Redemption (33 page)

The only
blight in their blissful landscape was the spectre of Julian that
continued to hang over them. They had been so wrapped up in their
new married lives that at first they had tried to block out any and
all thought of Lizzie’s wastrel step-brother. They had succeeded
too. Right up until three days ago when they had received a missive
from the solicitor requesting a meeting to discuss Julian’s
will.

“Come
here for a moment,” Ben persisted as he sat on the side of the
bed.

After
three weeks in Ben’s constant company, Lizzie knew that look in her
husband’s eye. It was difficult to refuse him but she shook her
head slowly and pursed her lips as she peered out from behind the
retiring screen.

“Ben,”
she protested when he appeared behind it anyway, and drew her into
his arms. He stole her thoughts when he kissed her soundly before
leaving her weak and trembling while she drew on her
dress.

She eyed
the bed longingly as she walked toward her husband who was now
fully dressed and waiting beside the door for her. He coughed
meaningfully and threw her a teasing look as he opened the door to
allow her out of the room.

“Later,”
he promised as he followed her into the corridor. Once there, he
slid an arm around her waist and drew her against his side as they
descended the stairs; their whispered teasing and soft laughter
echoing around the quiet halls of the plush mansion.

“Good
morning, my Lord,” the solicitor intoned when they entered. “My
Lady.”

“Good
morning,” Lizzie replied, accepting a cup of tea from Sugden with a
smile. Unsurprisingly, Ben sat beside her and turned his attention
to the solicitor.

“Thank
you for taking the time to meet with me. I am here to discuss the
somewhat delicate matter of your late step-brother’s will. Please
accept my sympathies for your sad loss at this time.”

Lizzie
nearly snorted aloud at his sentiment but nodded politely, her face
a cool mask of indifference.

“His
estate goes to the next male in the family, doesn’t it? I think
that he must have a distant relation somewhere, but I have no idea
where,” she murmured only to pause when the solicitor shook his
head.

“If I
may, I should like to conduct the reading of the will
now?”

“Don’t
you need the cousin here as well?” Lizzie asked and glanced at her
husband when Ben placed a comforting hand over hers.

He
suspected he wasn’t going to like the next few minutes, but
remained quiet as he nodded briskly at the solicitor and watched
him unfold the sealed parchment resting in his lap.

“The
last will and testament of Julian Barnard Eustace Pendlebury of
Pendlebury House, Mayfair London, being of sound mind and good
judgement, do hereby bequeath my wealth and estates as follows: The
land and house at Bristledown, my hunting lodge in Cambridge:
Longmere, my half-share in Pendlebury House, and my fortune resting
in a secret bank account, the details of which are with the
solicitor, I leave in the entirety to my step-sister, Elizabeth
Janet Pinner, also of Pendlebury House. I make this bequest in the
hope that she should try to forgive me. I have made many mistakes
in my life, and have not served or treated you as well as I ought
to have done. For that I wish to apologise. Over the course of the
last few weeks I have taken life into my own hands, and now must
face God’s redemption. I am truly sorry for evil knows no bounds.
Once it takes hold of a person’s life, it is difficult to break
free of the negative thoughts, feelings, and actions that can suck
one under faster than the ocean’s currents. My own selfish greed
has cost those closest to me who, through no fault of their own,
have found themselves being called my family and associated with
the problems I have created. I hope that the fortune that resides
in my secret account will be ample to cover my debts so that they
should not taint your life. For the evil I have wrought upon you, I
can only beg forgiveness, and hope that leaving the entirety of my
estates to you will redeem myself in your favour at some point in
your future. May you fare better in your life than I have done in
mine and with that, I wish you all the very best for your future,
my dear. Your loving step-brother, Julian.”

Silence
settled over the room.

“Would
you like me to read it again, my lady?” the solicitor asked kindly
when Lizzie failed to move or speak. Ben too appeared
stunned.

Julian’s
funeral had taken place the week following his death but, unlike
most funerals of members of the aristocracy, Julian’s had been a
low key affair with only Ben, Patty, and Lizzie in attendance.
Afterwards, they had returned to McArthur House with a sense of
relief that had only grown as each day had passed.

“Are you
all right?” Ben asked quietly when he couldn’t stand her silence
any longer.

Lizzie
nodded and gave her husband’s hand a gentle squeeze to silently
assure him she was fine. She looked at the solicitor. “Do you know
how much is in this secret account of his?”

The
solicitor nodded. “A gentleman from the government, the Star Elite,
came forward with some money they found at Pendlebury House. It is
enough to pay the bank everything Julian owed and that repayment
has already taken place. Therefore, Pendlebury House is now yours
in its entirety. There was three hundred pounds in Julian’s regular
bank account, but there were over two hundred pounds’ worth of
debts in unpaid invoices and the like which leaves the total sum of
ninety six pounds remaining. When he wrote the will the day he died
-”

“Wait!”
Lizzie cried and leaned forward to pin the solicitor with a frown.
“He wrote the will the day he died?”

“Well,
yes. He refused to leave the prison until I had written it down and
promised to seal it that very same day. The guard witnessed it.
Here look.” He turned the parchment around and pointed to the
signatures for them both to look at. “Something seemed to be
bothering him, but he didn’t confide in me. Anyway, although it is
highly unusual, there is nothing illegal in the will and so there
is no reason why it cannot be fulfilled as to his wishes. I have
obtained details of the hidden account from the bank involved and
can confirm the sum of eleven thousand, six hundred pounds is its
current balance, along with a few shillings.” He began to rummage
around in his bag. “I have the exact amount written down in my book
in my bag somewhere.”

Lizzie
ignored him and turned her stunned gaze on Ben, who appeared just
as nonplussed as she was.

“Wait a
minute, say that sum again,” Ben demanded.

The
solicitor repeated the figure.

“Now
where would Julian get that amount of money from?” Ben frowned at
his wife but knew that she wasn’t likely to know either. “It
certainly wasn’t hidden under the floorboards.”

He knew
because once Julian’s body had been removed from the premises the
Star Elite had scoured the property from top to bottom, including
the cellars. No other money had been found, and although Lizzie had
helped them to get into the safe, nothing of note had been found
their either.

“Well,
some of it would have come from the sale of the furniture and
knick-knacks he sold,” she whispered.

Ben gave
her a look of astonishment. “Would they have been worth eleven
thousand pounds though?”

“Definitely not.”

“Well,
he has either won a lot of money through his gambling or didn’t
spend as much as you thought he did.”

“I have
had a look at the transactions in the ledgers the bank showed me,”
the solicitor interrupted.

They
both turned to stare at him. “It seems that the stipend we paid him
to look after Lady Holmcroft was deposited on a monthly basis.
Apart from that, there was one large deposit of nine thousand
pounds, plus the stipend you should have received over the course
of your lifetime, and a few additional deposits here and there. It
is all accounted for, apart from the original nine thousand. We
don’t know where that came from.”

“I think
that is less than the amount he was left by his father,” Lizzie
replied thoughtfully.

“Well it
all appears to be above board and accounted for, so we don’t have
anything to worry about. You now own Bristledown, my darling. I
know how much that place means to you,” Ben murmured, hating to see
his wife so pensive after their earlier happiness.

However,
the reading of the will had to be done at some point. Now that
Julian was buried, and his will read, the solicitor could deal with
the rest of the formalities, and he and Lizzie need never discuss
the whole sorry mess ever again unless she wanted to.

“Are you
all right?” He prompted when she appeared lost in
thought.

“Yes, I
just don’t think I will ever understand the way his mind worked,”
she replied with a sigh. “He was always gambling, or so I thought.
He always seemed so wrapped up in his own world that he never
seemed to care one iota where I was or what I was doing, while all
the time he was stashing money away.”

“Yes,
but you cannot forget the reason why you were on that rooftop,” Ben
countered. “Don’t feel too sorry for him. Not after what he
intended to do. We just thwarted his plans for you,
thankfully.”

Ben
wondered whether Julian had made the will and left it with the
solicitor because he knew he intended to kill Lizzie. By making a
will before he left jail, he was attempting to prove he had no
intention of hurting her, and could leave London as soon as she was
dead until her body was found, buried, and suspicion had died down.
Once rumours had circulated about her taking her own life, or
‘slipping’ off the rooftop, then he could reappear seemingly
innocent of all suspicion and inherit everything that was hers.
Although there was no proof of this, Ben knew enough of Julian’s
sordidly scheming mind to suspect that he was right.

Although
he hadn’t told Lizzie yet, he had recently met with Barnaby who had
reported they had found what they suspected was the murder weapon
hidden in the fake mistress’ room. It was about a foot length of
rope that one of the Star Elite had found tucked in the corner of
the secret compartment beneath the floor boards. Julian had indeed
tried to incriminate his fictitious mistress in Samson’s death, and
in doing so had proven his guilt.

Making a
mental note to tell her about it later, Ben turned his attention
back to what was going on in his morning room, and watched Lizzie
sign the necessary papers the solicitor handed her. Once he had
gathered his documents up and taken his leave, Ben locked the door
to the sitting room and joined his wife on the chaise. This time,
rather than formally sitting with their backs straight and a few
inches of decorous distance between them, Ben lay down and drew his
wife into his arms.

“I love
you, my darling wife,” he murmured kissing her on the lips as she
lay down beside him.

“I love
you too,” she replied huskily.

After
several moments of thoughtful silence she looked up at
him.

Sensing
she was watching him, Ben lifted one lazy eyelid and looked askance
at her.

“What do
you think we should do about Bristledown?”

“Well,
you love that place. Now that you have the money, I suggest we go
and take a look at it and then we can secure the necessary repairs.
From what I have heard of it, it should make a lovely family home,”
he murmured closing his eyes on a sigh of contentment.

Sensing
she wasn’t all that relaxed against him, Ben leaned back to look
down at her. “Do you not agree?”

“One
thing I have learned of late is that life is about looking to the
future, not at the past if it hurts you or causes you doubt, fear,
or worry. I have mourned for Bristledown, almost as much as I have
mourned for my parents, but I cannot mourn them forever. It is time
I put the past where it belonged; in the past, and looked toward
the wonderful new future that lies ahead of me – with you.” She
kissed him on the lips and felt her throat close with emotion, but
nothing was going to stop her from saying what she needed to say.
“Pendlebury House is already up for sale. I suggest we put Julian’s
lodge and Bristledown up for sale too. It is time I moved on with
my life, and I should like to do that somewhere else.”

Ben
nodded his understanding. “As long as we are together, I don’t care
where we live. We need to reside here while I conduct business some
of the year, but then we could go to Summerlake for the rest of the
year if you like?”

Lizzie
had heard of Summerlake, the McArthur family estate belonging to
Lord and new Lady Holmcroft. The thought of living there with Ben,
and turning it into a family home they could raise their children
in filled her with such excited pleasure, and so much enthusiasm,
that she couldn’t wait to go there and get started on their new
future.

“I
should like that,” she whispered lovingly.

“Me
too,” he replied and rolled her over for a very thorough
kiss.

The
End.