Chapter Twelve
The next morning
While they had enjoyed a robust breakfast, Gerald found himself feeling anxious. He wanted—no, needed—to know more about what had taken place before Selena left home. What had driven her to ride to his manor home alone, through a rainstorm? Noticing that everyone seemed to have finished, he tapped his glass and stood.
“If we can adjourn to the drawing room, Selena has indicated she is ready to discuss it. She wants to hear everything that happened to her mother and I think what she has to say could be very important,”
he said, looking across the table at Selena.
She nodded. “I’m ready,”
she mouthed.
“Darling, are you sure?”
“I am, Maman ,”
she said. “I feel much better than yesterday.”
He stepped behind Selena’s chair and helped her stand, placing her hand on his arm. “Will everyone joins us in the drawing room?”
A few minutes later, they were all settled into the drawing room.
“We are all here, Fleur. Selena can add her part of the story,”
Gerald’s mother said.
“Lady Bowles, please take this seat next to Selena. After the journey you have been through, you need to be close to each other,”
Gerald said, seating himself next to his parents on the sofa. He had never been gladder to see his parents in his life. From the little Selena had muttered in her fevered ravings, despicable acts had taken place by Percival Bowles’ in her home.
Selena’s mother began to speak, and her unbelievable story riveted everyone in the room.
“When the solicitor came to us and said they had found my husband’s rightful heir, our initial reaction was relief,”
Lady Fleur said. “At least we could get on with our lives. But the man who met us was a monster. Having never met my husband’s actual second cousin, Percival, we did not know someone might have been impersonating him. But I’m certain that no man of my husband’s lineage could behave as this man did. Lord Percival Bowles arrived with a helper, a very large, hulking man he called Grom. Within days of their arrival, they dismissed the help—all of them except the cook and her husband, the stable master. They hired barmaids and men as footmen from God only knows where. They were all loyal to the man calling himself Lord Percival Bowles.”.
“Selena and I began to fear for our lives. Within two days of his arrival, Percival fired our loyal staff— except for Maggie, our cook, and her husband, the stable master, Ben—because their positions would have been harder to fill—all our dear staff who were like family —were gone. We were alone, Selena and I—except for Maggie and Ben. They brought in loosely-moraled women from seedy taverns and God only knows where the footmen came from. They all looked like they belonged in prison.
“How frightened you must have been,”
Gerald’s mother murmured.
Lady Fleur nodded and gripped her hands together. “Percival demanded access to my husband’s safe and that we turn over to him any funds we had in the house, including pin money that we might have saved. At first, he said, it was something he wanted to do to keep our things safe. But we suspected otherwise and tried to hide our things. However, Grom had already entered our rooms and taken what he could find. He didn’t know what a few members of our most trusted staff knew…we maintained household money in hidden places, including my room and Selena’s. However, it was not large amounts, but enough should we need to leave at a moment’s notice.”
“That was very clever of you my lady,”
Gerald said.
“It was something I learned from my own maman ,”
she said softly. “Unfortunately, I had already told him of the betrothal when he first arrived. Before he showed us his true colors. But when I saw his furious reaction and the way he looked at my daughter, I realized immediately that something was wrong and I withheld any information about Selena’s inheritance, hoping that I had not put a target on her head.
It did not take long for Percival to show us who he truly was. He would drink himself into a stupor each night, but not before engaging in lewd and despicable behavior with those women he’d hired. We could hear them at night. Selena and I stayed as far away as possible. We took to sleeping in the same room, locking the door, and lodging a chair under the doorknob.
He kept us prisoners in our own home. We could not go anywhere and were barely allowed to speak to Maggie and Ben.
“Within two weeks of his arrival, I had become so sick I couldn’t hold my head up. I told Selena she must leave and go to Lord Bellecote in London, or you, Lord Lawrence. She had received your invitation and planned to come here over Christmastide. But things had gotten so beyond our control that I feared for her life and made her promise me she would leave. I’m rarely ever ill, but I could barely hold my head up. We realized I was being poisoned—but Selena had not fallen ill and so I was convinced he had plans for her. Horrible, evil, plans. And we don’t know what poison he used. I became so sick, my breathing was almost too shallow to detect.”
“Cook summoned her husband and somehow, they convinced the doctor what was happening. He pronounced me dead and convinced Percival that I had died. Percival had them remove my body and prepare me for an immediate burial.”
A collective gasp sounded from around the room.
“Oh, Maman ,”
Selena sobbed.
“Instead, Maggie and Ben secreted me to Maggie’s sister’s home and she and her sister Helen helped me recover. Ben weighted the coffin to feel it held my body and nailed it shut so Percival would believe I was lying within. Percival had locked Selena in her room for most of the time I was ill, eliminating any possibility of reaching her. From what Ben found out, he told her I had succumbed to the fever but refused to let her attend my burial.”
On the day of my burial, Maggie and Ben had been able to drug the food and drink for everyone in the house—Percival was celebrating, guzzling my dear Phillip’s whisky with a vengeance. The plan was to drug them and rescue Selena and bring her to Helen’s home so that we could make our escape to London to your parents’ townhouse. But when Maggie went to Selena’s room, she could not find her. When Ben told her Azure was gone from the stables, they knew Selena must have escaped. They had no choice but to leave and they collected me and we set off for London. I still very ill but I was determined to go. We’d hoped to encounter Selena along the way but we did not. I was beside myself with worry. But by the time we got to Bellecote House His Lordship and Lady Bellecote informed us about your missive, Lord Lawrence.
Gerald nodded in acknowledgment.
“The missive had just arrived less than an hour before we did. And they informed us that Selena had arrived here at Bellwood and that she’d had an accident and had hurt her head but that she was stable and resting under a doctor’s care. I was worried but also relieved that my daughter was safe here with you.”
“She’s a very brave young lady,”
Gerald’s father said.
“She is indeed,”
Gerald replied, scarcely able to contain his fury at what Selena and her mother had endured.
“Asher arrived that same evening,”
Gerald’s father added. “He told us you’d sent him a missive as well. And we made plans to come here as soon as possible. But there is something more to this story that you do not know.”
Gerald raised a questioning brow at his father.
“I know Percival Bowles very well. He’s a friend of many years. That man at Rose Manor is not Percival Bowles. He’s an imposter.”
“How do you know?”
Gerald asked.
“Because I told him.”
Gerald looked up to see his friend Wright in the doorway of the dining room.
“Wright!”
Gerald stood to greet his friend and invited him to join them.
“My apologies, I only just arrived,”
Wright said, taking a sip of coffee.
“Tell Gerald what you know,”
Bambury said.
Wright nodded. “As soon as I got your missive, Gerald, I went to Bellecote House. Lady Fleur was exhausted and was resting when I arrived, but I questioned Maggie and Ben,”
Wright said. “They described Percival and his minion Grom. I knew immediately who they were—Vern Stiles and Grom Dugan. Vern has a tattoo of some sort of dragon on one side of his neck,” Wright continued.
“Yes, there was some sort of ink drawing on his neck. But part of it was always covered in my presence,”
Lady Fleur said.
“And there is an identifying mark on the real Lord Percival Bowles…a tattoo of an anchor, with the year 1808 below it on the inside of his right wrist. It’s not overly large, but it signifies the year he started in the Merchant Marine,”
Wright added.
“Then what happened to Percival?”
Gerald asked.
“We are trying to determine that,”
Gerald’s father said. “He was reported missing from his post with the merchant marines, but that is all we know.”
“Percival had become a peer, and if he met with foul play, the Prince Regent wants to know. Before we left, Prinny ordered that men be dispatched to investigate and determine if the real Percival is alive or dead,”
Banbury said.
Lord Wright has been looking into the new Viscount Bowles’ background. He has many connections in the merchant marines, as well as the navy. He may know more.”
They turned and looked at Wright.
Wright nodded. “I’ve known Percival for years, and none of this sounds like him. However, I’m not defending him. But we don’t know what has happened…yet… to Percival Bowles, but we suspect foul play.”
“There has to have been some sort of foul play,”
Gerald’s father agreed. “Phillip’s assessment of his cousin was totally different. My friend died thinking he had left his wife and daughter in safety.”
Based on the persons missing around the time of Percival’s disappearance, we think we know the identity of the imposter and his associate. They generally took assignments together, and the larger man—the associate’s name is Grom,”
Wright added.
“That was his name!”
Lady Fleur exclaimed.
“He has a tattoo of some sort of dragon on one side of his neck,”
Wright continued.
“Yes, there was some sort of ink drawing on his neck. But part of it was always covered in my presence,”
her mother said.
“That certainly sounds like it could be them. But that doesn’t answer where the real Percival Bowles could be,”
Wright said. He thought for a moment. “One of the things I recall about Percival is his unique tattoo. It is a tattoo of an anchor, with the year 1808 below it on the inside of his right wrist. It’s not overly large, but It signifies the year he started in the Merchant Marine.”
“He had ordered me to pack my valise for Gretna Green and that we would leave the next day. He said Maman had already been buried. I packed my valise with what money I still had in my secret place in the floorboards, and the only jewels I still had… a few things Maman and Papa had given to me, including my sapphire ring, Grand-mere’s pearls, and Papa’s signet ring. I thought I would need to sell them to survive. I found apples and carrots for Azure and wore the clothes that I usually rode when I rode Azure…britches and a shirt. We ran into much rain, and I decided I would not be able to travel to London in such weather and both Azure and I were almost to the point of exhaustion. I decided to come here, as it was closer than London. And I didn’t think Percival could find me here. If he did, I felt certain you would protect me, Gerald.”
Gerald swallowed. She had trusted him with her life. “I will continue to protect you, Selena,”
he said, unable to control the misting in his eyes as he gazed at her. “Do you remember what happened in the stables that led to you fainting?” Gerald swallowed, pushing past the lump in his throat. I thought I had lost you…just when I found you, Selena.
I think we need a bit more here – perhaps Gerald can say – remember when I told you about that night five years ago at the Adamson’s ball and that stupid bet. You graciously forgave me and told me that when your memory returned you would feel the same way.
“Yes,”
Selena replied softly.
“Well, now that your memory has returned. Do you still feel the same way about our betrothal?”
he asked in a raspy voice.
“Yes, I do.”
He drew her close and embraced her, planting a passionate kiss on her lips.
When the kiss broke, Gerald spoke up. “I’m not sure everyone was privy to what happened when Selena arrived, so if you’d like, I can fill you in on it.”
There was a general murmuring of agreement.
When she arrived, Dutch had been outside, walking the property and making sure the fences were intact when the rain began to fall. It had become customary for me to do it in the evenings. I made it into the shelter, but Dutch had run ahead. Thinking he was in the stable, I heard him give a warning bark outside, from behind the barn. Thinking it was an intruder, I ran out and saw him cornering a large gray stallion with a small boy riding him. The stallion reared up and threw you from his back. Your head hit a large rock when you landed, and when you awoke the next morning, you had no memory.
Not until yesterday afternoon, during our walk in the stables. Something caused you extreme head pain, and you fainted.”
He swallowed, pushing past the lump in his throat. I thought I had lost you…just when I found you, Selena.
Dutch barked, and everyone laughed, all needing a moment of relief. He had forgotten the dog had followed them in here, but he had always allowed Dutch to go where he wanted inside the house or out. “He knows we are talking about him.”
Banbury spoke up. “Selena, you spent a considerable time around the supposed viscount. Selena, do either you or your mother recall seeing a tattoo on his wrist?”
Fleur shook her head and looked at her daughter.