Heir to Greyladies (20 page)

He hadn’t turned his attention away from their former maid as she’d hoped, was still writing to her lawyer.

What did he hope to gain by it?

Joseph made his own way up the steps of Greyladies, even though it was a slow and ungainly business. At the top he turned to Harriet triumphantly. ‘A year ago, I couldn’t have done this. Moving about more is working.’

His face was alight at this small triumph and in that moment she loved him so much it took her breath away. ‘The more you practise, the better you’ll get, I’m sure, as long as you don’t overreach yourself. Just take it steadily, Joseph dear.’

The word ‘dear’ hung between them, then he smiled.

‘I will. Let’s go into the sitting room. I love to watch the sun set over the abbey. If you get Mickey to cut back some of the bushes, we – I mean
you
would have a better view of the ruins.’

But when they went into the sitting room, it was her he
was looking at, not the ruins, and so wistfully, she couldn’t help moving towards him, hand outstretched. He wouldn’t say it, so she must. ‘Oh, Joseph, don’t let anything stop you loving me, because I don’t think I could live without you now.’

Neither of them saw Miss Bowers pause in the doorway, smile, and move away again on tiptoe.

‘You can’t want to marry someone like me.’

‘I do.’

‘And I love you. You’re the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met, and if I were a proper man, I’d ask you to marry me this very minute.’

‘You
are
a proper man.’

‘We both know I’m not.’ He shook his head, with an obstinate look on his face, a look she recognised from the years of knowing him. She couldn’t think what to say to change his mind and anguish filled her at the thought that he’d throw away their happiness because of how he felt about himself.

No, she suddenly realised, it was because of how his family felt about him.
They
didn’t value him as he deserved, so he felt unworthy. Only how could she persuade him that he was the man she loved and always would be?

In the dimness of the room, a light suddenly began to glow in one corner.

They both turned to stare, expecting to see Flora bringing in a lamp. But there was no sign of the maid, just a steadily increasing glow that formed into a figure.

Joseph reached out for Harriet’s hand. ‘Is that who I think it is?’

‘Yes. It’s the Lady,’ Harriet whispered back. ‘I saw her
before, the first time I came here. She was standing at the top of the stairs then.’

The brightness drifted slowly towards them and the transparent figure stretched out both hands, smiling at them as if offering a blessing. She pointed to her left hand, where a ring seemed to catch sparks of light, and then to Harriet’s hand.

Then the figure began to fade. For a moment, the ring seemed to shine more brightly than the Lady, a gold wedding band.

Both stood watching as the figure began to dim and the light glowing around her dispersed. The gleaming ring vanishing last of all.

‘We didn’t imagine that, did we?’ Joseph asked in hushed tones.

‘No. She was really there. I think she came to give us her blessing.’

‘Two people can’t possibly imagine the same thing.’ Joseph’s voice was so soft it didn’t carry beyond the two of them.

‘People are usually frightened of ghosts, but I’m not frightened of her, not at all.’

‘Neither am I.’

She looked sideways at him. ‘Joseph, you know what she was encouraging us to do.’

‘Yes. But—’

‘Please don’t say
but
in that tone!’

‘You don’t know how horrible my body is, Harriet,’ he said desperately. ‘And I don’t know if I can love a woman as a husband should. You’ll despise me, I know you will.’

‘I could never despise you.’ She bent to drag him up
from his wheelchair and after a moment’s resistance, he let himself stand close to her.

As he stood there, he groaned. ‘I shouldn’t take advantage of you.’ But before she could answer, he’d drawn her into his arms and was kissing her, gently, tenderly but with increasing passion.

When he pulled away, he gave a shaky laugh. ‘I can’t even get down on my knees to propose to you, but Harriet, my darling Harriet, will you marry me?’

‘Of course I will.’

Someone sighed and they both jerked round, to see Miss Bowers looking at them from the doorway with a sentimental expression.

Giving them a beaming smile, she hurried across the room, to kiss first Harriet then Joseph on the cheek. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it was so lovely to hear your declaration that I couldn’t move away. Let me be the first to congratulate you.’

‘Then you approve?’ Joseph asked.

‘Of course I do. I guessed almost at once that you were in love with one another, but you were so young, so inexperienced, I didn’t say anything until you did.’

‘Did you see the Lady?’ Harriet asked.

‘What lady?’

‘The ghost.’

‘Oh, no. I never have done. Did you see her?’

‘Yes. We both did. She seemed to be giving us her blessing.’

‘Well, there you are, then. It was meant to be.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘We must arrange a wedding immediately.’

‘I’d need permission, surely? I’m under twenty-one,’ Harriet said.

‘We’ll ask Mr Greenlow what the law says about that. I know a magistrate can give people permission if their parents refuse, as long as the request is reasonable. I remember it happening in the village once. So maybe he can give you permission, since you no longer have parents.’ She wrinkled her brow in thought. ‘Dear me! How you forget details as you grow older.’

She looked at Joseph. ‘You’re over twenty-one, aren’t you?’

‘Oh, yes.’

‘That’s one of you old enough, then. Look, I’ll send Mickey over to the Greenlows immediately with a note that we need to see Mr Greenlow in his capacity as magistrate first thing in the morning, because something’s come up and it’s urgent. If anyone will know the law, he will. And once you’re married, then it’ll be your husband who is your guardian, my dear girl, so you’ll be safe.’ She beamed at them triumphantly.

Harriet frowned. ‘I can’t imagine anything I’d like more than to marry Joseph, but … it all seems too easy.’

‘Don’t say that.’

‘We must try,’ Joseph said. ‘We may be able to find a way through all this. And if not, you can still run away. I’d wait for you.’

‘Well, we have a little time,’ Harriet agreed. ‘Mr Lloyd hasn’t told my stepmother where I am, and he won’t unless he’s forced to. Only … Norris can be very violent when crossed. He got into a lot of fights as he was growing up.’

‘If he comes near here, we’ll whisk you
both
away,’ Miss
Bowers said. ‘I know any number of people on the farms near the village who’d give you shelter. We’ll find a way through this somehow.’

Harriet smiled at her, then at Joseph, letting herself hope. They might meet difficulties, but surely they’d find a way through.

But the following morning, she woke up feeling apprehensive, her feeling of optimism stifled by a grey cloud of doubt and a sense that something was going to go wrong.

Mr Lloyd would be seeing Norris and his mother again tomorrow. And he’d written to say that nothing definite had come up to allow her to escape her stepmother’s control.

What would he say when he found out she was going to marry Joseph? Would he approve?

Would marrying Joseph be enough to free her? Surely it would? It had to be.

If not, she’d run away till she was twenty-one.

When Norris got home, bubbling with excitement, his mother looked at him sharply. ‘What did you find out?’

‘Make me a cup of tea and I’ll tell you. No, make it a glass of port. We have something to celebrate.’

Her face brightened. ‘She’s inherited some money?’

‘Better than that.’

She looked at him blankly. ‘What can be better than that?’

He grinned and mimed sipping from a glass.

‘Oh, you!’ She went into the front room and poured them both a brimming glass of port, coming back to hand one to him. ‘Well?’

‘Harriet has inherited a huge old house called Greyladies.
It’d have at least twenty rooms and it has big gardens round it.’

‘You’re having me on.’

‘No. This is too important to joke about.’ He raised his glass. ‘To Harriet and her inheritance.’

She took an impatient sip. ‘You’re sure of this?’

‘Well, the lawyer will have to confirm it, but everyone in the village is talking about it and …’ He lifted the glass again, tormenting her.

She punched him in the arm to make him go on. ‘What else do you know?’

‘I saw her, riding in a carriage. And it turned into the drive of Greyladies.’

‘Oh, my life! And I’m her guardian. We’re rich.’

‘Not yet, we’re not.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, you don’t think that lawyer will let us sell the house or take over everything permanently, do you?’

‘If I’m her guardian I can do what I want.’

‘Till she’s twenty-one. That’s only, what, two years? Less than. Her birthday’s in May.’

She scowled. ‘You can do a lot in two years. Sell all she’s got.’

‘You can’t rob people of everything they own, not when they’re rich. Someone is bound to kick up a fuss. No, we need to do something more permanent.’

She looked at him suspiciously. ‘Such as?’

‘I’ll marry her. Then I’ll have her
and
whatever she’s inherited.’

‘What about me? I’ll have nothing.’

‘You know I’ll always look after you, Ma.’

‘You’d better. Only your plan won’t work because she won’t marry you. You tried to force her and she’ll never forgive you for that.’

‘Well, if necessary I’ll force her again, and when she’s carrying my child, she’ll have to marry me.’

‘I wouldn’t, if I were her.’

He scowled. ‘Are you on my side or not?’

‘I’m telling you how any woman would feel.’

‘I’ll find a way to persuade her, believe me.’

‘
We
will find a way. That’s why you need me. And then
we
will share the money. And unless you put that in writing, I’m not going on with this.’

‘Ma, once I’ve married her, you’ll be set up for life.’

‘I don’t know anything about what you’ll be like if you get your hands on a lot of money. No, I’m making sure from the start. I’ll find a piece of paper and we’ll write down an agreement. Then I’ll get my friends to witness it, two copies. And I’ll lodge one in the bank, for security.’

There was dead silence, then he shrugged. ‘All right. There’ll be more than enough to share.’

And his mother wouldn’t live more than another ten years, twenty at most, after which it’d all come back to him. He smiled. ‘You’re a cunning devil, Ma.’

‘You won’t soft-soap me, Norris. I know you too well. We’ll put it in writing.’

Mr Greenlow rode across to see Joseph and Harriet on the Thursday morning, setting off as soon as he got the letter announcing their engagement.

‘Congratulations, my dear young people,’ he boomed at them as soon as he entered the house.

Joseph had to ask, ‘You feel it’s the right thing to do, sir? Marrying Harriet, I mean. It’s what I want – more than anything – but am I being selfish?’ He looked down at himself.

‘Not at all, lad.’ He gave the wheelchair a dismissive wave. ‘That doesn’t matter; it’s what’s in here that counts.’ He clapped his hand to his chest.

Joseph smiled at Harriet, feeling that he’d got permission to love her from a man whose judgement he valued and who could do something to help them get married. ‘So how do we set about it, given that Harriet is under age and needs permission to marry? I think we need to act as quickly as possible, don’t you?’

‘Sounds like it, if that stepmother is as greedy as Harriet says. I can give her permission to marry, but I’d better call in
a colleague so that it’s not a single decision. Much safer to have two opinions on that – harder for anyone to overturn.’

‘How quickly can you organise it?’

‘I’ll ask Murborough to come and see me. It’ll have to be on Saturday because he’s presiding over a court sitting today. He’s a very reasonable fellow and lives only a couple of miles away from me. I assume you’ll come to a hearing at my house if I send you word? I’ll send my carriage to bring you, of course.’

Harriet put her hand on Joseph’s shoulder. ‘We’ll come immediately. We’ll do whatever it takes. And thank you so much for your kindness.’

Mr Greenlow shrugged and made a few huffing noises, clearly not at ease being praised. ‘Once we have officially given you permission, you can get a special licence and be married a day later. But you’ll have to go into Swindon for that, Joseph. I’m happy to lend you my carriage again.’ He looked across at the clock. ‘Now, I’ll have to go, I’m afraid. I’ve got someone coming to see me.’

As he stood up, he cocked one eyebrow at Miss Bowers. ‘You knew this would happen, didn’t you?’

She smiled back serenely. ‘I guessed. I can always tell when people are in love.’

Joseph went with him to the door, not bothering about his wheelchair, because he felt quite at ease with this visitor.

When they were alone, Miss Bowers turned to Harriet with some concern. ‘You keep frowning. You are sure of what you’re doing, aren’t you?’

‘Marrying Joseph? Oh, yes. I’m quite sure of that. I don’t know why I didn’t realise earlier how much I loved him. It’s just … I still feel something could so easily go wrong.’

‘Don’t say that. It’ll bring bad luck.’

Harriet shrugged. ‘I’m trying to believe things will go smoothly. Please don’t mention my worries to Joseph. He looks so happy.’

Miss Bowers smiled. ‘So do you when you’re with him.’

Five minutes before Harding and his mother were due to arrive on the Saturday, the post was delivered to Mr Lloyd. When he saw a letter from Harriet, he called the junior back. ‘Send Perkins in to me.’

The clerk was there within seconds.

‘Perkins, I’ve received a letter from Miss Latimer. Don’t send Harding and his mother in to me till I’ve read it and seen what news it brings. I may have to think what to do if there’s another crisis at Greyladies. Is your nephew here?’

‘Yes, sir. He’s waiting in the inner corridor.’

‘Fine, strong fellow, your nephew. Tell him to stand outside my office. I’ll send him along to fetch them when I’m ready.’ If it was cowardly to have what could only be described as a bodyguard present, Reginald didn’t care. He was not a big man, while Harding was burly … and brutal. There was no other word for the expression on that young man’s face.

Reginald slit the letter open and read it quickly. ‘Ah!’ Then he read it again more slowly, nodding a couple of times. ‘That’s the answer, especially with Greenlow on their side. He’s a jolly good fellow, Greenlow is.’

But they needed time to arrange everything, so he had to persuade Harding to wait before he did anything else. Not only did Harriet and Joseph need time to gain the magistrate’s permission to marry, but they needed to do the deed
before
they faced her so-called guardian.

Thank goodness Harding didn’t know where she was. That should give the young couple plenty of time if they started organising things straight away.

Unless Harding got a magistrate to insist he give them the information about where Harriet was. Reginald sighed. You could only bend the law so far.

So he’d better be conciliatory with them. Difficult that. He didn’t know when he’d disliked someone as much as Harding.

On the Saturday morning, Norris once again escorted his mother into Swindon. She was wearing the silly hat and he didn’t care, because he was feeling happy. As an afterthought, he’d asked his friend, Pat, to come along with them, just in case he needed someone to back him up in a difficult situation.

‘Don’t forget, Ma,’ he said as the train approached Swindon. ‘Don’t make any threats. And above all, don’t let on that I’ve been to Challerton already and know exactly where to find her. And Pat, you stay outside. Only come in if I call you.’

‘As long as you pay me, I’ll stand outside all day,’ Pat said with a grin.

Winifred scowled at her son. ‘Why do we have to pretend you don’t know where she is?’

‘Because we don’t want him to warn her that we’re on to her. This’ll all fall to pieces if she runs away and manages to stay hidden till she’s twenty-one. No money for us then. She might even marry someone else.’

Winifred sighed. ‘I was looking forward to telling that uppity sod we know what’s happened and making him dance to our tune,’ she grumbled.

‘We can tell him we know she’s inherited a house. That’ll upset him nicely. But we’ll pretend to be patient and agree to wait until he arranges a meeting.’

Norris didn’t feel patient, though. The glimpse of Harriet in the carriage had set him off again, wanting her, needing to show her who was master. She’d had that effect on him even when she was younger, and she was much prettier now. Ripe for the plucking.

His mother looked at him, head on one side. ‘I don’t envy her. You get that look to you sometimes when you talk about her.’

‘What look is that?’

‘The same one your father used to get when he was feeling like some bed play. I don’t envy that girl if you’re as active as he was in bed. It’s exhausting. If he’d lived, you’d probably have had half a dozen brothers and sisters.’

Behind them, Pat chuckled. ‘You don’t know the half of it with your son, missus. He’s a terror with the women.’

Norris smiled. ‘And a man has rights over his wife.’

‘Yes. So I found out,’ his mother said. ‘It’s why I’m not marrying again.’

As they approached the lawyer’s rooms, Norris stopped. ‘You wait for us here, Pat. When we come out, you follow us till we’re out of sight of their windows. Make sure they’ve not set anyone on to follow us.’

Pat obligingly stayed where he was.

Norris pointed his forefinger at his mother. ‘Remember what I said!’

‘You’re in a bossy mood today. And why you had to bring that fellow Pat along, I don’t know.’

‘I don’t want anything to go wrong. You’d be no good in a fight.’

‘You said you could do it without violence.’

‘I can. But I’m taking no chances from now on.’

The elderly clerk greeted them with the same sour expression. ‘Mr Lloyd won’t be a minute. Please take a seat.’

‘He isn’t going to be long, is he?’ Norris waited for his mother to sit, then took the chair beside hers.

‘I shouldn’t think so. He’s expecting you.’

The same burly man came along to collect them a few minutes later. Norris waved his mother to go first and sauntered into the lawyer’s office behind her.

Mr Lloyd stood up and gestured to the two chairs. ‘Please sit down.’

They did that and waited, but he didn’t speak, just continued to stare thoughtfully at them.

Norris wasn’t putting up with that. ‘Well? What did Harriet say?’

‘She was upset. Wants me to ask you to agree terms.’

‘Terms?’ Winifred asked.

‘She thought you might accept a regular payment to leave her where she is, living with friends. She’d be able to pay double her former wages.’

Norris wasn’t in the mood for playing around. ‘That seems a very low payment, considering she’s just inherited a big house.’

The lawyer’s mouth fell open and his voice came out rough with shock. ‘How did you find out about that?’

‘I’ve got friends too, more than she has, probably. And I don’t see why we should put up with such a small payment
or even pay rent ourselves when there’s a big house available. No, we’ll move in with her.’

‘I’ll … um, consult her. Perhaps she could offer you more money?’

‘And perhaps we
prefer
moving in with her to money,’ Norris threw back at him. ‘We’ll be able to look after her properly then. She’s only got us in the world, you know.’

‘You can call it consulting. I call it making her face facts,’ Winifred snapped. ‘I’m not spending good money coming to and from Swindon, just so that you can charge us for all these meetings.’

‘It’s Miss Latimer who’s paying me.’

‘Miss Benson.’

‘It’s a condition of the inheritance that she takes the name Latimer, and her husband too if she ever marries.’

‘That’s a strange thing to ask,’ Winifred said.

‘It’s always been that way with the family. The house passes down the female line, but the name stays the same.’ He didn’t say the word Greyladies, didn’t want them to go there.

‘Tell her we want to see
her
here next time, and then we want to go and see the house.’ Norris could have laughed at the sour expression on the lawyer’s face but he kept himself under control. He had to play this very carefully. There was a big prize at stake, but Harriet had to be caught first. Literally.

He didn’t care if he had to change his name to get the house, but it’d go to his son after that, not a daughter.

‘We’ll give her till Monday,’ Winifred said. ‘Tell her to be here then.’

‘I’m not sure we can arrange matters so quickly, not over
a weekend. Make it Tuesday, at least, to allow time for the post.’

She looked at her son and at his nod, said, ‘Tuesday, then. But no later. And no playing tricks. She’s to be here.’

Norris stood up, nudging his mother to move. He wasn’t sure she could keep quiet for much longer. Lloyd was talking to them carefully and slowly, as if they were stupid. There were spots of red in her cheeks and her eyes betrayed her anger. He wished he dare let her off the reins. He’d love to watch her give that idiot what for.

‘We’ll be here at the same time on Tuesday, then. If Harriet isn’t waiting for us, we’ll go straight to the nearest magistrate and get a piece of paper that says she has to do as we say and
you
have to tell us where she is. We’ve been patient – very patient indeed – giving her time to get used to the idea. Tell her that. But we’re starting to run out of patience now.’

When they were out in the street, his mother would have spoken, but he started walking more quickly, saying, ‘Shh. Not till we’re away from there. And let’s make sure they haven’t set anyone on to follow us.’

Pat fell in behind them, whistling cheerfully. After a while, he caught up with them. ‘There’s no one following you. Go all right with that lawyer, did it?’

‘It went very well indeed. Are you free for more work like this?’

‘Of course. Didn’t even have to do anything today, did I? Easy money.’

‘Has your brother still got that motor car?’

‘Yeah. You’d think it was a baby, the way he polishes it and talks to it.’

‘I’ll have to think about the best way to do this, and when I do, I’ll need you both. I’ll pay well.’

‘We’re both very fond of money.’

On Sunday morning, a motor car pulled off the road at Challerton and turned into the drive of Greyladies.

Harriet was in the hall, on her way to see Livvy in the kitchen, when Joseph yelled from the sitting room, ‘Come here quickly, Harriet!’

She went running in, thinking to find him fallen or in some other trouble. Instead, he was standing up next to the fireplace and the secret panel was sliding slowly open.

‘Peep out of the window. Is that your stepbrother?’

‘Yes. And his mother. Oh, my goodness! He’s brought the O’Sullivans with him as well. They’re a rough pair. How did he know I was here? What am I going to do?’

‘Get into the hiding place quickly so that the panel has time to close before he comes into the house. I’ll tell him you’re out. You may have to stay there for some hours. Will you be all right?’

‘Yes. It’s you I’ll be worrying about.’

‘Don’t. Who’d suspect a poor cripple of being able to do anything? I’ll sit in my chair and pretend I can’t walk. Put on a bit of a stupid act, too. They always think people in wheelchairs are stupid.’ He pushed her inside. ‘Close it now.’

He stood back. ‘And remember how much I love you,’ he called softly as the panel slid into place.

Then he moved across to his wheelchair, picking up his book and holding it on his lap as if interrupted in his reading. On a sudden thought he rolled his chair to a place from which he could see out into the hall.

When a car drew up at the house, with three rough-looking men in it and a blowsy female with a ridiculous hat, Miss Bowers went towards the sitting room to ask if they knew the visitors.

She heard what Joseph told Harriet, so rushed back into the kitchen to warn the servants. She told Flora to answer the door as usual, but to be ready to fetch help from the village if there was trouble.

The two younger women stared at her in shock.

‘The man who’s turned up is Miss Latimer’s stepbrother and he’s hurt the mistress before. And he’s brought two rough-looking men with him.’

Phyllis let out a whimper.

‘Pull yourself together, girl,’ Miss Bowers snapped. ‘If you act normal, they won’t hurt you.’