Chapter 4 #2
Was that a slight flush she saw? Goodness, perhaps he had forgotten himself, quite literally.
“I have come to give you some names of lawyers who would serve your father’s interests well.” He reached into his coat and extracted a small sheet of paper.
“Thank you, but I have already engaged one.”
“May I ask which one?”
She considered not telling him. It was none of his business, at least not until the trial.
“Mr. Notley.”
“That is not a bad choice. Notley is diligent, sober, and honest.”
“I thought so.”
“However, he has little courtroom experience, being a solicitor. He can serve in that capacity in the criminal court, but he would be wiser to engage a barrister.”
“So he explained. We will do so, if it is necessary. He also said that if you were asked to prosecute, it meant very important people had an interest in the case. Is that so?”
His gaze locked on her. “Often.”
“Your brother the duke?”
“No.”
“Of course not. What possible interest would he have? I can think of no one else who might make a claim on you, however.”
“Honor makes a claim. Duty makes a claim. Above all else, justice does, Miss Belvoir.”
If you care about justice, refuse to be a part of this. She bit her tongue. It would be foolish to antagonize the man whom her father would face in court. “Why did you come here? What do you want of me?”
He walked over to the entrance, and peered out into the hall.
Then he came and stood near her so he could speak quietly.
“I have come to warn you. You must not go to Newgate again. You should remove yourself from this entire process. Allow Mr. Notley to work in your stead if you must, but tell him to do so discreetly and as counsel to your father rather than in your service.”
She did not like being talked down to, literally.
Nor was she in the mood to take direction from Ives.
She stood so she might better look him in the eyes.
“Much as I would like to believe you have my best interests at heart, I am sure you do not have my father’s interests in mind at all when you issue this warning.
As a prosecutor you will be an opponent to his interests.
Without me, he will be easy pickings for such as you, especially if I remove myself. ”
His head cocked to one side. His lids lowered. “Are you insinuating that I fear your involvement because it will cause me to lose?”
“It will certainly make your winning less assured.”
“Miss Belvoir, I am not here for anything having to do with me. I am concerned for you. There may be more to all of this than either of us knows.”
“Obviously there is. I have said from the start that my father is not the sort to be involved in such a crime. A monstrous mistake has been—”
A firm slice of his hand through the air cut her off. “That is not what I mean.” He sighed with exasperation. “Listen to me now. And believe that I am not speaking as a prosecutor, but as someone who knows more of this part of the world than you ever will.”
She sat again, to listen. Not because he commanded it, although her own will had little practice in meeting the challenge of one of similar mettle. She sat to listen because he was no fool, and his expression and voice convinced her that whatever he had to say must be heard.
He pulled a chair very close to hers, again so eavesdroppers might not overhear.
Their knees almost touched. She found it very difficult to deny the power of this man’s presence with him so close that he wrapped her in it.
There was something compelling about him, as if he intruded on her spirit somehow.
How inappropriate, outrageous even, to react to him that way, when he would play such a horrible role in her life.
“Your father had become involved in something that may be far bigger than he knows,” he said.
“I have cause to believe that the government has taken an interest in him, and in that bad money they found in his rooms on Wigmore Street, and in his associates. If so, someone thinks this is not a simple crime, but part of a conspiracy.”
The word conspiracy sent a chill down her spine.
The word got bandied about a lot these days, since the end of the war caused disruptions in the economy that had sent workers into the streets, and given leave to radicals to restart their campaigns for major changes in society and politics.
Ever fearful of the upheavals such unrest can cause, the government had passed laws to make conspiracy harder to concoct.
“He is not political,” she said.
“He does not have to be if his associates are.”
“Who are these associates? Is that known?”
“They expect to learn that from him. However, right now, there is curiosity about one associate who has recently come to light. You.”
Another chill.
“You showed up after almost a month. You visit him daily. You bring him books and paper. What does he in turn give to you? What do you say to him? Such are the questions being asked. The gaoler even questioned if you are really his daughter.”
“Who else would I be?”
“An accomplice.”
“That is insulting.”
“See it with their eyes. You must stop going to Newgate. You have done your duty as his daughter. His lawyer will do the rest.”
“I cannot do that.”
“You must.” His demeanor showed he expected obedience.
She owed him none, but she did not want him to think her foolhardy either. She would explain herself once, but no more than that, so perhaps he would understand she did not reject his advice due to mere stubbornness.
“You said there were claims on you. Well, there are some on me too. I also have duties, and one is to make sure my father is not left to his own poor devices. I promised my mother I would. She did not mean I should make sure his shirts were clean or his cravat properly tied, I realize now. She meant watching over him if something like this happened. Papa’s head remains in his numbers and abstractions.
He will prove hapless on his own in such a complication of suspicions and conspiracies. ”
He appeared to understand, but he did not like it. He gazed at her much as a strict tutor might look at a student who offered a good reason the lessons had not been done. Acknowledging the excuse was valid did not solve the problem of lessons not learned.
“Promise me at least that you will not return to Newgate,” he said. “If you send food to the gaoler’s office, it will be brought to your father. I will make the arrangements.”
She wished he would stop helping her. Did he not see a contradiction in doing things like this when he fully intended to lower the wrath of justice on the same man?
“I cannot promise. However, I will not return unless I believe it to be necessary that I do.” She lost little ground in agreeing to this. Her father did not want her there, and refused to speak to her. Perhaps Mr. Notley would have more success.
Ives smiled. He appeared pleased. She could not understand why. He glanced around the chamber, and it was as if his gaze penetrated the walls and saw the rest of the building too. “Do you teach here?”
“I do.”
“Which subjects?”
“Mathematics and natural science, although I can cover most everything else taught here too.”
“Mrs. Ludlow is lucky to have you.”
Padua had to laugh. “I do not think she would always agree. I am, however, useful and inexpensive. If I left she would have to replace me, which for mathematics most likely means having to pay a man much more.”
“Did your father school you in mathematics?”
“Everyone assumes that, but he did not. My mother did.”
She enjoyed people’s surprise when she said that. Ives was no different. Curiosity entered his eyes.
He would have to wait to have it satisfied. Familiar footsteps heralded the return of Mrs. Ludlow. A servant followed, carrying a tray. “Lord Ywain, would you honor us by joining us while we partake of some coffee?”
He graciously accepted. Padua noticed the tray had only two cups and saucers. Mrs. Ludlow’s “we” had been the royal one.
“Miss Belvoir, should you not return to your classroom? The younger girls are waiting for you now.”
Padua excused herself. Ives managed to appear welcoming as Mrs. Ludlow turned an ingratiating smile on him, but Padua thought she glimpsed a few seconds of pain first.
Well, if the man insisted on interfering, he had to expect a little discomfort every now and then.
* * *
Losing hours and days to Miss Belvoir’s Dilemma was bad enough. Now Ives found himself subjected to Mrs. Ludlow’s social blandishments. She spent half an hour talking about her educational endeavors.
“We do our best here with the girls,” she confided after treating him to a description of her school.
“As well as possible, I like to think, considering their backgrounds.” She lowered her voice.
“Most of their fathers are in trade, and if ever the results of breeding trump those of money, it is in young women like these.”
“How long has Miss Belvoir taught for you?” he asked. “I sought her out today on a matter concerning relatives of hers, and do not know the particulars of her own situation.”
“She has been here three years. She came with only one reference, and a qualified one at that. I took her on with some risk because she can teach subjects it can be hard to staff. I do not deny her qualifications, and I enjoy her company. However, I find her opinionated and proud at times too. She is given to radical ideas, I regret to say, enough that I have debated asking her to leave.”
Ives would have preferred the word radical not be associated with Padua Belvoir, under the circumstances. He hoped Mrs. Ludlow only referred to those reformist ideas that he knew about.
“I trust she does not advocate eliminating all the aristocrats,” he said with a little laugh.
Mrs. Ludlow thought that very funny. They chortled together at the absurd notion.
“No, she is not that kind of radical. Goodness, if our parents ever thought that.” She patted her heart, as if in danger of fainting.
“She has some inappropriate ideas about women, however. You know the sort I mean. All that boring Wollstonecraft sort of thing. Her own mother attended a university abroad that allowed women. With a mother like that, you can imagine the strange notions Miss Belvoir has inherited. Our parents would not find it amusing.” She looked at him like he were an old friend worthy of confidences.
“Am I remiss in keeping her on? I go back and forth on the question.”
“It cannot be easy to find a teacher of mathematics who will take employment at a school for girls. If Miss Belvoir is competent in the schoolroom, I do not think you are remiss, or need to rush to send her away.”
Mrs. Ludlow looked at him with gratitude. “How good of you to advise me. You are correct, of course. Unless she does something that will harm the girls or the school, I can overlook her way of thinking.”
It seemed an excellent time to take his leave.
He did so, believing his good deed for the day done several times over.
Miss Belvoir would keep her employment, and would make herself scarce at Newgate.
With luck, anyone following her father’s case would lose interest in her in a week or so when she no longer made her appearances at his cell.
He would not mind being done with Hadrian Belvoir completely for the time being, but one more thing needed his attention.
He knew from sorry experience that sometimes magistrates, eager to identify a culprit, overlooked inconvenient evidence that might call a person’s guilt into question.
It sounded like they had Hadrian Belvoir tied up in a neat package, but before he prosecuted, he wanted to make sure.