Color of Danger (The Sullyard Sisters Book 2)

by Ruth J. Hartman

  Kitty gasped so loud Andrew whimpered. “That vile witch is nothing but trouble. But why? Why would she do that to you?” She lowered her eyebrows as something appeared to click into place. “Oh… because of Stratford? That absurdity about having to marry a Bexley for her dowry?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “But how in the world did she accomplish it? She’s not family nor is she a physician.”

  “To hear her tell it, money can make anything happen.”

  “She’s evil,” Kitty muttered through gritted teeth.

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  “Did she give you any details?”

  “Unfortunately.” Lydia didn’t want to think about it again, but her family deserved to know. “Miss Queensbury came to see me. She said she was the one who’d arranged for me to be there. That her father knows the physician quite well, and that money speaks loudly when one wanted something done.” She blinked back sudden tears. “And… as to Stratford, she said the way I could be released, the only way, was if Stratford agreed to marry her.”

  Kitty’s hand flew to her throat. “That’s horrid. So the poor man is doomed to a life of—”

  “Precisely.”

  “And she doesn’t love him. Of that I’m quite sure. But you do.”

  Lydia let out a sigh. A deep one. Any deeper and she feared she’d lose all of her breath. The gravity of the situation was finally taking hold. She’d realized it before, of course, but hearing Kitty say it out loud made it all the more real. Kitty, as the eldest sister, had always been the one Lydia and Patience had gone to in times of need since their parents had died long ago and their guardian until recently had been their cousin Robert, who turned out to be a scoundrel of the first order.

  Kitty bit her lower lip as she studied Lydia.

  “What are you thinking?” Lydia knew that expression. Before Kitty had married, she’d always been up to something.

  “I know it might seem hopeless, but there must be some way we can thwart Miss Queensbury’s terrible plan.” She raised one eyebrow. Yes, Kitty was definitely up to her old tricks.

  “But what if she and Stratford are already… wed?” The last word barely made it out. How painful it was to utter it.

  “We’ll check with Nathaniel to be sure, but I truly think Stratford would have said something today if he’d wed. However, if nothing else, I think he would have told Nathaniel.”

  “Talking about me again?” The sisters turned toward the open doorway. Nathaniel stood there, a wry grin on his face. He stepped into the room. “What’s all this? Tears? Happy ones of reunion, I hope.”

  Kitty reached for his outstretched hand. “Darling, Lydia was just telling me about Stratford. The trouble he’s in.”

  “Trouble?”

  “Not the kind you think.” Kitty narrowed her eyes at him.

  He leaned down to kiss Kitty then pressed a kiss to the baby’s forehead. He straightened and looked at Lydia. “Is Stratford truly in trouble?”

  She nodded, but couldn’t bear the thought of repeating the sentiment again. Somehow, her mouth wouldn’t form the words. She gave Kitty a pleading expression, hoping her sister would do it for her.

  Kitty nodded and addressed Nathaniel. “As Lydia said to me, I’ll say to you… I hate to bring up bad memories, but Miss Queensbury is up to her nasty ways again.”

  His eyes widened. “Oh no. She’s making a play for Stratford as she did for me?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “I had no idea.”

  Kitty took Lydia’s hand and gave it a squeeze as she addressed Nathaniel again. “You were her first goal, and I was her target to have removed. This time, Stratford is the goal.”

  “And the target to…” He raised his eyebrows. When Kitty tilted her head toward Lydia, he looked at her, as well. “You?”

  How embarrassing it all was. To have her family know the dirty secrets of what had happened to her.

  Nathaniel reached behind him and pulled a chair next to the bed. He sat down, a frown on his face. “I don’t understand.”

  Kitty said, “Our Miss Queensbury has outdone herself this time. In order to take away who she believed to be an obstacle to another Bexley, she made arrangements for a stay. At Bedlam.”

  “No…”

  “Yes,” replied Kitty.

  Nathaniel leaned closer to Lydia. “My dear sister. How terrible for you. I’m appalled. Angered. Livid.” His face turned a dark shade of red.

  Lydia could take it no more. Her family members were going to suffer from apoplexies on her account. “Nathaniel, I’m safe now. See? All tucked in nice and warm with my family.”

  He watched her for several seconds. “And I’m grateful. Then, why the long faces in here? Shouldn’t we be rejoicing? Lydia is out of danger.”

  “We would, but for one thing.” Lydia clasped her hands tightly in her lap, hoping to hang on to some semblance of control. “The reason Miss Queensbury had me committed was because she knew something. About me. That I… that I have feelings for Stratford.”

  “Ah… It’s beginning to make a little more sense. But… wouldn’t Stratford have to reciprocate the feelings in order for you to be a threat? Are you saying my cousin has developed an attachment to you as well?”

  “Not at first, no. For the past year, he’s hardly given me notice.”

  “So what changed?”

  “Bedlam. He came to see me. Several times. We…” Heat rose up her face.

  Nathaniel clenched his jaw. “Did he do something? He is a known rake, after all.”

  “Quite the opposite. He was sweet and kind. Took the time to sit with me, hold my hand.” Her hand, quite without her consent, slipped into the folds of her skirt like it was trying to hide.

  Nathaniel visibly relaxed. “I thought he’d changed somewhat. Glad to know my assumptions were true. That being the case, if you and he reciprocate such affection, isn’t the path now clear for you and Stratford to…”

  Lydia swallowed, her mouth gone dry. It was as if each time she spoke the words, the horror of what was to befall Stratford happened anew. “Since I am safely away from the hospital, and Miss Queensbury had wanted me out of the way in order to ensnare Stratford…”

  “Then she must have gotten her wish.”

  She nodded. “Y-yes.”

  Kitty squeezed Lydia’s hand. Lydia closed her eyes briefly, trying to hold in the deluge of tears that burned, longing to spring free from her eyes.

  “I’m sorry to hear that my cousin is in a similar place as I had been,” said Nathaniel. “It seems that this time, she may have won.”

  Lydia jerked, feeling like someone had driven a spike right through her heart.

  Kitty rubbed her thumb over Lydia’s hand, reminding her all too much of when Stratford had done the same thing. “There must be something we can do,” said Kitty.

  Lydia shook her head back and forth slowly with as much energy as a sleepy turtle. “I don’t see how. The only reason I’m sitting here with you instead of in the horrible cell must mean that… that she’s gotten what she wants.”

  “Don’t give up hope. We don’t know that they’re wed yet. Until we find that out—” She glanced up at Nathaniel, who nodded. “—there might be something we can do. Rest assured, big sister will think of something.”

  Lydia smiled but didn’t really see how Kitty was going to fix this problem for her. No, this time, she feared nothing could be done.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Stratford sat alone at his usual table at White’s. He finished his third — fourth? — glass of port. With a loud crack, he thumped his glass down on the table. Through bleary eyes, he saw something from the corner of his eye and turned. Nathaniel. “Good day, cousin. Heard the news of my impending nuptials?”

  Nathaniel motioned for the waiter, pointed to the empty glass on the table, indicating that he and Stratford should receive another glass of whatever his cousin had been drinking. “Unfortunately.” He narrowed his ey
es. “How many of those have you imbibed in? Perhaps I shouldn’t have just ordered you another.”

  He waved his hand through the air. “No, another is good. And it can bring friends, if it wishes. I want to obliterate all feeling until the terrible horror of marrying that woman is over. Though that will be only the beginning, wont it?”

  “I’m truly sorry this is happening to you.”

  “I guess you of all people would understand. You came mightily close, didn’t you?”

  “Thankfully, not as close as you. But I’m terribly sorry you’re stuck in the middle of this mire.”

  Stratford nodded, instantly regretting the movement when his head began to pound.

  “I’m glad, at least, that you said upcoming nuptials. Good news that you’re not married yet.”

  “Yet being the important word.” He sat back as the waiter delivered their drinks. Picking up his full glass, he raised it. “Shall we toast to my happiness?” He laughed, though the raspy sound was anything but merry.

  Nathaniel took a small sip and replaced his glass. “Isn’t there something to be done? Some way to prevent the wedding from happening?”

  “I’ve gone over it a thousand times in my mind. Drunk and sober. Came to the same conclusion both ways. No. There doesn’t seem to be an escape from this particular situation.”

  Nathaniel sighed. “Mores the pity.”

  “Indeed.”

  “But now that Lydia is safely away from Bedlam, isn’t the threat gone?”

  “I’m afraid not. My betrothed made it clear that should I balk and not marry her, she has ways — and trust me, I believed her — that Lydia would be recommitted. And I got the distinct impression that if she were to be thrown back into that pit, Lydia would have to stay there. Forever.”

  “But there must be something to be done. Kitty is determined to find a way.”

  Stratford allowed a smile. “Ah, your resourceful wife. Bless her for trying to help. Especially after all I did to her and—”

  Nathaniel held up his hand. “It’s all in the past. Let’s leave it there, shall we?”

  “Yes. Thank you.” He ran his hand down his face in total frustration. “I do not see any way out of this catastrophe. I’ve tried, desperately, to come up with anything. But to no avail. It seems that Miss Queensbury — soon to be Mrs. Bexley—” He shivered. “—will be a member of our clan.”

  “You’re right when you say my wife is resourceful. I believe if there is any way at all, she will find it. Remember how she left me a clue in that shed so I could find her when she’d been kidnapped by those terrible men?”

  “True. And I thank the good Lord every day that you found her safe.”

  “As do I.”

  “Still, I’m trying not to have high hopes. If I allow it, my descent back to reality will hurt all the more.”

  “I understand.” He took a drink. “Don’t think, however, that it will stop Kitty from…”

  “Meddling?”

  Nathaniel laughed. “Something like that. Her words to Lydia were, ‘Big sister will think of something.’”

  A wry smirk crossed Stratford’s lips. “She is proficient at watching out for her sisters.”

  “One of the many reasons I fell in love with her. Patience and Lydia are so fortunate to have her.”

  “Lydia.” Her name floated out as a sigh. Stratford moved his glass away, crossed his arms on the tabletop, and placed his chin on his arm.

  “You truly have feelings for her?”

  “I love her.”

  “Then I’m doubly sorry for the trouble you are in. Lydia is a wonderful girl. Would make a fine—”

  “Wife? Yes. She would.”

  Nathaniel tapped his finger against his glass as if deciding what to say next. “How… did you happen to develop feelings so quickly? From what I’ve understood, there wasn’t, well, until recently you…”

  “To my chagrin, that’s true. I’d not given her much notice. Until your request that I deliver that note to Bedlam.”

  “Ah…”

  “That makes you a sort of matchmaker, I guess.”

  He shrugged. “Purely unintentional.”

  “And a lot of good it did me.”

  “Sorry, old chap.” He took a sip of his drink.

  Stratford sat up straight, his elbows on the table. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. You gave me a gift. One that I’ll treasure always. Even when I’m firmly ensconced in a marriage to someone I despise.”

  “I for one am not giving up hope so easily.”

  “That makes one of us.” He’d gone over the problem from every angle. There didn’t seem a way around it. Every time he thought of even the slightest possibility that Lydia might have to return to Bedlam, he broke out in a cold sweat.

  Nathaniel shook his head. “And you’re the one who always had so much self-confidence. Where’s your bravado? Pride? Cockiness?”

  “Gone. All gone. What you see before you now is a love-struck man who’s betrothed to the wrong woman.”

  He frowned and didn’t reply. Had Nathaniel finally given in? Accepted Stratford’s fate?

  Stratford looked his cousin square in the eye. “There’s something I must confess to you.”

  Nathaniel nearly choked on his drink before he set down his glass. He wiped his mouth with his handkerchief. “What do you mean? Nothing with my—”

  “No. Nothing with Kitty. As you said, it’s all in the past. And rest assured, she never took me seriously. Saw me for the rake I was. Besides, she only had eyes for you.”

  His cousin furrowed his brow. “All very well and good. Then what on earth would you have to confess? To me?”

  “I’ve shared this with Lydia, but no one else.” Stratford stared down into his glass, not wanting to watch Nathaniel’s reaction.

  “Go on.”

  “All those years you and I have worked together, the multitude of times when I’d either not go to the office, or even when I was there wouldn’t… work. Well, there’s a reason.” He eyed him, choosing his next words with care.

  Nathaniel raised one eyebrow. “I must admit, I’m intrigued. I always assumed you didn’t wish to be shackled to a desk in your father’s magazine office.”

  “Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded the work. Had I the… tools.”

  “Tools? I don’t understand.”

  “You see, I’d sit there, watching you. So intelligent. So capable. And I felt…”

  “What?”

  “Inadequate.” Stratford had a hard time getting the word past his lips. But it had to be said.

  Nathaniel sputtered a laugh. “Inadequate? This, from the man who strutted around like a proud peacock?” His face reddened. “Listen I shouldn’t have—”

  “No. You should. Because you’re absolutely correct. I was a peacock. At least, that’s what I wanted everyone to believe.”

  “What are you saying? Where you pretending?”

  “I’m afraid so.” My whole life.

  “But why?”

  “When I said I hadn’t the right tools, I didn’t mean a quill or foolscap. What I lacked was the ability to—” Stratford swallowed hard. “—read.”

  “Pardon?”

  “It’s true.”

  Nathaniel waved his hand. “That’s preposterous. We grew up together. Attended studies at the same time. How could you not—”

  “Lydia was instrumental in helping me figure out the problem. When I look at words on a page, they appear jumbled. In a pile, if you will.”

  “You don’t say.”

  “I tried all through Eton to make sense of it. To overcome whatever it was that plagued me. My frustration grew when I saw you and the others excel in your studies when I could barely put a sentence together correctly.”

  “But you passed. Every term. How…”

  Stratford frowned, not wanting to say the next part. “I’m ashamed to admit that I paid other boys to complete my work.”

  “I had no idea. None at all. You
covered yourself superbly.”

  “To my utter embarrassment.”

  “Did you not ask the tutors for assistance?” Nathaniel set down his glass and leaned closer.

  “At first. But after awhile, I could sense their frustration as well as my own. I needed to pass my studies. Had to. Can you imagine what Father would have said had I not?”

  “Yes. He would have been livid. Might very well have disowned you.”

  “That had been my fear too.”

  “So, you paid someone to do your studies, passed through Eton, and when you and I would be at the office, you’d not show up to work. Incredible.”

  “I’m so sorry, cousin.”

  He held up his hand. “No. Please. It all makes sense now. Yes, I used to get very irritated when I had to complete my work and yours for fear your father would discharge me, family or not. But… Well, at any rate, I’m glad you’ve told me. Perhaps now that I know, you and I can figure out how to help you. We could—”

  “Thank you.” Stratford smiled. “I do appreciate it. Especially since you were the one who had to bear the brunt of all the work. To be honest though, Lydia helped me a great deal. It was one of the things we discussed while she was in that terrible place.”

  “I’m glad for that, at least. Something good came of her time there.”

  “I’ll admit that when I was at your house and found I was the only one available to help her walk to see Kitty, it nearly did me in. To be near her, touch her, carry her part way to her sister… knowing she could never be mine…”

  “Pure agony.”

  “It was.” He held up one finger. “But, I’d do it again.”

  “Which part?”

  “All of it.”

  “You would?”

  “With all my heart. Because not only did Lydia teach me to read, she also taught me what true love is. And though I can’t have her, can never truly have her, I’d do it all again to keep her free from an unthinkable horror of a life in Bedlam.”

  “You, dear cousin, are a good man.” He patted Stratford on the shoulder.

  “Well, wish this ‘good man’ luck with his new wife from the abyss. He’s going to need it.”

  Chapter Eighteen