Chapter 22 #3
Graham watched as the lady moved to close the door. Desperate, Graham stuck his boot in the door and tried once more. “Please, my lady, I would not come if it were not of grave importance. I feel Lady Barbara may have information to help a friend of mine. I promise to only stay a few minutes.”
“I fear my daughter no longer has certain memories. She has been recovering from a fall and a hard hit to the head,” came the woman’s response.
“I had heard of her misfortune, and I am sorry. I hope she recovers fully,” Graham stated, hoping to placate the elder Lady Finch. Unsure if it would help him gain entry, Graham offered a bit more, only fibbing slightly. “My cousin, Percy, told me of her troubles, and wished me to check on her.”
Lady Finch sighed and pulled the door inward.
“Like I said, Barbara remembers little of the last couple of months. It pains me to admit that I have let her keep up some correspondence with that criminal, no offense intended, your grace. It has been the only thing that has raised Barbara’s spirits as she recovers.
And I am sure she would want to be of help to you. Please come in.”
Graham stepped inside and was immediately surprised to find the interior of the home to be in stark contrast to the sunny day outside, the foyer and hallways almost pitch dark, with the only points of light the sconces on the wall.
Lady Finch only paused to close the front door before making her way silently down the dark hallway.
With no invitation, Graham assumed he was supposed to follow and fell in behind the lady as he tried to make polite conversation.
“I fear I was terribly abrupt in my greeting. I assume you are the lady of the house.”
“I am, my name is Lady Jane Finch, and my husband is Lord Samuel Finch. We have had seldom few visitors with my daughter still convalescing, so please excuse the state of the house,” was the woman’s response as she made her way into a room almost as dark as the rest of the house.
Only small slivers of light streamed in through openings in the curtains.
Graham’s eyes adjusted, allowing him to see a slight figure near one of those openings.
Upon closer inspection, the woman in question was in her nightclothes, a robe providing sufficient modesty.
“Barbara, dear, I hope you have the energy for a visitor. He comes with word from Percy,” Lady Jane said softly, gaining the attention of the one by the window.
Lady Barbara turned from the window, and Graham watched as a look of shock and then anger crossed her face briefly before she turned a wane smile on her mother.
“Mother, could you see that our guest has tea and biscuits. I am so thankful he is here to bring me news of Percy. I would like to show him gratitude for his visit.”
The duke was astounded when Lady Jane quickly acquiesced to her daughter’s request, leaving them alone in the room.
With a strength belying someone unwell, Lady Barbara spoke first. “What do you want? I know it is not to tell me how your cousin pines for me. He was quite rude in his last letter, so much so that I burned it; I could not have my parents reading such filth. So, I will have it out now.”
Graham mulled over his approach for only a moment, just now realizing he had come to Lady Barbara’s family townhome without much of a plan. “Percy told me you are knowledgeable about some scheme that puts my friends in danger.”
“You mean Lady Alaina and her husband the marquess?”
“You know that is who I mean,” Graham gritted between teeth, his earlier interaction with Percy making his patience short.
“Well, I fear that my memory is quite unreliable. One minute I can remember something and the next I cannot,” Lady Barbara said benignly, before she continued, “But there are ways to help it along.”
Graham shook his head and scoffed. “Well, if it were not for the lover’s tiff you are currently in the middle of, I would say you and Percy were made for one another.”
“We are not!” Lady Barbara burst, a moment later holding her head in her hands as if in pain. “We may have been once, long ago, but not anymore. Now if you have nothing to offer, I will insist you leave immediately.”
Graham looked at the woman, remembering the torture she had wrought on Alaina, and the trouble she caused with Percy at Ashford, and reluctantly removed his remaining change purse.
He was perturbed to have the need for so many bribes in one day.
A loud thunk! sounded as he tossed the coin purse onto the table next to Lady Barbara, who finally removed her head from her hands to look for the offending sound.
She hefted the coin purse deftly in her hand and then turned her eyes back to the duke.
“So, you want to know who would have it in for your friend and his new wife?”
“Yes,” Graham snarled, “I hope you have sufficient motivation now.”
A sly smile crossed Lady Barbara’s face. “Yes, I do believe I have remembered enough.”
A pause still hung in the air when Graham became inpatient. “Well, who is at the center of things?”
“Christopher’s cousin, silly,” Lady Barbara huffed, “It seems like every son of a second-born is out for as much money and power as they can get, and at any cost. It helps to motivate them if they are in a bit of debt. My brother finds them easy targets for his own schemes. It is easy to lure them into a game or two to start, and then they can’t stay away. Money is a powerful motive for anyone.”
“So what, Charles is in a bit of debt to your brother, Richard. Why would he want to hurt Christopher? How could he even make that a reality?” Graham questioned.
“I told you why, but how may cost you extra,” Lady Barbara spit.
Graham felt a rage build up, but he kept it leashed, only allowing himself a single threat.
“I suppose I could take it to the authorities that you were in league with Percy and Charles and are an accomplice to their wrongdoings. That I found you trespassing on my estate, setting fire to my property. Vandalizing and causing consternation among my tenants. The list of offenses is impressive, but I had it in my mind that you were merely a pawn. I had thought that with Percy in Newgate, we would all be safe.”
“There is only your word!” Lady Barbara practically shouted once more, wincing as she did so. “Besides, I am a victim of a crime in my own right.”
“You will find that my word can count for a lot when it is lent to the right ear. My family has a long history with the crown. If you doubt me, so be it, but I dare you to test me,” Graham stated coldly, his voice flat and direct. “Was it Christopher’s cousin who attacked you?”
“What?! No!” Lady Barbara exclaimed. “Or at least not that I can remember. The last I recall was meeting him to discuss our future, and then nothing…”
Graham watched as Lady Barbara stared off at nothing, as if trying to recall what had happened, but he was impatient for answers. “So, you have not explained how Charles would be able to hurt Christopher and Alaina.”
“You may have only yourself to blame.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Lady Barbara chewed her lip, as if contemplating whether the duke would see his threat through, but then she spoke. “When was the last time you saw your family’s ring? The one with the crest? How easy would it be to lure them away from the safety of their manor home with that seal?”
For the second time that day, Graham found himself disengaging from a conversation without proper farewells.
He barreled through the dark hallway and foyer, taking little note of Lady Jane Finch as they passed one another.
Graham numbly made his way out the door and onto his horse, as he set a course for the country and hoped it was not too late.
Crack!
Alaina bolted upright in the carriage and struggled to understand her surroundings as the conveyance careened to the left and crashed onto its side at an awkward angle.
Alaina landed against the window, her arms barely providing any cushion for her abrupt stop, her head knocking against the pane of glass.
As Alaina struggled to keep the impending darkness in her head at bay, she heard scuffles outside of the carriage, which was now completely cloaked in darkness, and listened to a bevy of short pistol pops!
The door opposite Alaina was snatched open and a lantern filled the inside with light.
Alaina attempted to scramble toward the door closest to her, absolutely sure the person with the lantern was not there to help.
A piercing pain ripped through her head at the motion, making her woozy, as her hand feebly tried the door handle, and she felt her hair yanked back.
“You will not escape so easily,” the voice rasped, close to her ear. Her mind worked overtime as the familiarity of the voice tickled it. “Now, where is your husband?”
Alaina tried to turn and push away from her attacker, but the man held the nape of her neck in an iron grip, and she whimpered in pain, “I do not know where my husband is.”
“Nonsense! You know exactly where he is; it was supposed to be him traveling to London,” came the voice once more, a shiver making its way up Alaina’s spine.
“I am telling the truth,” Alaina stated, hoping her confidence would keep Christopher from this man’s pursuit. “I am the only one traveling to London.”
A growl escaped the man, and he moved to exit the teetering carriage, dragging Alaina behind him. However, she was not to be so easily taken. She reached out to find some purchase, kicking her legs in an attempt to be free.
“Enough!” came the roar from the man, still not clear in Alaina’s vision. He came around with his other hand with vicious intent, driving the butt of his pistol down on her head, the lantern hanging from his arm the only point of light before darkness closed in on her.