by Rebecca King
“You can’t prove anything,” Tabatha snapped, refusing to be baited.
“I am afraid that we can arrest you under suspicion of arson, as well as fraud.” Hugo declared flatly. He pushed to his feet and yawned widely. “I am afraid that we do know for a fact that you ran up debts in your niece’s name and that is fraud. We will ensure that you go to jail for your crimes. It is either that, or you can go to debtors’ prison first thing in the morning, because we also know that the first instalment you keep trying to get Florrie to pay is one of many that you cannot hope to afford. You have to sell the house and even then there is little likelihood of you being able to cover everything you owe.”
Tabatha stared at him before she turned to Florrie. “I take it you have been filling their heads with this nonsense?”
“She hasn’t had to,” Pie declared flatly. “We have uncovered enough information so far to ensure that you go to prison for arson. The debts are something completely different, although Hugo can make them one and the same problem for you if he chooses to.”
Silence settled over them for several moments.
“I am not going to jail,” Tabatha declared flatly. “You have nothing you can prove -”
“There is enough there to ensure that you are locked up on suspicion of arson while we investigate what actually happened, and yes, I can do that.” Hugo snarled. He was tired, starving and, like everyone else in the house, wanted to go to bed. At any other time he would have wanted to question the woman relentlessly but, right now, he was fed up of her amateurism and wanted her out of the house as quickly as possible. Preferably before she torched the house and ended up taking someone’s life.
“I am afraid the Star Elite can investigate things they are interested in very quickly indeed. We can also take our time when we choose.” His meaning wasn’t lost on the woman, who stared at him with venomous hatred on her face.
“Or, you can go to debtors’ prison,” Pie added. He knew that Hugo would follow through on his threat to throw her in jail, and the woman deserved it. The only reason Pie wanted her to go to debtors’ prison was because the sentence would be dependent upon her paying her way to freedom. Unless someone cleared her debts for her, there was very little likelihood of her ever getting out, whereas being found guilty of arson would mean serving a sentence of several years before she was free to resume her life. She would undoubtedly be penniless when she was released. It didn’t sit comfortably with Pie that this woman should pose any threat whatsoever to the woman sitting beside him at any point in the future.
He glanced at her, worried that she was upset at witnessing her aunt being arrested but, to his relief, she was merely watching the interchange with the detached curiosity of a mere observer.
“What if I go to debtors’ prison?” Tabatha was staring down at Hugo’s boots, as though considering her options. “I am not going for her debts, she can pay her own, you understand?”
“We both know that the gambling debts are yours and yours alone. How do you think your creditors are going to take the news that you have fooled them? It doesn’t matter whether the debts were created in gaming houses, or run up in people’s sitting rooms, the fact is that you gave most of your creditors a false name in an attempt not to have to pay them back. You are a fraudster and, as such, are liable to end up in prison -” Hugo allowed her to absorb that for a moment, “if your creditors don’t catch up with you first. Dexter,” he ignored her gasp, “has already found you. How long do you think you can reside in your home, or here, without others following in his footsteps?”
“They won’t come near Florrie, we will make sure of that. If anyone does approach her we won’t hesitate to clear up any misunderstandings that you may have allowed to happen. By the time we are finished, all of your creditors will know that you have fraudulently gambled with money you cannot repay and run up debts in someone else’s name. You are a criminal, madam, and deserve to have to face up to your illegal activities. It is either debtors’ prison, or jail. One way or another, you are leaving this house but you will not be going home.” Pie stared at the older woman in disgust and had to fight the urge to shake her.
“I will ensure that your property is seized and sold to pay off your debts if I have to, with or without your consent,” Hugo added with a yawn and a scowl.
“You cannot do that. It is my home, you have no right -”
“I do have a right, and I will use that right, along with my contacts in the higher echelons of the government, to ensure that you are brought to justice.”
Tabatha studied Hugo and Pie before her gaze landed on Florrie.
“I would hate to think that you had anything to do with this, Florrie dear,” Tabatha spat.
“I have done nothing but ensure that the truth is revealed, and my good name is restored,” Florrie replied quietly. “What you have done is despicable; beneath contempt, and you are going to get everything you deserve. I shall be starting a new life, far away from you and your sordid little schemes. You dear, will have to face up with your criminal misdeeds and will have nobody but yourself to blame.”
Florrie’s cheeks were burning with anger. She rose and made her way to the door. Once there, she turned to Hugo.
“Do what you want with her. She is no relative of mine.” With that, Florrie turned around and ran smack into Jamie, who was standing before her with a scowl on his face.
“Care to tell me what the hell is going on?”
Florrie paused for a moment and stood back to allow Jamie into the room.
Behind him Jonathan was yawning widely. “It’s safe to go back upstairs. Smells a little smoky I am afraid but it will clear in good time.”
The jubilant sighs from across the hallway heralded the arrival of the ladies and the now sleeping children. Everyone quietly made their way upstairs, leaving the men with Tabatha in the sitting room along with Florrie. She watched the others head off to bed and felt a pang of envy.
Pie moved to stand beside Florrie and placed his hand on her elbow to prevent her leaving. He quickly brought Jamie up to speed on Tabatha’s actions, missing out their own attempts to make the first payment, and the ordeals Florrie had been subjected to. He would be told about that once Tabatha had been removed from ear-shot. Until then, there was a decision that needed to be made about the older woman.
Jamie stared at Tabatha.
“Your silly little cousin here has been telling these gentlemen a pack of lies,” Tabatha snapped, glaring at Florrie in contempt.
Jamie turned to Hugo, his brows lifted in surprise.
Hugo briefly apprised him of the situation, but his pointed look warned Jamie that there was far more he hadn’t been told in front of the ladies. Jamie knew Hugo well enough to realise that if he was threatening to send Tabatha to debtors’ prison, or worse, jail, then there had to be sufficient evidence against the woman.
He glanced at Florrie regretfully.
“I am afraid that if anyone is a liar, Tabatha, you are.” Jamie stared at Tabatha in cold contempt. He had never liked the woman and, although he had known about her benevolence in providing Florrie with a roof over her head as a child, he was aware that the generosity had more to do with the financial stipend she received every month to cover the expenses of having another mouth to feed rather than genuine affection for the young girl. He was aware that Silas had stopped the monthly payments to Tabatha, and paid Florrie instead now that she was old enough to take control of her own finances. It appeared now though that Tabatha had attempted to extract money out of her step-niece in other ways.
He glanced at Florrie and felt his annoyance surge. His cousin looked completely different to the beautiful young woman who had attended his wedding. She now looked like a lady who had lost some weight, was extremely pale and had dark shadows beneath her eyes that made her look almost haunting. It was shocking and horrifying in equal measure, and he felt a pang of annoyance with everyone for not looking after her better.
“I am afraid that
there are things going on with Florrie that you cannot begin to comprehend,” he drawled, staring at Tabatha coldly. “Matters that have no relevance to you in your current predicament. However, they do prove that Florrie is completely innocent of the crime you are quite willing to place on her shoulders.” He ignored Florrie’ cautious look. “I can vouch for Florrie’s honesty. If she says she didn’t run up any debts, then she didn’t and that is the end of the matter as far as I am concerned.” He turned to Florrie and stared hard at her. “Do you have any debts or unpaid bills?”
“No, of course not,” Florrie protested wondering where Jamie was heading with this.
“Then I can only assume that any debts that arise in your name have been created by this woman.” He waved a hand across the room to Tabatha who had risen to stand before the fire.
Her gaze was firmly fixed on Florrie and Jamie, and she didn’t notice Jonathan edge ever closer. They couldn’t lose sight of the fact that this woman had already tried to torch the bedroom and was a prolific gambler who had been backed into a corner. She was dangerous to everyone, not just to Florrie.
“You cannot prove anything,” Tabatha declared scornfully.
“Oh, I can my dear, you see I have had recently had circumstances bring me into contact with your bankers. They have been considerably concerned about the sorry, and somewhat awkward, state of your finances.” He didn’t add that they had tried to get Jamie to furnish Tabatha’s account with enough money to allow them to pay the bills she presented. “I am afraid that they are also discussing closing your account as you cannot furnish it with sufficient funds to provide for your own upkeep. About a year ago, I began to wonder why we were still paying you such a huge allowance for Florrie’s upkeep given that you do not have to pay for a governess for her any more, and especially when she has access to her own funds. The allowance has now stopped madam, so I am afraid you are going to have to source a regular income from somewhere else.”
“Stopped? But you cannot do that! I am not going to pay her way through life. She will end up out on her ear first,” Tabatha spat, glaring in pure hatred at Florrie.
“We all know that you only kept her because of the monthly allowance she brought with her,” Jamie sighed. “But she is old enough now to handle her own money and has been doing so for several weeks. Unfortunately, because you have no other source of income, the funds in your bank account have dried up.”
“Well, I suggest you get packing then Florrie, because you are not going to be staying with me any longer.”
“I already have,” Florrie sighed, not in the least bothered by the prospect of leaving Oxfordshire. “I shall be glad to be rid of the place.”
“You have a choice, Tabatha,” Hugo sighed. He was really struggling with the urge to grab the woman by the scruff of the neck and drag her off to jail. His fingers itched to wipe that arrogant look off her weathered features, but he knew that he was better off allowing jail to do that for him. “You can go to debtors’ prison and wait for your house to be sold, or you can go to jail and wait for charges of arson and fraud to be presented to you in court. Althoughm for both charges, I think you are facing transportation.”
Tabatha stared at Jamie’s rigid expression before she turned to Florrie.
“If only you hadn’t been so stupid as to want to come here, none of this would have happened,” Tabatha snarled.
“Do you really think that your creditors wouldn’t have found you? Or that your schemes and lies wouldn’t have been uncovered?” Florrie gasped, staring at her aunt. She wondered if she had ever really known the woman at all. Somehow, Florrie knew that the only person Tabatha really cared about was Tabatha.
She suddenly felt sorry for her uncle Archibald, and realised then why he had chosen to bury himself in his gentlemen’s clubs as much as he had. He had most probably been trying to spend as much time out of the house as possible to keep away from his heartless wife.
“You are a fool, Tabatha, and unfortunately for you, your contemptuous behaviour has caught up with you. I can only be very glad that I did come here for Jamie’s wedding. Not only is he the only relation I have got, apart from Silas and his family, but I am glad that all of this has come to light and your misdeeds are able to catch up with you. Debtors’ prison is too good for you. You should go to jail where I hope they throw away the key.”
She felt slightly overwhelmed at having both Pie and Jamie standing protectively on either side of her, but it also bolstered her courage to say her final words to the woman who had come to mean so little to her. The commanding presence of all of the men in the room finally began to have an effect on Tabatha, who seemed to lose some of her bravado as she studied their unsympathetic faces in turn.
“Debtors’ prison, or jail?” Hugo snapped, losing patience with the woman. “You have one minute to decide or I shall make the choice for you.”
“Debtors’ prison,” Tabatha sighed, pushing to her feet. “I am going to go to bed while you make -”
“Oh, I am afraid not,” Jamie snapped, motioning to the man standing behind him. Billy, fully cloaked and armed with a wicked looking gun, appeared in the doorway.
Florrie gasped as she caught sight of him and instinctively took a step back. She jumped a little as Pie’s supportive hand settled on her waist. Billy, Jamie’s new coachman was tall and slender but had a hint of menace around him that was vaguely disconcerting. He stood in the doorway, heavily garbed in a long black cloak that made him look more than a little bit threatening. She turned to look at Jamie, and caught his mischievous wink. She wondered whether the coachman’s attire was meant to intimidate to ensure that Tabatha went along without a fight.
“Billy is going to take you to the debtors’ prison now and I am going to go with you. I have already forewarned them that you are on your way,” Jamie drawled.
In reality, he had not told them anything of the sort, but he had every intention of ensuring the prison warden had full details of Tabatha’s debts to ensure she was housed for now. With the pending criminal charges and the full extent of her debts yet to be revealed, there was enough against her to ensure that they wouldn’t let her out. Nobody left debtors’ prison without having cleared their dues and Tabatha was going to be no different.
Jamie couldn’t help but wonder if Tabatha had any idea what she was letting herself in for. It was inevitable that the woman was going to end up there at some point, but he didn’t envy her the future that was laid out before her. The hours would be long; the work arduous and never ending. The brutal regime, poor food and even worse sanitation would ensure that she paid for every penny she owed to everyone.
Unfortunately for Tabatha, there was very little chance of her getting out.
If he was in her position and he was given the choice, he would have taken jail. Although it would be a far harder regime, at least there would have been some light at the end of the tunnel. As it was, Tabatha had just convicted herself to a life of servitude.
Puffing out his cheeks, Jamie turned to his cousin.
“I want you to get something to eat, some sleep and I will speak to you again when I get back. Meantime, get plenty of rest. You are supposed to be here to relax and enjoy the hospitality. I don’t want you going on to your new life looking like a ghost.”
He knew his pointed remark was really for Hugo and Pie, but he kept his gaze firmly on Florrie while he spoke. The next time he came, he fully expected her to look completely different. If she didn’t, then she was going to move to Melvedere where his staff could take proper care of her, and his beautiful new wife could get to know his cousin. He sincerely hoped they would become friends. Florrie was the only relation he really had, apart from some distant ones near Manchester and Silas, of course.
“Are these really necessary?” Tabatha demanded, struggling with Simon who was trying to tie her hands behind her back.
“I am afraid so. We cannot lose sight of the fact that you have already committed arson and are prepared to attempt t
o turn the blame on your niece. We have to protect Billy and Jamie while you travel. It is either these or we can arrange for the magistrate and his men to come and put you in irons before they take you to jail. Your choice,” Simon replied, pausing only very briefly. It wasn’t really a choice and Tabatha seemed to know it. She sighed and glared at him over her shoulder while he placed ropes around her ankles as well.
Florrie turned as Jamie took a hold of her elbow and led her out of the room. At the door, she glanced back and looked at Tabatha who was now bound with ropes at her wrists and ankles. Simon was standing at her elbow and instructing her how to shuffle with the restraints on. Her eyes met and held Tabatha’s for one final moment. Florrie could see nothing in the woman’s gaze except anger and bitterness and knew that after everything, Tabatha had no hint of regret for her actions.
It was Florrie’s last sight of the woman who had betrayed her, and she wasn’t all that sorry.
CHAPTER TEN
At the bottom of the stairs she said a quiet ‘goodnight’ to Jamie who gave her a wink and disappeared out of the front door.
Pie joined her on the bottom step and escorted her up the stairs. It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him that she was perfectly capable of making her own way to her room but the feel of him walking beside her made her feel invariably safer, especially with Tabatha still in the house. She didn’t look behind her as she heard the shuffling of her step-aunt moving across the hallway. There was nothing else to see, or say. The quiet click of the front door behind her seemed to echo the closing of one particular part of her life.
Florrie was half way down the upper landing before Pie drew her to a halt and turned her to face him.
