Chapter 25
Rosalind’s hands trembled as she did up the buttons on Theo’s coat. She needed to keep her composure, otherwise she was going to end up losing her nerve. She couldn’t collapse when she’d barely started.
Not until she knew what was going on.
Her late-night discussion with Cormac two nights ago was still fresh in her mind.
She knew it was what she expected, but it still came as a shock.
Cormac had been trying to protect her, and Julian had just swooped in and gotten what he wanted instead.
She wanted to confront him immediately, to demand what he was doing, but Julian would just scoff and tell her she was being hysterical.
She didn’t want to give him a reason to cover his tracks.
She was going to have to bide her time. Which she hated.
At least Julian had gone out for the day. He’d said he had a few things to deal with, and he wouldn’t be back until later. That gave her time to do what she needed.
One of the younger maids, Arabella, was waiting for them by the front door.
Rosalind had chosen her because she seemed the one she could get on her side.
Arabella looked terrified of Julian whenever they were in the same room, and decided she could take advantage of it.
She didn’t want to use anyone, but she did need to find someone she could trust.
“Are we going to the park now?” Theo asked, looking at her with his wide eyes, his expression hopeful. “Are we going to see Bea? I miss her.”
“I know. I miss her, too.”
“Why did Uncle Julian have to get rid of her? She’s a nice person. I don’t like my new governess.” Theo scowled. “And I don’t want to go to his school. It sounds horrible.”
Rosalind merely smiled wanly in return, and got to her feet. Nodding at the butler as he opened the door for them, the group of three made their way to the park around the corner.
Being in London was overwhelming, and Rosalind felt like things were pressing in on her.
She had adjusted her hair to hide her scars, not wanting anyone to be staring at her, and yet she felt like the people walking by were openly gawking.
She kept her head down, clasping Theo’s hand tightly as she walked, not wanting to meet anyone’s gaze.
And not wanting anyone to know that she was carrying something she’d taken from Julian’s desk the night before.
She wasn’t going to wait around to see what would happen, especially with the horrible news Julian had given at dinner. So when everyone was asleep, she’d managed to get into the study and looked through his desk. She had enough to prove that Julian had people under his thumb.
She needed to find a way to confront him. But not just yet. She needed to talk to Cormac.
As they entered the park, Rosalind turned to Arabella, who was walking just behind them.
“I’m going to be telling you this now, Arabella,” she said. “People are going to come and join us. People your master doesn’t want me to see. But you’re not to say a word about them. I don’t care what my brother-in-law says, you are to keep this to yourself.”
“My lady?”
Rosalind hated that it sounded like a threat. She took a deep breath.
“I’m just fed up with this. And I won’t stand for what he’s doing. I plan to do something about it. If you’re going to speak against me, I need to know now.”
But Arabella simply gave her a smile and nodded.
“I heard you were a strong woman, Lady Ellingham. I had a feeling I would see that eventually.”
“What?”
“We’re scared of Mr. Ellingham. He’s a dangerous man, and we don’t want to be near him, but we can’t afford to lose our positions.
” Arabella bowed her head. “We might not be able to say it out loud, but most of us are willing to help you. I apologize for someone not telling you before, but you were under close watch.”
Rosalind took this in. So that meant a good portion of the household staff were on her side. A few would be loyal to Julian, and she knew which ones they were, but at least she wouldn’t have to be so concerned.
“Thank you.”
Arabella nodded, and then turned to Theo, who was watching the interaction with confusion. She smiled and held out a hand.
“Shall we go and look at the ducks, my lord? There should be some by the lake.”
Theo brightened up and he nodded. “Yes! I love ducks!”
“Come on, then.” Arabella glanced back at Rosalind. “We’ll be close by. I’ll make sure he’s safe.”
Rosalind watched in bewilderment as the maid and her son entered the park. She hadn’t anticipated that. She’d been waiting for an argument with a threat to tell Julian everything, not this. Maybe she’d not read the servants properly.
They were just as scared as she was.
That made what she was about to do a lot easier.
Following them toward the lake, Rosalind looked around. Even though Arabella had proven she was trustworthy, it didn’t stop her from feeling nervous, wondering if someone was watching her.
Trepidation tickled the back of her neck, and her scars began to itch.
“Rosalind.”
Rosalind jumped with a shriek and spun around. Bea was standing behind her, wrapped in a new cloak that Rosalind hadn’t seen before. Relief flooding through her, she hugged her friend, who hugged her back. Bea stepped back and gave her a slight smile.
“You thought it would be someone else?”
“Well, if you will sneak up on me…” Rosalind looked around. “Where’s…”
Then she saw him. Cormac and Hamish had arrived, and were at the lake with Theo and Arabella. Theo had launched himself at Cormac, who stood and hugged Theo tightly. Rosalind’s heart constricted at the sight. It was one of the sweetest things she’d ever seen.
“I hope nobody will tell Julian what’s going on,” she said, glancing around. “I need this to be quiet.”
“We’re in a secluded part of the park. I think we’ll be fine for now.” Bea slipped her arm through Rosalind’s. “And you don’t have to worry about Cormac. He’ll look after you.”
“Really?”
Bea sighed. “Oh, Rosalind. You must know by now that he isn’t doing this just because your husband told him to. Well, it started out like that, but do you think he’d be carrying on all this time?”
Rosalind wanted to protest, but the words died on her lips. Bea nodded and gave her a knowing smile.
“I don’t think you need me to tell you the truth about that man, do you?
Both he and Hamish… you can’t get any better than them when it comes to looking after someone.
Also, he said he’s known Cormac a very long time and he’s never seen him like this before when it comes to a woman.
Not even with the one who broke him years ago. ”
“Hamish?”
Bea blushed and glanced over at Hamish, who was chasing Theo around, the little boy squealing in the process as he tried not to get caught.
Rosalind couldn’t help but smile. She’d suspected Bea had taken a liking to Hamish, and it appeared the extra time together had strengthened whatever her friend might’ve been feeling.
Suddenly, Theo ran over and flung his arms around Bea’s waist.
“Bea!”
“I’m here.” Bea hugged him tightly, shutting her eyes tight. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“Come and play with us!” Theo grinned as he stepped back and grabbed her hand. “Hamish and I are playing chase. Come and join us!”
Before Bea could respond, he was dragging her away. Rosalind had to laugh as she saw her son urge Bea toward Hamish and start to dictate how he was going to play. He was only seven, but it was clear he was going to know his own mind as a grown-up.
“Rosalind.”
Her heart leaped into her throat as she turned and saw Cormac standing there, watching her with a solemn expression.
It had only been a couple of nights since they’d seen each other, and already Rosalind had missed him.
She wanted to fling herself into his arms, but she stopped herself, gripping onto the reticule she’d brought with her.
“Cormac,” she breathed.
He looked like he was about to say something, but he decided against it. He ran his fingers through his hair.
“You’re safe right now, are you?”
“I am.” Rosalind opened her reticule, aware that her hands were shaking. “But I don’t think I will be for much longer.”
“What do you mean?”
Here it came. She took out the scraps of paper and held them out. Cormac looked at them in bewilderment, and then he took them from her outstretched grasp.
“I found these in Julian’s desk.”
“What?”
“I told you I was going to find something that I could use. I’m not sitting by and letting this happen.
” She lifted her chin defiantly. “If you look at them, you’ll see that Sir Crispin is in Julian’s debt.
There’s hundreds of thousands of pounds there, and I have a feeling Sir Crispin can’t afford to pay it all back. ”
Cormac looked at her like she’d gone mad.
“Rosalind, you shouldn’t put yourself in danger—”
“See what it says on the last one?” She wasn’t about to be deterred.
She pointed, plucking the paper out and laying it on top.
“This is a settlement agreement. It says Julian will make all of the debts go away if Sir Crispin marries me. The moment the marriage certificate is signed, he’s a free man. ”
She’d felt sick reading this before, and saying it out loud made Rosalind want to scream. She’d ended up turning into something to be negotiated with. She never wanted it, and Julian had completely ignored her. Cormac’s face paled as he read the agreement.
“So he got someone who is desperate to get rid of his debts to marry you, and then that would be you dealt with.”
“And he would have someone he could control who was Theo’s guardian. Sir Crispin would become his father.” Rosalind felt the bile in her mouth and swallowed it down. “I won’t have that man become his father. I never wanted it.”
“Then why did you agree to it? Bea said you did.”