Page 54 of Lady Beast's Bridegroom
“She has gone out of town,” Peter explained, wary of giving any details. He had no reason to trust his stepsister beyond her seemingly genuine relief at seeing him alive.
Pauline clutched his arm. “You must go after her before Stancroft reaches her first.”
“Stancroft cannot touch her. He has no rights, and she was well-guarded.”
“You must listen to me,” Pauline pleaded. “Peter, Stancroft thinks you are dead. Edwards wrote to my mother and told him that you did not drink his poison or fall into the trap at the top of the stairs, and you slept too lightly to smother in your bed. He was going to have you ambushed and shot, he said. You were planning to go into the village, and it would happen then. It was meant to be yesterday.”
The men’s eyes met over Pauline’s head.
“It was Edwards, then,” John said.
Peter nodded. “I had intended to go into the village yesterday, but I fell asleep instead. And then this morning I decided to come to London.”
“That is good.” Pauline gave a relieved sigh. “I have been so worried ever since I heard my mother and Stancroft talking. Ever since, I’ve been trying to get out of the house.” She looked down at her hands and shifted uneasily. “Peter, I know I have not been nice to you, or to your wife, but I never meant either of you any harm. I just didn’t want Mother to beat me.” She burst into tears again.
Peter didn’t know what to think. Pauline had aroused his sympathies, and she had certainly known about the ambush, but who was to say she wasn’t part of whatever game his stepmother and Arial’s cousin had concocted?
“Miss Turner,” said John, “I think you had better start at the beginning. You say your mother and Stancroft have been plotting together. Start from there. What is their plan? What is their motive?”
His friend’s calm tone seemed to help. Pauline took a deep breath. She shuddered a bit as she let it out, but the second one left her back in control of her feelings. “Mother wants control of Vivienne, and any money you leave her when you die. She managed to get hold of a copy of your will, and apparently Vivienne and Rose get quite a lot. Mother says she refuses to keep Rose, and, in any case, Vivienne will be Rose’s only relative, so will inherit all of Rose’s money. I have known Rose since she was a baby, Peter. I don’t want her to die. I don’t want you to die.”
Though Pauline had addressed her answer to Peter, John continued the questioning. “You say Edwards agreed to kill Peter or have him killed. Why would Peter’s own butler do that?”
Pauline’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Because he is Mother’s lover, of course. He has been for as long as I canremember. She wouldn’t marry him, because he was a servant. But she had to marry someone when Vivienne was on the way, so they plotted to trap your father.”
It was too much for Peter to take in. He would think about it later. About how Edwards treated Peter like an interloper. About his father’s misery in his marriage. About Vivienne. Dear Merciful Heavens. Vivienne must never find out!
Put it to one side.He forced his emotions under control. Arial needed him.
“And Josiah?” he asked. “What does he hope to accomplish?”
She frowned. “He hates Arial. He wants her to make her will in his favor, leaving him all the property that she retained in your marriage settlement. He intends to put her into an asylum until she agrees. He believes you are dead, Peter.”
Peter was on his feet. Her story was all too plausible. He would proceed with caution, lest she was lying, but he was going to find his wife.
John said, soothingly, “She has her guard, Peter. Sergeant Miller is in charge. He is a competent man, and Josiah will need an army to get past him.”
Pauline was shaking her head. “You don’t understand. They are using Sergeant Miller. Laura is using him. He is in love with her, and he thinks she wants a private meeting with Arial, away from our mother, to make peace. But it is a lie—I do not know quite how they plan to use him, but if Arial trusts him, I fear she will be much mistaken.”
Peter met John’s eyes again. “Are you with me?”
“Of course,” John said. “Miss Turner, I take it you cannot go home.”
Pauline shuddered. “Mother will kill me when she knows I have told you all this.”
“Barlowe!” Peter shouted. The butler appeared within seconds. “Barlowe, Miss Turner will be staying. In fact, she is notto leave the house. Nor is she to have visitors. Assign her a maid who must be with her at all times. I do not trust you, Pauline. But if you are being honest with me, I owe you more than I can repay.”
At that moment, the front door was assaulted with another barrage of thunderous knocking.
Peter wrenched it open himself. It was one of John’s ex-soldiers. “My lord!” the man declared. “And Captain! Thank all the powers you are both here. Lady Arial has gone missing, and so has Sergeant Miller.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The carriage—it wasmore of a prison cell on wheels—stank of vomit. The smell made Arial nauseous again, but though her stomach heaved, there was nothing left in it to expel. Mrs. Parker, the hefty warden from the asylum, offered her another sip of weak tea. Arial nodded. It was only lukewarm by now, but it soothed the rasp in her throat.
“Not far now,” Mrs. Parker said. “You’ll be the better for being out of this contraption.”
Whether the woman referred to the conveyance or to Arial’s bindings, Arial was not certain.
