Chapter Fourteen
Reuben was unsure if Ezra’s enquiries would throw any more light on Templeton’s underhand activities.
Time would tell. While he waited, he could refer to Lady Bartholomew again and put Templeton’s name to her, but he decided against it.
A second intrusion at a time when the life was rapidly ebbing from her husband’s body would be unpardonable.
Besides, if she had suspicions about Templeton, she would have presumably voiced them during Reuben’s visit.
There was, however, an alternative and arguably more knowledgeable source of information available to him.
Reuben gave his secretary instructions regarding the most urgent matters awaiting his attention the following morning and then ordered Brandon to be saddled.
By the time he and Percival reached the stables, his stallion was pawing at the ground, taking exception to being kept waiting.
Reuben saw no reason to prolong their departure, aware that Brandon would likely attempt revenge by bucking wildly the moment his backside hit the saddle if he felt aggrieved.
After a swift gallop across open fields, with light drizzle splattering his face and the wind tearing at his clothing, Reuben drew rein on the outskirts of the village, pausing so that Percival could catch them up. The rain was coming down harder now, so Reuben didn’t loiter for long.
‘We have to take the back path,’ he told Percival, who was attempting to shake the rain from his coat. ‘Reputations are at stake.’
Reuben had made it his business to visit Alice Torbin, Templeton’s former parlourmaid, periodically since her removal to the periphery of the village.
He couldn’t afford to be seen openly fraternising with the girl, though.
Tongues would wag and erroneous conclusions doubtless drawn by the gossiping villagers.
Reuben was not without his share of critics, and if he was seen visiting Alice then assumptions would be made.
Her history was known by those with influence in the village, but Reuben had made it clear that he would take a dim view of it if any blame was attached to Alice, who was now the mother of a lively one-year-old son.
Templeton was not a popular figure locally and Alice’s story was a familiar one, but Reuben’s part in forcing Templeton to support the girl was a secret shared only with those whose discretion he could depend upon.
‘You know what they say, Percival,’ he said, riding to the back of Alice’s cottage and tying Brandon’s reins to a fence post, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t be seen from the seldom used track leading to her dwelling. ‘No good deed ever goes unpunished.’
Percival, his nose pressed to the ground, presumably investigating a promising rabbit trail, lifted his head briefly and wagged his tail but offered up no opinion.
‘Your grace.’ Alice, in the process of saving damp washing from a further soaking, glanced up and smiled. ‘This is a pleasant surprise.’
‘How are you, Alice?’ Reuben ruffled the head of the small boy who tottered up to him on chubby legs. ‘And how is this fine young gentleman?’
Alice smiled. In spite of her workworn hands and shabby clothing, she really was a beautiful woman, and Reuben doubted whether it would be long before some young man stole her heart and slipped a ring on her finger.
‘We are both doing well, your grace,’ she said. ‘Thanks entirely to you.’
‘I am very pleased to hear it.’
The child giggled when Percival ran up to him, almost knocking him from his feet.
‘Can you spare me a moment?’ Reuben asked, calling his dog to heel. ‘There is something I would like to ask you.’
Alice seemed surprised by the polite request, accustomed no doubt to high-born gentlemen issuing orders rather than making requests.
‘I have all the time in the world for you, sir. Please come in out of the rain.’
Alice took her son’s hand and led the way into an orderly scullery. She looked embarrassed when she asked Reuben to take a stool.
‘There is really nowhere else to sit. Not that I would have you think for one moment that I am complaining. I was very fortunate to have secured this accommodation.’
Reuben smiled as he perched on the edge of a stool, assuring her that he was perfectly comfortable.
‘I am sorry to rake up unpleasant memories,’ he said, ‘but I need your help regarding Templeton.’
Alice’s friendly smile gave way to an injured stare as Reuben forced her to think about a time she would obviously much rather forget.
The bruised look that dulled her vibrant green eyes increased Reuben’s feelings of guilt, – until he recalled Templeton’s behaviour towards Farrah the previous day.
Such a thought enabled him to harden his heart.
Alice was strong, and she had already proved it.
Not everyone in the village was sympathetic to her situation.
Some thought she was to blame for the illicit liaison and its inevitable result, and that she had tempted her unscrupulous employer with her feminine wiles in an effort to improve her circumstances.
She had withstood the whispered criticism well, and was gradually being accepted into village life, thanks in no small part to her brother’s stout defence of her honour.
‘What is that you wish to know?’ she asked, straightening her shoulders as she watched her son crawling about the floor, playing with a wooden soldier.
‘You mentioned to me once that Templeton made you serve his guests, especially in private, when he enjoyed showing you off.’ Reuben raised a hand in apology when she winced.
‘I am sorry to raise the spectre of a man you would much prefer to forget, and believe me I would not have done so if it were not of vital importance.’
‘The memory of my situation has never gone away, your grace.’ She folded her hands in her lap, her posture rigid.
She possessed a natural elegance and an air of refinement, and Reuben thought that if the circumstances of her birth had been different then she would have been an asset to any lady’s soiree.
‘Just ask me what you need to know. I will tell you if I can. If it had not been for you then …’ She spread her hands as her words trailed off.
‘I think it may be within my power to expose Templeton’s unscrupulous behaviour and perhaps save others from suffering a similar fate to your own.’
‘Then tell me how I can help you,’ she said without hesitation. ‘I am anxious to see Templeton exposed for the scoundrel that he is and so ask your questions, your grace.’
Reuben cleared his throat, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. ‘Who was Templeton’s most frequent private visitor?’ he asked. ‘Any gentleman with whom he discussed his business affairs in front of you is of particular interest to me.’
It was Alice’s turn to indulge in momentary contemplation. ‘No one in particular springs to mind.’ She paused. ‘No gentlemen, at any rate. You might be better advised to ask if he had dealings with a specific lady.’
‘A lady!’ Reuben didn’t have to hide his astonishment. ‘Are you absolutely sure?’
‘I thought at first that she must be a paramour, but surely even he would not entertain his mistress beneath his own roof with his wife in residence.’ Her expression turned bitter.
‘The treatment of his servants did not register with her ladyship. We were no threat and therefore of no consequence to her.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Reuben said softly, feeling increasingly guilty for stirring up such unpalatable memories.
‘The fault was not yours.’ She let out a long breath, her gaze focused on her son who was completely taken up with his toy soldier.
‘Do you know the name of the lady who commanded Templeton’s attention?’
‘Mrs Armstrong.’
‘Armstrong?’ Reuben shook his head. ‘I don’t think I am acquainted … Just a moment, is she not the widow who recently moved into the manor house at Bridgeport?’
‘Yes. She is friendly with Lady Templeton – very friendly, which is why I thought it odd that her husband spent so much time alone with her in his library. She called, ostensibly to take tea with Lady Templeton, but always finished up closeted with her husband. What’s more, Lady Templeton didn’t seem to mind.
I think she knows that her husband has a wandering eye, but he also …
well, his preference was for younger girls.
’ Alice’s cheeks flamed with colour. ‘Mrs Armstrong is definitely not in the first flush of youth, so one cannot help but wonder what reason he could possibly have to entertain her in private. But I suspect you have some idea, your grace, which is why you have called upon me with your questions.’
‘I have not met the lady, but one assumes that her husband left her well provided for. Do you know where they lived before she relocated to this area?’
‘Liverpool, I believe.’ Alice, in control of herself once more, looked up at Reuben. ‘Why? Is that important?’
‘It could well be vital. Are you aware of the nature of their private discussions?’ he asked, more in hope that expectation.
Alice shook her head. ‘Sorry, but no. I made a point of steering well clear of his lordship as much as I possibly could. If he was engaged with someone else, then it meant he had no time for me, and I could go about my duties without feeling the need to constantly look over my shoulder.’
Reuben observed the despair in her expression and felt the familiar fury rising within him as he contemplated the liberties that Templeton took with his servants ? Alice being one of many, he had no doubt.
She owed him her livelihood and could not decline his advances if she wanted to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly.
Sometimes – often in fact – the behaviour of members of his own class, people who took what they wanted from those who were in no position to object, made him thoroughly ashamed to call himself a gentleman.