25. Negotiations
CHAPTER 25
Negotiations
L ouise was on tenterhooks waiting for Shaun and Lord Ferndale to return. She’d gone back to bed, going in with Bernadette as Shaun had suggested, but neither of them could sleep after the excitement and lay in bed talking quietly until dawn, wondering what was going to happen now that Benjamin had been caught in the act.
“Let’s not open the bookshop today,” Bernadette suggested sensibly. “Neither of us will be able to concentrate. I’ll put a sign on the door and send Ruth home when she comes, or if she wants to stay maybe she can just sit and read. Keep Brutus company. I think we’d best keep him out of the way.”
Louise agreed that was very sensible. Certainly there was no possibility that she could sit patiently behind the counter and carry on her usual business while wondering what was happening!
“I’m not going to wait around to find out what’s going on,” she said. “I’m going to ask if I can be involved in whatever decisions are made. We’re victims here, after all. Benjamin literally tried to burn me in my bed.”
Bernadette shuddered. “Do you think he knew it was your window?”
“I don’t know.” Louise wasn’t even sure how he’d managed to climb the ivy that far. “Perhaps it was just the easiest one to reach.”
“I’m going to start pulling that ivy down today! Brutus can help me, that will keep him busy. If Benjamin could climb it, someone else could too!”
Louise doubted that, but since pulling down the ivy was a harmless task that would help Bernadette feel a little happier and more useful, she said nothing.
Blessedly, Brutus and Mrs Poole had somehow slept through all the noise the previous night, their rooms being on the top floor. They listened open-mouthed, Mrs Poole giving occasional horrified little screams, as Louise explained over breakfast what had happened.
“What will happen to Benjamin?” Brutus asked with great interest as he spooned up his porridge. “Will he be transported to the colonies?”
It was an indictment of just how awful Benjamin had been that his younger brother had hope in his voice as he made the suggestion, Louise thought. “I don’t know,” she said honestly, “but I do know that Lord Ferndale and Mr Jackson will want to be sure he can’t do anything like this again. And not even your father will be able to get him out of this mess scot-free, Brutus, don’t worry about that.” She smiled at him. “I’m going to see if I can find out what’s happening, but I want you to stay here, all right? Bernadette has a job for you pulling down some ivy on the back wall.”
“All right,” Brutus said cheerfully enough, and returned his attention to his food.
Louise’s stomach was churning too much to eat; she smiled an apology to Mrs Poole and abandoned her plate, making her way downstairs and next door to the Red Lion, where Mr Thomas and Riot Jones were still standing guard in front of the coal cellar door.
“You must have been up all night, isn’t your leg aching?” she asked Riot. “You should get some rest. I’m sure we could find someone else to stand here.”
The thin Welshman smiled at her. “Right kind of you, Miss Baxter, but I’ll hold my post until Mr Jackson tells me otherwise.”
“And where would he be?”
“Gone with Lord Ferndale to Mr Baxter’s house.” Riot nodded behind her. “Here they come now.”
Lod Ferndale’s carriage was indeed just rolling into the inn yard. Shaun was riding up with the driver, hopped down and opened the door to assist Lord Ferndale out first. Joshua then climbed out, face grim, and walked away, leaving Shaun to assist a sobbing Phoebe down.
“Oh, no,” Louise muttered. “Why didn’t they leave Phoebe at home?”
“Where is he?” Phoebe shrieked. “Where is my darling boy?”
Louise exchanged a frustrated glance with Shaun.
“She insisted on coming,” Shaun said in a low voice as Louise went to him.
“Everybody inside,” Lord Ferndale said, in a no-nonsense voice. “Ah, good morning, Mr Haye. I wonder if we might use the assembly room for an impromptu meeting? And if you could possibly send some runners out, I think it would be best if the town council convened in oh, say, two hours?”
Phoebe was wailing and sobbing, and Louise, feeling a little sorry for her - not that Phoebe really deserved it - put an arm around her shoulders.
“Brace up, Phoebe,” she said, not unkindly. “Carrying on does nobody any good. Pull yourself together and you might get to have a say in what’s going to happen.”
“This is all your fault!” Phoebe shrieked at her.
“It’s my fault that your son has burned down multiple buildings and killed three people ?” Louise said incredulously, and the sharpness of her tone, the seriousness of her words, must have cut through Phoebe’s shock and grief, because she stopped sobbing and stared at Louise wide-eyed.
“Phoebe, Benjamin is in serious trouble.” Louise urged her towards the door to the inn. “You and Joshua need to stop pointing the finger of blame at other people and be prepared to beg for mercy.”
All the fight seemed to go out of Phoebe then, and she walked where Louise directed, listlessly taking a seat at the table in the upstairs room. Joshua, too, seemed to have deflated, sitting down quietly and folding his hands in front of him.
Shaun came in with a young man Louise didn’t know, and Riot Jones followed too. Lord Ferndale gestured for them to take seats at the table, and then Shaun held out a chair for Louise. She smiled thanks at him and sat down, pleased that nobody had suggested she shouldn’t be here. As she’d told Bernadette, this was very much her business.
“Where is Benjamin?” Joshua asked in a quiet voice.
“Being held securely in the coal cellar downstairs,” Shaun replied, “guarded by Mr Thomas and two of my men. If required, we’ll bring him up, but I think you should hear what happened first.”
Joshua nodded, and Shaun pointed to the young man Louise didn’t know. “Mr Norbury. If you’d please share what you saw in the early hours of this morning.”
Mr Norbury flushed, coughed, and began a little haltingly to explain that he’d been on patrol when he thought he saw someone climbing the wall between the livery yard and the bookshop’s back garden.
“I wasn’t sure, though, so I fetched Mr Jackson and gave him a leg-up onto the wall, and he saw someone climbing the ivy. Mr Jackson told me to run around front to the door and bang and shout to wake the Baxters, so I was just doing that, and then I heard glass breaking.”
Shaun took up the tale, and then Riot explained how he’d been unable to sleep for the heat and had come back downstairs before hearing shouting and seeing someone come running out through the archway onto the High Street, and tripping him up.
“And Mr Jackson pulled his hood back, and we all saw that it was Benjamin Baxter,” Riot finished, and there was silence in the room.
“And Miss Baxter,” Lord Ferndale said. “I understand it was your bedroom window that was smashed?”
“Yes… I woke up when I heard shouting, and then the glass broke and a lantern was thrown in through the window. It broke on the floor. I jumped up and smothered the flames with the blanket from my bed.”
Phoebe began to cry again, but more quietly this time. Joshua made no move to comfort her. He just sat, staring at his hands.
“Mr Baxter,” Lord Ferndale said, “did you have any suspicion that Benjamin was the arsonist?”
Joshua jumped, almost as though he was surprised to be asked, but he shook his head vehemently. “No, never! A few people came to me saying they’d heard rumours, but I thought… I thought…” He glanced quickly at Louise before looking down again.
“You thought I was spreading them in retaliation for you spreading rumours about us,” Louise said, comprehension dawning.
“Did you purchase lanterns or tinderboxes for Benjamin?” Lord Ferndale asked.
“Absolutely not,” Joshua paused, before saying slowly, almost as though the words were being dragged out of him, “but… he did have a generous allowance. I never queried what he spent his money on.”
“And you never checked that he was in his bed at night?”
Louise found herself looking at Lord Ferndale with new admiration. He could have been a judge in court, asking incisive questions which cut straight to the heart of the matter. He was continuing now, asking Joshua why he thought Benjamin had chosen his targets for arson, making Joshua cringe, because the answer was obvious. Apart from the old schoolteacher Mr Flyte who had tried to teach Benjamin, and Dr Rasley who had reprimanded him publicly, every other person or property that had been targeted belonged to someone Joshua considered his enemy.
“Whether or not you aided and abetted his crimes,” Lord Ferndale said finally, “it is your negligence in raising him and your vindictive attitudes that have created this disaster.”
“I’ll pay,” Joshua muttered, still not looking up. “I’ll pay for everything that was burned.”
“How will you pay for three people’s lives?” Lord Ferndale raised his voice at last. “Mr and Mrs Flyte, and Doctor Rasley? You cannot buy lives, Mr Baxter! That is not justice!”
Joshua screwed his eyes shut, while Phoebe cried quietly beside him. At last, Joshua said dully; “What do you suggest, my lord?”
Lord Ferndale steepled his fingers, and then he looked at Louise. “What do you think, Granddaughter?”
She blinked, a little startled. Shaun gave her an encouraging nod.
“Well,” she said after a moment, “paying reparations for the property damage and to the families of the deceased is a good start, Cousin Joshua, and there is no question that must be done. But Benjamin cannot be free to begin wreaking havoc again. He will never stop. None of us could sleep safely in our beds at night.”
“If the case is taken to Crown Court, he will be either hanged or transported,” Lord Ferndale said gently. “Dependent on the whim of whatever judge is appointed.”
Phoebe let out a low wail. “Oh no, oh please no, please, my lord!”
Louise had no desire to see a sixteen-year-old boy hanged no matter what he had done, and transportation, alone, to the far side of the world amongst hardened criminals would likely be just as much of a death sentence, if a more prolonged and painful one.
“What about emigration?” Shaun said.
“Emigration!” Joshua stared at him in shock.
“To the Americas,” Shaun clarified. “Not just Benjamin. All of you, as a family. Even after paying reparations, if you sell your properties you will still be a very wealthy man, Mr Baxter. You could start a very fine life in the New World, away from everyone who knows what your son has done.”
“Do you think you will still be welcome in Hatfield, after all this?” Louise pressed the point when Phoebe looked horrified at the idea. “Do you think your social circle will accept you back as though nothing has happened? It’s all over town by now, what Benjamin has done.”
“And certainly, this is the last straw for your continuing as magistrate,” Lord Ferndale added to Joshua. “You must stand down at once.”
The negotiations continued for another hour, but by the end of it, Joshua had agreed to all their demands. He and Phoebe would arrange emigration to the Americas and leave immediately with Benjamin and Barnaby; Brutus they agreed could remain with Louise and Joshua’s interest in the bookshop was to be settled on Brutus, which would ensure their safety. Shaun bullied Joshua into settling fully half of what would remain of his estate on Brutus in trust, to be managed by Lord Ferndale, Shaun and Mr Yates until Brutus was of age. All of Joshua’s other properties would be sold at the best prices which could be achieved, reparations paid for the fires, and monies sent on to Joshua and Phoebe wherever they settled.
“I advise you to keep a very tight leash on Benjamin,” Lord Ferndale said sternly. “A military school, perhaps, and a warning to the headmaster about his tendencies. And if suspicious fires begin again… perhaps a hospital for the insane.”
“And don’t spoil Barnaby,” Louise added to Phoebe as a parting remark. “I don’t know how Brutus has turned out as decent as he has, but he is living proof you aren’t total failures as parents. Don’t fail Barnaby as you’ve failed Benjamin.”
Phoebe shot her a look full of hate, but said nothing more, just turned away and leaned heavily on Joshua’s arm.
“Make sure Benjamin isn’t released until they are ready to leave town, please, Mr Jones,” Lord Ferndale instructed Riot. “Get him food and water, but don’t let him out of that cellar.”
That would speed Phoebe’s packing, Louise thought.
“Oh, and one last thing,” Shaun said, just before Joshua and Phoebe left the room. “Before you leave town, Mr Baxter, please ensure you call on Mr Charles and advise him that you grant permission for Louise to marry me.”
The noise which came out of Joshua was very like a growl, and the look he shot Shaun was full of rage, but he nodded grudgingly and left the room with Phoebe clinging to him. Riot excused himself and followed, taking Mr Norbury with him.
“Well.” Lord Ferndale leaned back in his chair. “What an absolutely dreadful business.”
Louise reached to take his hand. “Grandfather, you were remarkable! Cousin Joshua did not even have so much as an opportunity to argue.”
“Catching the lad throwing a lantern through your bedroom window isn’t the kind of thing that can be argued away,” Shaun said dryly.
Footsteps on the stairs announced new arrivals, and Mr Haye tapped on the door. “The town council members are here, Lord Ferndale,” he said. “Shall I send them in?”
“Indeed!” Lord Ferndale straightened in his chair. “And could I trouble you for some tea, my good man? And perhaps some biscuits, or even some toast? I didn’t get to have breakfast…”
“That will not do at all! I shall go and see to having something brought up for you.” Louise squeezed his hand, and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Grandfather, for everything.”
“You are most welcome, dear girl.” Lord Ferndale squeezed back.
As she left the room, walking past the council members assembling outside waiting to go in, Louise heard Lord Ferndale say to Shaun; “Best speak to Mr Charles, Jackson. The third banns will be called on Sunday; what do you say to Monday for the wedding?”
Louise almost danced down the stairs, a wide smile on her face.
Monday would suit her just fine.
Not everything could be resolved quite so easily, however. The Chancery Court would not dismiss the case before it just because Joshua was leaving the country; though he wrote letters at Lord Ferndale’s direction withdrawing his request to be made trustee of Matthew’s estate and guardian of Louise and Bernadette, the Court would still rule on the matter. Renwick had written back promising to come, and Lord Ferndale would stand up for them, but it was still possible the Court might grant the trusteeship and guardianship to some crony of theirs.
Which, of course, was why Shaun was so determined to marry Louise before that came to pass; her guardianship would then not be in question and she would be safe. She seemed more than happy at the idea, and a week later walked down the aisle on Lord Ferndale’s arm with a joyous smile on her face.
Joshua had already left town with Phoebe, Barnaby and Benjamin, who had spent two nights in the coal cellar and seemed very subdued by the time he was finally dragged out and bundled into a travelling carriage. Irrationally afraid that Joshua would let him out, Shaun had ridden halfway to London watching the carriage before finally turning around and coming home.
Mr Charles conducted the ceremony, delighted to do so with both Joshua’s verbal agreement and a signed document from him consenting to the wedding.
And for where Shaun and Louise would make their home? Well, with Joshua’s departure, quite a number of properties had suddenly come on the market, but the one which best suited their needs was the house which had been Joshua’s own. It was quite perfect, being large, a short walk from the bookshop, with a field behind for Shaun to keep his horse. There were plenty of bedrooms too, including of course the one Brutus had always called his own, although Brutus seemed quite keen on staying at the bookshop with Mrs Poole and Bernadette. Lord Ferndale decided on a fair price for the house, and Shaun paid it quite happily. They needed some new furniture, but that could be easily managed in time.
Lord Ferndale and Miss Yates threw them a beautiful wedding party at Ferndale Hall, at which Lord Ferndale surprised Shaun yet again by informing him that he must take at least two weeks off to spend with his new wife and that he should take Louise away for a holiday by the seaside.
“I have booked you in at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne for a week,” Lord Ferndale said, a twinkle in his eye. “You both need a holiday, I think.”
“But the bookshop!” Louise protested immediately.
“Well in hand,” Lord Ferndale said firmly. “Bernadette tells me that young Ruth is doing very capably behind the counter these days, and Brutus is there too. I am sure they will manage admirably.”
Shaun could see that Louise wanted to argue, wanted to insist that the bookshop was her responsibility, but she glanced at her sister, dancing just at that moment with Dr Williams, and looked thoughtful.
“A holiday by the sea does sound wonderful,” he said, and she looked up at him and smiled.
“I’ve never seen the sea.”
“Never?” he gaped.
“August is the perfect time to go to the seaside,” Miss Yates enthused happily. “A little sea-bathing will be just the thing, Louise!”
“Very well,” she acquiesced. “And we will be back in plenty of time for the Chancery Court hearing, of course.”
She would not miss that for anything, and neither would he. It was too important to her that the bookshop must be kept running - perhaps in her mind, as long as the bookshop remained open, her father might yet come home - and that meant Shaun would do everything in his power to make it happen.
“Come dance with me again,” he begged. She laughed and took his hand, and Shaun thought that he would never tire of dancing with her, his Louise, this beautiful tall, strong woman who was now his wife.
We hope you’ve had a wonderful time enjoying Louise’s romance with Shaun. Turn the page to read chapter 1 of book 4 in The Bookshop Belles, Bernadette’s Dashing Doctor.