As they passed, Harper glanced at the vicarage and frowned at the sight of the soft glow of candlelight that filtered through the shutters.
“What time is it?” Dominic, who was beside him, glanced down at his fob watch. “It is twelve thirty. Why? Do you know them?”
Harper nodded. “The vicar and his family live there. The vicar is away at the moment but his daughter is still in residence. It is highly unlike her to be up so late at night.” Especially given the evening she had just had.
“Have you known her long?” Sebastian queried from the other side of him.
Harper shook his head. “I met her when I am came back to the village. She agreed to help me look for the register. We found the damned thing too; that’s the galling part, but the bastard in Moldton stole it before I could take a look inside.” He briefly explained what had happened to him and Arrabella since he had started his investigation into his background.
“Sounds to me like he has the information and is trying to stop you going after it,” Dominic growled with a frown. He hated people who took the law into their own hands. The family had experienced more than their fair share of people like that and he had no intention of letting one of them stop Harper getting the information he needed.
“What did he look like? Did you get a good look at him?”
Harper looked at Edward and quickly described his attacker.
“Jesus, I think I know who it is,” Edward sighed from behind them. “The last time I saw him he didn’t have jowls, but that must have been at least four years ago. From all accounts, he has aged a lot over the last several years.”
“Who?” Harper snapped and turned in his saddle so that he could see Edward more clearly.
Edward glanced at each man in turn. “Johnson has a son.”
Sebastian looked at Dominic. “Think about it.” The men reined to a stop. “The son is sole heir to Johnson’s fortune which, from our point of view isn’t large, but from his is a veritable fortune. I don’t know what other provision Johnson senior has made for Harper, but it is in the son’s best interests if Harper doesn’t find any proof that substantiates his claim of being a blood relation.”
Harper frowned at him. “But I thought he was a solicitor?”
“He is,” Dominic and Sebastian replied together. “But that doesn’t mean he is beyond breaking the law.”
“There is a thriving business and a small fortune at stake here, not to mention a scandal of mammoth proportions that could damage both Harrys if the gossips got wind of old Mr Johnson having a child with Alice Cavendish, deceased,” Sebastian reasoned.
While they rode toward the tavern, the men discussed how they were going to get into, and out of, the tavern without waking up the entire village if they got into a confrontation. By the time they pulled into the churchyard at Moldton, everyone had an allocated role to play.
Before he knew it, Harper found himself standing inside the upper hallway of the tavern. They had crept in so silently that not even the cat curled up on the bar downstairs had twitched a whisker when they had passed.
“Now what?”
Harper studied the doors that led to the bedrooms. “I don’t know about you three, but I am not going to start banging on doors at this time of night,” he whispered.
Sebastian shrugged and pushed open the door to the room next to him. It opened silently and revealed an empty room beyond. The next two bedrooms had occupants who were already in bed and asleep.
Edward opened the fourth door on the right and glanced at Harper with his brows lifted. Immediately they all knew that this room was different. Personal possessions were strewn haphazardly around the room but, more importantly, in spite of the lateness of the hour, there was nobody in the bed. Sebastian remained by the door while Dominic, Edward and Harper began to paw through the chaos.
Half an hour later Harper pulled out the drawers to the dresser. Having dealt with many situations just the same as this, he knew not to leave any stone unturned. When he got to the bottom drawer, he pulled it all the way out and sat back to study what lay before him.
A wild thrill of success swept threw him as he studied the leather bound volume that lay hidden beneath the bottom drawer.
“Is that it?”
Harper nodded and lifted it out of its hiding place. It wasn’t a very thick book, but it was long. He decided not to waste a second longer than was absolutely necessary and began to flick through the pages.
While he did so, he was aware that Sebastian moved to kneel to the left of him while Edward settled down on the right. Dominic squatted down before him and together they looked at the book that would change all of their lives.
Eventually he found the page he needed to see.
Harper Marcus Cavendish. Mother’s name: Alice Cavendish. Father’s name: Harry Johnson. Born: Hambley Wood, Yorkshire.
He read the words over and over until they were indelibly printed on his mind. Each time he closed his eyes he saw the long, elegantly flowing scrawl that changed his entire world.
Sebastian placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. While he was thrilled that he had a half-brother, the men remained solemn and watchful. Harper was stunned that his childhood was not what he thought it had been and all they could do was commiserate and wait to see what he wanted to do.
“God, I can’t believe it,” he whispered.
“You are a Cavendish, Harper,” Dominic murmured. “That makes you one of us.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“I do,” Sebastian growled. “Let’s get the hell out of here. Take this,” he lifted the register out of Harper’s numb fingers, closed it and shoved it at his half-brother. “Stuff it under your cloak. That register is coming home with us.”
Harper couldn’t find the voice for any objection and found himself doing as instructed. He was glad now that the brothers were there because he couldn’t remember leaving the inn or the ride down the country lanes back to Hambley Wood. Everything was a blur because he was miles away, in the memories of his youth.
At first he couldn’t get his mind off those fateful words written down so boldly one and thirty years ago. He wished now that he hadn’t seen them, or even known about the bloody register, but it was too late to go back now.
A small part of him grieved for the lost family of his youth. The people who had raised him had never given him any hint that he may not be theirs. He had never once stopped to consider the physical differences between them; after all siblings did tend to look different, even twins sometimes. Neither Agatha nor his father had ever mentioned that he had different parents.
Why? Why not tell him, especially before he went into the army? Had they been afraid that he would throw them out once he realised that the house was his, or were they afraid that he would go in search of his real family, most of who didn’t know about his existence? It irked him a little that they were not able to tell him the truth now.
It went against everything he was to have to leave something unsolved, but his brother’s wouldn’t be able to give him the answers. It was too late now to do anything but surmise what had happened all those years ago, and hope that one day he could find some peace with the situation.
“I don’t understand something,” Sebastian growled with a frown. He flicked a glance at Dominic. “Uncle Malcolm’s house is on the other side of Skipton. He was the only relation we had in Yorkshire at the time. How did Mama come to have the baby here?”
Dominic thought about that for a moment but, before he could speak, Edward broke the silence. “She must have visited with Uncle Malcolm and Aunt Nora.”
“But how did she come to have the baby here?” Sebastian persisted. “In Hambley Wood?”
“We know that Harry went to find her in her confinement and agreed to make arrangements to look after the baby. Maybe he found her at Uncle Malcolm’s and purchased the house here so she could move to Hambley Wood, where nobody knew her. She could have Harper without anyone even being aware t
hat she was with child.”
“Makes sense,” Harper added. Agnes and Bartholomew were the nicest, kindest people he had ever known. They would have had no qualms about moving in and helping look after Alice during her confinement.
“Wait a minute,” he whispered. He reined his horse to a stop and frowned at the light that still shone from the vicarage window. He glanced at Dominic. “What time is it now?”
“It’s two o’clock,” Dominic replied.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian demanded with a scowl.
“There is something wrong.” Harper’s gut instinct hardly ever failed him and it was warning him now that there was something amiss at the vicarage.
“Looks alright to me,” Sebastian replied after several minutes of studying the shadows around them.
“There is only Arrabella at home,” Harper whispered. “When I left her earlier she was soaking wet, freezing cold and exhausted. It is highly unlike her to be up at this hour.”
“You sound as though you are speaking from experience,” Dominic drawled without any hint of censure. He had enjoyed enough trysts with his wife before their wedding day to be the last person to judge anyone in that regard and he lifted his brows at Harper blandly.
“After we got locked in the crypt, I decided to keep watch on the house and saw someone leave the shadows. I have been keeping an eye on the place ever since. Arrabella usually goes to bed around ten o’clock to ten thirty. It is unlike her to be up this late.”
“Do you think he is in there?” Sebastian drawled and frowned down at their horses. They could hardly ride up the drive, but there was nowhere else to leave them except in the middle of the road.
Harper felt his lip curl at the thought that Arrabella may not be alone. “I don’t like the fact that she is up at this time of night, and nobody was in that room at the tavern.” His fists clenched tightly at the thought of anyone putting their hands on Arrabella. A huge wave of protectiveness swept through him with sufficient force that he had to fight the urge to get off his horse, stomp across the garden, kick the door down and beat the hell out of any man who was inside.
As though he sensed what was going through Harper’s mind, Edward leaned forward in his saddle to study him. “Keep calm. She is at home so will feel safe.”
Everything around the outside of the house was still and silent, but Sebastian still needed to make sure for himself that nobody was lurking in the bushes. He quickly dismounted and handed the reins to Dominic. “I will go and check to see if we have any watchers.”
Edward didn’t need prompting. He dismounted too and handed the reins of his horse to Harper, who took them absently. The men vanished before Harper had even taken his eyes off the house.
“If he has hurt her,” he shook his head. Not Arrabella. Nothing could happen to Arrabella. She was the only certainty in his world of utter madness. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her too. Although their relationship was still in its early stages, he was certain that she was the one for him and he couldn’t let anything happen to her.
“We will get her out of this, I promise,” Dominic promised darkly. “There is one thing for certain.” He paused, dismounted and waited for Harper to look at him. “We aren’t going to help her standing out here in the middle of the road.”
As they reached the back door to the house, Sebastian and Edward appeared out of the darkness.
“We will go through the front.”
“Wait!” Harper growled and tried the door. To his utter consternation the latch lifted and the door swung silently inward. A wild flash of anger swept through him. He had told Arrabella several times to lock the doors and keep them locked; especially when she was at home by herself, so what was she doing with the door unlocked? He wondered if Mrs Able had forgotten to lock it when she had gone home and made a mental note to have a word with the housekeeper the first chance he got.
He crept into the empty kitchen and made his way silently around the large table in the centre of the room. All was silent in the house, but the atmosphere felt heavy with tension. When he didn’t hear anyone behind him he stopped and took a look around. He was a little stunned to find all three men inside the kitchen, but was also immensely relieved at their abilities.
Edward pointed to the register in his hands and lifted his palms in a questioning motion, as though to ask Harper where he should put it.
Harper glanced around them and spied a cupboard beside the huge oven which had a door partially open. Once it was tucked away safely, he counted to three and stepped into the hallway.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“You had better come in,” Mrs Able drawled in a voice that was more conversational than worried.
Harper frowned from his position in the hallway, and glanced back at his half-brothers before he walked into the sitting room. His gaze was immediately drawn to the middle-aged man who stood before the fireplace and he knew, immediately, that this was his attacker, and the register thief.
He almost slumped with relief to find Arrabella in the corner of the room, albeit gagged and bound to a chair. His eyes met and held hers and he tried to convey as much reassurance as he could in the steady gaze he levelled on her.
When Dominic, Edward and Sebastian entered the room behind him and fanned out, Harper winked at Arrabella and turned his attention to the intruder.
“Harry,” Dominic nodded. He studied the man’s casual pose before the fire, and the elbow the man had propped on the mantle, and made no attempt to keep his disgust off his face.
Although he had only found out about his familial link with the Cavendish men, Harper felt an immediate connection with them and was glad that they were there to help.
“You know him?” Harper asked.
“Harry Johnson. Your half-brother by your father,” Sebastian drawled darkly.
Harper turned his attention to Mrs Able, who sat before the fire as though there was nothing unusual about the scenario at all. Was she involved, or pretending that nothing was going on because panic had taken hold? He strongly suspected she was involved. From the furtive way her gaze darted around the room she was clearly nervous about something and trying desperately not to show it. He eyed the sharp protrusion of the needles she held and made a mental note to keep an eye on what she did with them.
“I think you had better stop, Mrs Able, and tell us what this is all about.”
Mrs Able stopped the twitching of her hands and placed her knitting in her lap before she looked up at him. The calm, almost defiant way she looked at him told him that she was behind the keys being stolen.
“Firstly, I want to say that I have had absolutely nothing to do with anything that this man is up to. That is the truth.” Over the top of her head Harper saw Arrabella nod.
“You are a jealous man, Harry,” Sebastian growled. “Did you think that we wouldn’t lend a hand to uncover the truth?”
“It is all a lie. This man is no relation of mine,” Harry snarled.
“He is your half-brother,” Edward snapped. He ignored Harry’s demand that he leave Arrabella alone and stalked across the room toward her. Within seconds, the gag had been removed from her mouth and her hands released, and he knelt before her to rub the feeling back into her hands.
“Thank you,” she whispered through dry lips. She knew immediately that Harper had found the truth. Even if he didn’t find the register, it was of little consequence. The mannerisms, the looks, the physique of the four men who had just entered the room were as identical as it was possible to get. These were the Cavendish men; the men Harper was related to by birth, of that there could be no doubt.
Arrabella’s gaze turned to Mrs Able. The housekeeper’s threats to stab the man before the fire with her needles if he tried to tie her up had kept her free. However, it was obvious that Mrs Able felt guilty about something and, unfortunately, Arrabella had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what the housekeeper had been up to.
“Do you seriously think that we are going to
just let you walk out of here Harry?” Dominic sighed. He quietly closed the door and stood before it. Sebastian moved to stand in front of the window and effectively closed all exits.
Harry studied them all with narrowed eyes and, although he was seriously outnumbered, he still stood proud and defiant as he tried to stare each man down.
“Breaking and entering, hostage taking, theft, theft of parish records are all against the law, Harry. Just because you are a solicitor, you are not above the law.”
“I don’t give a damn what you threaten me with,” Harry snapped. His lip actually curled as he glared malevolently at Harper. “You have no proof that I am related to you.”
“Why do you object so much?” Dominic demanded. “I mean, he isn’t a solicitor and is in no place to take your business off you, even if he wanted to. He has already been provided for by his birth mother and has no intention of claiming anything from you. So what is your problem? Why lose everything you have worked so hard for to prevent someone knowing the truth?”
“You don’t need the registers,” Arrabella whispered in a voice that was croaky through fear and lack of moisture. Her gaze locked with Harper.
“What do you mean?” Harper demanded gently.
“You only need to see you four together to know that you are related,” Mrs Able piped up.
“You need to add entrapment into that list of crimes,” Harper added with a sigh. He flicked a glance at Dominic, who lifted his brows in silent query.
“He locked us in the crypt at Moldton when we were looking for the register.”
“No I did not,” Harry snapped. “Don’t think about laying that charge on me.”
Harper scowled at him but, before he could speak, Mrs Able sighed and placed her knitting carefully onto the floor beside her feet. She looked at Harper almost challengingly.
“It was me,” the old woman sighed in defeat. She stood and turned around so that she could look at Arrabella as well. “I am sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean any harm. I just had your best interests at heart.”
“Do you have anything to do with him?” Arrabella demanded and nodded toward the stranger before the fire.
Lord Cavendish Returns Page 18
