Page 27 of Needs Must
Mrs Harte nodded. ‘Like the proverbial bad penny. They resolved their differences when Ian came to Jonathan contrite, cap in hand, but things were never quite the same between them again. The intimacy was gone. Jonathan had cast Ian adrift, forcing him to make his own way for the first time ever, and Ian was astute enough to realise that he couldn’t cut it on his own and maintain the lifestyle he aspired to. Not that he would ever admit it, of course, but I knew. I heard he had been sleeping in a doss house, four to a room. He would have hated it.’
‘What happened then?’
‘Ian remained in Jamaica, probably still hoping to worm his way back into Jonathan’s good books, but he didn’t choose a very clever way of going about it. He ran up debts, using Jonathan’s name to extend his loans without Jonathan’s knowledge.’
‘He sounds like a delightful character.’
Mrs Harte rippled her shoulders. ‘Not precisely the description I would use. Jonathan was obliged to settle the debts that Ian had incurred for fear of blackening his own name, but he ensured that no further credit would be extended to his brother. The two of them were at odds from that point until Jonathan’s death.Thatis why I know for a fact that Jonathan would never have left his estate to his estranged brother, despite the fact that Ian produced a badly forged will that was supposedly drawn up after the original. Jonathan never forgave a slight, expect in Ian’s case, when he gave him a second chance because the bond between them was so strong. But when Ian abused that second opportunity to redeem himself, I have never seen Jonathan half so angry, and I knew then that there would be no way back for Ian.’
‘And yet he was there when Jonathan was on his death bed. In fact, you think he killed your husband. Why was he permitted over the threshold if they were no longer on speaking terms?’
‘Jonathan asked to see him. Ian had been writing to him constantly and Jonathan had not replied. He said that having such a close call with death had made him realise what was important to him. He still loved his brother but could no longer tolerate him, if that makes any sense, and he wanted to thrash a few matters out with him. He did not tell me what those matters were.’
Cal nodded. ‘They say blood is thicker than water for a reason.’
‘I do know that he was going to offer Ian enough funds to start the latest business venture he had been asking for Jonathan’s help with. But only on the proviso that he returned to England and no longer interfered with Jonathan’s precious reputation in Jamaica. He was forging links with several titled plantation owners, you see, and assumed that those gentlemen would continue to receive him back here. Of course, you and I know he was quite wrong about that, despite his insistence that times were changing and that demarcation lines were becoming blurred.’
‘Ian did not appreciate being sent back home, one assumes?’
‘I don’t know what was said between them. By the time I returned to the bedchamber, Jonathan was dead. I was completely shocked, but when I came to my senses I also became highly suspicious.’ She sighed. ‘There was absolutely no way that I could prove those suspicions though.’
‘Where is Ian now?’ Cal asked.
‘I don’t know for sure, but I assume he has returned to Chichester. It is the area that he knows best. That is what people do, I believe. When in doubt, return to familiar territory.’
‘Then, excuse me, but if you dislike the man so much and suspect him of committing murder, why did you choose to settle in an area where your paths might cross?’
‘Nothing could be simpler,’ she replied, stroking the dog that she held against her, and which appeared to have fallen asleep. ‘Iwantto encounter him. In fact, I shall go out of my way to ensure that I do – but only when I am fully prepared.’
Cal shook his head. ‘Why? Why put yourself at risk? Did you love your husband so much that you feel determined to avenge his death?’
‘I did not love him at all, since you insist upon knowing all my business,’ she replied archly. ‘But that doesn’t alter the fact that Ian is both a murderer and a thief.’ She stared defiantly back at Cal. ‘I want my revenge. And more to the point, I want to save others from falling victim to his devious ways.’
‘I can perfectly understand your desire to reclaim the fortune that you ought rightfully to have inherited.’ Cal sighed. ‘But I suppose you realise how impossible that will be. A man of his ilk will have squandered much of it by now; you said as much yourself. But if you insist, then you must ask a lawyer to do the pursuing for you, and that will be expensive with no guarantee of a happy outcome.’
Mrs Harte’s shoulders stiffened as she bristled with indignation. ‘Do not presume to know what my intentions are, my lord.’
Cal smothered a smile. It was certainly refreshing to be taken to task for his presumption. And by a woman no less. ‘I crave your forgiveness,’ he said, schooling his features into a serious expression.
A smile broke through her reserve. ‘You have it,’ she replied. ‘And since you are so determined to know my business, you might as well be aware that Ian will be looking for me. I am simply making that task easier for him. Or I will be when I have established myself and I am ready for him to find me.’
‘And you believe you will be safely settled here?’ Cal wondered if she was a few farthings short of a shilling. ‘In Denmead Cottage with only an elderly maid to protect you.’
‘You have forgotten about Miriam’s rolling pin,’ she said evenly.
Cal threw back his head and groaned. ‘Reckless female!’ he cried. ‘You have already indicated that the man is capable of murder. What makes you suppose that you will be immune from his attentions in that regard if you rile him, which I assume you intend to do in an effort to discover what really happened to your husband. I’m afraid that Miriam’s rolling pin will do little to deter him and might even result in Miriam herself being injured. Or worse.’
‘I know.’ She looked glum, momentarily defeated. ‘I have told her that repeatedly, but she refuses to see sense.’
‘She is clearly not the only one,’ Cal muttered.
‘I beg your pardon.’
‘Perhaps you should abandon your plan for revenge.’
‘I cannot do that.’ She shook her head and waved an admonishing finger simultaneously. ‘Not so much for my own sake. I don’t think Jonathan was his only victim, you see. Ian wrote to Jonathan, as I already said, reminding him of past follies, about which Jonathan was cognisant. I found those letters after his death, shortly before our home was broken into and ransacked.’
‘Ah! I see.’ Cal nodded, thinking that he now finally did. ‘Ian condemned himself in those letters and now he wants them back. But you have them.’
