The Purloined Papers (27 page)

“…should have seen her face…”

A sudden shout from the stairs pulled all eyes to the main door. Peter stood there, glaring at the footman barring his path. Swollen burns turned his face into a monstrous blob.

“Of course I have an invitation,” he rasped. “We both do.”  Shoving the footman aside, he clattered down the stairs, a disheveled companion in tow.

Fear sliced down Chloe’s back. Peter wasn’t here to celebrate William’s betrothal. Nor was he here for a game of cards. Everyone knew William never allowed deep gaming under his roof.

She shuddered.

“Where’s my damned sister?” demanded Peter.

Chloe ducked behind a cluster of men and raced for the door. If she could reach the terrace, she could lose herself on the nursery floor, then slip away before dawn.

Voices rose behind her as Peter shoved through the crowd. A glance over one shoulder revealed Andrew, Rockhurst, and Grayson racing toward the disturbance, but she didn’t see her brother.

She dodged around a knot of ladies snorting disapproval at Peter’s intrusion, then broke into a run for the door.

“Umph!”  Someone collided with her.

“There you are,” Peter exclaimed, grabbing her arm. “Pack your bags. I found you a husband.”  He turned to his companion. “See?  A little long in the tooth, but hardly a hag. She’ll breed well enough for you.”

Chloe gasped. “Have you lost your mind?”  She tried to pull free, but his hand remained firm.

“Now, now. Don’t turn missish on me. You should be glad for any offer at your age.”  He jerked her forward, trying to join her hand with his friend’s.

“No!”  She struggled harder. Peter was drunk, as usual. Surely she could break free. She had to break free. Unless she escaped, she would find herself ruined by morning. “You are not my guardian.”

“What?” yelped the friend.

“Ignore her,” snapped Peter. “Barry will be so glad to be rid of her that he’ll jump at your offer.”

“Hah!”  Chloe twisted until her wrist hurt. “He would never follow your lead. You fired him and threw him out of Fields House.”  It was bravado, though. If Peter’s friend deflowered her, Mr. Barry would insist on marriage to save her reputation.

She cast pleading eyes on the nearest guests, but they sidled away. None would interfere in a family matter for such as her.

Andrew suddenly burst from the crowd. “What the devil is going on?” he demanded, doing something to Peter’s arm that loosened his grip. Off balance, she would have fallen if Andrew hadn’t pulled her against his side.

“Nothing that need concern you, Captain. I was just conveying the good news to Chloe that she is to be wed.”

Andrew shook his head. “She obviously doesn’t share your excitement.”

“She will. We just caught her by surprise.”  He reached for her again.

“Stop embarrassing her, Sir Peter,” snapped Andrew. “This is not a matter for public discussion.”

“I am aware of that. As you can see, I was helping her outside where we can be private. If you will excuse us—”

“No!” gasped Chloe. “He will force—”

“Don’t interfere in family matters,” warned Peter. A jerk on his companion’s arm kept the man silent. “I finally got the chit off my hands. Have to do the deed before he changes his mind.”

“Wrong.”  Andrew’s voice hardened. “Chloe was never on your hands. Sir Nigel made sure of that.”

“This is not your affair. Come, Chloe.”

Andrew slipped her behind his back. “You have no authority over her. Besides, she is already betrothed.”

“Betrothed!” snapped Peter’s companion. “Why, you despicable—”

“He lies,” insisted Peter.

“Not at all. She is betrothed to me.” 

Rockhurst arrived and helped herd Peter toward the door. When Peter tried to protest, Andrew added, “You’ve entertained my brother’s guests enough for one evening.”

Before Chloe knew what had happened, she was on the terrace with Andrew, Peter, a drunken stranger, and Lord Rockhurst. A glance showed Grayson just inside the door, his position preventing anyone from following. Andrew’s arm kept her close to his side.

“Barry will never let you get away with this,” blustered Peter. “You are nothing but a half-pay soldier. Jacob is wealthy, with an established business.”

“And you expect to take advantage of that. But Mr. Barry would never approve one of your friends.”

Jacob was trying to draw Peter aside, but Peter ignored him. Fury twisted his face.

Chloe shivered, grateful that both Andrew and Rockhurst flanked her. Peter wasn’t drunk enough to challenge both of them. But he was plenty drunk enough to attack her if she refused to cooperate.

“You can’t wish to be shackled to a military man, Chloe,” ordered Peter. “Tell the captain to return to his regiment.”

“No.”  The word freed her voice. “You have no say in my future, Peter, and never will. Did you forget to tell your drunken friend that I am not conformable?  Anyone who tries to subdue me will regret it. I’ll not be sold to pay your gaming debts.”

Jacob flinched, confirming her guess. Peter had indeed wagered her hand on the turn of a card. And lost, as usual.

Panic twisted Peter’s face. “You don’t understand,” he wailed. “I’ll lose Fields House unless she agrees.”

“Which is no more than you deserve. Who is he, anyway?”

Rockhurst answered. “Mr. Jacob Ashley. It took me a moment to recall the face.”  He glared at the man. “Weren’t you booted out of a club on Jermyn Street last year for fuzzing cards?”

Peter gasped.

Chloe stiffened.

Andrew signaled Grayson with his free hand.

Ashley glared at Rockhurst. “No, I was not booted out. A cub who lost a quarter’s allowance cried foul, but he was proved wrong.”

“Jacob Ashley.”  Andrew nodded. “I smell a very large rat. When did you start losing to him, Sir Peter?”

“What difference—”

“When?”  His voice cracked through the air, demanding answers.

“A- A month ago. He’s carried me as long as he’s willing.”

“No. He carried you so he had leverage against Sir Nigel. Meet the man who tried to kill you.”

“What?”  Peter’s face blanched.

“What?” yelped Ashley at the same time.

“Explain,” ordered Rockhurst.

Andrew glanced at Chloe. “You explain.”  His hand again signaled as Rob and Ned reached the terrace. Peter and Ashley were too intent on Chloe to notice.

Chloe took a deep breath. “Mr. Ashley and his partner made their fortunes by defrauding the government. Father discovered their scheme, but instead of giving the evidence to the authorities, he used it to blackmail them. Ashley confronted him. A fight ensued. Father fell to his death. After several searches of the house failed to turn up the evidence, Ashley set a fire to destroy it.”

Peter gasped.

“Quite an imagination,” drawled Ashley.

“Hardly. How did you discover I’d taken Mother’s jewelry casket to Moorside?”

Peter shrugged. “I mentioned it when he pressed me for payment. It was the last thing of value in the house.”

“And thus put my life in jeopardy. Fortunately I was at Seabrook when he ransacked Moorside.”  The footmen moved behind Ashley, blocking any escape.

“Lies,” Ashley snapped. “You can’t prove any of them.”

“Can’t I?”  She whipped the shawl from her neck. “You were right to look for the jewelry casket. The letters were inside. When I caught Truitt searching my room for them, he tried to kill me.”

Peter’s jaw hung open.

Rockhurst shifted closer to Ashley.

Andrew smiled grimly. “The letters are now in good hands.”

Ashley blanched.

Chloe nodded. “The game is over, Ashley. And you will pay for every crime, especially killing my father.”

“I had nothing to do with his death.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?” she demanded sharply.

“It’s the truth. If anyone has a complaint, it is me. He bashed me with a poker.”

Peter edged away even as Rockhurst stepped closer.

“I am not a violent man,” Ashley insisted. “Yes, I went to Fields House to demand that Sir Nigel return property that he stole, but that was my only visit. He tricked me by claiming he’d hidden it behind a brick. I made the mistake of stepping closer to see what was taking so long. That’s when he hit me. His attack put me in bed for days. And I had nothing to do with Peter’s misfortune.”

“Save the explanation for court,” advised Andrew. “You and Truitt can argue the blame there. He is already under arrest. Now it is your turn.”

Before Ashley could react, the footmen grabbed him. When Ashley lashed out with a foot, Rockhurst punched him in the stomach. Ashley sagged.

“Into the library,” ordered Andrew, nodding to the adjacent wing. “Then summon Lord Rankin – quietly. He is handling the case.”

Rockhurst accompanied them, leaving Chloe, Peter, and Andrew behind.

“Go home, Peter,” said Chloe softly. “Set your house in order. But don’t bother me again.”

“How?” he demanded. His voice broke. “I haven’t a shilling to my name. I owe him more than Fields House is worth.”

“I doubt it.”  Andrew herded Peter toward the garden. “Ashley can never collect. Even if he escapes the scaffold, he will spend the rest of his life in Botany Bay. And the games were probably rigged. He wanted you in his debt and didn’t care how he managed it. You were his insurance against Sir Nigel’s demands, just as Chloe was going to be his insurance against yours. He didn’t want to make a second attempt on your life.”

Peter frowned, but didn’t deny it.

“Good-bye, Peter,” said Chloe. “Perhaps one day we will meet again, but I wouldn’t count on it. I’ll not forgive you for selling me like a painting or an old chair.”

Peter opened his mouth, but Andrew stopped him. “Go home, Sir Peter. Let your wounds heal. Learn about estate management. Consult a book dealer, for some of Kevin’s volumes might be valuable. Use your one decent investment to help your tenants. If you stay away from the tables, you can survive.”

Peter shook his head as if surfacing from sleep. Shrugging, he headed for the stables.

Chloe watched him disappear around the corner. Loneliness suddenly overwhelmed her.

Left alone with Andrew, Chloe succumbed to tremors as the various shocks finally registered. Jacob Ashley, a man she had never heard of before today, had destroyed her family – precipitating the flight that had killed her father, draining the last of the family’s resources, setting fire to Peter and the house. Had he also set up fraudulent investments that had trapped her father?  He’d been flouting the law for at least a decade, always seeking to enhance his fortune. Sir Nigel would have been an easy target.

Her foot tripped over a step. Blinking, she realized that Andrew was escorting her into the family wing. His arm steered her into the morning room, where he closed the door.

“Don’t bother, Andrew,” she protested as he picked up the tinderbox. “I’m going upstairs. You should return to your guests.”  She needed time alone to regain her composure. Though she’d welcomed his appearance in the ballroom, his touch had again scrambled her senses. Unless she broke the spell, leaving would be impossible.

Andrew shook his head. “William doesn’t need me at the moment, and I’ve no wish to be interrogated. Besides, we need to talk. We have matters to settle.”

“What matters?”  But she knew. He had always been too impetuous for his own good and too honorable to back down even when he’d talked himself into an impossible corner. “You needn’t fear I’ll hold you to rash statements, Andrew. You were only confounding Peter until you could draw him from the ballroom.”

“Untrue. I meant every word.”

“No one heard you, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t be naïve. People may have backed away from the confrontation, but every ear in the ballroom was straining to hear us. By now everyone in the house will know you accepted my hand.”

“Even though I didn’t.”

His face darkened. “What else could I have done, Chloe?”  He pressed his temples as if they hurt. “Peter ignored your protests. Would you have clawed and scratched and screamed the roof down at William’s ball?  Nothing less would have stopped him, and he might have dragged you off anyway. Debauching you would make Barry insist you wed the devil himself.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but couldn’t utter a word. He was right. She could never have fought hard enough to escape. The scandal would have ruined her, especially after Laura’s accusations. And William already faced too many problems. How could she embarrass him further? 

Peter must have known. Why else would he have confronted her so publicly?  She had a long history of meek obedience – giving up teaching, seeking a husband though her heart belonged to Andrew, accepting her father’s vow that all would be well. The only time she’d ever stood up to him had been over working for Laura, and William had done most of the persuading.

So by presenting Ashley as her betrothed in front of local society, he’d expected her to docilely accept her fate.

But that didn’t excuse Andrew’s lies. “I could have escaped Ashley,” she declared. “The man is a criminal.”

“But I didn’t know who he was. Nor did you,” he reminded her grimly. “His arrest would have saved you, but neither of us could have predicted that. I won’t apologize for protecting you.”

“So protection means forcing me into marriage so I won’t be at Peter’s mercy.”  She barely kept her voice steady. Marrying Andrew was her fondest dream, but not unless he truly wanted it. And she could not face a hurried marriage followed by years of separation. Would he even have time to arrange it before leaving?  Perhaps he thought a betrothal would be enough to keep her safe.

Or maybe he would insist on marriage. His impending departure made such a gesture easy. He could protect her with his name without facing the consequences. Guilt over Kevin’s death and Laura’s abuse had convinced him that he was duty-bound to protect her. But he wouldn’t have to live with the result. He could park her at Seabrook and leave, turning her into an unwanted cipher in William’s household.

She couldn’t accept.

Peter would be regretting his actions by now. She could use his period of guilt to escape Devonshire and establish herself as a war widow where no one could find her. Never again would she allow fantasies of Andrew to intrude on her real life. She would not wind up like Laura, alone, reviled, and miserable because she clung to impossible dreams instead of making the most of her life.