Regency Romance: Loving The Reluctant Viscount (The Fairbanks Series - Love & Hearts) (Historical Regency Romance & Mystery)

by Jessie Bennett

  Jillian looked at her with innocent eyes. “I do know that, Jan.” She turned her eyes back to her mother. “But there are more important things in life and those were only two statues and papa has many more that he brought home while he was traveling.”

  Lady Dowling’s face fell. It looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment. Allan leaned forward, wondering if he could offer any kind of assistance. “It hurts me to go through these memories again, Jill.” The woman said. “Your father’s death…”

  “Was three years ago. Mama…” Jillian moved so that she was very close to her mother. “Mama, you can’t put such significance on artifacts and objects. Papa’s memory is in your heart. Nothing will change that, even if you lose some of the things he brought home with him. You have other things to remember him by. You don’t have to take such drastic measures.”

  “What? What drastic measures?” Allan asked, turning his gaze to Shawn. The other man just shook his head, his face still set in a deep frown. Even in a sour mood, the Duke was still one of the most handsome men Allan had ever seen. It seemed to him that Duke Worthington was second only to Jesus. He wondered if the man possessed any flaws. He looked down at Janelle in confusion and then back to Lady Dowling. “What drastic measures are you planning to take, my lady?”

  “I’m shutting down Dowling Estate.” The older woman lifted the handkerchief to her face once more and dabbed at her overflowing eyes.

  “Whatever do you mean, mother?”

  “I’m leaving Fairbanks. I am going to travel for a while. I do not want to be here anymore.”

  Janelle was covered with chills from head to toe. “But mama, where will I go?”

  “You will stay at Worthington Manor with your sister.”

  Janelle’s first thought was that Allan was also staying at Worthington Manor and would be for the foreseeable future. He was planning to build on the land at Duck’s Row, which meant the Manor had been offered to him for quite a long time. She looked up at Allan without thinking about it.

  He’d had the same thought.

  “I cannot believe you want to shut down the house. Perhaps Shawn can…”

  “I beg of you not to volunteer me for anything, Miss Jan.” Shawn said. He looked very upset. He bowed at the waist toward Lady Dowling. “I must attend to a few things. If you would pardon me.” He turned on his heel and strolled to the front door. The only indication that he was upset came from the stiffness of his back and the look on his face.

  Lady Dowling watched him as he left. It seemed to Allan her tears were more forceful after the Duke was gone. His feeling was confirmed when the Lady spoke.

  “Oh I have upset him. How terrible!”

  Elizabeth put one arm around her mother’s shoulders. “It will be all right, mama. He will be fine.”

  “He’s upset because you don’t believe he will find the thief.” Jillian spoke up. Allan gave her a surprised look. She was very blunt.

  “I do not feel that way at all.” Lady Dowling whimpered, lowering her head. Elizabeth gave Jillian a warning look and patted her mother on the back of the head.

  “I meant he doesn’t think you believe he will find the thief.” Jillian said in a hurry.

  “It doesn’t matter, mama.” Elizabeth interjected, narrowing her eyes at her sister. “He will be fine if we just let him go about his business. Seeing you are this upset and losing you to traveling is bound to upset him. Perhaps he will search even more vigilantly for your stolen statues.”

  “He’s been looking for the ones from the vicarage for about a week now and hasn’t found them.” Jillian said.

  “You are not helping us, Jillian. Go get some tea and a biscuit.” Elizabeth’s voice was suddenly sharp. “Where is Kate, mama? Are you going to tell her? Where is Julian? You must tell our only brother!”

  “Why, of course I am going to tell them, Elizabeth. They are abroad. I will send them messages letting her know that she will need to stay with you at the Manor, should she ever return for a visit?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “Mama, you are all welcome to stay at the Manor. Even you, if you do not feel safe here on the estate. You do not have to leave us.”

  “I am not looking at it that way,” Lady Dowling replied. “I have always wanted to see the places Alexander saw when he was traveling. Now perhaps it is my turn. I will walk on the same ground and see many people. I may even be able to find those who knew him a little more intimately.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “I understand. But we will miss you so terribly, mama. And so much can happen while you are traveling.”

  “This is very true, Lady Dowling.” Allan spoke up. “I have been traveling for several years and it is quite amazing what can happen along the way. Some good but unfortunately some bad, as well. Are you sure you are healthy and strong enough for such an endeavor?”

  “She’s not a hundred, Lord Gray.” Jillian laughed.

  “That’s enough from you, Jill.” Elizabeth scolded her sister. “You are not showing the proper respect for mother’s decision.”

  “Whatever do you mean?” Again, Jillian gave them all an innocent look. “I am simply stating a fact.”

  “You are acting like a child. If you have nothing useful to say, do not speak.” Elizabeth ordered. Jillian frowned.

  “I will speak when I desire and I would beg you not to call me a child.”

  “I said you are behaving like one. And I will continue to say it until you hear it.”

  “I heard you the first time, Lizzie. There’s no need to badger me.”

  “Girls.” Lady Dowling stopped them both. “No more bickering. It is not a useful pastime and will get us nowhere. Only hurting words come out when you bicker. This is not the day nor the time for such behavior.”

  “I’m so sorry, mama.” Elizabeth turned to her mother with a sorrowful look.

  Jillian stepped even closer and wrapped her arms around her mother’s shoulders. “Sorry, mama. I don’t want you to go. I want Shawn to find the statues and catch the thief so we can all go back to normal.”

  “I’ve come to realize that’s not going to happen for me, my dear.” Lady Dowling said. “I have been struggling to get over the death of your father lo these many years. And I have yet to let the memory and the sadness and the pain go. I must go out and see what he saw to satisfy my desire for him, which can never be filled.” She looked at each of them, even Allan. “I know you are all concerned for me. But I will be fine. I will not be alone.” She smiled at Allan. “I am confident my daughters will be safe and that pleases me greatly.”

  He smiled back at her.

  “I’m sure you would not mind speaking to me for a time and telling me how your travels have gone? Perhaps you have a few tricks I can use to help me by?”

  “It would be my pleasure, my lady. I’m sure I can come up with something satisfactory for you to keep you safe as you go.”

  “You have such wit, Lord Gray. Thank you for coming to Fairbanks and meeting me and my family.”

  Allan felt a bit overwhelmed. He hadn’t expected the compliment. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Janelle was smiling. She was greatly pleased that Lady Dowling had taken to him.

  “Did you invite the entire village for your send-off, my lady?” he asked in a teasing voice, glancing over his shoulder at the people behind him.

  Lady Dowling nodded. “Yes, every one of them.”

  Allan blinked. There were certainly more people to be invited. He could not imagine anyone passing up the opportunity to meet the lovely Lady. She smiled up at him, holding the handkerchief just in front of her lips.

  “You are teasing me, Miss.”

  “I invited those who I felt needed to know the information. There are several ladies here who need only to find out the business and I will not need to say another word. They will do it for me.”

  Jillian and Elizabeth both giggled, turning their eyes to scan the guests. Janelle looked up at Allan, who said, “It is good to see you
still have a sense of humor, my Lady. And I see where your daughter gets hers.”

  When Janelle smiled at him, Allan couldn’t help thinking she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  EMILINE TELLS THE TRUTH

  EMILINE TELLS THE TRUTH

  Another week had passed before Allan realized it. There had been no more thefts. At the same time, Lord Steven Miner had disappeared. He left the room he’d been given exactly as it had been the morning he left. He did not return for his trunk of clothes, nor did he speak to anyone in the house.

  Except Emiline. And she did not tell anyone that he had come into her room two nights of the past week, stinking of garbage and looking more and more haggard as the days passed.

  “Why do you not clean yourself? Where are you laying your head?” She asked the first night.

  “I am staying hidden. I know the Duke suspects me and has people after me.”

  “But if you had not disappeared, you would have looked less guilty. This does not make sense to me.”

  Steven’s sneer told her he didn’t care whether it made sense to her or not. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it. Just pour me some water and let me use your washbasin. Go to my room and get clothes for me.”

  “What if they notice them missing?” Emiline asked, frightened that she would be caught.

  “They aren’t going to notice when my clothes are missing. They don’t know what I own.” He used the tone of voice that he tended to use whenever he thought Emiline had said or done something very stupid. “You are like a child. You know very little. I question whether you have a brain in your head.”

  Emiline felt the cut of his words but retrieved clothes for him anyway. He washed himself thoroughly before taking the clothes from her. His eyes flashed at her, scanning her in her nightdress. “There is something else I am here for.” He jerked his head toward her bed. She closed her eyes. She kept them closed as he led her to the bed. She didn’t open them until he was done with her. She watched him dress himself.

  She knew Allan would be furious when he found out what she had done. She was ashamed of herself. She was convinced that Steven was right about her, that she was not a very smart woman, that she was more like a child who needed to be guided and directed. Before Steven, it had been Allan telling her what to do, where to go and when to be there. Before Allan, it was her father.

  When Steven left the second time, Emiline vowed to confess all to the parish priest on Sunday, which was two days away. She cried herself to sleep, knowing that it was not the confessional she needed, it was not the parish priest who needed to know what was happening. It was her brother who would take care of her and protect her.

  But she was humiliated and embarrassed. What if Allan agreed with Steven’s assessment of her? What if no man ever accepted her again because of what had been done to her?

  She tried not to cry after Steven left, sitting on the window seat, looking up at the moon and stars. How she longed to be away from here, far away from here. She prayed silently, asking for the strength and courage to do what she needed to do. She had to get herself out of the situation she was in. She could no longer live the way she was living, allowing Steven to violate her time and again, keeping silent about his misdeeds.

  A fresh jolt of fear ran through Emiline. She had participated in some of the thefts of artifacts while in the United States. She distinctly remembered stealing an antique statue from a church in Turkey the year before.

  She chided herself. How could she have done such a thing? How could she have taken pleasure in it? Lady Dowling and Janelle had been affected by the theft of the two statues. She had been witness to their devastation and sorrow. She hadn’t realized that the act would have changed things so drastically for the women. Lady Dowling only remained in her estate for three more days before she set sail across the sea to the Americas, leaving the big house with her precious belongings locked inside. Shawn would take care of everything. He had promised her.

  She didn’t know what she had ever seen in Steven, what could have drawn her to him with such strong force. Now, all she desired was to be rid of him. He was a conniving, vulgar thief. She wanted nothing more to do with him.

  The stars twinkled down on her, as if trying to tell her something. She stared up into the sky.

  “What should I do, Lord?” she prayed. “What should I do?”

  Suddenly, she had the urge to see Allan. She wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to confess to him, his reaction be damned. She could never be forgiven if she never told the right people. God didn’t need to be told. He had always known.

  She moved quickly off the window seat, grabbing her robe and pushing her small feet into a pair of slippers.

  The hallway was empty, dark and silent. She held her lantern out in front of her, crossed over to the other side of the hallway and stopped at Allan’s door. It had been some time since she’d sought him out in the middle of the night. She grasped the door knob and hesitated only a moment before pushing the door open and slipping through.

  She approached the bed on silent feet. He was fast asleep. She reached out and shook his shoulder.

  “Allan! Allan, wake up!” She hissed into the quiet.

  He jerked and woke with a start, staring at her. “Zounds, Em. What is happening? Why are you in here?”

  “I must speak to you, Allan.”

  Allan was clearly still half-asleep when he pushed himself to a sitting position in the bed. He yawned and stretched his back before sighing heavily. “Emiline, you cannot keep doing this.”

  “I have not come in your room this way for some time, Allan.” She protested.

  “This may be true but, dear sister, one time was enough for me. You are not a child, though sometimes I believe you do act like one.”

  “But I need you, Allan.”

  The tone of her voice woke Allan. It was pleading, like a small hurt child. He focused on her, clearing his head. “What is it?”

  “I must confess all to you.” She wasn’t sure how to start. How far back should she go? How much information should she give to him? Surely he would set out to find Steven. The thought frightened her. Allan was a man of deep moral values and integrity. Steven was the opposite. He would not care if something happened to Allan. In fact, the thought of Steven running Allan through with a blade was conceivable to Emiline.

  Allan narrowed his eyes. “What are confessing to me, Emiline?” He sat forward, noticing that even in the dim light of the lantern, she looked terrified and worried.

  “I know who the thief is, Allan.”

  Allan tried to react appropriately. Steven was the main suspect. Emiline had been spending some time with him before the lord disappeared. It was logical to assume she was talking about him. “What say you?”

  “It was me.”

  Allan was taken completely by surprise. His face crumbled and he frowned deeper than he ever had. “What do you mean? You? You are not a thief. There is no reason for you to steal. There is no reason for you to desire anything more than what we have. If you desired home, I would send you there. Please tell me you know these things.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I know them. But I did steal one of the statues.”

  Allan shook his head, unable to comprehend what he was hearing. “I…I do not believe you. It is Steven who is the thief. Not you, Emiline. Why are you taking the blame for this?”

  “It has always…been Steven’s idea to take the golden statues. He…he knows a wealthy prince who collects such artifacts. This prince has hired Steven countless times. He pays a high price for many of the statues.”

  “What do you mean ‘always’?” Allan picked up on the term. Emiline bit her lower lip.

  “I have known Steven for some time, Allan.”

  Allan shook his head again, as if the words were jumbling in his mind and he couldn’t understand them. “What? What are you saying?”

  “Whe
n we were in Turkey and Rome and when we visited the United States.”

  Allan’s jaw dropped. He closed it to maintain his dignity. “Rome? We were there nearly three years ago. You have known Lord Miner that long?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry for not telling you, Allan. I didn’t mean to keep it a secret. I have been so humiliated and embarrassed, I was afraid to tell you. I am…so ashamed. So ashamed.”

  Allan closed his eyes, placing both palms over them. “I cannot fathom this. I cannot believe this. What else do you have to tell me? Did you steal from the vicarage also?”

  She shook her head. “No, Allan. I would never do that. Steven and I have only stolen from wealthy elites in the past. I did not agree with his theft at the vicarage.”

  “Do you agree with the theft at Dowling Estate?” He asked incredulously. He saw Lady Dowling’s tears in his mind and became enraged.

  “No, no, Allan. I told him I wanted to stop. I told him I wanted to go home.”

  “You were there in the first place, Em. Why would you do these things?”

  “I thought I loved him, Allan. I just wanted to have something like what you and Lady Janelle have.”

  “Do not compare my life to yours, Em.” Allan growled. “You should never have come traveling with me. If you hadn’t met Steven…no, I will not speak of it. The situation has played itself as it should have, considering the circumstances. What else do you have to say?”

  “I did not want to do it anymore, Allan. Please believe my words. I wanted to tell you long ago. I have been so embarrassed that I simply could not bring myself to discuss it with you.”

  “Why have you changed your mind and come to my room tonight?” Allan was trying desperately to wrap his brain around what he had just been told. His sister was a thief.

  “Because Steven just left and I can no longer take it. I cannot do this alone, Allan.”

  “You aren’t alone. You say that Steven just left? Do you know where he was going?”

  “He didn’t say but he was very proud of himself and I suspect he is going to take something from somewhere.” She hesitated. If Allan went after Steven, there could be bloodshed. She didn’t want Allan’s blood to be shed.