Governess in Disguise: Historical Regency Romance

by Lisa Campell

  Take a step back? Emilia was shaking her head before Charlotte had finished.

  “That’s not an option now. Thomas Andrews did something, and I’m going to prove it.”

  “And when you don’t find the evidence?”

  “I’ll find it.”

  Charlotte stared at her. Then she shook her head and turned away.

  “Charlotte…”

  But Charlotte was already walking away, shutting the door a little too hard behind her.

  “Mr. Andrews?”

  Thomas looked around. Jenkins had entered his study and was approaching him, stopping before him with a slight bow.

  “What is it, Jenkins?”

  “Constable Bowers is here again. He wants to speak to you about Jonathan Hill.”

  Thomas frowned. Bowers was back again? He had answered the man’s questions a fortnight ago, and Bowers had promised that things would settle down. From what Thomas had heard, the inquest had confirmed Jonathan Hill’s death as an accident.

  So why was he here now? Had he heard something that could conflict with the coroner’s report? Thomas put his papers down.

  “Show him into the morning room, Jenkins. Where’s Anna?”

  “Miss Anna is helping Farrow in the stables with the horses.”

  That was something. Anna didn’t need to hear any of this.

  “Make sure she stays out there until the constable’s left.”

  “Of course.”

  Jenkins followed Thomas out of the study, heading towards the back of the house as Thomas locked up the room. His mother had wondered many times why Thomas locked his study door, but after a few attempts from patrons at Drake’s trying to break in and find something to use against Thomas - something that wasn’t there – she’d understood. Now it was a force of habit. Plus, it wasn’t just his patrons trying to break into his study; some of them had attempted to pay off his servants to do the deed instead. They had been promptly dismissed and the patrons banned from Drake’s with an order to pay up immediately or suffer social embarrassment.

  It was startling what people did for money.

  Thomas headed into the morning room, where he found Constable Bowers standing at the window, staring out into the front gardens. He had to admit the large, genial man looked very out of place in his home. It wasn’t the grandest of places, but it was certainly above what the older man was used to. Thomas crossed the room and held out a hand.

  “Constable Bowers.”

  Bowers turned, his expression stern as he shook Thomas’ hand with a firm grip.

  “Mr. Andrews. Forgive me for turning up without an appointment, but this isn’t a social call.”

  “I gathered that.” Thomas gestured for him to sit, settling into a chair across from the constable. “What is it?”

  “I…” Bowers eased himself into the chair with a heavy sigh. “I wanted to ask you some more questions about Jonathan Hill.”

  Thomas sighed.

  “I thought I already told you what happened. He had left Drake’s after discussing a payment plan with me, and that was the last time I saw him alive. We were in good spirits, and he even apologized for coming to me to make deals.”

  Thomas had even jested maybe he should cut Hill off from Drake’s so he wouldn’t keep going into debt, and that had been taken into serious consideration. It would mean losing a patron, but Thomas didn’t want to see any of them go into bankruptcy.

  “This is just something we need to go over again, Mr. Andrews. I need to know your whereabouts for when Mr. Hill died.”

  “You know where I was. I told you already. I was at Drake’s when Mr. Hill died. We had just spoken about him repaying me what he owed, and then he left. That was it.”

  “When did you leave Drake’s yourself?”

  “About two hours later. In the opposite direction.”

  “And that’s it.” Bowers said slowly. “You didn’t follow him afterwards?”

  “Why would I do that?” Thomas pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache starting. “Look, why are you asking me all of this again? You got my answers last time, he more than likely fell and hit his head.”

  Bowers was now staring at him. This was different to when they talked before. Thomas and the constable had already got on and Bowers had been almost apologetic for bothering him. Now it was like a different person sat before him.

  Bowers shifted in his chair.

  “I have Mr. Hill’s daughter in my ear, demanding that I investigate you further. She seems to think that you have a role in her father’s death.”

  Thomas stared. He must have heard wrong.

  “She what? I didn’t kill him.”

  “Miss Hill is very determined. She’s heard the rumours and been convinced, as have many others…”

  Chapter Five

  The rumours. It had to be the rumours. Constable Bowers knew about them and he did his best to dispel them, but public opinion wasn’t easy to get rid of when people had already made up their minds. From the way he was regarding Thomas now, Thomas did wonder if the constable was beginning to believe the rumours himself.

  Thomas had chosen to avoid people as much as he could unless he was at Drake’s. Any whispers about him having any involvement had those people getting a serious talking to. It probably didn’t make things any better, but Thomas refused to let anyone talk badly about him or his family in his own business. That he wouldn’t stand for.

  Even so, knowing that even Hill’s daughter had been taken in by this was still painful.

  “Why would I kill Mr. Hill?”

  “She said you beat her father up for not repaying his debts and it went too far.”

  “And you believe that?”

  Bowers shook his head. But he looked hesitant about doing so.

  “I know you’re not a violent man, but she’s adamant about it and I said I would follow up to pacify her.”

  Pacify. Thomas didn’t believe that. The law seemed to be shifting out of favour with him. He would have to be careful with what he said in case it was twisted against him.

  He rubbed his hands over his face. He had never met Hill’s daughter, but Hill had spoken a lot about her. The man loved his child dearly, even if she disapproved of the debts he kept racking up.

  “This feels more like a warning me, than you are questioning me.”

  “I suppose it is.” Bowers sighed. “I don’t know what will happen next, but I’m sure Miss Hill is going to make it her mission to come after you. I’m sure she’ll come around, but you need to watch yourself.”

  Thomas groaned. He already had enough to deal with regarding the rumours prior to this mess and pushing Evelyn Wilson away from him without having a young woman determined to prove his guilt.

  Rumours were far more poisonous than people realized. Thomas was finding out the hard way.

  Emilia was glad when her relatives finally left the house the day after the funeral. Several of them had left as soon as the will was read out the previous evening, angry that they hadn’t gotten anything. Her family was very large, and they flocked around whenever someone died. Love didn’t come into it, unless it meant they had money with it. Jonathan Hill had a lot of money, even if it fluctuated due to his gambling - and bailing his brother out of his own debts.

  But their family lawyer was adamant that everything was set in stone. Emilia inherited everything from her father and the remaining money was put aside as a dowry for her. The only person who had access to it other than Emilia was Uncle Christian. He was now her official guardian. He had to give his permission for Emilia to use the money and would keep an eye on the books.

  Emilia wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised about that. She and her uncle didn’t really get along, and she didn’t think Christian was mature enough to be her guardian. He would certainly be rejoicing in the amount of money he got his hands on, and Emilia believed they would be bankrupt by the end of the year, if not sooner. She pleaded with the lawyer
to not let Christian have as much access to her fortune, to which she was told she needed to have more faith in her uncle.

  Emilia had no faith in him at all. She was sure they would have nothing if Christian kept drinking and gambling as if he had no responsibilities. The man was so used to people bailing him out, especially his brother. Emilia was certainly her uncle would love not being on a leash.

  Her relatives weren’t sympathetic to her plight, but it was not as if Emilia wanted any of this. She just wanted to have her father back. Money didn’t replace him, and she felt cold and lonely.

  Charlotte was still staying with her, but she was a little more distant. Emilia knew it was because of her decision to investigate Thomas Andrews. Charlotte was becoming more and more disapproving, but Emilia wasn’t about to stop. Something was wrong here, she knew it. Her gut said there was more to her father’s death, and she was going to find out what it was. No one was going to stop her until Emilia found out the truth.

  Thomas Andrews had a lot to answer for.

  Everyone retired for the night, Charlotte retiring early with very little words in Emilia’s direction. That left Emilia with her uncle, who was slumped by the fire in the library, holding a very full glass as he stared into the fire. Emilia didn’t want to stay watching the man drink himself into another stupor, so she headed up shortly after. But getting to sleep proved difficult. She tossed and turned for some time, but her mind was racing. None of her thoughts would stop long enough for Emilia to process them, and it was giving her a headache.

  She needed a distraction. Maybe a book would help. Emilia slipped out of bed and put on her robe, tying a tight knot at her waist. Then she lit a candle and put it into a holder. The house was quiet as she padded downstairs. At two in the morning, the servants would be in bed by now. Nobody should be up to bother her as she headed towards the library.

  Only she found she wasn’t the only one awake at this time. Christian was still sitting by the fire, his glass now empty. It was like he hadn’t moved. Emilia debated going back upstairs to her room; she didn’t want to interact with her uncle. But then he looked up and saw her in the doorway.

  “Emilia?” He struggled to his feet, swaying on his feet. “What are you doing up?”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I thought I would get a book.”

  “Oh. Don’t let me stop you.”

  Christian sat back down heavily. Emilia knew she should grab a book, any book, and escape. But she found that she couldn’t. Even with her opinion on her uncle, she couldn’t walk away. Christian had lost his brother, and it had clearly hit him hard. Emilia put her candle holder on a table.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I…” Christian was still looking into the fire with a glazed expression. He slumped further in his chair. “I’m just wondering what else could get worse. It feels really lonely without my brother. I lost someone who was always there for me.”

  Emilia let him talk. She wasn’t about to cut in and argue that she had lost her father as well. They had had this argument many times over the last few days, with Christian getting so angry and irate the servants literally had to lead Emilia away in case her uncle took a swing at her. It was like his drinking was getting worse with the knowledge that his brother was dead, and Emilia was not about to back down because Christian wanted to have the last word. They had always knocked heads, but this was something else.

  Emilia was in no mood to fight tonight.

  “I suppose this means I’ve got to grow up now.” Christian glanced at her. “I mean, I’ve got to look after you now.”

  Emilia managed a smile.

  “You’ll be fine. I’m old enough that I can take care of myself.”

  “I don’t know about that. Women are fickle creatures.”

  Emilia’s smile snapped off. She was not having this tonight.

  “Don’t start that again, Uncle. You’ve been talking for a long time that I’m a woman now and I don’t need so much of a tight leash. You kept telling Father that ever since I turned eighteen.”

  “That was before I had responsibility.” Christian tilted his head to the side as he regarded her. “Now I’m beginning to see what Jonathan went through with you. He said you needed to be reined in and focus more on family than yourself.”

  Emilia stared. Her father had never said that about her, she was sure of it. He respected her decision not to marry unless it was for love and was content to let Emilia grow up. He didn’t know the real reason why Emilia didn’t want any suitors, but he stood by her choice. Christian had never made any suggestions on it himself, so where was this coming from?

  Emilia could feel her temper flaring. How dare he turn around and talk to her like this?

  “First, Uncle, my father would never have said that, and second, if you start treating me like an object like everyone else in the family, you’re going to have a very rude awakening. You know I hate it.”

  Christian grunted. “Stubborn as always.”

  “Runs in the family, doesn’t it?”

  Emilia took a deep breath. She could scream at him and say lots of things, but that wouldn’t get them anywhere and Christian would simply turn it around and make Emilia look like a hysterical woman. She would really lose it if her uncle tried that on her.

  “Anyway, you won’t have to worry about me for a while.”

  “What?” Christian blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m going to stay at Charlotte’s home for a while.” Emilia swallowed and refused to look away as her uncle stared at her. “I can’t stay here. It feels empty without Father, and you and I aren’t exactly the best of friends. It’s best that I go and stay somewhere I can grieve properly without having to run into you.”

  That was partly true; Emilia would feel better being able to grieve away from her uncle, but she needed to confirm it with Charlotte first. Her friend had no idea about this, so Emilia was going to need to do a lot of grovelling to get Charlotte to agree to this. Charlotte didn’t like Christian and had always told Emilia that her uncle needed to stop being such a child with how he behaved, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to get her to extend a last-minute invitation to come and stay with her and her husband. Emilia just needed to get to Charlotte before her uncle did.

  “You want to mourn at her home?” Christian frowned. “You should be mourning here with your family.”

  “I will mourn however I please, and I don’t want to do it when there’s already a lot of tension between us.”

  “What if I say you’re not going?”

  Emilia snorted. “I’m not asking your permission, Uncle. It’s already been planned. I’m leaving after breakfast.”

  “Not if I have anything to do with it.” Christian rose unsteadily to his feet again. “And I say you’re not going anywhere with Mrs. Chambers. As your guardian, you have to listen to me.”

  Emilia just smiled sweetly and turned away, selecting the first book she reached for before picking up her candle.

  “You may be my guardian, but you are not Father. And he wouldn’t tell me not to see my friends just because he didn’t care for them.” She opened the door. “I hope you get some sleep, Uncle Christian, and I hope you’re not going to cause a scene tomorrow. You know it won’t end well for you.”

  Then she left, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her.

  “Are you sure that we should be doing this, Emilia?” Charlotte asked for the sixth time in an hour.

  Emilia sighed and glared at her friend. She had been over this several times, and Charlotte just didn’t seem convinced.

  “Of course, I’m sure.” She adjusted her gloves and looked around. “The best way to get contact with Mr. Andrews is to approach his mother. She’s the only person who can talk to him, and he’ll listen to her.”

  Everyone Emilia had spoken to had told her that. Thomas Andrews had become a very private man after his wife’s death, and that was nothing to do with his mourning. The rumours had made him retreat and he r
efused to entertain anyone unless they were a close friend. Lady Margaret Andrews, his mother, was apparently an influence on him. Andrews wouldn’t deny her anything, and she was so steadfastly loyal to her son.

  She would be the best person to approach about getting close to Andrews. Emilia had put the plan into place in her head the night she had decided to leave her home and get away from Uncle Christian, and the older woman was key to this. Emilia didn’t know how else to approach Andrews without having someone introduce them.

  Charlotte had been shocked at the plan when Emilia told her. She had readily agreed to let Emilia come with her at short notice after witnessing the tension between Emilia and Christian, but she still didn’t approve of what Emilia wanted to do. She had tried to talk Emilia out of it several times, but that wasn’t going to happen. In the end, she had given up and agreed to come along with Emilia while they sought out Lady Margaret on her daily walk. Charlotte was the one who knew Lady Margaret and they were on amicable terms, so it would be better if she was there for the introduction.