Page 54 of Her Heart's Rightful Earl
Arabella took it keenly, assuming it must certainly be word from Thomas advising where and when she should next meet with Alexander. She hoped fervently that it would be tonight; she was desperate to be close to him once more.
But as her fingers slipped beneath the envelope fold to reveal the letter beneath, Sally told her in a panicked whisper, “It was sent by the parish, at the request of a dying man at the workhouse. His name is Joseph Evans, and he wishes to speak with you before the consumption claims him.”
Arabella was quite perplexed. “But I remember the name Joseph Evans …” She lowered her eyes to read the weak, spidery handwriting.
Mi Spencer.
I was the valet to Mr Edmund Spencer, esquire. Your former husband left me with something I wish to bequeath to you before I pass. I have secrets I wish to share to free my conscience. Please attend presently, as I have not long left in this world.
Your most humble and obedient servant,
Joseph Evans.
Arabella’s eyes hungrily read the short note a second time, covering her lips with one hand, quite exasperated by the message.
“He grows weaker by the hour, Your Ladyship,” Sally added apologetically. “They say he may not survive many more days …”
Arabella looked up at Sally with wild, frightened eyes, incentivized into action. She realized this could potentially be the revelation Alexander had been looking for.
“Thank you, Sally. I must prepare a note for Lord Thomas Carrington. Please will you deliver it?”
Sally nodded, and Arabella ran to the study to write to Thomas requesting Alexander’s presence as a matter of urgency.
Chapter 18
“The Sir Thomas Lawrence?” Alexander stood agape. “No! Mother would never allow it!”
“Your mother had no say in the matter. The Earl of Wellwood sold it without asking her permission. It is, after all,hisestate,” Captain Morrison advised.
“Marcus would never have sold the portrait! He knew how much it meant to our father, and, by goodness, the value of the thing!”
Captain Morrison shrugged. “It has gone. Along with much of the family silver and valuable ceramics. He is liquidating assets to pay off his debts.”
Alexander fearfully shook his head in disbelief. “It cannot be so …”
“I have it on good authority that the creditors grow increasingly impatient—and these are men who express their lack of tolerance not through words, but with fists and knives.”
Alexander’s eyes grew wild as the reality of the threat to his brother’s life hit him. He stood sharply from the wooden bench in the abandoned church.
“No longer can I hide out bearing witness to the atrocities these men subject my brother to!” Alexander declared. “I must come into the light and assist.”
Morrison stood to mirror his assertive stance. “To do so would not only expose you to the magistrate but would additionally end any positive trajectory for our investigation. If you reveal your presence here in London, the real killer will be instantly alerted, and this may provoke some terrible repercussions, the extent of which I dare not even consider!”
Alexander paced the uneven flagstone floor, his breath smoking clouds in the cold early morning air as he puffed out his frustration.
“My vulnerable brother is being extorted by these criminals! He feels forced to sell our family heirlooms to satisfy impossible debts created by predatory lenders. Yet I must simply witness from the shadows and allow it?” Alexander appealed to the captain.
The captain spread his arms wide. “If you wish to evade the gallows and you intend to keep your family safe, then yes.”
Alexander slumped against a damp stone wall, crawling with ivy breaking through the cracks.
“At least now you must see,” Alexander proffered. “How it is clear that Marcus has fallen victim to these parasites. The apparent systematic liquidation proves how he has become under criminal pressure—it does not demonstrate any behaviour suspicious of something as heinous as patricide!”
The captain responded neither verbally nor physically, leading Alexander to conclude Morrison still suspected his brother.
“Truly, Captain! Young men often fall prey to sophisticated gambling operations designed to entrap wealthy families, and Marcus's actions surely prove he's trying desperately to meet unreasonable demands rather than plotting murder!”
The captain bowed slightly to Alexander. “I am not employed to convince you. I will reach out via Lord Carrington when I procure news on any further developments.”
