Chapter Fourteen #2
Benjamin had appreciated all she said except the word “interference.” However, he did not chastise her.
Instead, he said, “What did your sister say to you? I mean today in the close. What did she say?” Though he remained skeptical regarding what Miss Whitchurch thought she heard, he would permit her to keep her hopes.
As he replayed the scene again in his mind, he could recall no female voices, not even Miss Whitchurch’s, which made him question himself.
The lady frowned. “She called my name twice. There was another short phrase, but it was garbled, as if Cassandra had to clear her throat.”
“So Miss Cassandra did not ask after the boy? Nor did she beg your forgiveness for executing the unthinkable against both her beloved sister and her child?” he asked with his own frown of disapproval.
“Do any of those things matter?” she argued. “What matters is that this child requires his mother. I must find my sister and…”
“And what, Miss Whitchurch?” he snapped. “Return the child to a woman who willingly abandoned him?” he asked sharply. “A woman who has not yet taken responsibility for her impetuous actions?”
“Impetuous?” She threw her serviette on the table and thought to stand, but he caught her hand, holding her in place.
“Cassandra would not abandon her child,” she said through trembling lips, her anger gone.
“People always like her… She is the sweetest girl ever, sweeter than I shall ever be. Whatever she has executed, she did to protect her son.”
In Benjamin’s opinion, Miss Cassandra Whitchurch had not an inkling of what it took to be a mother and had abandoned the child after the pain of giving birth, while twice, not once, having begged for Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s assistance, once having learned that the Widow of Whitehall “protected” the women who worked for her and even provided a home for the children produced by a woman earning her living by lying on her back.
“I know such is what you wish to believe, but why return in such a manner?” he asked softly. “For weeks, you remained where she left you, and your sister made no attempt to assist you. She knew your landlady forbade children, but she left the boy with you without even a few pennies in support.”
Miss Whitchurch’s bottom lip continued to tremble, and there were tears in her eyes. “She was looking for a work position.”
“Was she not originally employed at Mr. Sustar’s shop?
Could she not seek out a similar position?
Many such shops permit the women to have beds within.
Surely it would have been easier for your sister to tend to the child’s needs than you.
The boy existed on pap those first few critical weeks.
I am not criticizing you, but, as a God-fearing woman, you know such was never God’s plan for the child. ”
“I must believe whatever Cassandra has executed—no matter how nonsensical the world views it—she left the child with me in order to protect him,” she whispered.
Benjamin said what must be said before any of them could move forward.
“Protect the child from whom? If the boy is considered a ‘bastard,’ he is his mother’s responsibility—no one else would have a say, not even you.
If Mr. Betts wishes to claim the child with false claims of marriage, you could not stop him.
The father has the rights in such matters.
The law would place the boy with the Betts family, especially as a barony is involved. ”
Miss Whitchurch sat back in her seat and looked around as if defeated. “Cassandra wanted me to protect him,” she said barely above a whisper.
“I am not asking you to abandon your care of the child. In my opinion, the boy is in a better place with you than he could be with either of his parents. Even if Mr. Betts would choose to marry your sister, the boy would not necessarily know love from either parent. ‘Family’ are those who love a person unconditionally. Lady Elsbeth Duncan proved that time and time again. She offered love and care to children not her own.”
She rolled her wrist out of his loose grip and curled her fingers over his knuckles. “God brings people into our lives when we require them the most.”
Since their first encounter on that rainy day, Benjamin had studied a myriad of expressions on Miss Whitchurch’s lovely features, but he had never viewed a stoic expression framing her countenance.
“My being worried holds a basis, does it not?” When he nodded his agreement, she continued, though tears had returned to her eyes.
“Would you agree that I am correct in thinking Cassandra is in deep trouble?” Again, he nodded in the affirmative.
“Though I cannot say I understood his accent, would you also agree that the man’s words from earlier today were spoken in anger? ”
“I mean to keep you and the child safe, but no more running off after the unknown. We require more facts,” he instructed. “Fortunately, you have fallen into the hands of one of Lord Macdonald Duncan’s sons. Nothing in London moves without Duncan being aware of it.”
“But the boy and I are not part of Lord Duncan’s family,” she protested.
“Yes, you are. Even without knowing me, Duncan would assist you.
However, his lordship will not rest now that I have asked him to investigate.
Moreover, my family will assist you in any way possible.
We all protected Lady Emma Donaghue because Lord Orson carried her into Duncan Place after she was violently attacked in Covent Garden.
Now, we are all watching over a woman who is assisting us with a banknote scheme.
Said woman, though he has not yet admitted it to himself, has enchanted Lord Beaufort.
What I am attempting to say is Duncan and his sons do not turn their backs on those in need.
“You cannot do this alone and also tend the boy properly,” he continued.
“I know you are customarily quite independent, but we must work together. Unlike my brothers, after university, I spent time at Edinburgh’s medical school, where my tendency to be very methodical was not an issue.
I cannot control how I approach a problem.
Just as I recently found more clues regarding an attack on Duncan, I will discover the answers you require about your sister.
“Unfortunately, I cannot do so if I am forever worried for your safety or whether you are starving. London is too large for me to search all its corners and nooks and know success if I am distracted by the possibility you are going to chase after a phantom,” he finished.
“When a chase is necessary, we do it together or not at all.”
“Likewise, I am holding you to the same promise, my lord. For my sake, you are not to take unnecessary chances. I could not bear it if you suffered because of me,” she ordered with a lift of her chin.
She was inches from him. Benjamin was considering whether it would be acceptable if he leaned forward and kissed her chin and then her mouth when Mr. Patterson reentered with her breakfast.
They casually leaned away from each other, and Benjamin silently admitted, but only to himself, what a true distraction the lady was becoming, and that distraction had nothing to do with her chasing after her sister and her need for assistance.
Victoria wished to believe in all Lord Thompson had shared, but, though she knew her parents loved her, she wondered if the innate loyalty of which his lordship had spoken actually existed.
Though his lordship had previously spoken of the devastation he experienced as a result of the death of his father and uncle, he had still known the affection of both, and he had admitted the presence of the steady love of his own mother, as well as the necessary guidance and affection from Lord Duncan.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Frances Whitchurch had had hopes that young Mr. Betts would have taken a liking to Victoria, which his lordship’s son initially had, but Victoria had never given the young man any encouragement.
Her “punishment,” if the word was appropriate, was to be sent to Bath to teach at an all-girls’ school.
Though Victoria had not regretted her years in Bath, she had known it was important to remove her from Jonas Betts’s notice if Cassandra was to bring the young man to the line.
Cassandra had been happy to take Victoria’s place at church services and making social calls.
The thing was that neither Mrs. Frances Whitchurch nor Cassandra understood the vile nature of young Mr. Betts, who had never been held accountable for any of his actions.
How many times had he purposely exposed himself to Victoria as she was making her rounds of her father’s needy parishioners?
More times than her sensibilities would care to consider.
Betts would suddenly step out from behind a tree, trousers to his knees, and be holding his member as if he thought it would entice her.
He would laugh when she blushed and turned away, making herself scramble in the direction of the nearest house. The year he had been sent down from school, she accepted the teaching position in Bath. Her father had shed tears when she departed, but her mother and Cassandra had simply waved her off.
Victoria had attempted to speak her cautions to Cassandra, but Cass was their mother made over.
Mrs. Frances Whitchurch, as a younger sister, had had to settle for a mere vicar, but she was determined that one of her daughters would one day live in the great house associated with Lord Betts’s barony.
The problem was neither Lord Betts nor his good-for-little son cared for the aspirations of the vicar’s wife.