CHAPTER 14 The Present #2
“Are you serious? You brought me back after all these years to be your son’s nanny?
You must be out of your mind. Hire tutors and nursemaids.
Name one of your friends his guardian. I’m sure there must be some distant, impoverished aunt that can serve as a motherly figure.
I am certainly not suited to the task and have no wish to be. ”
“There is no one else, Josephine. The cousin next in line to inherit the title is a shady character. And his wife is an overambitious harridan. I fear for my son’s fate if they are left in charge of raising him.
They will take advantage of his inheritance.
Or… he might not even live to see his majority. ”
What was left unsaid hung in the air like a stale smell.
Would these relatives kill a child to inherit the title and fortune?
The possibility was too horrible to contemplate.
And yet she knew there were people that sinister.
Her own master had been a twisted— She forcefully cut off that thought.
The day she left the harem, she promised herself she would do her utmost not to think about her life there.
She might not be able to control the nightmares, but she could control her conscious thoughts.
And she refused to spend even one minute of her waking time on thoughts of that place.
She had not replied, lost in thought, and her brother went on anxiously. “I will make it worth your while.”
Her attention perked up at that. “How much?”
That seemed to fluster her brother, who looked uncomfortable discussing money, especially in front of strangers.
She, on the other hand, had no compunction whatsoever about discussing money.
Financial security was the first step in securing her future, and she planned to have everything clear, in writing and legalized, no matter how uncomfortable it made her brother.
“We can discuss that when we get home.”
She would have insisted, but the carriage was stopping. She looked through the window to see the train station. The footman opened the door to the carriage, and she held her tongue while they descended.
Once on the platform, there was no more opportunity to talk as they navigated the bustling train station.
As they settled into the train, she admired the inside of their admittedly comfortable first-class private compartment.
Finances must be well if her brother had been able to afford to pay her ransom and still travel in luxury.
“Your finances must have improved since the last time we met, Lord Dunhaven.”
The deep pallor on her brother’s face tinged with blotches of color. Was he made uncomfortable by the reminder that his debts had been what destroyed her life? That he had been a willing accomplice in her kidnapping? Well, that was too bad. She didn’t plan to make any of this comfortable for him.
“I stopped gambling. After what happened; when I saw the consequences of my actions. I… I couldn’t. So yes. The earldom’s finances are in order.”
“How splendid for everyone.” She could tell her neutral tone disconcerted him.
He looked at her as if he didn’t know what to expect.
As if he didn’t know her. And he didn’t.
He had known the girl who was innocent, trusting, and optimistic.
That girl had been betrayed, sold, and crushed.
The woman she was now had a much clearer view of the world and its cruelties.
She didn’t speak more during the train ride.
Her brother appeared exhausted. Shortly after the train departed the station, he had taken a pill and fallen into a fitful stupor.
John sat quietly, reading a book. He was a smart and capable man but didn’t talk much.
Alice had taken out her knitting needles and was consumed by her task.
Such a peaceful, domestic endeavor for a woman who led a life that was anything but.
Josephine didn’t mind. She passed the time looking out the window, watching the English countryside rolling by. The gently sloping hills covered in a patchwork of green and dotted with trees or animals were a soothing and poignant sight to her weary soul.
Several hours and a change of transportation later, they arrived at their ancestral estate.
It still felt too soon. She braced herself, but when it was time to descend from the coach, she hesitated.
This had been her home. She had grown here and known everyone for miles around.
What would they think of her? Did people know she was coming? She almost wished nobody knew her.
“It is time, Lady Josephine.” John’s voice, calm and steady, bolstered her resolve.
She alighted from the coach without help and looked up at the impressive gray stone facade of what had once been her home. The butler immediately opened the door. Perkins. She remembered him. He was solemn and performed his duty with clockwork efficiency but was kind.
His eyes seemed to warm as he beheld her. “Lady Josephine.” He bowed. “On behalf of the entire staff, I would like to welcome you home.”
Perkin’s welcome struck the right tone. Friendly and warm, but without unseemly emotion. She inclined her head. “Thank you, Perkins. Glad to see you again.”
He gave her a small smile, gesturing to his side. “Do you remember Mrs. Perkins, my wife? Please don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need.”
“You may wish to retire to your rooms and rest for a bit after our travels,” her brother interjected. “We will meet for dinner at 7:30 in the family drawing room.”
“Actually, I am not tired at all, Lord Dunhaven,” Josephine replied, gazing at him. Her brother appeared marginally improved after his rest on the train, and they had much to discuss. “I would like to speak to you in the study, if you please.”
Her brother hesitated for two seconds before conceding her request with a resigned nod.
“Follow me, please.” He turned and shuffled down one of the corridors opening from the entrance hall.
She looked at her friends. “Will you accompany me, please?”
“Of course,” John said, inclining his head.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Their support meant a lot to her, and it was important that they listen to this conversation. They followed her brother down the hallway and into his study. The windows were open to the side of the lawn, and the late afternoon sunshine spilled onto the floorboards.
“I wish to speak to you about my compensation for looking after your son,” she said without preamble.
Her brother looked pained. “It is not compensation, Josephine. Merely your inheritance.”
“Call it what you will, but I wish to negotiate it now, with my friends as witnesses, and I will ask Lord Ardmore to suggest a trustworthy solicitor to draw up the terms.”
John inclined his head. “Of course, Lady Josephine.”
Her brother sighed and sank into the chair behind the desk. She and John took the chairs in front of it, while Alice wandered around, exploring the room with feigned disinterest.
“I will double your dowry, plus I will settle a house on you,” her brother said, no doubt feeling his offer was very generous. He had no idea of her demands.
“How much did the pasha give you for my purchase?” she countered.
“Josephine! Really, there’s no need to be crass,” her brother protested.
“I have no wish to mince words, Lord Dunhaven. You may call it what you will to appease your fragile conscience, but I’ll call it like it was. I seem to remember that your debt to him was close to ten thousand pounds. Plus, I believe he gave you money to settle your other debts. How much in total?”
“It was such a long time ago. I don’t remember the exact amount.” Dunhaven’s eyes shifted this way and that, his finger pulling at his necktie. “How much? An approximate amount will suffice.”
“About twelve thousand,” he finally muttered, avoiding all their gazes.
“I want double that amount.”
At that, her brother’s eyes bulged, and she had the impression he would have shot up from the chair had he had the energy to do so.
“Double that! But that is… that is…”
“Twenty-four thousand pounds. Yes. And I don’t want it as a dowry, as I am unlikely to ever marry. I want the money transferred to me outright. Free and clear. To my own bank account, for me to use how I see fit.”
“But women don’t manage money!” her brother protested. She heard an unimpressed scoff from Alice.
“This woman does. And that is not all. The house you said you were going to settle on me?”
“Yes?” She took grim satisfaction in seeing her brother squirm.
“I want the Turnbridge Estate.”
“The Turnbridge Estate! But that is the second most profitable estate after the earldom’s main seat.
What would a woman do with such a large estate?
You know nothing of its management. You will run it to the ground.
I was thinking of giving you a house in London.
Wouldn’t that be more to your liking? Live in town and not have to worry about managing an estate? ”
“No. I want an income-producing estate. I will learn to manage it. It can't be too difficult. You do it.”
The insult turned her brother’s face an unbecoming shade of puce. She saw John attempting to cover a laugh with a cough, while Alice smiled widely and nodded to her.
“This is your revenge, isn’t it? You want to bankrupt my estate, dispossess my son, just to feel vindicated.”
“Wrong. If I wanted revenge, my first act when I got off the ship would have been to kill you. I only want what I deserve. After all, the earldom’s prosperity was bought at the expense of my freedom.
By the way, what did you tell our parents about my disappearance?
Did they believe your lies, or were they your accomplices in selling me? ”
Her brother looked down, taking his time to answer. No doubt calculating what to say.
“They had nothing to do with it,” he finally replied.
“He’s lying.” Alice spoke with quiet confidence.
The woman had an innate ability to spot when people were lying or concealing information. But in this case, it wasn’t difficult to discern the falsehood.
“The truth, Dunhaven, if you are capable of it.”
“Mother knew,” her brother got out in a rush. “She helped me cover my tracks. Father never found out. He was coldly furious when we told him you had eloped, ranted and raved about useless women, but you know how he was.”
Yes, she knew. Her father’s response was what she had expected.
But her mother’s betrayal was another blow.
She had known, of course, that her brother was mother’s favorite.
She never hid her preferences. But even though her mother had never been warm or loving toward her, she would not have believed her capable of selling her own daughter.
“Betrayed by my own brother and mother.” She shook her head, curling her lip. “Forsaken by my father. God, this family is a nest of venomous snakes.”
“It’s not like you were so innocent,” her brother shot back defensively.
“None of it would have happened if you had accepted the advantageous match our parents arranged for you. Instead, you had to go and act the wanton with his little brother. Admit it, you had a hand in your own downfall. Besides, you don’t seem to have fared so badly in the harem.
I hear the women in those places are treated like princesses. ”
She shot up from her seat. The first display of emotion, quickly controlled, to speak with low intensity. “You have no notion of what my life has been like. Do not presume to know. I’ve laid out my terms. Will you accept them or not?”
“What if I refuse?” her brother replied with a sneer. “What will you do then, sister? You need me as well. Without my generosity, you have nothing.”
“Wrong again.” She infused confidence into her smile. “I have jewels gifted to me by the pasha that are worth a small fortune. If I sell them, I could live comfortably, if not luxuriously, for the rest of my life. But I also have something even more valuable.”
When her brother merely stared at her, she knew she had him.
“I have a story to tell. There wasn’t much to do in the harem.
So I entertained myself by writing. Lurid stories.
Embellished stories of all that went on in there.
I have pages upon pages of diaries and tales.
I will publish them. I will tell the whole world the story of how my own brother sold me for his gambling debts. ”
“You wouldn’t dare. Your reputation would never recover after that.” Her brother’s pallid face had turned a mottled red.
She laughed without humor. “My reputation is already in tatters, thanks to you. I have nothing to lose, brother. I don’t care about society and its rules. My only aim is to survive and never be a victim again. So what is it going to be?”
“How do I know you will take good care of my son after I’m gone?” her brother persisted, real desperation coloring his tone now. She realized his son was, perhaps, the only person her brother cared about.
“You will have to trust me. But you must already do so, if you went to the trouble of ransoming me from the harem. You must have known I was your son’s only chance of survival, or you would have left me to rot in that place. Don’t think I believe for one minute you did it for me.”
At that, her brother’s face pinched. “I did do it in part for you. You may not believe me, but what I did to you has weighed heavily on my conscience. Impending death has a way of bringing a man’s misdeeds to the forefront of his mind.”
“If that is so, this is your opportunity to make amends.” She held his gaze unflinchingly.
“Fine, I accept.”
She did not allow herself to savor her triumph. It was not really a victory until all the documents were signed and everything was made official.
“John, could you have a solicitor here by tomorrow to draw the terms of the agreement?”
“I believe so, Lady Josephine. I’ll need to send a telegram to London.”
“Perfect. Please do so, my friend.”
John inclined his head.
“I believe I’m now ready to retire. I will meet your son tomorrow, after the papers are signed.”
“I’ll ask his nurse to bring him down tomorrow after breakfast.”
“Looking forward to meeting my nephew.”