Coming Home (19 page)

A
EONS LATER SHE heard his shaken voice mutter close to her ear, ‘We must stop making a habit of this.'

Right there in the busy street he held her tightly, soothing her with gentle strokes down her back. ‘What happened, Juliana?'

‘Sir Alexander called out to me, and Kit's kidnappers must have … where's Kit?'

‘Here, Miss Colebrook.'

Colly's arms fell away and, bereft, she stepped back. ‘Ah, Brigade-Major Hetherington, may I introduce Master Christopher Mortimer?' she said formally.

Kit giggled, but he held out his hand in the accepted manner.

‘Very pleased to meet you, Kit,' Colly said. ‘Are you all right?'

Kit nodded vigorously and Colly and Juliana exchanged smiles. Children were amazing. Kit was already bouncing back.

‘We'll talk about your … adventures … later, but right now there is someone who wants to see you,' Colly told him. He took Kit by the shoulders and turned him towards the inn where, twenty yards away, Sir Alexander was pacing back and forth, muttering under his breath.

‘Sir!' Colly called and Sir Alexander spun around.

‘Miss Colebrook! I'm so very sorry that—' Then he stopped as the three of them drew closer and Kit stepped out from behind Juliana.

‘My God! It is like seeing your father all over again, boy. Come here.'

Sir Alexander spread wide his arms but Kit, not knowing who this strange old gentleman was, grabbed hold of Juliana's hand. She bent down and took his face in her hands.

‘Kit, he is your grandfather. Your father's father.'

Kit stared at her for a moment then transferred his gaze to his grandfather. ‘Really?'

He was four years of age. The intricacies of relationships meant little. But there were signs of the man to come. He let go Juliana's hand and walked up to his grandfather. ‘Sir?'

Crusty Sir Alexander now had his emotions under control. ‘You may call me Grandpapa, boy. They call you Kit, I understand. You will come home with me.' The two of them walked hand-in-hand towards the inn with Kit casting anxious glances back over his shoulder. Juliana nodded to him encouragingly and tried to smile through her tears.

As soon as the Mortimers disappeared inside the doors of the inn, she turned to Colly. ‘Tilly?' she asked.

Colly nodded towards the taproom. ‘Safe,' he said. ‘We had to drag her away from that dreadful woman. The old bit—er, biddy, screeched her head off so we hustled Tilly through some back alleys in case anyone pursued us. Thank goodness for Polking. On my own I would have got hopelessly lost.'

Juliana gnawed on her lip. Tilly might be safe now, but what had happened to her? She drew a deep breath and hurried into the inn.

Tilly was seated in a dark corner. When she saw Juliana she gasped with relief and burst into tears. ‘I were that frightened, miss,' she said to Juliana, tears streaming down her face. ‘I didn't know what was happening until Mr Polking explained you were looking for me.'

Juliana sat down and stroked Tilly's matted hair. ‘Tilly, did anything bad happen to you?' How stupid that sounded. Of course bad things had happened to Tilly and Kit. But with the men standing nearby, Juliana didn't know how else to broach the matter.

Dear, resilient Tilly knew what she meant. She drew a deep, quavering breath. ‘I think you'll find Master Kit is still … fine, Miss Colebrook. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my eye on him all the time. They took him away from me this morning. I fought, but—' She gulped. ‘They took me to that house with the red door.' Shivering, she whispered, ‘An awful man was there and he kept saying that Kit was useless. All he'd do was cry. So he laughed and said they'd get their money's worth out of me. He … that man—' She shattered and hid her face in Juliana's lap.

‘That man,' Juliana murmured, as she soothed Tilly's fragile backbone. ‘Do you know his name?'

Tilly shook her head.

Several bar patrons stared at them curiously. Juliana returned their stares with a ferocious glare. Colly strode over and stood in front of them, shielding them from curious eyes. ‘What is it?' he asked.

Juliana stared mutely up at him.

‘Oh, dear Lord!' He understood.

Juliana tickled Tilly's cheek. ‘Tilly, tell me, was this man tall and thin? Did he have strange eyes?'

Tilly shuddered and raised her wet face. ‘Yes,' she breathed. ‘Have you seen 'im?'

‘We've met. He had Kit.'

‘No! Is Kit—?'

‘I don't think so. He seems fine.' Juliana looked up at Colly. ‘Sir, at 32 Chamber Street where Kit and I were held prisoner, there is a man who might be … injured. Would you make sure that he, uh …' She hesitated. ‘We may have to call the Runners after all.'

Colly stared down at her. Then his face softened and he reached out and touched the back of his gloved hand to her cheek. ‘Be assured, Miss Colebrook, that I will do what is necessary.'

He spun on his heel and left.

 

The journey back to Trewbridge seemed to take forever. Juliana's head throbbed and throbbed. Even the slightest bounce in the well-sprung carriage sent shards of pain lancing into the back of her neck. Colly had fashioned a padded bandage from his and Sir Alexander's cravats. As he leaned over to tie it in place he murmured, ‘At this rate, Juliana, we will have used up all my cravats within a se'enight. I would ask that you refrain from any more adventures till I can visit Hungerford to purchase more.'

She attempted a smile but it fell awry. She felt sick and her throat was as dry as dust. She licked her lips. ‘Wh-what about the other matter?' she croaked.

‘All taken care of,' Colly replied, then he sat back, trying to squeeze his lanky frame alongside Sir Alexander's. They were very cramped now the carriage held another two people.

Tilly held tight to Juliana's hand, small shuddering exhalations escaping every now and then, and Juliana knew that her own discomfort was nothing compared to Tilly's pain and fear. The little maid's effervescent spirit was broken. Juliana wondered how best she could help her from now on.

Tilly's eyes had widened when Juliana had whispered, ‘I know how it feels, Tilly. Oh, I
know
.' Then Juliana had added, ‘The man who did this to you has been taken care of. He will never do that to anyone again.' And Tilly's eyes had widened even more. But she asked no questions, just gripped Juliana's hand tightly, seeking security from her mistress.

Some mistress I am
, Juliana thought.
I couldn't even keep one little maid safe
.

Kit and Sir Alexander seemed pleased with each other. Already Sir
Alexander had begun correcting the flaws in Kit's speech and Kit was absorbing the lessons hungrily.

Which reminded Juliana of the Pirate. She leaned forward. ‘Sir Alexander, do you remember Minna?'

For a second, Sir Alexander's brow creased, then he laughed. ‘Miss Colebrook! Surely you are not saying you've found Minna too?'

‘Sir, she has been with your grandson since his birth.'

‘No!'

‘You will find her very changed. We have not had much time to talk yet, but the carriage accident that took the life of your son' – she broke off to glance at Kit – ‘disfigured Minna badly. She is in the Hungerford infirmary.'

Sir Alexander was amazed and to Juliana and Tilly's relief, the rest of the journey was taken up with discussion about the Mortimer family.

H
OURS LATER, JULIANA was at last able to pull herself free of Tilly's clinging hand. Between them, Juliana and Trewbridge's housekeeper had managed to soothe Tilly with judicious doses of laudanum and kindness. Poor little Tilly had thanked Juliana effusively and said how grateful she was that ‘Miss' was a nurse and knew what to do. Unspoken was the message that Juliana knew what to do because she'd suffered the same way herself. And Juliana knew it would be many months before Tilly could come back to the land of the living and feel real again. She would live on the outside looking in until her healing began.

Juliana stood at the window of her bedchamber and gazed out over the gardens. Thus far she had managed to avoid thinking of her own situation, but now dark thoughts and fears crowded her brain. Whatever
she
was, it was a plain fact that her father had been dishonest and her uncle a knave of the first order. If she had thought herself ruined because of the incident outside Porto, her relatives' machinations had now put her well beyond the touch of the
ton
. Colly and the Trewbridges had been wonderfully supportive, but now she must take stock of her prospects. And as far as she could see, she didn't have any. If she had secretly yearned for a future with Colly, now it was not only unattainable, it was impossible. Time to leave here and rid them of their embarrassing guest. She rested her head against the glass and closed her eyes.

The door burst open and the marchioness bustled in. Juliana straightened up and pasted a smile on her face. She bobbed a curtsy. ‘Ma'am, I must tell you how grateful—'

‘Tosh. None of that, my dear. Now, we have decided you will stay here until things have settled down. But Juliana, I have done something my husband is not best pleased about.' Here, the marchioness pressed a long, pale finger against her lips. ‘I am most concerned about Colly's estrangement from his family, so I wrote to his mama.'

‘Oh!' Trust the Marchioness of Trewbridge to take the bull by the horns! Juliana could not help but laugh.

‘Well, I am best placed to understand a mother's anxiety. And when we receive an answer, I want you to encourage Colly to visit Heather Hill to see his family.'

‘But ma'am, Colly might … I mean, he does not want—'

The marchioness waved a dismissive hand. ‘Hah. He has cut himself off from his family for the sake of pride disguised as principles. How like a man! I shall deal with it, and you will assist me.'

Juliana's breath whistled in a quiet exhale. What if the marchioness was subjecting Colly to more rejection? He would be shattered and very angry. She began to understand why the marquess sometimes became perturbed by his wife's impetuousness.

‘Ma'am, what shall we do if his family don't want to see him?'

‘That will not be a problem,' the marchioness said smugly. ‘What is the point of being a marchioness if one cannot pull rank when necessary? In my letter I hinted that I am puzzled and most displeased with their attitude. That should do the trick.'

‘I see.' Juliana saw: she saw trouble coming.

Lady Trewbridge settled her shoulders and flicked her skirts, ready to leave on another mission, and Juliana was reminded of an important responsibility.

‘Excuse me, ma'am, but would a carriage be available to take me to the infirmary? The place will be at sixes and sevens with no supervisor or nurse.'

‘All taken care of, my dear. Captain Easton has things well in hand, I believe.'

‘Oh!' Now what was she to do?

‘We thought it best for you to have a holiday until the Runners have finished their work. Let things settle down a bit,' the marchioness explained. Juliana understood her to mean: ‘until the Runners have found your uncle.'

So she did not have a job any longer. Or anything else.

No home.

No job.

No prospects.

No money.

One thing she had acquired however, was an unsavoury reputation. The Colebrook name would do her no good in future.

‘Your clothes have been sent for, so please don't worry,' the marchioness assured her.

Not worry? Only someone born to a position of privilege could say airily ‘don't worry' when there was everything in the world to worry about. She hoped they'd bring her hatbox, otherwise she might never see those precious pansies again.

But although her future looked like a huge, empty hole, she still had one duty to perform.

‘I must see my aunt,' she said.

‘No, my dear, you must not,' the marchioness rejoined firmly. ‘What if your uncle should arrive home while you are there?'

Juliana sat down on the bed. She hadn't thought of that. By now her uncle would know what she had done. He would be furious that she had helped destroy his business. He would be out for blood.

The marchioness seated herself on the elegant, spindly chair in front of the dressing-table. ‘Juliana, we are trying to keep you safe, but you must be warned. My husband, Colly, and Sir Alexander all feel that your aunt must have known about your uncle's exploits, my dear. She must have decided to ignore it.'

‘No doubt she was concerned for the roof over her head,' Juliana muttered.

‘Well …' Plainly the marchioness thought the same thing. ‘One must be charitable and acknowledge that women such as your aunt are not in a position to do anything, Juliana.'

Juliana sighed. ‘No, of course not. But how could she stand by and know that her husband and his accomplice were selling innocent children into lives of depravity? If it were me, I would have tried to find out where the children were being sent and I would have—'

‘That is the whole point, my dear. You are not your aunt, and you must not confuse yourself by thinking that everyone who bears the Colebrook name is dishonourable. There is one honourable member of the Colebrook family and that is Miss Juliana Colebrook.'

Juliana blinked rapidly. ‘Thank you, your ladyship. But frankly, if I thought the English could pronounce it, I would use my mother's surname.'

‘And what is that?'

‘Ervedosa.'

The marchioness trilled with laughter. ‘My dear, can you see us all getting our tongues around that? You would be “Miss Hervydose” in no time at all.' Then she sobered. ‘I have a much better idea. I think Juliana Hetherington sounds best of all.'

Juliana felt the hectic blush blooming on her cheeks and spreading. ‘G-good heavens, your ladyship.
Please
. Brigade-Major Hetherington
and I are not on those terms. Neither of us intends to marry. And besides—'

Someone knocked on the door. Much relieved to escape an inquisition, Juliana called, ‘Come in!'

One of the downstairs maids sidled into the room and bobbed a curtsy to the marchioness. Then she turned to Juliana. ‘Excuse me, miss, but Mr Hetherington asks if you would be so good as to meet him in the library.'

The marchioness coughed and smiled a knowing, ironic smile. To her credit she said nothing, but Juliana could see the lady was bursting out of her skin to say ‘I told you so.'

‘Er, thank you, Molly.' Juliana looked at the marchioness.

‘Go,' she said.

Juliana fled.