Holding her slippers in one hand, Chloe stopped and hugged Lord Darby and Gregory, then made the rounds, giving each of the others a kiss on the cheek. But as she ran from the room, she heard her husband clearing his throat and turned back to face him.
With one finger, he beckoned her toward him, his look of warning obvious. Her eyes wide, she went. When she reached him, he lifted her off her feet and put her into his lap. Taking her slippers from her hands, he grasped first one tiny ankle, then the other, putting her slippers on her feet before standing her up.
“Now, you may go,” he said, grinning.
Just as quickly as she’d run to the drawing room, she raced to the parlor. She could hear female voices chattering, accompanied by a baby’s giggle.
Arabella’s voice was the first one, with a sigh. “Yes, I suppose I could speak to Gregory about hiring her, but it would be only a temporary position. Is she truly determined to leave?”
“I want her to stay, but she doesn’t feel as if she’s worth what they pay her, and she—”
Chloe ran into the room, squealing with delight and hugging each of them. “Who?” she demanded. “Who plans to leave?”
Lily laughed delightfully. “Rebekah. The countess assigned her as my lady’s maid. But I don’t need one now. Chloe, you could use one here, could you not?”
“At the moment, no,” Chloe reached for the baby, who raised her arms up to be picked up. “I enjoy my privacy, and I intend to sail with Ghost soon. However,” she added, “Ghost has accepted the duke’s offer to be a partner, so it doesn’t seem as if we’ll be sailing as much as we first thought. I thought the men would be disappointed, but instead, they’ve admitted to enjoying being on land. Ghost promoted Asa to Commander, in hopes that he can run the ship when we can’t go. Smiley said his leg hurts much less on land than it does at sea.” She smiled and cooed down at baby Jillian. “And you do look like your beautiful mother, you little darling.”
“We’ve been informed all about your marriage to a man who has been declared dead and even showed up at his own funeral. And Darby said Sarah was so delighted to hear you were all right, until she heard you had married. Then she threatened to beat you with her spoon for not waiting until she could be present.” Lily laughed, reaching for the baby when she began to fuss. “Bella and I both knew he was alive. But Gregory and Darby wouldn’t listen to us.”
Arabella patted her growing belly, and Chloe turned toward Bella with concern. “I hope all of this delay in searching for me hasn’t cost you your voyage with the captain.”
“He promised I could go.” Bella smiled. “But only this time. After this voyage, I can’t go again until the baby gets a little older.”
The chattering didn’t stop until Ghost’s deep voice spoke from the doorway. “I know you’ll hate me, my love, but we must be at Carlson’s office in exactly one hour. He requests that you be present before Mrs. Cates makes her appearance.”
Chloe’s disappointment was obvious as she turned to Lily and Arabella on the way to the drawing room. “How long can you stay? Please don’t leave while I’m gone.”
Lily’s laugh tinkled through the house. “We’ll be here much longer than you’ll want us to be, I assure you. Jillian will have the whole house in a state of pique within a few days.”
Chloe grinned as Jillian decided she wanted Chloe to hold her again. When it didn’t happen, she let out an unhappy wail.
Arabella followed Chloe to the drawing room, laughing. “You think Lily’s jesting, but she’s not. Oh, Chloe, I wish I could go with you and be there through this ordeal.”
Gregory, however, shook his head. “No, sweetheart. I have no desire to have to come and bail you out of jail for attacking Chloe’s stepmother.”
Ghost smiled at Chloe as he placed her new pelisse around her shoulders. “A wise choice, Captain. When these two decide to attack someone, it turns out badly for the villain.” Nodding to the others, he said quickly, “We’ll be back within a few hours. Please, make yourselves at home.”
The last thing Chloe saw was Chubs holding Jillian, a look of terror on his face as she grabbed hold of his eyepatch with one hand and what little hair he possessed with another. Lillianna was working to loosen her tiny fingers, while Purr kept a safe distance across the room with one eye open. An amused Smiley watched, trying hard to keep from revealing his mirth.
Chapter 20
Face to face…
Ghost kept his arm around Chloe as they stood inside Carlson’s office. The American politely ushered them into the adjoining room, where a member of the police stood, waiting. “Inspector, this is Ezra Miller and his wife, Chloe. As soon as I guide Mrs. Cates into the room with the solicitor, please bring them to wait outside the door. I’ll give the signal when I need them to come in. But be prepared. We have no idea what the woman will attempt.”
“Aye, sir. The citizens of England will be glad to have this woman off the streets.”
Chloe was shaking, and Ghost comforted her. “Patience, my darling. This will be over soon. It’s almost time.” He watched her face carefully, waiting for tears, in case they should come.
Suddenly, they heard sounds from outside. A cat? No, it was the sound of someone wailing. The thump of a door opening brought the wailing sound to a new level. On the other side of the door, in his arms, Chloe looked up.
“My child,” a female voice moaned. “I didn’t believe it, but they told me her body had been found in the waters by the dock.”
The sound of rattling paper was heard, followed by silence. Finally, Carlson spoke. “I see. So, you have come to claim your reward, at last.”
Ghost could almost see the frown on his face. He gave his wife a smile of encouragement and brought her closer.
She leaned up into his ear and whispered quietly, “Something my father taught me. The less they care, the louder they wail.”
He nodded and planted a kiss on her forehead.
There was conversation in the next room, now. Another voice was added. “Mrs. Cates, in the interest of making this brief, this is where you sign. And this,” there was a tapping sound, “is the amount you are to receive from your late husband’s estate.”
There was a long pause.
“I don’t understand.” Her voice was filled with unease.
“Let me explain it to you. Despite the document you have brought in, which is obviously forged, we have proof that your stepchild is alive and well. She gets the percentage of the estate her father intended her to have.”
“She is an imposter, then. I hired two men to pick up Chloe on the dock and bring her to me. And then I found they, too, had perished.”
The sound of a chair scraping on the floor made the inspector open it and motion in both. Ghost entered first, keeping Chloe behind him slightly.
At the sight of Chloe, Mrs. Cates froze, her face taking on the appearance of stone.
“You are mistaken,” she said in an icy voice. “It isn’t possible.”
Chloe stared back at her “Hello…” she said, as if she was uncertain how to address a person who was supposed to be related yet had tried to kill her.
The woman rushed suddenly toward her. “Chloe, it is you! How could you disappear like that? How could you cause me so much heartache?”
Ghost, however, had planted himself firmly in between them, holding Chloe behind him.
But Chloe found her voice. “I didn’t just disappear,” she choked out. “I very distinctly remember that you sold me. Like a piece of meat. Like I was nothing to you. The question is How could you?”
Carlson turned to Chloe. “Mrs. Miller, would you be so kind as to sign here? Please meet your father’s solicitor, Mr. Addington. Sir, the former Chloe Cates, currently Mrs. Chloe Miller.”
Pallor filled the woman’s face. “No… No! You can’t…”
“I believe we can, Mrs. Cates. She is the beneficiary. The money belongs to her.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits. She looked from one to the oth
er. Suddenly, she turned to run toward the door. But as she yanked it open, she gasped. Uniformed police officers were outside the door waiting for her.
“Mrs. Hester Cates, I hereby arrest you in the name of the law, for conspiring to kidnap, with plans to murder your stepchild by hire, and for fraud regarding your husband’s will.”
That’s all Ghost and Chloe were able to hear above her screams. Her shrieks filled the office, and she shoved the officer backward and ran past him, out into the street. He ran after her.
The sounds they heard next were horrifying—the rearing of horses, the crashing of a carriage, shouts and screams all created havoc. Inside, Ghost turned Chloe away from the doorway and refused to allow her to look.
And then, at last, there was silence.
Chloe’s hands were clasped to her bosom and her face was buried in her husband’s chest, when the policeman came back into the office of Emery Carlson.
Ghost met the officer’s gaze when he returned, silently shaking his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said, frowning.
Ghost took a chair and set Chloe in his lap as she realized what had happened and began to sob.
Carlson’s voice spoke softly behind them. “She was a wicked woman, Chloe. You need not cry for her.”
Ghost looked toward him. “I think, sir, she cries for a great many reasons, including the children who are left. How many are there, my darling?”
“Three.” She was hiccupping now. “What will happen to them?”
“That depends upon you, Mrs. Miller,” were Carlson’s simple words. “The children will, in their mother’s place, inherit the remaining portion of the estate. Since you are the only heir old enough to make legal decisions, we’ll leave you to decide.” He nodded toward Ghost and left the room. “I’ll give the two of you time to speak privately before returning to hand you the check. And, Chloe, I believe you would like to read this.” He held out a paper, and Ghost took it. “It’s from your father,” he said quietly. A moment later, the door clicked closed behind him.
“Ghost?” she whispered. “Would you read it to me?”
He turned her to face him, looking down into her face intently. Unfolding it, he read in a gentle voice. Chloe listened. The timbre of his voice was both hypnotic and comforting.
My dearest and most darling Chloe,
If you are reading this, it means I am no longer among the living. So, I take this opportunity to let you know how very much I love you.
It was with greatest disappointment that I sent you to England under your stepmother’s care. I knew within a very few weeks after I had remarried, it was a mistake—likely the gravest one I shall ever make. I thought, at first, it was her sense of dislike for your heritage, but before long, it became evident that it was jealousy. I must confess I had not seen it surface until after the marriage. She’d hidden it well until then.
For that reason, and that reason alone, I am leaving the family fortune almost entirely to you, to be entrusted to my solicitor there until you reach your eighteenth birthday. You have enough wisdom about you to handle it wisely. Your stepmother will likely be married again within a year, since her instincts for choosing men with money are quite strong.
Please know how dear to me you are. You remind me of your beautiful mother, more and more, each time I see your face.
I know if anything happens to Hester, your first instinct will be to see to it the children are taken care of properly.
Your loving father,
Papa
Ghost tilted her chin upward. “Sweetheart, I want you to think about this carefully. You know the kind of language our men at the house use. I know how much you love them, but bringing three small children into the house with this crew would be quite unsuitable. Even if the children had a governess—”
“Rebekah!” The name had slipped between her lips even before she realized it. “Lily’s maid—Ghost, that’s it! She’s seeking a new position. There are other buildings on the property—perhaps we could fix them up for her and the children to live in and—”
The longer he stared into her eyes, the more his own expression changed. She was pleading now.
“Ezra, listen to me. Might it not work?” she pleaded.
“Perhaps. But you realize you will be sailing with me much of the time.”
“I do. And so will the men. Perhaps a cook could be hired to stay at the house while we’re gone. Smiley could cook when he wanted, when he was home. I would be happy to use part of my inheritance to work on the building. Please, Ghost. Please allow me to do this?”
He leaned down to kiss her mouth. “Let’s get one thing straight, young lady. You will absolutely not be allowed to spend your inheritance on the renovation of any of the buildings on the estate. Or the pay of the young woman—if we can get her to come. But if you wish to buy them gifts, you can spend as you please.” Taking her into his arms, he hugged her until she squealed.
Mr. Carlson returned to the office within a few moments. He moved silently into the room and sat down at his desk. Taking his quill and dipping it into the glass inkwell, he wrote out two checks.
The first, he handed over, waving it in the air until the ink was dry. “This, Mrs. Miller, is for you.
Chloe took it gingerly, without looking at the amount.
“Now, what should we do with the next one?”
Ghost intervened. “We discussed that, in your absence, sir. Chloe wishes to put it into a trust for the children’s education. We plan to provide for them until the time they are ready to leave home. Have you the name of a good solicitor, sir?”
“I do. However, I understand you’ll be joining your father in his business. And you’ll be overseeing the accounts.”
Ghost stared at him. “Word gets around quite fast. I believe, for now, it needs to go into an account in their name, with Chloe as the trustee.”
Carlson rose and handed Chloe the second check. “Please give my regard to Gates. I tried to get him to take over my job again, but he said no.”
Ghost grinned. “So he told me. I offered him the chance to stay, sure he’d turn me down. But he didn’t. I’m quite happy to keep him.”
Carlson moved to the door with them as they left, sending them out a different way to avoid the area in the street where Mrs. Cates had taken her own life. But as they left, Ghost could hear the American saying softly, “Small children, growing up in a house full of pirates… Egads.”
Epilogue
“Lady”
Within a half-hour of opening the account in her name, her husband took her hand and led her back across the street toward the coach. Tiny sat topside, waiting patiently.
“Now, I’m taking you home, moppet. You’ll have half an hour with your friends before I take you to our bed. Ah, I see that little blush creeping up your face. I know that look by now.”
“I was thinking about other things to do with my inheritance.”
“And have you other ideas about what to do with it? It’s your money, my darling, but I will claim the right to demand you be sensible with it.” He set her inside the coach and nodded to Tiny before closing the door.
She grinned up into his face. “There is one thing I want to do before we leave for home.”
“Today?” He looked surprised. “What’s that?”
“I’m going to buy Woody a new hat. I can’t stand looking at that one any longer.”
He threw back his head in a deep laugh. “Agreed.”
Chloe put a hand up to gently touch his cheek, lovingly running her hand down one of the faded scars. “Ezra, you and I have been so blessed, sir. If there is a way to help others, now and again, may I do that? Perhaps anonymously?”
He leaned back and took her face gently into his hands. “That’s my girl,” he said softly.
“Your girl?” She was grinning now.
He paused, studying her. “No, my darling. Let me rephrase that,” he whispered. “That’s my lady.”
The End
&
nbsp; Pippa Greathouse
Pippa Greathouse has been writing since the fifth grade, after each student was given an assignment to read aloud a story to the class of their writing. One horrified teacher later, and a class of students who thought the horror story was “cool,” and she was hooked.
She is married, and has two fantastic children, who have grown and left the nest.
Since then, the writing has continued. She now is an author for Blushing Books, and still loves what she does. Her favorite genre is writing historical fiction romances, where men are “strong, Alpha men” and their feisty ladies respond to that. And historical fiction is perfect for that! However, she also loves writing contemporary romantic fiction.
Don’t miss these exciting titles by Pippa Greathouse and Blushing Books!
Time for Change
Macie’s War
Catching Carrie
The Conquered Series (With Ruby Caine)
Conquered by the Captain, Book One
Conquered by the Commander, Book Two
Conquered by the Ghost, Book Three
The Strasburg Chronicles
Angelica’s Rescuer: Book One
Merrie’s Hero: Book Two
Cinderella’s Lawman: Book Three
The Return Of Lucy Grace: Book Four
Miriam’s Rebirth: Book Five
Strasburg: The New Generation
Judging Cicely, Book One
Katie’s Maverick, Book Two
Audiobooks
Angelica’s Rescuer
pippagreathouse.com
Ruby Caine
Ruby Caine, author of Chance Encounters, learned to overcome her struggles with dyslexia by reading countless romance novels. As a mother of four, her life is full of its own drama. She loves incorporating her crazy experiences in her stories. Unfortunately, like her children, her characters have minds of their own and entertain her with their unexpected adventures. Caine and her family live in southern Louisiana, thirty minutes from New Orleans.
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