Chapter 23
The sound of running feet woke Eleanor from a restless sleep.
At first she lay still, trying to understand what had disturbed the quiet of Ravenscourt. Then came another sound from below, a man’s voice calling sharply across the courtyard, followed by the hurried opening of a door, and Eleanor was out of bed before she had time to think.
She pulled a dressing gown around herself and opened her bedroom door just as another servant hurried past.
“What has happened?”
The young footman stopped so abruptly that his shoes skidded against the polished floor.
“My lady, forgive me. They are searching the grounds.”
“Searching for whom?”
He hesitated. “Mr. Faulks.”
Eleanor’s heart lurched. She had known the risk from the moment Gabriel and the investigator had decided to use the information as bait.
She had agreed to the plan because they needed proof, but knowing what might happen and hearing the household stirred by a midnight chase were very different things.
“Where is Mr. Hartley?”
“In the stable yard, my lady.”
Eleanor did not wait for anything more. She gathered her skirts and hurried down the stairs, following the sounds of men calling to one another through the house.
The servants were already appearing from their rooms, some still fastening coats over their nightclothes, others carrying lanterns toward the doors.
“Eleanor, what is happening?” Beatrice asked, appearing at the foot of the stairs.
“Faulks has been caught carrying information to Julian.”
Beatrice’s face changed. “Faulks?”
“I will explain later.”
Eleanor hurried through the hall and out into the cold night air.
The stable yard was bright with lanterns. Several men stood near the open gates, and beyond them she could hear the restless stamping of horses. Gabriel was already there, speaking to two of the guards while the investigator’s man stood near the far wall.
Then Eleanor saw Faulks.
He had been cornered against the stable doors.
His coat was disordered, his hair had come loose, and the dignity he had carried through years of service had completely disappeared.
Two guards stood between him and the gate while the investigator’s man held the folded paper that had been taken from him.
Gabriel turned when he heard Eleanor approaching.
“You should not be here.”
“I wanted to know what happened.”
“We have him. That is all that matters.”
Eleanor looked toward Faulks and a chill moved through her. Faulks saw her looking at him.
“I can explain, my lady. I swear that I never intended harm to come to Miss Sophie.”
Gabriel stepped forward. “You followed Julian’s instructions.”
Faulks looked away.
“How long has it been?”
“We have evidence of meetings over the past several weeks,” the investigator’s man answered before Faulks could. “His correspondence with Julian’s intermediary matches information that was known only to Ravenscourt.”
Gabriel held out his hand. “Give me the documents.”
The investigator’s man passed him the papers. Gabriel examined them carefully before turning back to Faulks, who swallowed.
“I only reported what I heard.”
Her stomach tightened. “You mean you repeated our private conversations.”
“I was paid to report what came to my attention.”
“And you did it.”
His silence was answer enough. Gabriel’s voice became colder.
“How much was your loyalty worth?” he asked.
“I was given a small amount at first, then more whenever the information proved useful.”
Eleanor felt a terrible sadness settle over her anger. She had trusted this man. Everyone in the house had.
“You were sitting at Gabriel’s desk that night. You told me you were sending for the physician.”
“I was.”
“And the papers?”
“I needed to make copies.”
“Copies of what?”
Faulks remained silent. Gabriel took one step toward him.
“Answer my wife.”
“I copied information concerning the family’s affairs. I heard many conversations, and I reported what I heard. I did not know what Julian would make of it.”
“What did you tell him?”
Faulks lowered his gaze.
“That His Grace and Lady Hartley were speaking privately—that there was affection between them and Mrs. Hartley had seen them together.”
Eleanor’s face burned. The misunderstanding that had caused her so much pain had not been entirely born from her own imagination. Julian had been given pieces of the conversation and had turned them into something poisonous before placing the rumor before society.
“But you did not know what they were discussing.”
“No. I reported what I heard.”
Eleanor stared at him. “You helped him make me believe that my husband loved another woman.”
Faulks looked stricken. “I did not intend—“
“You did not need to intend it!” Her voice shook. “You gave him the pieces, and he used them to hurt me. You also told him about Sophie, is that not right?”
“I was instructed to report her movements. The day she was taken, I—I told them where she was expected to be.”
The confession left Eleanor cold. “You knew what they intended to do.”
“I knew they wanted to place pressure on the family.”
Gabriel’s voice hardened. “They nearly took a child.”
“I did not know they would attempt to carry her away.”
“But you gave them the opportunity.”
“I know.”
The words were barely audible. Suddenly, the investigator’s man stepped forward.
“There is more. These records of Faulks’s payments correspond with the dates of his reports.”
Faulks closed his eyes. Eleanor looked at the documents and felt something inside her settle. There would be no returning to the old uncertainty; the evidence was too clear. Gabriel looked toward the guards.
“Take him inside.”
Faulks seemed to understand what would happen then. “Sir, please.”
“You betrayed my family.”
“I was in debt. I was afraid.”
Eleanor looked at him. “Fear does not excuse what you did. You can give as many reasons as you wish, but it changes nothing. I will never forgive you for this.”
The guards led him away. Eleanor remained in the stable yard with Gabriel and the investigator’s man, listening as Faulks’s footsteps disappeared toward the house. The night air felt colder than before, and she drew her dressing gown more tightly around herself.
Gabriel turned toward her. “You should return inside.”
Eleanor looked at him and glanced toward the papers still in his hand.
“I will. For now, I need a moment. So much has happened but—Gabriel, we know. We finally know.”
“Some of it.” He grimaced. “The rest is still waiting.”
She knew immediately what he meant. They still had to find Carter and face the courts. Eleanor drew a slow breath.
“But tonight,” he sighed, “we know Julian’s hand has been reaching into this house for longer than we thought, and now he knows we have discovered it.”
The realization hung between them as the first pale light of dawn began to touch the horizon. The chase had ended, but the danger had not.
The stable yard had fallen strangely quiet after Faulks was taken inside.
Only moments earlier, men had been shouting across the yard, boots striking stone as they pursued him through the darkness.
In its place, the guards stood in small groups beneath the lanterns, the horses shifting uneasily in their stalls while the investigator’s man gathered the papers that had fallen during the chase.
Eleanor remained where she was, still trying to absorb what Faulks had confessed.
She looked at Gabriel. He was standing several feet away, still holding the documents that proved the betrayal.
His face was blank, but Eleanor knew him well enough now to see the anger beneath it.
The man who had trusted Faulks since childhood had just learned that someone he considered part of the family had been selling their private lives to an enemy.
Their eyes met, and neither of them seemed to remember that other people were watching.
“I am sorry,” Eleanor said quietly. “For believing what Julian told me.”
The words were difficult to say with the entire household gathered around them, but she could not keep them locked inside any longer.
“You had every reason to doubt me,” Gabriel replied.
“I had every reason to doubt what I had been told. I did not have any reason to doubt you.”
Something shifted in his eyes. Around them, the guards and servants remained respectfully silent, though Eleanor was painfully aware that they could see everything. She could feel the eyes on her, but the knowledge did not make her want to retreat.
Gabriel took a step closer. “I should have told you sooner.”
“You tried.”
“I was not clear enough.”
“Neither was I.”
The quiet exchange carried more intimacy than it should have in the middle of the stable yard. Eleanor could feel the warmth rising in her face as she became aware of the people standing around them, but Gabriel did not seem inclined to step away.
For one suspended moment, the chaos around them disappeared.
They had spent so long misunderstanding one another. They had spoken of love, of eight lost years, of Cassandra, and of the future neither had dared to imagine, and still they had not yet been allowed to sit together and decide what any of it meant.
Gabriel looked as though he wanted to say something. Eleanor felt the same.
Then the investigator’s man approached.
“Sir, there is something you need to see.”
Gabriel turned, and Eleanor swore that she could see exasperation in his face. In spite of everything, she could not help but smile. Their time never seemed to come.
“What is it?” he asked.
“The confession,” he explained, holding out several sheets of paper. “Faulks has signed it. His statement includes the payments, his meetings with Julian’s agent, and the information he passed from Ravenscourt.”
Gabriel took the papers and read quickly. “This must reach the solicitor before morning.”
The investigator nodded. “The hearing begins in a matter of hours.”
Gabriel looked toward the eastern sky. The darkness had begun to thin, sunrise approaching in a faint shade of yellow.
“I will take it myself. There is no time to lose.” He turned toward the stables. “Eleanor, you should return inside.”