A Marquess' Miraculous Transformation: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Abigail Agar

  “You may put all of that nonsense behind you. I know that you are a good man, and we may move past this now,” Miss Philips said, kindly forgiving him for all that he had done.

  Ronan wanted to tell her then and there how deeply he loved her. He wanted her to know the importance that she had played in his life and how he would give anything to spend his life with her. But it was not the time for that. It was the time for moving forward in their plan, for ensuring that Lady Foster paid the price.

  At last, Ronan had to accept that he must walk away from Miss Philips. There was a look in Miss Philips’ eyes, which told him that she understood. She had the same thought. Her eyes were telling him goodbye for now.

  “Until all of this is over, remember that you are … that you matter so much to me,” Ronan said to her.

  She smiled shyly and looked down at her fidgeting hands.

  “Thank you, Lord Beckman,” she said.

  “I mean it, Miss Philips. There is little else in this world that matters half so much to me now, and you must know that I care for you in a way in which I have never before cared for anyone,” he told her, quite boldly.

  Miss Philips looked up at him at that as if stunned by this revelation.

  “Ronan,” Harold said, getting his attention from behind. But he allowed himself to hold the gaze of Miss Philips for just a moment more.

  Finally, however, Ronan forced his feet to step away from her and speak with the constable who was nearby.

  They had to speak about the last-minute details, making certain that they all knew their place and were going to be in the right position for this. Another constable would be joining Ronan and Harold in the jail cell to pretend that they were criminals, having been under arrest.

  But for the moment, Ronan and Harold were simply going to speak with the captain to make sure that he was ready to take action once they had a confession.

  “Is everything ready?” Harold asked the captain.

  “Yes, all is ready. We are going to be here, prepared, at any moment. Whenever Lady Foster comes, you two and my man shall be ready in your disguises in the cell beside Miss Philips. There is no way in which Lady Foster will not be heard,” the captain said.

  “Are you sure? She may try to speak softly,” Harold reasoned.

  “Listen,” the captain said, urging Ronan and Harold to note how there was a soft echo in the jail.

  “Of course. That shall help us,” Ronan said.

  “Indeed, it shall. Not only that, but I trust that Lady Foster is arrogant enough to think herself untouchable. Once I excuse myself and allow her to speak with Miss Philips on her own—saying that I should like to give them privacy—I expect she is going to be perfectly comfortable sharing anything she wishes to say,” he told them.

  “You think so?” Ronan asked.

  “I do. After all, why should she care if other prisoners hear her confession? She will think her word above theirs and that there is no point in even trying to hide her actions from them. Of course, I do not know Lady Foster, and I could be wrong, but I have worked these streets long enough to know a variety of types of criminals,” the captain said.

  Ronan was relieved that it was all being taken care of. He was glad that the constable had heard a part of their plan and had made it even better. But it was not over yet.

  He knew that they would still have to get the confession out of Lady Foster. That was not going to be easy, but it was important. Without that confession, there could be no evidence as to the truth of what happened.

  Ronan felt sick for ever having trusted her. He knew that it was simply a mistake in his own judgement, but at least that was the past now. At least he now knew the truth and was moving forward.

  With all the details discussed, Harold and Ronan were ready to remain hidden for as long as they needed to be.

  “What do you think?” Ronan asked.

  “About what?” Harold asked in reply.

  “The plan, of course,” he said.

  “I believe that it really is our only choice. I cannot think that Miss Philips was ever a part of any of this, and I am glad that you have seen reason. Now, as we try to ensure that Lady Foster pays the price for her misdeeds, I trust that you will make every effort in the future to be a better man. None of this back and forth with your arrogance,” Harold said.

  “You have my word, Harold. I can hardly bear to think about how I have behaved. But whatever has happened in the past, it shall not happen again. You have my promise of that,” Ronan said.

  “Good. I am glad. Now, the next question. What are you going to do once all of this is over? With …” at this, Harold simply nodded in the direction of Miss Philips, clearly wondering if Ronan intended to propose to her after the drama of this arrest was over.

  Indeed, he had thought about it a great deal. He wanted to marry Miss Philips more than anything and was eager to make that happen. If she was willing to have him, he wanted to be her husband. It was going to take a long time for him to convince her, most likely. Especially after all of this.

  But he would try.

  Still, Ronan recalled the way the chamber echoed ever so slightly, and he could not risk the chance of Miss Philips overhearing their discussion. So Ronan put a finger to his smiling lips, pointing his other in a circle around them as a gesture to remember the way the sound worked in the room.

  Harold winked in understanding and nodded. Ronan understood that Harold fully supported any potential future between him and Miss Philips.

  It meant so much to have the support of his friend. He already understood that he had the support of his mother, who was back at the estate. Yes, Ronan was a fortunate man to know that these people were so willing to care for him despite his former arrogance and selfishness.

  “We should move into place, do you not think?” Harold asked.

  “Certainly. We cannot risk being seen before she confesses,” he replied.

  They moved into the cell from which they would be listening, each disguised in the rags of a prisoner. One of the constables came, looking as ragged and criminal as they did.

  Ronan had never worn clothes such as this. He had never worn anything dirty, uncomfortable, or dishevelled, but the grey trousers that hung upon his frame looked every bit as foolish as he would have expected from a man in prison.

  And the hat he wore, in an effort to cover his face, only served to promote the look. It was frayed around the edges. He had found it in an old wardrobe upstairs in his home. Apparently, it had belonged to a great-great-grandfather who tended to wear the hat at all times.

  They waited, and it was only twenty or so minutes before they heard the clacking footsteps of richly made shoes.

  Ronan looked over at Harold, wondering what was going to happen. He didn’t know what to do as a potential prisoner, so he faced away from Miss Philips’ cell and pretended to sleep. He noted that Harold was also facing away, trying to look as if he was interested in staring out the upper window. They could not quite reach it, but at least they could see it.

  “I am just relieved that she was arrested at once. Can you imagine? What an awful girl she is to try and kill such a great man. You do your country justice by having taken her in the way you did,” came the sound of Lady Foster’s voice.

  Ronan made every effort not to turn around or acknowledge the voice. He didn’t want to show any sort of recognition and was relieved that Harold was being equally intent on remaining in disguise.

  Still, Ronan listened intently.

  “Here she is, Lady Foster,” the captain said.

  “Thank you, Constable. I shall have a little discussion with her. Nothing long, I am sure. I just need her to understand what an awful thing she did by trying to murder the man I love,” Lady Foster said to the captain, although her words were clearly directed as a threat to Miss Philips.

  “Very well. I shall leave you both for the sake of your privacy,” the captain said, just as they had planned all along.

  Ronan
heard his feet carrying him away and knew that now it was just Miss Philips and Lady Foster behind him. For a moment, everything was silent. He tried not to shift or do anything that might draw attention.

  “Miss Philips. You are here. In prison. I find that I simply adore this world we live in where you can end up precisely where you belong … and I may stay out here where I am free,” Lady Foster said with haughtiness.

  “But you know that I am not guilty. Why is it that you hate me so?” Miss Philips asked.

  “None of that. We are not here to discuss the wedge that is between us. We are here because you claim to know something, and I should like to be made aware of what it is,” Lady Foster said.

  This was it. This was the moment in which Miss Philips could have her way.

  And then, she could be free.

  Chapter 38

  This was it. This was her chance to capture Lady Foster. All she had to do was play to the woman’s arrogance. She could make certain that Lady Foster did not think herself touchable. Then again, she would not have to do much to achieve that. After all, Lady Foster already believed herself to be untouchable.

  In many ways, all nobility was used to that. There was no reason for which Lavender should have expected anything different.

  By the time Lady Foster was ready to hear her response, Lavender was certainly ready to give it. She was more than prepared to make her statement and get all of this over with.

  “Lady Foster, do you really wish to hear what it is that I know?” Lavender asked.

  “Of course, you foolish girl. Why else would I have wasted my time in coming here? You claim to know something, and your friend says that you shall turn in evidence or some such nonsense. What are you talking about? I have done nothing wrong. Nothing at all,” Lady Foster insisted.

  “I fear that you are lying, Lady Foster. And I believe that you deem yourself untouchable because of your station. But the truth is, I know that you are the one who set it up to appear as if I poisoned Lord Beckman, and I know that you are the one who truly poisoned him,” Lavender said.

  The words hung in the air. For a moment, Lavender did not know whether Lady Foster would respond. Of course, this was certainly quite an accusation. She knew that it was true; she knew that with great confidence, but there was still every chance that Lady Foster would refute it. She could say that it was ridiculous; she could deny it. She could have responded in so many different ways.

  But Lady Foster eventually answered with a laugh.

  “My goodness. That really is quite an accusation to make against a lady such as myself. You, a maid, think that you may just go around accusing people like me of terrible misdeeds? I would like to say that I am shocked, but I fear that I am not. This is exactly the sort of behaviour which one might expect from some silly little orphan girl who thinks so highly of herself,” Lady Foster said.

  “I think highly of myself?” Lavender asked.

  “Of course you do. You and your intelligence? You think you are better than others because you think like a man. You are not better than anyone. You are just another simple maid. Your father was worthless to London society, and you are worthless to Lord Beckman,” Lady Foster said.

  Although the comment about her father stung, Lavender knew that it was not true, and Lady Foster was just trying to express her bitterness.

  “Lady Foster, I care not for your petty insults. I have called you here because I know what you did,” Lavender said.

  “And you think that anyone will listen? You think that you are important enough to anyone, to Lord Beckman? You think he would listen to you over me? I was being courted by him. He knows me. He trusts me. There is nothing you can do to change that, even if you so desperately wish to. Just let go of your awful plans for trying to prove something of yourself. You mean nothing to him,” Lady Foster said again.

  The bitterness and jealousy were clear. There was such evident frustration and rage on Lady Foster’s face because Lavender cared for Lord Beckman. Lavender was beginning to wonder whether Lady Foster would take her seriously at all. After all, maybe it really was all about him. Maybe she didn’t even care if Lavender was set free.

  All this had been done to prevent Lavender and Lord Beckman from finding one another in the way that they had begun.

  Still, whatever Lady Foster’s intentions were, Lavender was not going to let her get away with this. She was going to make certain that she could get through it, and not only that, she would be set free from the prison, but Lady Foster would be arrested.

  She could not allow the freedom of anyone who had tried to hurt Lord Beckman back in.

  Lavender steadied herself, ready to reply.

  “Lady Foster, you may feel hatred for me, but you know that I am not guilty of what I am accused. The attempted murder of a nobleman? They may try to hang me,” Lavender said.

  Lady Foster scoffed again. It was clear that she had no intention of taking responsibility. It was not that she would not confess her actions, but she felt no guilt or remorse for them. She clearly thought that she had the right to do these things.

  “Whatever they do to you, it is not my fault,” Lady Foster said.

  “Even if you are the guilty party and you are the one who made me look guilty? You are angry and bitter because you know that Lord Beckman never truly loved you. You wanted to ensure that any chance of his affections elsewhere were squished. You could not allow him to care for another woman,” Lavender said.

  Lavender could see that Lady Foster was getting worked up. This was what she wanted. She wanted to push Lady Foster to the edges of her emotions, to push her to the point in which she could no longer deny what Lavender was saying.

  It appeared as though it was working. Lady Foster was getting angrier and angrier by the second. Although Lavender wanted to take a step back from the bars, she knew that she had to take this forthright position.

  If she took a step back, it would show weakness. As it was, she was protected from Lady Foster even this close. There was no chance of Lady Foster pushing through the bars and actually getting to her. She could always back up if Lady Foster did launch for her.

  But Lavender had to keep up her efforts. She was close enough that Lady Foster was obviously full of fury. Now, she simply had to push her over the edge.

  “You feared that he was falling in love with me, and you knew that you would be humiliated by the possibility of the man you cared for falling in love with his maid. You were so desperate to hold onto a man who didn’t care about you that you would ruin me to keep him,” Lavender said.

  At last. At last, Lady Foster had got angry enough to hiss at Lavender for the feelings she had. At last, she had pushed Lady Foster over the edge. Now, Lavender simply needed her to admit her criminal actions.

  “You are an awful girl, and he can never love you! Of course he loved me! He did! I only had to get you out of the way because rich men are fools. They always want more. So they fall for the mousy maids because girls like you are easy to manipulate. I had no choice,” Lady Foster said.

  “You had no choice but to kill him?” Lavender asked, pushing further.

  “I knew that it wouldn’t kill him. I only had to make him sick enough that it looked like you were trying to kill him,” Lady Foster replied.

  She gave a contemptible, arrogant laugh.

  “You know, it was actually far easier than I had expected. He turned on you quite quickly from what I hear. My plan was perfect, and it worked. I knew that he would not die from the poisoning, but I saw your tinctures and realized that this was precisely the sort of death you could be responsible for,” Lady Foster said.