A Debt From the Past (24 page)

As Dan left the kitchen, Helen nudged Beth. ‘Look at Tom’s face. He’s found a hero to worship.’

Beth nodded and turned away to hide her smile, not wanting the boy to see them amused by him. He was such an engaging youth, and she was very fond of him.

‘We’ll take the trays up, Mrs Howard,’ Helen said.

‘Me too! I can help, please, Miss Langton!’

‘Thank you, Tom. That will be a great help.’

The moment Dan entered the bedroom he was bombarded with questions, with everyone talking at once. He held up his hand to stop them. ‘I’ll tell you everything; just give me a chance. First, I want to know how James is.’

‘I’m all right. The doctor doesn’t believe there will be any permanent damage, but I’m going to be out of things for a couple of days.’

‘More than that,’ Alice declared. ‘You are to stay in that bed until the doctor declares you fit enough to move around again.’

‘I can’t! The school is nearing completion, and we’ve still got Gresham to deal with.’ James sighed in exasperation and turned his attention to Dan. ‘Please tell me it is Gresham, and we haven’t been pursuing the wrong man.’

‘Yes, it’s him. Edward was right to suspect him.’ Dan handed James a sheet of paper. ‘Those men didn’t want to talk at first, but I was patient, and after a while they began to talk freely. Their orders were to set fire to the smaller outbuildings and scatter the horses. Gresham told them that they could sell any animals they stole and keep the proceeds. I wrote down everything they said, but they refused to sign it, I’m sorry to say. It won’t be a great deal of use to us in court, but it is something we can hold against Gresham.’

‘And it does confirm our suspicions about the man. It took you more than an hour, Dan, and perhaps another hour might have made them eager to sign.’ The grandfather was smirking as he peered at the paper his grandson was holding. ‘Their confession is rather short.’

‘Long enough for what we want.’ Dan took the paper and slipped it back into his pocket.

‘Can we have Gresham arrested?’ Alex asked, looking doubtful. ‘After all, he didn’t shoot James.’

‘True, but he paid someone else to do it, and we would have to prove that. If that’s what we want to do.’

‘What do you mean by that, Dan?’

‘I think we should try your grandfather’s plan first, James, and if that doesn’t work, we can have him arrested. But we’ll have to move fast.’

‘Splendid! We can hold the threat of gaol over his head.’ Grandfather gave Dan a respectful glance. ‘You’re a clever boy, but we’ll have to watch Gresham carefully or he will run again. He’s obviously got a good hiding place, because we couldn’t find the rogue all these years, and we know Edward never gave up looking for him. We wouldn’t have caught up with him now if he hadn’t inherited that estate from a relative. Wonder where the devil went?’

‘Australia.’

‘What?’ everyone exclaimed together, staring at Dan in astonishment.

‘How do you know that?’ Alex asked.

Dan merely smiled.

‘Daft question – of course you won’t tell us. So, he was on the other side of the world,’ the grandfather muttered. ‘No wonder we couldn’t find the bugger.’

‘What do we do next, Dan?’ James leant his head back and closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. ‘I’ll be glad when this is all over and I can settle down to running my school.’

‘Won’t be long now,’ Dan assured him. ‘You leave everything to us.’

‘I’ll have to.’ James started when there was a loud thump on the door. ‘What the devil is that?’

‘Open the door, please!’ they heard Beth call.

Alex rushed over to the door, swung it open and grinned at the sight, calling over his shoulder, ‘Food – and lots of it.’

A dressing table and chest were quickly cleared and the trays put on them, with sighs of relief from Beth, Helen and Tom.

‘My goodness!’ Alice exclaimed when she saw the amount of food loaded on the trays. How did you manage to carry those up the stairs?’

‘It wasn’t easy,’ Helen laughed, ‘but Cook insisted that you would all be very hungry. You must help yourselves; the only one we are serving is James. Tom, will you hand round the plates, please?’

They were soon happily eating, and Beth took the opportunity to ask Dan, ‘Is it all over?’

‘Not yet, but it shouldn’t be long now.’ He smiled kindly. ‘But you can tell your buyers that they will not be troubled by these men again.’

‘They will be relieved – thank you.’ Noticing that Tom was still in the room, obviously eager to stay, Beth was about to say he could go to bed now when James called the boy over.

‘Yes, sir.’ He hurried to the bedside. ‘Can I do something for you, sir?’

‘Indeed you can. I am going to be stuck in this bed for a couple of days and will need some company. I’d like you to come and visit me every afternoon for an hour or so. Do you think you could do that?’

The boy shot Beth a beseeching look, and when she nodded, he said excitedly, ‘Yes, sir. I’d like that, sir.’

‘Good.’ James nodded his thanks to Beth for giving the boy permission. ‘I’m sure we can find plenty to talk about. What are you interested in?’

‘Horses, sir.’ Tom was now leaning on the bed. ‘My dad was the stable master here before he died, and that’s what I want to do when I’m old enough.’

‘He’s excellent with the animals,’ Beth told James, ‘and seems to know if they are not feeling right. I think they know he loves and cares about them.’

‘They tell me if they ain’t happy.’ He gave a bashful smile. ‘Sounds daft, but they do.’

‘I believe you, Tom. Can you read and write?’

‘Oh, yes, sir. Miss Langton insisted I learn my letters, but I ain’t as good as Charlie. He’s clever. He can run his finger along a line of numbers and he’s added them up.’ Tom shook his head. ‘Don’t know how he does that. He told me you’ve been teaching him lots of things.’

James nodded. ‘It’s true Charlie has promising abilities, Tom, but everyone has different talents. Charlie is good at reading and arithmetic, but he can’t care for horses and talk to them like you do. That’s a talent to be proud of, young man.’

‘Gosh! I never thought of it like that. So, you mean we’re all different?’

‘That’s right, and everyone’s talents should be cherished.’

‘Cor, you mean Charlie’s good at some things, and I’m good at others.’ Tom shot Beth a wide grin, and there was a gleam of confidence there she had not seen before.

‘That’s right. So, when you come and see me tomorrow, I’ll tell you about the history of horses. And it would be helpful for you to know more about their anatomy.’

When Tom gave him a puzzled look, James explained. ‘Their inner workings and bone structure’

‘Ah, yes, I’d like that, sir.’ The boy’s face was shining with pleasure and anticipation. ‘What time do you want me to come?’

‘Let’s say two o’clock, shall we? Can you manage that?’

‘Yes, sir. Two o’clock – I’ll be here.’

‘Good.’ James smiled at him. ‘Now, I believe it is past your bedtime, don’t you?’

Tom pulled a face. ‘Suppose so, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, with all the excitement going on tonight.’

‘I agree it might be difficult, but I think you should try.’

‘Yes, sir.’ He beamed at everyone in the room, nodded his head and practically ran out of the room, eager to tell the others downstairs what he was going to do.

‘Tell me about him? Where are his family?’

‘His mother died when he was born, and his father was killed in a riding accident five years ago. They had both been with us for many years. We are Tom’s family now. Mrs Howard took the place of his mother and Jenkins of his father. He’s a good boy, and we try to see he is brought up well and is happy.’

James nodded. ‘I’ll see what I can do for him.’

Beth studied James carefully, seeing a different side of his character. This man had had an upbringing of wealth and privilege, and yet he was going to open a school for boys from a poor background. ‘You care about children like Charlie and Tom, don’t you?’

‘I do. Why should only the wealthy have access to a good education? There are hundreds of bright children who have their education cut short because they are poor. I can’t help all of them, but I’ll give as many as I can the opportunity of a better life.’ He leant his head back and closed his eyes. ‘I’m so damned tired.’

‘It’s time you rested.’ Alice came over and took the tray from him. ‘I’ll sleep in the chair tonight in case you need anything. Now, everyone out!’ she ordered.

‘Helen, before you go, would you do something for me?’

‘Of course.’

‘The inside rooms of the school are to be finished this week, so would you oversee the work for me? I want a comfortable, bright look to the rooms. Don’t let the men turn it into a bleak place.’

‘I will be delighted to do that, James.’

‘Thank you.’ He opened his eyes and gave a slight smile. ‘I’ll expect a full report every evening.’

‘Of course.’

‘How are you this morning, James?’ Dan asked.

‘I hurt and I’m feeling helpless, frustrated and worried, Dan. Don’t you think we should get Gresham locked up so he can’t do any more harm?’

‘We can, if that’s what you want. But he will serve a short sentence, if that, and then he will be around again. And he will be even more determined to cause you as much trouble as possible. Remember, I told you it will be just about impossible to send him to the gallows for a crime committed thirty years ago. We haven’t any witnesses or hard proof. The only two people who could have testified are dead, so all we can get him for now will be hiring those men.’

‘And he might not even be put in prison for that?’

‘A very real possibility. It will only be his word against the two men we caught. We can prosecute him, but I cannot guarantee success.’

James shook his head and ran a hand over his face. ‘I can’t risk that, Dan. You know why I’m here, and what my father feared as soon as Gresham appeared again.’

‘And it looks as if Edward was right. Gresham has already made a couple of clumsy attempts to undermine the Langton estate so that he could step in when things were desperate and buy for a ridiculously low price. Thank goodness we’ve managed to put a stop to him. He must want this land very desperately. All the time Edward was alive, Elizabeth was safe, because he dealt quickly with any attempts to disrupt the smooth running of the estate. He told me that had happened more than once since Gresham turned up as a neighbour.’ Dan perched on the edge of the bed. ‘This man is evil, James. He’ll try again if we don’t stop him once and for all.’

‘We’ve got to! My father loved Elizabeth like a daughter, and if his fears are proved correct, then I’ll never be able to forgive myself.’

‘Neither will I.’ Dan stood up. ‘You can only stay until Elizabeth’s next birthday, and then we will all move out. Those two lovely girls won’t stand a chance.’

‘And Helen has suffered enough already. If her friend finds herself in the same situation, what will happen to them?’ James looked up at his friend imploringly. ‘What are we going to do, Dan?’

‘I believe the best way to stop him is to strip him of his wealth and ruin his reputation in a way he will never be able to recover, as your grandfather suggested. Then we’ll see if we can have him put in prison for a while.’

‘It seems the best way,’ James agreed. ‘I’ll have to leave that to you. So, how are you going to do it?’

‘My first task will be to see that these men are tried – very publicly – so Gresham is forced to attend the trial. Once I’ve arranged that, I’m going to have a long talk with the man.’

‘Good, I’ll come with you.’ The grandfather walked into the bedroom, Alex right behind him, and studied his grandson. ‘You look terrible.’

‘I feel it! You can’t go with Dan, Grandfather; it could get nasty.’

‘Of course it could, with Dan doing the ... talking.’

‘I do wish you’d stop that,’ Dan sighed. ‘You’re ruining my reputation. I expect everyone on the estate believes I’m an assassin!’

‘No,’ the grandfather laughed. ‘They are probably thinking those two boys are right and you’re a spy. And it’s no good you protesting. You are not facing Gresham alone. This man threatened my daughter’s life, and I had to hide her away not knowing when he would strike.’

‘If you’d paid him, he might have left you alone,’ James said.

‘I did pay him! He wasn’t satisfied and kept coming back for more. What was I to do – keep handing over money to him? He only disappeared when I sent the law after him. It was years before I felt he really had gone. Call me a nasty old man all you like, James, but I did what I thought was right for you and your mother.’

James sighed. ‘I’ll never believe it was the right way to handle it, and I have never understood why Mother never contacted her husband. She could have done so quite easily without you knowing about it.’

‘She thought he was dead.’

‘What did you say?’ James sat straight up in bed, eyes narrowed on his grandfather.

‘Now, don’t fly into a rage! Ever since I sent for your father, you have never allowed me to talk to you about the past, but now you are captive in that bed it’s time you heard the truth. You already know that your mother and Edward ran away to get married because I disapproved. Gresham must have found out and thought it was a good way to make money. However, things went wrong and the coachmen opened fire on him. Edward was shot and was thought unlikely to live, so I told my daughter he had died. But Gresham wasn’t prepared to give up and threatened your mother’s life if I didn’t pay him a substantial amount of money, so I sent her to safety. You had been born when Edward came to me; it had taken him that long to recover. Your mother was not strong after your birth, so I told him she had died.’

‘How could you have done such a thing? You denied them nearly ten years together,’ James remarked through gritted teeth.

‘I am very aware of that, but I kept you both safe. That was enough for me. When it became clear that your mother was dying, I sent for Edward. After the way I had behaved, the least I could do for him was give him his son. He was a sensible man and, seeing you were happy with Alice and Alex, he decided not to take you away from the home you had always known.’