Chapter 48 #3
She explained that Augustus Lapley’s brother was visiting and had seen Gideon galloping away from The Hawthorns moments before Georgina had alerted them.
‘Rylance Lapley was convinced Gideon had been instrumental in his brother’s death and swore revenge.
’ Eliza settled back again in her chair.
‘For the safety of everyone concerned, both Gideon and Georgina continued their love affair in secret; that was when the Scarlet Highwayman wasn’t robbing Lapley relatives and associates and donating their spoils to the poor. ’
Eliza also explained to a riveted Mason and me that Georgina and her son would have been cast aside, penniless, by her late husband’s family, if news of her affair with Gideon had become public.
‘She could have lost custody of Oscar, been denied her inheritance, been ostracised from society.’ Through a soft smile, Eliza fixed her attention on me.
‘So, Georgina and Gideon had to keep their love for one another a closely guarded secret, but it didn’t stop them in their efforts to help those blighted by that dreadful Lapley clan.
They even ensured that Lizzie Bishop’s family never went hungry after her death, and Georgina recruited Blake as a stable hand. ’
I knew this already about my great-great-great-grandfather, but it was so lovely to have such a thing confirmed.
‘It’s so sad they could never publicly reveal their relationship,’ I mused. ‘Am I right in saying that Gideon and Georgina passed away within two years of one another?’
‘Yes. Georgina died first in eighteen twenty-eight, when she contracted a serious chest infection,’ Eliza clarified sadly. ‘Still, at least the love they had for one another and for Oscar, as well as their support of worthy causes, is being honoured now.’
Eliza leaned forward, the relief palpable on her face. It must have been a release for her, being able to tell someone the truth after all these years.
My heart clenched. ‘It must have been terrible for both Oscar and Gideon.’
Mason edged forward beside me. ‘What I’m a little confused about is that Georgina was in her very early sixties when she passed away and Gideon would have been approaching seventy at the time?’
‘That’s right,’ answered Eliza. ‘There was a five-year age difference between them.’
Mason’s brow deepened. ‘Surely he wasn’t still carrying out his Scarlet Highwayman robberies in his mid-sixties, especially in those days when catching a cold could mean certain death?’
Eliza’s lined face broke out into an enigmatic smile. ‘He wasn’t.’
Her mysterious answer hung in the air.
My eyes widened. ‘Eliza, are you saying that someone else took over as the Scarlet Highwayman when Gideon felt that he was too old to continue?’
‘That’s right.’
A thought sprang into my head. I reached over and grasped Mason’s knee. ‘Was it Oscar? Oscar Lapley?’
Eliza’s eyes shone. ‘That’s what Georgina alludes to in the final few entries of her diary.’
Mason’s slash of white smile made my stomach flip. ‘Bloody hell! Oh, I do hope that’s true! Oscar Lapley being Gideon’s Scarlet Highwayman protégé!’
I clapped a hand over my mouth. ‘Can you imagine Alex Lapley’s face receiving that news?’
Eliza sat back in her chair, a serene air surrounding her. ‘What I wouldn’t give to see that.’
I processed this revelation. ‘That would have given Augustus something to think about, had he lived to see it: his own son robbing him of his ill-gotten gains to help the local community.’
‘May we take the rest of the journals with us to read?’ asked Mason. ‘I promise to take good care of them and return them when I’ve finished reading.’
‘Of course,’ agreed Eliza. ‘I hoped you would. The more people that know about Gideon and Georgina’s story, the better.’
‘And what of Oscar?’ asked Mason, spellbound. ‘What happened to the boy?’
‘Oscar James Lapley became a celebrated violinist and philanthropist,’ Eliza said with an element of pride.
‘He achieved a great deal but still returned to Port Starr and married a local girl.’ She gave a brief nod.
‘That was when he wasn’t assuming the role of the Scarlet Highwayman – the young pretender. ’
‘And did he have a family?’ I asked, hoping that Oscar’s life had been a good one.
‘They had two sons and he passed away at the age of eighty.’
She delved into the box and brought out another of the treasured journals. This one was also leather-bound but was tied with a thin scarlet ribbon. The colour association made a ball gather in my throat.
Eliza tweaked the piece of material. ‘It seems that Oscar’s love of writing journals was something he inherited from his mother.’
‘I’d be interested to know for certain when the Scarlet Highwayman spree finally stopped,’ mused Mason. ‘From the research I’ve done, there were reports of more sightings of him and other robberies conducted well into the mid-eighteen hundreds.’
Eliza rested her papery fingers on top of the diary she was holding. ‘What if I told you that the Scarlet Highwayman resumed his reign in Port Starr until around eighteen fifty?’
Mason’s face broke into an excited smile. ‘One of Oscar’s sons?’
Eliza gave a cheeky wink as I laughed in wonder. ‘It gives a new meaning to the phrase “keeping it in the family”, doesn’t it?’