The House (Armstrong House Series Book 1)

by A. O'Connor

33

  Edward was holding Lawrence and showing him the new rocking horse that had just been delivered to the nursery that morning. It was the latest in a long line of toys he had bought for Lawrence.

  “Edward! He’s only a baby, he’s much too young for a rocking horse,” Anna pointed out.

  “What matter? I want his nursery to be filled with beautiful toys so all his earliest memories are good ones.”

  “You’ll spoil that child, Edward,” scolded Anna, hiding her delight that he did.

  “Isn’t that what he’s there for? To be spoiled.” Edward cradled Lawrence and kissed his forehead. “And I’m going to spoil him every day of his life. When it comes to him having his first real horse, he will have the very best one I can find. And when he goes to school, he will have the best education money can buy. Many gentry are sending their sons to England now for school and university, bypassing Dublin altogether.”

  “Don’t let my father hear you saying that,” warned Anna. “He would see that as an indication of Ireland being left behind due to direct rule from London, and our class looking more to England for guidance than to ourselves.”

  “And when it comes to Lawrence getting married, well, he will marry a real princess, because he is a little prince.”

  “You do talk silly, Edward,” said Anna, but couldn’t help from smiling broadly at the two of them together.

  It was after lunch and Anna had just put Lawrence down for an afternoon sleep and retired to the drawing room to write some letters when she heard shouting in the hall. Edward was out on estate business and, wondering what the commotion was, she headed out to the hall.

  She got a fright to see Seán there, at the entrance to the servants’ quarters at the back of the hall, being physically restrained by Barton.

  “What is going on here?” demanded Anna.

  “I’m sorry, my lady, but he asked to see you and when I refused he stormed past me and up here,” Barton said, continuing to try and hold Seán.

  “What do you want?” Anna demanded of Seán, appalled.

  “I want to speak to you. And I won’t stop until I do!” shouted Seán, finally managing to break free of Barton and running into the centre of the hall.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Barton. “Have you lost your mind, man? You’ll be in serious trouble over this.”

  “I either say what I have to say here in front of him and the others when they arrive, or we talk privately,” warned Seán, staring defiantly at Anna.

  “Come into the drawing room,” said Anna, turning and re-entering the room.

  “But Lady Anna!” objected Barton.

  “It’s fine, Barton. I will take care of this,” Anna assured him, holding open the door for Seán.

  He walked slowly in and she closed the door after them.

  “What do you mean by barging in here like this?” demanded Anna, walking past him and sitting down on one of the couches.

  “I had to! It’s the only way I could get to speak to you! They wouldn’t let me see you every time I asked.”

  “What could we possibly have to say to each other?”

  “Plenty!”

  “Well , you have my attention, so say it and stop wasting any more of my time!”

  He stared at her for a long time. She couldn’t hold his gaze and quickly got up and walked over to the fireplace. “Well? What do you want?”

  “My son!” he shouted.

  She felt her whole body shiver with fright. “What are you talking about?”

  “Little Lawrence. He’s mine. I know it, and you know it.”

  “I don’t know what game or prank you are playing, but I’m warning you to stop right now! Goodness, you were always impertinent, but now you are just insane!”

  “I’ve seen him! I’ve seen our son, I know he’s mine.”

  She got a further shock with this declaration. “How have you seen him?”

  “You forget I know this house better than you do. I worked on the building of it. I know every back stairs and door in the place. I came through the servants’ quarters and made my way up to the nursery without anyone seeing me . . . I held him and everything.”

  Anna was terrified on hearing this, terrified for her son’s safety and what could have happened. She was determined not to show her terror.

  “You’re being ridiculous and I want you to leave.”

  “Ridiculous? Nine months to the day that we were together, you give birth to Lawrence and he looks like me?”

  “We were together?” Anna said the words derisorily and laughed mockingly.

  “Oh, so you pretending that didn’t happen as well, are ya? Why not? If you’re living in fantasy land, you might as well let your fantasies take over.”

  Anna crossed over to the writing desk and sat down “I’m rather tired of this charade. But you are being a nuisance.” She fingered the gold locket containing a watch that hung around her neck. It had been a first anniversary present from Edward and he had imported it from Russia. She took it off and held it out to Seán. “Here take this. It’s worth a small fortune. Take it and leave, and I never want to see you again.”

  He walked over to her angrily. “You can’t buy me off! Who do you think you are?”

  She looked at him sternly but dismissively. “I’m Lady Armstrong, Seán. Mistress of this house. Mistress of the eight thousand acres that surround this house. Wife of Lord Edward Armstrong. And our child, Lawrence, will one day be master of all this as well. The question is – who do you think you are? You’re nothing and nobody. You’re a cottier who leases four acres of failed crops from my husband. And you come in here demanding – I don’t know, what are you demanding, Seán?”

  “I know how important family is. And it doesn’t matter what you and your husband have. The child is mine and he deserves to be with his father.”

  Anna felt an overwhelming instinct to hit him.

  “Seán! Lawrence will be brought up in a different universe from you. You will have nothing in common! You are from different sides of society. See reality for what it is.” She handed out the locket again. “Take what I’m offering you, Seán. It will be your only chance in life to do something different, to get somewhere. You’re intelligent and bright. You don’t belong in the town with the people I saw that day, fighting and carousing. You’re softer and sensitive. You see people for what they are. You could go to America with what I’m offering you. Start again over there with some money behind you . . .”

  “No!”

  “Is it not enough? If you want I’ll go right now to my room and get more. I have diamonds and emeralds –”

  “The only way I’ll take that jewellery . . . is if you and Lawrence come with me. We can start together away from here. Go to America, as you said.”

  “Me go with you! Seán, it’s you who is living in fantasy land! I wouldn’t go across the street with you, let alone across the Atlantic! Leave the husband I love, and my title and position? For what? A peasant boy I have nothing in common with. I feel sick at the thought of it.”

  “You didn’t feel sick when you came into my bed that night, did ya? I won’t take a penny from you! But I will get my son. Whatever it takes. He will know me and I will be a part of his life. Lord Edward is a good man, and he will see the injustice of this when I tell him the truth!”

  “He wouldn’t believe a word of it, you fool!” she hissed.

  “We’ll just have to see.” Seán turned and stormed out of the room.

  It was only when he was gone that Anna began to shake.

  34

  Anna viewed herself in the mirror and saw she was frighteningly pale. She had locked herself in her room for the rest of the day to try and think things through.

  She had never allowed herself to begin to think of Seán being the father, because she feared all that would entail. She could lie to herself for ever, and never listen to the truth in her heart. But now with Seán rampaging about mouthing off, he was a loose cannon. The
reality was that even if he told the world the truth, nobody would ever believe him. It would be unthinkable to everybody. But what put her in danger was that Georgina knew as well. If Georgina her cousin would ever verify that what Seán was saying was true, then Anna would be ruined, and so would her husband and son. And in Georgina she had turned an ally into an enemy.

  She could not leave this loose cannon unchecked. Also, it had scared her that he had got to the nursery and held Lawrence. If Seán was so determined to claim his son, what would stop him from one day trying to kidnap her child? She couldn’t trust him any more. She needed him off the estate so that he would not be able to access Lawrence, or her, again. She knew what she must do. She would get rid of Seán, so she, Edward and Lawrence could live their lives in happiness and without any fear.

  She took off the Russian watch-locket from around her neck and held it tightly.

  Anna raced her horse across the estate to the area of Knockmora where Seán’s cottage was. It was the afternoon and he was at the stables working. As she approached the cottage she looked around to make sure there was nobody about and then jumped off the horse and walked up to the door. She pushed open the door and stepped into the cottage.

  “Hello?” she called out.

  When there was no reply she closed the door behind her and quickly checked out a good hiding place. She took a chair and stood on it and reaching up to the top of the dresser, placed the pendent there. Then she quickly left the cottage, mounted her horse and raced back to Armstrong House.

  “Are you alright, my dear, you seem quiet this evening?” Edward asked as they sat in the drawing room.

  “Yes – well, no. I’m so silly – I appear to have lost my gold locket. The watch-locket from Russia that you gave me.”

  “You? Lose a locket? Or anything for that matter! I don’t think so!” said Edward, alarmed. He had never known his wife to misplace anything. She was far too exact.

  “Well, I must have! I’ve searched everywhere for it,” she said, distressed.

  Edward’s face clouded over as he stood up and pulled the bell-pull.

  A minute later Barton arrived in.

  “Barton, Lady Anna has lost her gold watch-locket. I want you to supervise a search of the whole house – including the servants’ rooms in the attic.”

  Barton’s face clouded over with concern. “Of course, sir! Straight away.”

  “Come on, let’s search our room again,” said Edward, taking Anna by the hand.

  “I’m afraid we have looked everywhere, Lord Armstrong, and there is no sign of the locket,” said Barton.

  “You’ve searched all the servants’ rooms?” said Edward.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m very pleased it wasn’t found there. I’d hate to think one of our trusted house servants would take something. But these are hard times and you can never be too sure.”

  “I suppose it’s feasible one of them could have smuggled it out already,” Barton said.

  Edward turned to Anna. “Anna, think hard! When did you have it last? Where were you?”

  Anna got up and started pacing. “I definitely had it yesterday as I remember putting it on in the morning . . . I was writing letters in the afternoon in here . . .” Suddenly Anna’s face lit up. “And now I remember! I took it off and placed it on the writing desk so I could keep a check of the time as I wrote.”

  Edward dashed over to the writing desk. “Then it must be here somewhere.”

  “We’ve already checked there, Edward.”

  Nevertheless, he checked the desk itself and then examined the floor around it, while Barton searched the drapes of the curtains in the nearby window.

  “Well, who has been in this room since yesterday, Barton?” Edward asked then, becoming exasperated. He hated to think there might be someone dishonest in the house. “The bloody thing can’t disappear into thin air!”

  “Well, nobody – only the usual staff. Me, the under-house parlour maid to do the fires, a very trustworthy girl in my opinion – and . . .” Barton trailed off and suddenly looked at Anna, full of concern.

  “Oh yes, I forgot!” Anna gasped. “Seán Hegarty was here as well!”

  “Seán Hegarty!” said Edward. “What the blazes was he doing here? He’s in the stables now!”

  “He arrived in, my lord, and caused quite a commotion, insisting on seeing Lady Anna,” Barton said.

  “Anna?” Edward’s turned to his wife for answers.

  “As Barton says . . . he insisted on seeing me and so I received him here in the drawing room.”

  “And what did he want? His old position back?”

  “No . . . He told me he has run up gambling debts and with the crops having failed on his land he couldn’t pay them back. He was asking, well, demanding, a loan from me to pay off the debts.”

  “I cannot believe he would do such a thing!” Edward’s temper exploded. “Why didn’t you tell me about this, Anna?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you, or concern you. I just told him no and that he needed to leave.”

  “That he would come here and ask you for money!” Edward was scandalised.

  “Could he have taken the opportunity to take the locket?” questioned Barton.

  Anna walked over to the writing desk. “It was resting on the writing table here, so yes, he could have swiped it when I wasn’t looking. In fact, I was so taken aback by his intrusion, it was probably why I didn’t notice it missing straight away.”

  “If you don’t mind me saying, my lord, I think we’ve found our culprit. He had opportunity, reason and cause,” Barton pointed out.

  “Not Seán!” Edward was horrified. “I’d never believe it of him.”

  “Well, we have to investigate it,” urged Anna.

  “Of course. Barton, send for Sinclair immediately.”

  That night Seán was in his cottage staring into the flames dancing in the fireplace as he thought of his confrontation with Anna.

  Suddenly the door burst open and in stormed Sinclair with several of his men.

  “What the –?” Seán leapt to his feet in shock.

  “You just stay there and be quiet,” commanded Sinclair before turning to his men. “Search the place!”

  “Why are you doing this?” demanded Seán, as the men went to work pulling the place apart.

  “You’re in enough trouble, so just keep that smart mouth of yours closed,” said Sinclair.

  As the dresser was turned over, the locket went flying through the air and Sinclair reached forward and grabbed it.

  Sinclair dangled it in front of Seán’s face. “Caught – red-handed!”

  Sinclair came marching into the drawing room where Edward and Anna were waiting anxiously.

  “Yours – I believe,” said Sinclair, handing the locket to Anna. “As we thought, it was in Seán Hegarty’s cottage. On top of a dresser.”

  “I’d never have believed it!” said Edward sitting down, his face a mask of disappointment.

  “I would! The whole country is going mental with these crops failing. They’d do anything for money,” said Sinclair.

  “But Seán!” said Edward. “Where is he now?”

  “My men locked him up in one of the stables. He won’t get out. We’ll leave him there till the morning and then bring him into town to the magistrate.”

  “Magistrate! You mean he’ll end up in court?” Anna looked up, alarmed.

  “Of course, what else did you think? He’ll be deported to Australia or Van Diemen’s land,” said Edward.

  Anna had heard so many awful stories of the convicts and the horrors that awaited them in the penal colonies. She had assumed, once the locket was returned, Seán would be thrown of the estate and that would be the end of it.

  She had counted on Edward’s kindness and his fondness for Seán to prevent him from taking it any further.

  “Oh no! I don’t want that!” insisted Anna.

  “Well, you’ve no choice. The law has to take its cours
e,” said Sinclair.

  “We do have a choice, Edward!” said Anna urgently. “We just won’t report the robbery. Just evict him tomorrow and throw him out of the estate. He was obviously desperate when he took the locket. Losing his employment and his home will be punishment enough!”

  “Not at all! If it was my Diana who had been robbed, she –” began Sinclair.

  “Well, I’m not your Diana!” Anna snapped loudly at Sinclair. “Luckily! Now, I would like to speak to my husband alone. Please leave us, Sinclair.”

  Sinclair nodded curtly and walked out.

  Anna rushed to Edward, “Edward! Please! You were fond of Seán. Show him some mercy!”

  Edward nodded and sighed. “We won’t take him to the magistrate. We’ll evict him tomorrow. Oh, why did Seán do such a thing?”