Xavier was more concerned about her having made enemies who wanted to see her dead than if she was annoyed he had seen her beautiful face. He was hoping Hector might explain why she was being shot at. He was furious anyone should use her for target practice, whatever iniquity they might hold against her, could not justify taking her life. When Xavier discovered who wanted her dead, he would make sure he never threatened her again. Gentlemen did not attack women and certainly not pregnant women.
Xavier allowed Celestina to rest for a little while after the doctor had left. He heard talking in the hall and went down to find Robert Avery had returned.
“Did you manage to get her back?” Xavier asked his groom
“Yes, she was pretty wild and worn out when we caught her. One of the bullets grazed her shoulder. The wound is not deep but no wonder she bolted. She is being tended to now. Layne, your head groom here, insisted on dealing with her wound himself. We looked among the trees where I thought the shooter had been concealed, there was a patch where the grass has been lain on and horses were recently tied up close by. It looks like one of them had been there for some time. We asked the herdsmen and girls if they had seen who had been there, but they had seen nothing of them in the panic. They remember you fleeing with her ladyship and myself following, but did not notice anyone else.”
“Thank you Robert, I’ll come and check on the mare later.”
Hector arrived hurrying from a hackney cab and Xavier took him off to the library where he explained what had happened to Celestina and why he was so concerned. Hector was unwilling to reveal much about Celestina’s business, without her permission so they went together and knocked on her bedroom door. Together the three of them began to consider how to prevent further attempts on her life being successful.
Chapter Twenty – Protection
Celestina was now fully conscious and appalled to realise Xavier had seen her face while he rescued her from someone shooting at her. She admired his determination to protect her and his calmness in the face of danger, but she was bemused by his failure to comment on her identity. She had been so aware of who he was, she never considered that after ten years, he might simply not recognise her as a former lover whom he believed dead. There was no point returning to her veil. He had seen her and would either realise who she was or she must pluck up the courage to explain the situation to him.
Someone had tried to kill her, which was most troubling. Someone had also tried to kill Gregory Wellmouth, she had been open in supporting him, his family and employees together with his businesses, but had not expected the mysterious backer to Higgins & Morpeth to try to have her dispatched as well. No further attempt had been made on Mr Wellmouth, but Celstina reasoned that might have been because he was only now convalescing from the injuries he sustained in the crash, and as a result had been working from home. The criminals might find it difficult to attack him in his house surrounded by his own servants.
Now as Hector and Xavier looked anxiously at her, they had to consider how to protect her from a malicious but anonymous attacker, who was too cowardly to attack himself, but would pay minor criminals to kill her.
“Someone is trying to kill you Celestina. I need to know who your enemies are so we can properly safeguard against any further attempts,” Xavier declared starting the discussion.
“The trouble is we do not know who is behind these crimes. The only possible enemy we know of, who might attack me, is a hidden sleeping partner to Higgins & Morpeth, chandleries and ironmongers. He has attacked Wellmouth Chandleries and arranged a carriage crash for Gregory Wellmouth, badly injuring him. We have been open over supporting Wellmouth chandleries and have reduced much of the deliberate sabotage. However we have failed to discover who is hiding in the shadows, directing these attacks.”
“It is possible I might have a few contacts who could uncover his identity. I will ask around,” Xavier suggested.
“You, my lord!” Hector sounded surprised. “These people seem to meet in the lowest of dives, I would not expect you to get information when our own spies have failed.”
“But then I was a drunkard, gambler and rake. I was also a duellist and brawler, so I could hold my own in rough company and when drunk I made some friends in strange places. I may have to appear to drink strong spirits, but I will seek out this mysterious would be murderer. But in the meantime, I would like to be sure you are safe here, around London and in your offices. Hector can you be sure my wife will not be attacked at her offices?”
“I can be fairly sure once she is in the building that she is secure. All the employees have been with us for over three years and I personally check they do not suddenly come into large sums of money on a regular basis. We pay rather better than most similar companies, but we keep our staff loyal.”
“Good, I am worried about her security when travelling around London. I would like to accompany Celestina to the offices every morning and return with the carriage to collect her in the evenings. I would also like to invite some of our staff from Kittleton Place to come up to town. I trust them more than these Londoners we have here, they are obsequious, but I think they would sell their souls for a couple of extra guineas,” Xavier declared.
“I agree. I would feel safer with some of the Place’s staff around but I can see no reason why you should have to rise early. I do not keep society London hours.”
“I am not keeping society hours either, Celestina. No real point when I no longer drink or gamble. I want to guarantee your carriage cannot be deliberately damaged and that you will not be carried off. I can always sleep while you are in your office. I trust Hector to ensure you are safe there.”
“All right I agree to your escort until we can discover who is attacking me. I admit I would feel safer with you around, my lord.”
“Is there anyone who might benefit from your death, Celestina? Could there be a distant relative who hopes to be made wealthy by your demise. We are assuming this unknown adversary of the Wellmouths, is responsible for the attack, could there be another explanation?” Xavier asked running his fingers through his hair in a gesture of concern.
“The only people who will benefit from my death are you and Hector. My will sets up a trust for any children I might have, but the two main beneficiaries are my husband and partner in Blighton Holdings.”
“I hope my loyalty is not in question. I certainly have no qualms about Hector’s trustworthiness,” Xavier said surprised at Celestina’s declaration.
“If you had wanted me dead, you would have not protected me today and brought me safely home. I trust you, but I have a question. Gregory Wellmouth called you ‘a prince where women are concerned’ and then looked embarrassed in admitting to knowing you. I wondered how he had met you and came to that conclusion.”
Xavier blushed and shifted in his seat. He sat and considered how to answer his wife’s enquiry.
“It was quite a long time ago and the story does not reflect that well on me. I was rather drunk and had visited a female friend in an area of London which is not very salubrious. It was in the early hours of the morning and I was heading back to my lodgings. I heard a cry and found a young girl, of around thirteen years of age. She had fallen and injured her ankle, apparently while escaping from an upstairs window of a unscrupulous ‘nunnery’ which was close by. She was dressed only in the flimsiest of nightgowns. I put my cloak around her and helped her into a hired carriage which had been waiting for me.”
“I would never touch a child of that age. She was just a little wisp of a thing, bruised and battered. She had clearly been abused in the house. I did not know what to do with her. She was crying and incoherent at first. I could not take her to my lodgings, so I took her to a lodging house which catered for the thespian class. I knew some of the residents and expected they would still be awake, probably playing cards, despite the lateness of the hour.”
Xavier moved closer to Celestina and took her hand, stroking the back gently as if reassuring himself she was re
al and alive.
“They put her to bed with their maids and I toddled off to my lodgings. When I woke that afternoon I went to check on her. Her name was Louisa and she was ashamed to go home, because she had been persuaded by a young man to leave with him, but he had just sold her to the madam. He did not even seduce her himself, because she could be sold for more intact. It took some careful questioning, but in the end she was prepared to go to a friendly uncle in London, so I delivered her to Gregory Wellmouth. I did however get the name of the young man who cozened her. I forced a challenge on him and spitted him. He still walks with a slight limp as a result.”
“I wish you had killed him, my lord. But I suppose you’d have had to leave the country because of the edict against duelling?” Hector declared glancing at Xavier.
“Couldn’t kill him, because he’s supposedly a gentleman, it’s not done.”
“No, I suppose not. I have to go back to the Place for something I left there. I think it would be better if I went now while Celestina is still recuperating, I can arrange for whatever staff you want to come up to London while I am down there,” Hector offered.
“That would be a help and meanwhile I will put out some feelers to see if I can locate this mysterious backer,” Xavier declared grimly, squeezing Celestina’s hand.
Chapter Twenty-one – Truth telling
Hector left them together and went back to the office, to make sure their head clerk could deal with any problems before he set off for Kittleton. Celestina had a dreadful headache from the blow to her head. She struggled to understand why Xavier had not mentioned recognising her. She felt she could no longer put off an explanation and that she must apologize for how she had behaved to him.
Celestina gulped and sat up a little more in bed, she was determined to get it over with.
“So now you know, why I’ve been wearing a veil,” she declared bringing up the matter of her appearance and identity.
“Not really. You are more beautiful even than I imagined you could be. I don’t understand why you should hide your face. I know redheads are not fashionable, but I have always admired red hair. The only woman I ever wished to marry was a red head. You have sort of a look of her, only you are even more beautiful.”
“Xavier, are you telling me you do not recognise me?”
“Of course I know who you are! You’re Celestina Falconer, my wife and countess. The woman I love, who will bear my children and I adore your red hair. It is exquisite, so full of fire.”
“I was so convinced you would recognise me, which was why I covered my face and hair. It does not matter now I suppose, but you must know the truth. I am Celeste Stainton, the girl you promised to marry on May Day eleven years ago.”
“It is not possible, I went back to look for her and the villagers said she was dead and buried along with her father and brother. I looked for her grave, but no headstones had been placed for any of the cholera victims. For the stone mason had been one of their number.”
“My father and brother died and I succumbed to the illness and would have died, but my uncle, Jeremiah Blighton came down from London and carried me off. I was ill for a long time, but eventually I recovered. I had waited for several weeks without a word from you and I assumed you had abandoned me, a penniless vicar’s daughter, for a more well-heeled bride.”
“When I reached home, my father was clearly close to death, he dragged on for over two weeks and I sat by his side. He did not want to let me out of his sight. By the time he had been buried and the lawyers told me the full extent of our debt, I realised what he had been trying to say. The estates were far more encumbered than I had any idea. I went to London to salvage what I could of the estates and the family honour. I thought I could present myself as a suitor of moderate means, but I knew I would have to explain the parlous state of my finances to you. I did put off travelling down to see you a little. I hoped I might make something out of what was left and ask you to wait for me. When I reached your village, I was told you were dead, so I mourned and felt there was no longer any point to struggle to rebuild Kittleton. I was bereft.”
“My uncle did not know about you, so he saw no reason to leave any information about where I had been taken. I was unconscious while I travelled to London and it was a long time before I recovered. Then my uncle asked to adopt me, so I could be his heir and I agreed to take his name.” She wiped tears away from her eyes, stunned by how magnanimous Xavier was being. She had deceived him and all he did was smile at her and squeeze her hand.
“It does not matter Celestina, I genuinely wanted to marry you when we were younger, I am sorry we didn’t marry sooner. Perhaps it was destined not to happen then, I don’t know. All I know is that I have never been happier than I have been since I married you. To find you were my first choice and I was your first man, only adds to my joy in being your husband. I love you and have never regretted our marriage.”
“Aren’t you angry I married you, thinking you had reneged on our engagement and wishing to punish you for your faithlessness?” She said quietly between wiping away her tears.
“I realised you were furious with me, but I did not understand fully why. I had been wasting my life so I deserved your despite. But you gave me a reason to live and to make something of myself and Kittleton. I am so much happier since I married you Celestina, so why should I be angry?”
She sniffed and wiped her eyes again.
“But I wore the veil to deceive you and I tried to be unkind to you ….”
“You were nothing but generous to me and from our first night together I have been grateful you decided to have me as your husband. I tried to make you love me, I understand after all the time which has passed how difficult it is for you to forgive me, but I promise I will try harder to make our marriage work. Can we try and start again without the veil?” Xavier leaned forward and kissed her full on the mouth and Celestina clung to him, grateful for his forgiveness. Soon Celestina was gasping out his name, but her gasps were not of pain. Xavier was very careful not to overdo things because of her injury, but he was pleased to get back the uninhibited girl he had first fallen in love with.
Chapter Twenty-two – London and around
Hector travelled to Kittleton the following day. He had not explained fully why he was returning there, but the truth was he was thinking of marrying and wanted to bring the provincial girl he had met to London to get her used to life in the metropolis. His family had all been from the affluent working classes, his father having been a mason and his mother a miller’s daughter. He had been educated and considered studying law at university, before meeting up with Jeremiah Blighton and becoming his right hand man. He drove down with Xavier’s coachman Simon Hamill and with Celestina’s carriage with Jeffreys at the reins. Robert Avery stayed in London to help deal with the stables there and if necessary could drive his lordship, Celestina would not be going anywhere for a few days. Certainly not until Hector returned to town.
Robert’s father, Paul Avery, would stay at Kittleton to supervise the stables there, as they had not taken all the horses to London and there were still horses needed to deal with the work of the estate. The butler Geoffrey Millett would remain in charge of Kittleton Place, but Eliza Fretwell, a couple of her maids and two footmen would travel up to London, if Hector could persuade them, in his lordship’s new carriage. Hector visited the Place and discussed that suggestion with Eliza. She agreed to travel with two of her daughters if she could bring her husband Samuel Fretwell. He had been working for a local farmer, but was really a saddler by trade. His addition to Kittleton House’s staff might be a little excessive, but he was a brawny man and would add another level of protection to the mews.
Having sorted out who was travelling to London, Hector left them to pack their bags and be ready for Hamill to drive them in luxury on the following day. Hector then travelled to the neighbouring market town and located his affianced bride. It took Sally rather longer to pack her traps and wish her family and friends go
odbye. There were a lot of tears and although she would be missed, it was clear to all that snaring a generous man like Hector was a big step up for Sally. She was excited and a bit frightened about travelling to London but Hector said he had already rented a small house in Aldgate for them and employed a maid and a man of all work, who could act as a footman or drive her in the small gig Hector had purchased. It was a modest residence by London standards, but it was far grander than anywhere Sally had lived before.
Hector could afford to buy a much more lavish dwelling, but he had considered how nervous Sally was about living in town and had decided to ease her into a more affluent lifestyle gradually. He had appeased her fears by promising a new wardrobe suitable to become Mrs Hector Browne. Sally had never visited the city before; it was further than she had ever been from home. Hector thought she was being brave. He hoped she would cope with the changes after a few teething problems with leaving home. Hector had no intention of informing Celestina or Xavier until he was sure that Sally would be happy staying in London. Sally needed to be resident in London for six weeks before they could ask for the banns to be read. Then they could invite their friends to the wedding. He thought Xavier would be amused at his choice of wife, but would not snub Sally despite her humble background. Hector had no illusions about Sally’s former relationship to Xavier or with other men.
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