The Dowager Countess (The Saga of Wolfbridge Manor Book 2)

by Sahara Kelly

  “Of course. That is a lovely idea and I shall keep it in mind.”

  Smiling from ear to ear, he bowed again, and Giles led Gwyneth away, allowing the other congregants to leave the church behind them.

  “A nice man,” she observed once they were out of earshot. “And a nice service too.”

  Giles was silent, merely nodding in agreement. He had looked back, wanting to see the gentlemen and make sure they spoke before leaving. He’d noticed another head he recognised.

  Two heads in fact.

  Attending services this morning, amidst the locals, had been Baron Randschen and…to Giles’s astonishment…Mr Baxter Fairhurst.

  Seeing those two together sounded all kinds of danger warnings in Giles’s head and he turned with relief to see Mrs B and Jane walking toward Gwyneth. In moments all three were chatting happily, which freed him to keep his eye on the two men.

  Royce, Jeremy, Evan and Gabriel all arrived at the same time, but stilled as soon as they saw him.

  “What is it?” Royce asked quietly. “Who are you watching?”

  Giles turned away from the sight of Fairhurst and Randschen and inclined his head toward his friends, keeping his voice low. “The Baron is here. Unusual enough, for a small country church, but it’s who he’s with that has me concerned.”

  “Oh my God,” swore Jeremy softly. “Baxter Fairhurst.”

  Royce frowned. “Who?”

  Giles sighed. “Later. When we get back.” He turned to Evan. “A light lunch today I think. We need to talk afterward.”

  “Of course,” said Evan. “Is Trick here? I saw Jane and Mrs B…”

  “I didn’t see him,” answered Jeremy. “But here comes Jane. She’ll know.”

  Greetings were exchanged, and Gwyneth naturally rested her hand on Giles’s arm as she stood at his side.

  “No, he’s not here, Jeremy. I’m sorry.” Jane shook her head. “He’s over in Ditchley. Someone’s mare foaled last week and he wants to take a look at the little one.” She smiled. “Actually, I think he wanted to avoid church.” Her voice was quiet but full of laughter.

  “That’s Trick,” grinned Jeremy.

  “Jane, if I might,” Giles leaned toward her a little. “Would you ask Trick to visit Wolfbridge when he has a chance? There’s a matter I’d like to discuss with him.”

  “Of course,” she nodded, a slight frown on her face. “Is…is everything all right, sir?”

  He relaxed and smiled. “Certainly, yes. I have come to rely on Trick’s advice. I’m lost now and again without it.”

  “He’ll be pleased, sir. I’ll tell him as soon as he gets back.”

  “As will I,” chimed in Mrs B. “Now Janey’s keepin’ ‘er eye on Fivetrees, I get ter ‘ave tea there on a Sunday. Right nice it is, but their cook could do wi’ a hand when it comes ter teacakes, Evan…”

  Everyone laughed and as if by mutual accord, drifted off in different directions, Giles and Gwyneth to the gig, and the gentlemen to their mounts, agreeing to meet for lunch within the hour.

  Giles was quiet as they drove home, waving and smiling now and again to others they passed, but then lapsing into his own thoughts.

  “Is everything all right, Giles?” Gwyneth peered at him from beneath the rim of her bonnet. “I saw Randschen there, but I was not about to let him spoil my enjoyment of the service.” She sighed. “It worried you, I think.”

  “I’m not sure what it did,” he answered finally. “But it will not detract from the beauty of this day, my Lady. I insist upon that.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  *~~*~~*

  “Come in, Trick. Join us.” Gwyneth smiled as the tall, good-looking man peered around the door of the Rose room.

  “I guessed you’d be in here.” He bowed to Gwyneth. “My Lady. You look well. Jane and I are very happy you’re recovered.”

  She waved his compliments aside. “Thank you…but Giles has more important matters to discuss than my looks.”

  Giles nodded. “I do.”

  She sat next to Evan on the couch, with Jeremy and Royce in nearby chairs, Gabriel sprawled comfortably at her feet and Giles at the desk.

  Trick took an empty chair near the desk and gazed at Giles. “It’s about Fairhurst? Jane thought she recognized him at this morning’s service.”

  “Yes,” Giles replied. “For Lady Gwyneth’s sake, I’ll run down the basics. Evan, Jeremy and Trick know this man of old.” He glanced at Royce and Gabriel. “And you may or may not know that he was largely responsible for having Trick jailed on trumped-up charges of murder.”

  Royce frowned. “Why?”

  “That’s an excellent question, and one I’ve spent more than a few hours stewing over, I can tell you.” Trick shook his head. “Sir Amery Fairhurst, who owned Fivetrees for several years, was poisoned last year. I was present, as was Lady Adalyn. There were circumstances in my past that made it easy for a finger of guilt to be aimed my way, even though I had no earthly reason to want the man dead, and Lady Adalyn confirmed my innocence.” He looked at Giles. “In all fairness, I probably wouldn’t have been confined as long as I was, had the judicial system worked more effectively.”

  “True,” nodded Giles. “But the fact remains that Fairhurst was perfectly willing to assign guilt to you, even though he must have known you were innocent.”

  He turned to the others. “We traced two servants from Fivetrees and believe that they poisoned Sir Amery’s meal. Unfortunately, we were unable to pursue the matter further, since both were attacked not long after we learned their identities.”

  “How badly?” Royce asked.

  “The woman was killed. The man barely survived and never regained consciousness. I was informed a couple of weeks ago that he had succumbed to his wounds.”

  “So no other idea of who could have perpetrated the poisoning?” Gabriel frowned.

  “No, not at the moment,” answered Giles. “But I’m becoming increasingly fond of the idea that he wants Fivetrees and will move heaven and earth to get it.”

  “And I suppose his brother would not have sold it…” Gwyneth tipped her head to one side in thought.

  “Lord, no,” said Trick. “The man was extremely conscious of being Sir Amery Fairhurst of Fivetrees.”

  “Ugh. One of those,” said Gabriel. “A man who thinks a property elevates him above his fellows.”

  “Well put.” Giles agreed. “If Baxter was behind the killing, then clearly he believed that he would be able to move in to Fivetrees, either as owner or husband of the heiress.”

  “And that failed…” Evan sounded thoughtful.

  “Quite dramatically,” said Jeremy. “Even with the drama of Trick being accused, and then Miss Judith being left there alone…”

  “But not for long,” interrupted Royce. “I’ll wager you had matters in hand for her within weeks, Giles.”

  “More or less.” Giles answered. “But no matter the timing or his plans, it all fell apart. Fivetrees is Miss Judith’s, and now under my supervision. So that is a dead end.”

  “I don’t like Baxter Fairhurst,” offered Evan. “There is something about him that is…unsettling.”

  “For what it’s worth,” added Giles, “Miss Fairhurst had much the same opinion. He came sniffing around after Sir Amery’s death and subtly insinuated he might ask for her hand in marriage.”

  “Oh, how horrid,” muttered Gwyneth. “He believed she’d say yes? Was she the named heiress?”

  “He might have thought so at the time, but it took some legal wrangling to officially get her named as such.”

  “You know, this is just another example of how brilliant the original Lady of Wolfbridge was. In settling the estate the way she did, she protected every Lady thereafter from unwanted proposals.” Gwyneth looked around at six male faces expressing everything from surprise to agreement. “Well? Isn’t that the case?”

  “Er…yes,” said Jeremy. “Yes, when you think about it, I suppose it is.”

&
nbsp; “Well, be that as it may,” Giles continued, “Baxter Fairhurst is a person I would like to keep an eye on. And now that he is in the company of this Baron Randschen, even more so.”

  “The Baron…who is he?” Royce tipped his head to one side. “I don’t believe I’ve met him, but I could swear I’ve heard the name somewhere.”

  “And I could swear I know him from somewhere,” added Jeremy. “It’s extremely annoying that I cannot remember more…”

  “My Lady, how did you meet him?” Gabriel twisted his head around and looked up at her. “I should have thought to ask before now.”

  “It was the first year of my marriage to the Earl,” she replied. “A small party of gentlemen travelled north for the shooting, and they stopped at Kilham Abbey briefly, and met with my husband. If I recall correctly, they arrived late in the morning, had lunch, then after a few more hours closeted away, they left.”

  “Not to impugn your attractions, my Lady, but that seems a very short time for him to have developed the affections he professed a couple of days ago.” Giles raised one sceptical eyebrow.

  She nodded. “I agree. He was very charming, of course, in what I felt was an over-effusive European way. I was somewhat discomforted by his obvious admiration, but the others—including the Earl—seemed to think nothing of it. So I put it down to excessively fulsome Society manners and thought no more of it than that.”

  “Any idea what the men were discussing?”

  “It’s quite a few years ago, Royce…” answered Gwyneth, frowning. “I’m not sure why it might matter, but…” she paused, pushing her mind back to those early days at Kilham, when life had been…settled, if not joyous. “I believe they were something to do with the government. Attachés perhaps? Or connected to attachés? Baron Randschen referred to himself as Margrave, and I recall an Austrian gentleman present as well. The others were British, I’m sure…but again, not ones to stand out in my recollections. Clearly well-to-do…I was told to put the best of everything out for their visit.”

  “Margrave,” murmured Royce. “I heard about a Margrave. Rumours, gossip…a man who didn’t like being crossed, and had some unpleasant preferences when it came to pleasure. He had connections, though. Diplomatic ones. And those kept his name out of the limelight.”

  Jeremy shifted on a sound, and all eyes turned to him.

  “Dammit all to hell,” he swore softly. “Randschen. Baron Randschen.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Why didn’t I recognise the name?”

  “Who is it, Jeremy?” Gwyneth leaned forward, uneasy at his obvious distress.

  “A man who does indeed have some high-level connections. In Prussia House.” He turned to Giles. “And I killed his brother.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Giles listened as Jeremy related the tale of a young man who interrupted a horrible crime against a young woman, and in the course of preventing it, accidentally killed the would-be rapist. The name was different, but the family was the same. Jeremy’s actions had resulted in the death of Gerhard Kruger, brother to Hans Kruger, Baron Randschen.

  He watched the faces around him; Trick and Evan were familiar with the story already, but to Royce and Gabriel it was new, and he was interested to see their reactions.

  Gwyneth reacted as most every woman would, in his opinion. She was shocked, stunned and furious that Jeremy had suffered such a dreadful experience for something that was a complete accident.

  Gabriel seemed to echo her thoughts, shaking his head, his eyes wide.

  There was a man who knew the horrors of rape, realised Giles. The shudders visibly wracking him most likely came from his own memories. “I wish there were more like you, Jeremy,” he murmured.

  “As do I, Gabriel. As do I.” Gwyneth touched his shoulder in agreement.

  “At least you rid the earth of one vermin,” said Royce practically. “Well done. No great loss to anyone, from what I hear, and a young woman saved, to boot. So now our questions must turn to another one. Is Randschen as bad as his brother? And my money’s on the affirmative.”

  “I wish I knew,” Giles frowned. “My only interaction with him has been here, through Lady Gwyneth.”

  Royce leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “It would certainly appear as if we have a couple of unpleasant characters in our midst.”

  “You might have to add one more,” Trick bit his lip. “There’s a rumour…and I stress only a rumour…that Sir Alfred Gylbart is in the neighbourhood.”

  “Dear God above,” Gabriel’s muted cry drew everyone’s attention.

  “Gabriel, hush. Don’t distress yourself. Tell us. Who is this man?” Gwyneth felt him move close to her side and rest against her leg. He was shaking his head, his hair flying around like a pale blonde cloud.

  She glanced at Giles. “Do you know, Giles?”

  “I know the name, yes. It stands for everything that is disgusting, debauched and unspeakable.” His mouth twisted into a hard line. “A couple of years ago, he was discovered to be running a very profitable house of pleasure. Unfortunately, it catered to a certain kind of man whose tastes ran to worse things than you can imagine.”

  “Now I remember.” Royce nodded. “Quite a scandal at the time.” He glanced at Giles. “A bad man. A very bad man.”

  “I’m certainly out of touch then,” said Evan. “Never heard of him.”

  “Neither have I,” added Jeremy.

  “You’re lucky,” said Giles. His attention turned to Gabriel. “I believe I cannot say the same for our Gabriel.”

  He’d reached for Gwyneth’s hand and held it tightly to his shoulder. He lifted his head, still trembling. “I’m sorry. Just hearing his name was a shock.”

  “Gabriel, you don’t have to…”

  “I do, dear Lady. You all have to know what a monstrous beast that man is.”

  “You have met him?” she asked gently.

  He nodded. “Several years ago now. I was…I was working in a house just outside of London.” His eyes fell to the floor. “Please don’t ask what I was doing.”

  “It’s all right, love,” Gwyneth rubbed her hand over his and bent toward him, brushing his head with her other hand. “It’s all right.”

  Gabriel pulled himself together as best he could. “It wasn’t a bad place overall, and we were fed and clothed. Better than more than a few such houses. But then that man arrived, and we were all told to assemble in the drawing room.”

  Gwyneth saw Gabriel and Royce exchange glances.

  “He told us he was very rich and he’d make us rich too. He was going to pick four of us to go back to London and work for him instead. He told us of all the wonderful things we’d see, and the money we’d make…so many promises that some were ready to leave that instant.”

  “But not you?” Jeremy asked, his voice troubled.

  “No, not me. I didn’t even want to be where I was, let alone go to London.” Gabriel sighed, a gust of air that sounded as if it came from his soul. “Sir Albert decided to stay the night, and make his selection the following morning.”

  Giles interrupted. “Gabriel, you do not need to go on. We don’t need to hear what you don’t want to relate, lad.”

  The gentle reassurance seemed to help Gabriel. He lifted his eyes to Giles. “You can guess what happened. Sir Albert decided to…to test several of us. Myself included.”

  Gwyneth was looking worried, but kept silent.

  “He decided against taking you?” asked Jeremy.

  Gabriel pulled free of Gwyneth’s touch. “Excuse me, my Lady. There’s something you all should see.” He stood and loosened his breeches. Turning his back to them all, he lowered one side, revealing his buttock.

  “Dear God in Heaven,” breathed Evan.

  “The bastard branded you.” Royce barely managed to speak the words.

  “Jesus,” muttered Trick, pale as a ghost.

  “Gabriel…Gabriel…no…” Gwyneth stumbled to her feet and rushed to him. “It’s not a birthmark,
is it? Oh God, I thought it was a birthmark…” She hugged him fiercely as he refastened his clothing.

  He put his arms around her, holding her close. “That’s the kind of man Sir Albert Gylbart is. His houses are filled with the pleasures derived from pain, from torture, from beatings. And sadly all those vile behaviours are visited on youngsters. The younger the better.”

  He eased Gwyneth back to the couch and this time sat beside her, with Evan on his other side. “He didn’t pick me because I was a little too old for his clients. But he wanted me for himself.”

  “What happened?” asked Jeremy, his face quite pale.

  “After he…after he branded me, and started to ready himself to take me, I lost what was left of my composure.”

  “That’s got to be the understatement of the year, my friend,” said Royce. “You should have killed him.”

  “I wanted to, believe me. But I knew if I did, it would be my death as well. All I could do was turn on him. He wasn’t expecting it, of course, because I believe most of his victims shrank in terror. But I could and did. I walked to him, grabbed his throat and pushed him up against the wall. I hadn’t attained my full height, but I had enough on him to get away with it, especially since his breeches were down around his ankles. I told him if I ever saw him again I’d rip off a piece of him and feed it to the pigs. And then I’d kill him and be damned to the consequences.” His chest rose and fell. “I think he believed me, because he let me go, and left the next day with three other boys. I never saw him again.”

  “God,” Gwyneth shuddered. “Just the notion that a man like that is in the neighbourhood is chilling, to say the least.”

  “I don’t like it at all,” agreed Trick. “Giles, you must have some thoughts?”

  Everyone’s eyes turned to Giles, and for a moment he was torn between affection for them all and frustration at their confidence he could solve such things.

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a gesture unusual for him, but he was deeply concerned at this new turn of events. “I need to go to London. Before I can come to any conclusions, I require a lot more information than we have right now.” He straightened and looked at them all. “I will leave as soon as maybe, and it should take no more than three days, four at most.” He lifted his head, frowning. “I don’t want to panic the good people around here. But if word could be passed to keep an eye on the little ones, just as a precaution…”