The Winter Orphan

by Cathy Sharp

  ‘Would that she had,’ Hetty said and she felt a sharp pang of anxiety for there was still no word of Arthur and it was unlike him not to let them know if he had been delayed. ‘I have it in mind to send you to look for Mr Stoneham because I am worried that something may have happened to him.’

  Hobbs shook his head. ‘Forgive me, mistress, but Mr Rattan made it clear that I am to remain here to protect both you and the lady Meg – and he would not forgive me if I went chasing after Mr Stoneham.’

  ‘I daresay you are right,’ Hetty agreed reluctantly. ‘Yet I fear that something must have happened, for Arthur would have sent word had he intended to stay longer in Newmarket or go elsewhere in his search.’

  ‘I am sure he will return soon,’ Meg said. ‘And Mr Rattan promised he would not be long absent but he wished to speak with Mr Stoneham before he tried to discover where those who took my child lived.’

  Hetty turned to her in sympathy. She was worried for Arthur but he was a grown man and it would take a great deal to kill him – but Meg’s child was vulnerable and was growing up without her.

  ‘Mr Rattan will find the child, never fear,’ she said. ‘Now that he knows where to look he will discover her whereabouts and demand her return.’

  ‘But will they give her up?’ Meg looked at her apprehensively. ‘I fear they will lie and try to hold on to her.’

  ‘Toby Rattan has influence and important friends,’ Hetty soothed and touched her hand. ‘Have faith, Meg. You did not give your consent to the adoption and are therefore entitled to take your child back. The fault lies with Mistress Brent.’

  ‘She has much to answer for.’ Anger flickered in Meg’s eyes.

  ‘Indeed, and her husband is a wicked devil capable of any evil.’

  ‘Speaking of which, I saw something from my window last night,’ Meg said and frowned. ‘It was the shadow of a man moving toward the back of the house, but although I lay awake listening I heard no sounds of anyone trying to enter the house.’

  ‘You might have seen me as I patrolled the grounds,’ Hobbs said. ‘I apologise if I frightened you.’

  Meg nodded. ‘Perhaps it was. I jump at shadows now.’

  ‘You are safer here with us than at the inn alone,’ Hetty said. ‘I think Mistress Brent and her husband may blame you for their dismissal, Meg. Arthur was the instrument but you were the cause.’

  Meg nodded and bit her lip. ‘I fear they might seek revenge for all they have lost.’

  ‘They may simply be searching for something hidden,’ Hobbs observed. ‘Mr Stoneham did not give them much time and they may have left money and valuable items hidden here.’

  ‘Yes, that is true, but I would they were in prison where they belong,’ Hetty said and frowned. ‘Had Arthur suspected such dreadful wrongdoing he would never have let them leave.’

  Once again, she wished that Arthur would return. Hobbs was doing his best, but she would have felt safer with Arthur there.

  Where could he be after all this time? Why had he not written to her? Hetty’s anxiety mounted as the days passed and they heard nothing.

  Arthur moaned and moved his head as the light fell on his face and someone came near. He put up a hand to shield his eyes from the light and heard a wry laugh.

  ‘He wakes at last. You had the good landlord worried, Arthur, for he was afraid he would not be paid for all he has done – and that includes fetching a doctor to you and more than likely saving your life.’

  ‘What happened?’ Arthur moaned and pushed himself up against the pillows. The back of his head was sore and for a moment he felt dizzy. The room seemed to spin and he moaned. He blinked and then focused, seeing his friend’s face and knowing him. ‘Did he send for you?’

  ‘I came in search of you because Hetty was worried,’ Toby said. ‘I also have other reasons for seeking you … and you led me a merry dance, my friend. Had I not caught sight of a horse I knew in the stables when I stopped here by chance, I should not have found you, for you had simply disappeared.’

  ‘Someone hit me as I turned,’ Arthur groaned and put a hand to his head as the room reeled madly and then settled once more.

  ‘You were set upon, beaten and robbed,’ Toby said. ‘I spoke to a magistrate and it seems you’re not the only traveller to have suffered such an assault in recent times. I thought it might be personal at the start but I am assured it happened also at an inn not ten miles from here. Why did you not stay at one of your usual haunts?’

  Arthur looked at him sourly and accepted the cup of water offered. ‘The reason escapes me for the moment. I had much on my mind …’

  ‘Do you think it was the gypsy you sought?’

  ‘No. I bought a horse from him and sent my man back to my estate with it,’ Arthur said. ‘In hindsight, that was foolish for I must have seemed vulnerable, travelling alone and with gold to spend.’

  ‘A groom from the inn stables came to your aid and the landlord had you carried to your room and sent for the doctor. It was fortunate – had you lain unseen for hours in the bitter cold you might have caught a deathly chill.’

  Arthur returned the cup to him. ‘My thanks, but I could do with something stronger. Brandy and then breakfast, I think.’

  ‘It is nearer tea time,’ Toby said. ‘You’ve lain in a daze for nearly three days, my friend. Yet I am sure you may have breakfast if you wish it. Our host is anxious to see you well and gone.’

  Arthur nodded ruefully. ‘I seem to remember swearing at someone who came near me.’

  ‘You were muttering even as you slept,’ Toby said and grinned. ‘I am glad to see that your head proved harder than the iron they used to lay you low, my friend; though you may have a slight scar where the doctor sewed you up. I came for reasons other than my care for you and I would have your counsel, but we may speak of that later.’

  ‘Is all well at the workhouse? Has there been any trouble?’

  ‘That is yet another concern. I left Hobbs to look after Hetty and Meg, who is with her – Hetty fears that Master Brent may be lingering with intent to harm.’

  ‘Then I must be on my way for I would see this business settled and a new master and mistress appointed there.’ Arthur sat up, threw back the covers and put his feet to the floor. For a moment he felt dizzy but gradually his head cleared. ‘You can tell me what bothers you while I dress but first send for the landlord and have him prepare some cold meat, bread and pickles. I am starving!’

  ‘I am glad that Meg is recovering,’ Arthur said as they sat over a meal provided by the landlord. ‘And if you can recover her child from these people, Toby, it will surely aid her. She has suffered too much and it cannot be right that she be robbed of a child she bore in pain and grief.’

  ‘The law is on our side, though I know these people who took the child will claim they have right on their side. Many young women who give birth in the workhouse willingly give up the babe and other mothers die. These people may have been told such a tale.’

  ‘Offer to reimburse what they paid, if you wish,’ Arthur said, ‘though they knew they broke the laws of God and man when they purchased the girl – and may deserve to be punished for it.’

  Toby shook his head. ‘I think mayhap they were desperate for a child and are perhaps to be pitied.’

  ‘Then their story is a sad one, but the child is rightfully Meg’s.’

  ‘According to the testimony of an old woman whose memory comes and goes!’ Toby frowned. ‘I cannot in truth be 100 per cent certain that these people have Meg’s child. How should I approach them, do you think?’

  ‘You must be forceful. Act as though you are certain of your facts and they will give themselves away – but if they are innocents duped by an evil woman, be generous, Toby. They are losers too.’

  Toby agreed and they finished the meal the landlord had prepared. ‘Are you well enough to drive back alone?’ he asked when Arthur announced his intention of starting out that evening. ‘Should you not hire a carriage to take you back an
d let a groom collect your horses later?’

  ‘I had a blow to the head, not a sword through my back,’ Arthur said grimly. ‘However, the landlord assures me that one of his grooms is willing to ride with me for payment. With the money you have advanced me from your purse, Toby, I shall avail myself of his services – just in case the robbery was not a random attack.’

  ‘Very wise, Arthur. I would accompany you myself but I promised Meg I would not delay.’

  ‘You must continue with your journey,’ Arthur said. ‘I shall not be caught unawares like that again, I promise you.’

  ‘Then I shall take a room for the night and continue my journey in the morning.’

  ‘The landlord’s groom knows of a decent inn where we may spend the night, so I will wish you good fortune with your quest, Toby. Meg deserves that you succeed.’

  ‘Then God speed you – and I am glad that I was able to be of service.’

  ‘I stand in your debt and shall not forget,’ Arthur said and they shook hands.

  Toby was offered the room Arthur had been using and Arthur took his leave. His thoughts were mixed as he drove through the gathering dusk, yet he kept an eye on the road and the trees to either side. He had been taken unawares by a rogue once; it would not happen again. The groom beside him had offered to drive but Arthur’s horses were fresh and needed their master’s hand to keep them in check.

  He and the hired groom drove in silence, making good speed and reaching a busy inn before the hour was late. Arthur took rooms for them both and then went up to his own after asking for brandy and a cold meal to be served in his, leaving the groom to take supper in the parlour. Arthur would keep to himself this time and not risk raising the interest of a rogue.

  Only when he was alone and rested did he allow his thoughts the freedom to roam. He’d denied that the gypsy Jez had been involved in his assault but that did not mean one of the others he’d seen at the fair had not followed with the intention of robbing him. Yet, he still sensed that it had been a random assault, that any traveller with gold in his pockets might suffer.

  Dismissing the worry that it had something to do with Master Brent as unlikely, for although that villain might crave revenge, he was, by all accounts, haunting the grounds of the workhouse, Arthur hoped that Hobbs would be sufficient protection for Hetty and Meg, but made up his mind to hire more men to act as guards when he arrived. He must make sure of their safety, speak to Lady Rowntree about the new wardens – and then purchase Bella’s bond from her master. Karl Brett would demand more than he’d paid, but it would be worth it to see the child safe. If she was Katharine’s niece – and his instinct told him that it was so, though there was no certain proof – then she deserved all his concern.

  Arthur felt a surging regret that Katharine would not know that the child had been her sister’s and was not there to offer her the love and kindness of an aunt or mother.

  Arthur went to sleep with the same thought in his mind: he must rescue the girl from her situation, but felt it unsatisfactory to leave Bella to the ministration of servants. He’d known how that stung when he was young and his mother paid more attention to her lovers than her son. It was mainly for that reason he’d stopped short of telling Eliza that he believed she was his own daughter. Without a wife, what could he offer to either Eliza or Bella that would make them content?

  He slept at last, the thought still unresolved. He must speak to Hetty and ask her opinion. He thought that she had the wisest head and kindest heart of any woman he’d ever known and at last the worry left him and he drifted into the first peaceful sleep he’d known since Katharine’s death.

  Arthur was able to hire four men at the inn he’d been staying at before his journey to Newmarket. They rode with him to the workhouse at Sculfield and he set them immediately to their task of patrolling the grounds, agreeing that they should take it in turns to stand the night watch.

  Smiling, Hetty rushed out to him as he entered the hall, throwing out her arms to embrace him.

  ‘Thank goodness! We feared some harm might have come to you, Arthur. You sent no word!’

  ‘I was unconscious for some time and unwell for a couple of days,’ he admitted ruefully. ‘It was a footpad, Hetty. My thoughts were too much centred on my problems and I was unaware of him behind me.’

  ‘Are you better now?’ She drew back a little, a look of embarrassment in her eyes because, in her relief at seeing him, she had so willingly embraced him. ‘It is not like you to be careless, Arthur.’

  ‘No, it was foolish of me – and I ask you to forgive me if you were worried,’ he said and tucked his arm through hers. ‘You must tell me all that has happened here.’

  ‘First, you must tell me of your quest. Did you find what you sought?’

  ‘Yes, I did,’ he said and smiled at her. ‘Perhaps more than I expected. I spoke to the gypsy woman Bathsheba. She is impressive, Hetty, and I think you would like her. Although she could not tell me the name of Bella’s mother, I believe it likely that she is Marianne Ross’ child.’

  ‘Likely but not certain?’

  ‘Certainty is a luxury in such a case, Hetty. Too many years have passed since Katharine’s sister went missing. Bathsheba told me that her brother found her lying unconscious after she had been raped and left for dead. Bathsheba brought her back from the brink and nursed her for many weeks – and by then they knew she was carrying a child.’

  ‘So why did Marianne go off alone to have her child?’ Hetty was puzzled. ‘If they had saved her life why did she run away?’

  ‘Bathsheba did not truly know – except that her brother wanted Marianne to be his woman when she’d recovered from the birth. Perhaps she simply revolted at the thought of any man touching her and became so distressed that she did not know what she did.’ Arthur shook his head. ‘Whatever, it was a mistake for she might have lived if Bathsheba had cared for her.’

  ‘She might have given birth in safety,’ Hetty said and looked sad. ‘Instead, she left her child at the church and died in the fields. Aggie told us a part of what happened, though, as you know her mind wanders and we cannot be sure of all she says. But she claimed that Bella’s mother, who she knew as Marie, had, after being refused re-admittance to the workhouse, begged Aggie to seek out her sister Katharine for her. But Aggie had no idea where Katharine was or whether Marie was speaking rationally – and it still proves nothing, I’m afraid.’

  Arthur shook his head. After so many years he could never know the whole truth but he believed he had solved the mystery of what had happened to her sister that had haunted Katharine.

  ‘Bathsheba wanted to take the babe as her own but her brother refused her. When she discovered that the child had been brought here to the workhouse, she threatened Mistress Brent with a curse if she failed to take care of Bella because she meant to return and take Bella with her one day – but when I asked if she would take her now she said it was too late.’

  ‘I do not think I should trust her or her brother to tell the whole truth,’ Hetty said and Arthur nodded.

  ‘When she came to my room and told me her story I thought it true – but who can say whether she twisted the threads to suit herself.’

  Arthur recalled the shaft of desire he’d felt and knew that the gypsy woman had cast her net of sensuality to ensnare him. Yet if she’d meant to lie she need not have come to him at the inn at all. She’d told him he would not forget her and he knew that was true. Yet after her visit he had felt a lessening of the grief that had haunted him since Katharine’s awful death.

  ‘What will you do now?’ Hetty asked.

  ‘I shall buy back Bella’s bond and then find her a home. I was going to ask your advice …’ He looked at Hetty’s face. ‘What is wrong?’

  ‘Bella ran away after her mistress died and was buried. Her master is furious and suspects you of stealing her.’

  ‘Then I must make sure he understands the truth – and find her. I doubt she could have gone far …’

&n
bsp; Hetty sighed. ‘You never have peace, Arthur.’

  ‘I think I have reached some peace inside myself,’ he said and smiled. ‘But I blame myself for not seeing to the child sooner so I must find and help her now.’

  ‘I am sure Katharine would be grateful.’

  ‘Yes, perhaps,’ he said and frowned, not wanting to speak of Katharine. ‘Now, tell me how you are managing? Is there no word from Lady Rowntree about new wardens?’

  ‘None. Her daughter was just wed and I think she had too many concerns of her own.’

  ‘Then I shall call on her after I have spoken to the chain-maker and settled his claim.’

  ‘Will you not rest for a while?’

  ‘I shall dine with you at the inn this evening, Hetty. My carriage will call for you and we shall talk of the future then …’

  He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly. ‘My very best of friends! I would not have you more put upon than necessary. The sooner you can return to London and your own life the better.’

  Arthur took his leave. He would take a fresh horse and ride to the village, knowing that he left guards in place to keep Hetty and Meg safe, as well as the inmates. He had much to think about and much to say – and it was time that he began to open his mind and heart to the one person who deserved to know more of them …

  CHAPTER 16

  Bella looked at the man talking to the farmer who had brought her here. He glanced at her once or twice, nodding as if agreeing with Ernie Green. The wind cut through her thin dress and shawl as she waited for her fate to be decided. Would the master of the workhouse take her in or would she be sent back to her brutal master? She shivered, feeling apprehensive as they looked at her again.

  At last they came towards her. Ernie smiled at her encouragingly.

  ‘Mr Thomas is willing to take you, Bella. He knows you have been badly treated and he says you will find it better living under his protection.’

  Mr Thomas looked at her but did not smile. ‘If what Farmer Green tells me is true and you are prepared to be sensible and work when you are told, I am prepared to keep you. We run a tight ship, Bella, and disobedience will not be tolerated – but you will find Mistress Thomas and myself to be fair, providing you behave. I will not tolerate surly girls who cause trouble.’