Chapter 10 #3
“Why did you take a gift?”
“Did she accept it?”
“Did she appreciate my lemon?”
Everyone spoke at once, demanding to know more, until Hawkney got to his feet, glaring at his grandmother in frustration. “I believe I asked you not to mention my visit,” he said reproachfully. “But as you have, I shall leave you to answer the questions.”
“But did she appreciate the lemon?” the dowager pressed, mirth dancing in her eyes.
“Well, she accepted it, so I imagine she did,” he replied crossly before stalking from the room.
“You are a wicked old woman,” Aubrey said in admiration as everyone dissolved into laughter.
Hatherley Hall, Little Valentine, 19th January 1816
Aubrey did not linger over breakfast, eager to call upon Alice.
The more he considered the idea of her breaking into Lord Jefferson’s house, the less he liked it.
She might have more experience of these matters than he liked to consider, especially as she’d stolen the diamonds from his uncle’s house single-handed, which was grander even than Jefferson’s, but he still felt sick at the idea of her putting herself in such danger.
Yet, if Silas Mourney got there first, they would lose the diamonds and Alfie would be implicated. That could not happen.
“Howard, my grandmother said you had post for me?” Aubrey mentioned as the butler brought out his coat and hat.
“Indeed. Here, sir,” Howard replied with a smile, handing over a small stack of correspondence. “Your father collected them from your rooms in town as you requested and sent them on.”
“Jolly good, thank you,” Aubrey said, glancing at the top envelope which looked to be a bill from his tailor. At a glance, the others were invitations, but he’d take a proper look later and stuffed them into his coat pocket. For now, he wanted to see Alice.
The pretty town looked lovelier than ever to Aubrey’s gaze as he strode down the hill past the rows of little half-timbered houses, the ever-present expanse of blue sea a stunning backdrop on such a day.
Nodding at now familiar faces, Aubrey wondered what it might be like to live in such a place.
He had assumed he would move to the country when he married, for in truth he preferred such a life, though regular trips to town for the theatre and such entertainments as he enjoyed would mean he’d prefer not to go too far afield.
A sudden image of him and Alfie out on the town in London made him grin, what larks they might kick up together.
He could easily imagine going for a drink with Alfie, or to the music hall, and the idea was more than a little appealing, but living in town all year was not.
Alice and Lill had settled in Little Valentine after all, and it might be just the place to remain.
Especially as Nat had decided to build a house in the area.
That might be the best idea. With Alfie a regular part of their lives, they would do well to live in a more secluded location, a little apart from the village.
He wondered what Alice might say if he broached the subject and expected she’d get all cross and agitated, still disbelieving he meant to court her in earnest. Well, she would discover for herself that he was a man of his word and did not change his mind on a whim.
Laughing inwardly at his own foolishness, Aubrey knocked on the green door of Ocean View Villa, feeling like a giddy schoolboy. He could not remember having felt such sheer happiness and optimism since he was a lad, running wild with his cousins with the long summer holidays stretching before them.
His good mood plummeted, however, a few moments after Lill opened the door.
“She ain’t here,” she said blankly.
“Oh.” Aubrey stared at her, the wind taken from his sails. “When will she be back?”
Lill shrugged, crossing her arms, her gaze focused on the promenade where a stall was setting up to sell cockles and mussels. “Didn’t say. Late, I reckon. But I can’t be sure.”
Aubrey winced, an unpleasant stab of pain in his chest at the realisation he hadn’t merited a moment’s thought. “Did she not leave a note?”
Lill glanced at him, her expression softening as she shook her head. Aubrey stared at her and she looked away again, seemingly far more interested in the cockle stall than talking to him.
Aubrey considered how Alfie had been last night when they’d parted, teasing and happy, blowing him a kiss before disappearing into the night. What had happened between that moment and this morning?
“If you’ll excuse me, sir. I am sorry, but… but I must get on. I’ve things to do.”
Aubrey looked back at Lill. She did look sorry. Indeed, she looked pale and worried, not her usual bold and robust self. “What’s wrong?” he asked, a niggling sensation of anxiety making itself felt even through a fog of hurt and self-pity.
“Nowt,” she snapped. “Only I sat up half the night worried about Alfie and got little sleep. If you’ll excuse me.”
With that, she slammed the door in his face.
Aubrey stood there, wondering what to do. Seagulls cried overhead, their raucous shrieks making his nerves jitter. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t stand on Miss Marwick’s doorstep all morning, though, so he took himself off to the tearoom where he could sit and think in peace.
The bell jingled merrily as he entered, and a pretty young woman with a warm smile invited him to sit where he pleased. He nodded, ordering a pot of tea, and discovered the place was quiet this morning. The only other customer was the Reverend Honeywell, who looked up and smiled.
“Good morning, Mr Seymour.”
“Reverend,” Aubrey said politely, moving away and taking the table he had sat at with Alice, what felt like a lifetime ago now.
He knew he ought to have joined the reverend, who had been about to invite him to do so, but he needed to think.
There was an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach, one of deep foreboding.
The young woman came over with his tea and asked if she should pour for him, but Aubrey shook his head and thanked her.
He made the tea, hardly knowing what he was doing, and took a sip, wincing to discover he’d made it too weak and added sugar by mistake.
Setting the cup down, he sighed and felt the rustle of paper in his coat pocket.
He took out the letters Howard had given him and looked through them half-heartedly whilst the nagging sensation of doom grew stronger. He was on the brink of returning to Lill and demanding he know what was happening, when an invitation caught his eye.
His stomach performed a most unpleasant somersault, and suddenly he knew what he was afraid of, and with good reason.
The invitation had clearly been delivered some time before his father had forwarded to him. Lady Jefferson was giving a ball to celebrate the birth of their son, Rufus, tonight. The ball was tonight.
Alfie had stolen the diamonds from his uncle on the night of his aunt’s ball.
Terror held Aubrey immobile as his heart thudded erratically, then he surged to his feet, threw the necessary coins on the table, and ran from the room like it was on fire.
He was back at Ocean View Villa seconds later, hammering on the door.
Lill opened it, gasping as she saw his face. Aubrey did not stop for excuses, barging his way in.
“Alfie’s going to rob the Jeffersons tonight,” he said, so angry and afraid he could hardly get the words out. “Don’t you dare bloody deny it!”
Far from denying it, Lill burst into tears.
Hell.
“Damnation, I’m sorry,” Aubrey said, belatedly realising that this was Alice’s closest friend, they were like family to one another. She must be worried to death too. “I ought not to have bellowed at you like that.”
Feeling like a brute, he guided her into the parlour and sat her down, though he only wanted to get after Alfie, now he knew what the wretched creature intended.
“It’s all r-right,” Lill sobbed. “I know you’re sweet on her, don’t blame you. It’s enough to turn your hair white.”
“It is,” he agreed grimly. “Is there anything you can tell me, Lill?”
Lill shook her head. “She was afraid to get you involved. Said if it went to hell, she wanted you to have no part in it. Besides, Alfie is the best there is,” she said, with more than a little pride.
Aubrey nodded, wanting to believe that more than ever. “I know that, Lill, but I can’t let Alfie do this alone. Let me help. Please.”
Lill shook her head. “I don’t see how you can. You’re no good at robbery, Alfie said so.”
Aubrey snorted. “No. I can’t say I am, but I am good at moving in polite society, I am accepted.
What’s more, I’ve an invitation to that blasted party, so I have a reason to be there.
I can help. If it goes to hell, I could say Alfie is with me.
A young man who had had a bit too much to drink, perhaps.
I can vouch for him. Don’t you see, Lill? I could make it work.”
Lill blinked. “You’d do that?”
“I’d do anything.”
The words hung in the air, utterly terrifying, the truth of them settling in his heart. He would do anything to see Alfie safe. What’s more, he was going to bully and coerce anybody else he needed to do anything, too.
“You’ve been invited to the party?”
Aubrey nodded. “I can get into the house, legitimately.”
Lill considered this. “Getting Alfie out might be tricky, but maybe Alice…”
Aubrey smiled, taking her meaning at once. “Hurry, Lill. I’ve a hell of a journey if I’m to make it to town in time.”
Hatherley Hall, Little Valentine, 19th January 1816
“I need your help.”
Aubrey nerves jittered beneath his skin.
Getting Hawkney involved was a terrible risk, but he was Aubrey’s insurance if things went badly.
A duke was a good man to have on one’s side if one was in need of bribing officers of the law or making a nasty scandal go away.
That was, if his top-lofty cousin didn’t simply lock him in one of the attic rooms until he returned to his senses.
Hawkney looked at Aubrey and sighed. Having interrupted his grace during a meeting with his steward and probably looking like he was at his wits' end after spending the last half hour preparing for his hasty departure, he could hardly blame Hawk for being irritable.
“I knew it,” Hawkney growled. “I knew you were involved with some unsuitable woman. How much does she want to go away?”
Aubrey bristled, about to rage that it had nothing to do with an unsuitable woman, before checking himself. He couldn’t really pretend that wasn’t true. “It’s not like that,” he said stiffly.
Hawkney snorted. “No, no. This one is different. She loves you. Only she urgently needs… what… two hundred pounds?”
“Lord, Hawk, if that were it, I’d deal with it myself. Stop treating me like I’m a snot-nosed boy. You’re not much older than I am, for all you act like you are of an age with my father.”
“I seem to remember you came to me for help,” the duke said coolly. “Insulting me does not seem to be in your best interests.”
“I wouldn’t need to insult you if you were not so damned insufferable. You’re my cousin, you unreasonable pillock. Your first words ought to be, ‘of course, Aubrey, old fellow, what can I do for you?’ Not glaring at me like I’m something you stepped in.”
The duke flinched at this description and Aubrey felt a twinge of remorse, for Hawk was not such a bad fellow, he just had a lot on his shoulders.
“Della said something of the sort not so long ago,” he remarked softly. He walked to the window and looked out, his hands clasped behind his back. “Am I so very hard-hearted?”
“No,” Aubrey said with a sigh. “No, you’re not. Just rather hard-headed. It comes with the dukedom, I think.”
Hawk gave a huff of laughter and turned around, his serious gaze settling upon Aubrey. “Well, Aubrey, old fellow. What can I do for you?”
Aubrey smiled upon hearing his own words given back to him. “I… I can’t explain it all, Hawk, not right now, but I need you to come to town with me. Now. This minute. Lord Jefferson has a party tonight, and we must be there. It’s… It’s imperative. My future happiness may depend upon it.”
Aubrey’s heart gave an erratic thud behind his ribs. He prayed he’d pitched his demand somewhere between entirely unreasonable and frantic enough that Hawk would act without committing him to Bedlam first.
“Now?” Hawk said, his eyebrows going up.
“If we’re to get to town in time for the party, I’m afraid it’s going to be a disagreeable journey,” Aubrey said, knowing Hawk would normally stop overnight on his way to visit Gee-Gee.
“Your future happiness?” Hawk repeated sceptically.
Aubrey nodded.
The duke sighed. “Dammit, Aubrey, it is an unsuitable woman, isn’t it?”
Aubrey’s lips twitched. “Perhaps. But this is life or death, Hawk. We can row about how unsuitable she is another day. For now, I just want to ensure she’s alive and well so we can do that.”
Hawkney’s expression narrowed. “She’s in danger?”
Aubrey nodded, his stomach pitching. “Grave danger.”
“Well, why the devil didn’t you say so?” Hawk said impatiently, striding from the room. “Order my carriage.”
“I already did,” Aubrey said in relief, hurrying out after his cousin.