” He asked.

“First I need your word that you will not tell anyone, anyone at all, not even your family, and especially not Malcolm.”

“You have it,” he said easily. Too easily.

“In the eyes of the law, Malcolm owns your sister, if he ever finds her, he can force her to return to him, or have her locked up. Do you understand?”

“I do. I swear before the Lord that I will never reveal to another living soul what you are about to tell me, and may God strike me dead if I do.”

“She's alive,” Hope said, smiling. “I will tell you where eventually, but they have new identities and we hope, can never be traced.”

“They?” he asked, confused.

“Well, meaning no disrespect to your sister, we thought that she would be safer with some company, so my Aunt Mary went with her.”

“Of course,” he said, as suddenly the pieces fell into place. Both women disappearing on the same day, one related to Hope and Martha. It also meant that Malcolm had been right about the Beaumonts, they had helped his sister escape. Rather than being angry that he had been duped though, all James felt was relief that Honoria was safe.

“My mother is worried terribly about my sister,” Martha said. “But I dare not even tell her, that is how much keeping your sister safe means to us.”

“You all did this?” James looked from Martha to Lucien, who nodded. “Then I owe you all a debt of gratitude that I can never hope to repay.”

“You owe us nothing, James,” Hope insisted, “but you do owe it to your sister to fight. Don't roll over and allow Malcolm to have you hanged. However foolish your actions may have been, he deserved what you did, and more. In fact, if you wouldn't be charged with murder were he to die, I would be praying for it.”

Slowly, James nodded.

“You are right, of course. My sister wouldn't want me to give up, but you are wrong also. As much as I wish Malcolm harm, you should not pray for his death. Do not let his badness rub off on you.”

“I haven't,” Hope assured him. “But if God is truly just, he would have taken Malcolm from this earth and saved everyone a great deal of heartache.”

“You cannot blame God for the sins of man,” James said. “We were given the gift of free will but equally, that allows some people to abuse that freedom. God is not responsible for Malcolm's actions, any more than you are.”

Hope could have rolled her eyes but there was a certain amount of truth in what he said.

“Perhaps in sending Honoria to you, he did what he could to save her,” Malcolm continued.

“Thank you,” Hope said, taking his hand and squeezing it briefly. “Now, have you spoken with the lawyer?”

“Not properly,” James confessed. “I tried not to listen to what he had to say.”

“He's staying at the Bridge Inn in town,” Lucien said. “I'll send word that you want to meet with him tomorrow.”

“Thank you, I'll reimburse you for the fees.”

“Actually Edward Klein informs me that it's Hope who is covering the costs.”

“Oh no,” James turned to Hope. “You can't do that, I can't let you.”

“I can and I am.” Hope said, raising an aristocratic eyebrow.

James' first instinct was to refuse any charity from a woman, after all, they were the weaker creatures. Then he remembered how they had fought over women's rights and intelligence. A week ago he might still have argued his point of view with her but now, after these women not only saw what he could not but actually took action to save his sister, he didn't feel so justified in his opinions any longer. Plus, he knew that it would not hurt her financially and to refuse might even be insulting.

“Thank you,” he said with sincerity.

At Hope's request, the next morning Edward Klein stopped by to speak with James and this time the conversation was much more productive. The upshot was that only if Malcolm Arundell lives, would James have a chance of escaping jail, and it
was
only a chance.

Edward, Hope, Martha and even Lucien pleaded with James to take the option to be tried by his peers, in the House of Lords but on that point, James was still adamant.

“How can I preach to a congregation when I hold myself above them?”

“How can you preach to a congregation in jail?” Hope snapped back. Martha and Lucien had needed to leave to meet with their accountant, so only Hope and Edward remained to argue with him.

“Perhaps it's God's plan that I minister to my fellow inmates,” James reasoned.

“That's not God's plan, that's your choice!”

Edward watched the exchange with interest. Hope seemed to dislike this man and yet she was paying for his defence. Even if James' sister was her friend, it was above and beyond the call of duty and he didn't really understand it.

“Then if it is really my choice, why are you arguing with me?”

“Because you are making the wrong choice, James. After everything we have done for your sister, you are just going to throw your freedom away.” She threw her arms up. “Fine, you're right, that is your choice. Maybe when they sentence you to die, you'll realise I was right but once again, it will be too late.” She stormed from the room, slamming the door behind her.

James seemed to deflate once she was gone and settled in the closest chair.

“Well,” Edward began, feeling rather awkward. “There is nothing more that I can do for you at the moment. Besides, I must return to London this afternoon, so if you have no further questions, I think I will be heading home.”

“No, no more questions,” James replied, sounding tired. “Thank you, Mr Klein, you have been very helpful.”

Edward began to collect up his papers. “Please keep me informed of Mr Arundell's condition and remember, until you are charged, there is still time to change your mind about a House of Lords trial.”

“You think me foolish too,” James said, but it was a statement, not a question.

“I think you to be a highly principled man,” Edward answered diplomatically. “I know of few men who wouldn't throw their principles to the wind when faced with the possibility of jail.”

“Thank you.” James managed a small smile and stood up to shake his hand.

Before leaving though, Edward sought out Hope, only to be informed that she had just changed into her riding habit and was heading to the stables. He made his way swiftly to the stables in the hopes of catching her, and came upon her as she was leading her horse from its stable. She relaxed when she saw him and smiled.

“I'm glad I caught you,” he said as he approached.

“I find riding is good for stress, so whenever I am vexed, this is probably where you'll find me.”

“Good to know,” he smiled. “I just wanted to let you know that nothing is set in stone yet, so James still has time to change his mind.”

“Trust me, we'll do our best to convince him of the error of his ways.”

“If I may say, you seem rather invested in the outcome of this case.”

“James' sister was a dear friend to me and if she could see that he was about to go to jail for defending her honour, she would be horrified. I must do everything I can to help him for her sake, if nothing else.”

“I don't suppose there is any news on Honoria Arundell yet?”

“No.” She did her best to sigh and sound forlorn. “In truth, so much time has passed now, that I'm far from certain that we will ever know.”

“Well, good or bad, I hope they do find something, I believe it is always better to know than to keep guessing.”

“Thank you,” she smiled at his kindness.

“Well, I really must be getting back, and clearly I'm holding you up. Might I give you a leg up before I go?” he offered.

“Thank you, that's a very kind offer.” Although there was a mounting block, Hope couldn't see the harm and she put the reins over Shelly's neck and took hold of the pommel at the front of the saddle, raising one leg behind her. Edward took hold of her knee and ankle and lifted her high enough to mount the saddle. She settled herself and adjusted her skirt over her legs.

Hope smiled back down at him. “Thank you for coming all this way. I hope that next time things will be less hectic and perhaps you might like to come to dinner one evening?”

“Yes, I think I should like that very much.”

“I look forward to it.” Hope gave him a broad smile and tipped her riding hat at him, then turned Shelly and trotted out of the yard.

Edward watched as she broke into a canter at the field, only turning away once she was out of sight.

The wait for news on Malcolm Arundell seemed interminable. Each day Dr McCoy attended him but it wasn't until eight days after the duel, that he felt sure enough to say the words that the Beaumonts had been longing to hear.

Usually he just sent a note but that day, he called in at Hall on his way back from Arundell Hall. He was quickly ushered into the family sitting room, where Hope, Lucien, Martha, Charity and James were gathered. They all looked apprehensive as they stood to greet him, so after shaking hands with Lucien, he put them out of their misery.

“He is improved,” he began. “I cannot guarantee a full recovery yet, but infection hasn't set in and he seems stronger today, so I am hopeful that he will make a full recovery.”

“Oh, thank God,” Hope said, falling back onto the sofa with relief.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Lucien said. “This is happy news indeed.”

“You do realise that this is not a guarantee of recovery?” he asked, noting their pleased and relieved expressions.

“We do,” Martha assured him. “But this is the first positive news that we have had in a while.”