Chapter 20
The drawing room at Quamby House buzzed with anxious energy as they waited for word from Lushington Hall. Fenton had been pacing by the windows, starting at every sound, while Arabella sat rigidly on the settee, her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles were white.
“Perhaps I should ride back—” Fenton began for the third time.
“Absolutely not,” Fanny said firmly. “You’ll only complicate matters. Nicholas and James can handle one villain between them.”
“But we don’t know what other men Algernon might have had waiting,” Arabella said, her voice strained with worry. “What if there were accomplices? What if?—”
“My dear Lady Lushington,” Lady Quamby interrupted gently, settling beside her, “you must have faith. Your brother was quite determined to prove himself, and Nicholas... well, Nicholas would move heaven and earth to keep you safe.”
Fenton looked up from his pacing. “I’m still trying to understand the full scope of this business. Antoinette’s explanation was, I must say, rather... dramatic.”
“Because the truth is dramatic,” his wife said. “Arabella sacrificed her entire future to save her brother’s life, and that monster used her nobility against her.”
“But surely there could have been another way—” Fenton began.
“What other way?” Arabella’s voice was sharp with remembered pain.
“James was facing a court martial for embezzlement. The evidence was overwhelming, even though it transpired he was guilty of taking only a small amount of what was a much greater sum. When he came to me just before my wedding, terrified and desperate, what was I to do? Let him hang?”
“You lied under oath?” Fenton asked quietly.
“She provided false testimony about her brother’s whereabouts,” Lady Quamby confirmed. “Swore under oath that he was ill with fever when the money went missing, when in truth he was... elsewhere.”
“And Lord Lushington discovered this?”
“And used it to force her into marriage,” Lady Fenton said with clear disgust. “The most calculated cruelty imaginable.”
Fenton sank into a chair. “And Nicholas never knew?”
“How could I tell him?” Arabella’s voice broke.
“Shortly before our wedding, my brother confessed his crime. Suddenly, I was called to testify. By the time I realized Lord Lushington knew the truth and what he intended to demand in exchange for his silence, it was too late. I had to choose between Nicholas’s happiness and James’s life. ”
“So you chose your brother,” Fenton said softly.
“As any decent person would,” Lady Quamby declared fiercely. “And she’s lived with the consequences ever since, letting the world—letting Nicholas—believe she was a fortune hunter when she was actually the most selfless, noble woman any of us have ever known.”
The sound of approaching horses made them all freeze. Through the window, they could see three riders approaching through the falling snow—Nicholas, James, and Colonel Shankshaft, all mounted and apparently unharmed.
“Thank God,” Arabella breathed, rising so quickly she swayed on her feet.
They burst through the front door minutes later, stamping snow from their boots and bringing with them the cold night air and expressions of grim satisfaction.
“Algernon?” Fanny asked immediately.
“Secured,” Nicholas replied, his eyes seeking Arabella’s across the room. “The magistrate has been summoned, and enough evidence found in his study to see him face a hefty penalty.”
“The documents?” Arabella asked fearfully.
“Every last one destroyed,” James said, stepping forward with obvious emotion. “Bella, I found them all. Every forgery, every piece of evidence he held over you. They’re ash now.”
Nicholas moved towards her, his face bearing cuts and bruises from the fight but his eyes blazing with something that made her breath catch. “You’re free, Arabella. Completely free.”
“But James’s case?—”
“Will proceed exactly as planned,” James interrupted. “I’ve spoken with the Colonel about a way to present the evidence without reopening the original tribunal. The real embezzler can be exposed without revisiting testimony from the first hearing.”
“You mean?—?”
“I mean you’ll never have to answer for what you did to save me,” James said, his voice thick with emotion. “Though God knows I don’t deserve such protection, not after being too blind to see what it cost you.”
“James—”
“No, let me say this.” He moved closer, his young face earnest with newfound maturity.
“I came to you that night thinking only of my own fear, my own shame. I never thought about what I was asking of you, what you would have to sacrifice. I was selfish and foolish, and you paid the price for five long years.”
“You were frightened,” Arabella said softly. “You were barely twenty, facing the gallows for something you didn’t do. What else could you have done?”
“I could have been the brother you deserved instead of the burden you had to save.” James’s voice cracked. “But I swear to you, Bella, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving myself worthy of your sacrifice.”
Lord Fenton cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should allow Lady Lushington time to?—”
“To what?” Antoinette interrupted, her eyes bright with sudden inspiration. “To rest? After such drama? Nonsense. What she needs is fresh air and a change of scene.” She turned to gaze out at the snow-covered grounds. “Just look at that winter wonderland. How romantic.”
“Antoinette,” Lady Fenton said warningly, “it’s freezing out there.”
“The pavilion would be lovely in the snow,” their hostess continued as if she hadn’t heard. “So peaceful and private. Perfect for intimate… conversation.”
Nicholas and Arabella exchanged glances, both clearly remembering their last encounter in that very location.
“The pavilion will be like an icebox,” Fanny protested.
“Oh, but I had the servants prepare it earlier,” Lady Quamby said brightly.
“Fires lit, blankets arranged, even some provisions laid out. I was quite determined that this evening would end properly, you see. After all, some stories deserve their happy endings, especially when those endings have been so cruelly delayed.”
The room fell silent. Antoinette, Lady Quamby, had been orchestrating this from the beginning, preparing for the reconciliation she’d been so certain would come.
“You impossible, meddling, wonderful woman,” her sister said with exasperated affection.
“I prefer to think of myself as romantically practical,” Lady Quamby replied serenely. “Now, Mr. Morley, I believe you have something to say to Lady Lushington. And what better place to say it than where your story began to unfold?”
Nicholas stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Arabella’s face. “Would you... that is, might you consider walking with me? There are things I need to say, explanations I owe you.”
“Yes,” Arabella whispered, her heart hammering against her ribs. “Yes, I think I should like that very much.”
As they prepared to venture out into the snow-covered night, James caught Nicholas’s arm. “Take care of her,” he said quietly. “She’s given up enough for the people she loves.”
“I intend to spend the rest of my life making up for lost time,” Nicholas replied solemnly. “She’ll never have cause to sacrifice her happiness again.”