Victoria took a step back and banged with the back of her legs into the bench upon which she had just sat. She gasped and clutched the necklace around her long slender neck as her breathing quickened with the force of Winnie’s words.
“How can you be so cruel? I was only trying to help. I love our brother just as you do. And you shut me out this entire time. Maybe if you included me in your investigation and told me the details of your plans, I would not have needed to resort to this. But you do nothing, you told me nothing. I was rendered helpless, a mere witness to the fate that befell our brother. I knew nothing of what you were planning. I knew nothing other than that my entire family was about to be gone. I couldn’t leave Leo’s fate up to you and His Grace. He’s the only person who cares about me. If he’s gone, then I have nobody but Uncle Ezekiel and Aunt Anna.”
“That is not true. And you know it. I care for you very much.”
Even Winnifred had to admit that her tone did not reflect this proclaimed affection for her sister.
“You do not. And I have always known it. I am sorry that it all went so wrong. When I went to speak with the investigators, they told me their plan was fool-proof. We would leave an empty sack and wait for them to come to release Leo and Rose. They would then snatch them up and arrest them. They assured me that they knew what they were doing. And I believed them. How could I not? They are the ones we ought to turn to.”
Winnifred shook her head; she did not have any words left. Victoria raised her eyes at her sister and blinked. The tears had stopped running, but the stains remain on her face.
“I know you must hate me now. I can see I was wrong to trust these men, for their only true goal was to arrest the gang and its leader. I’ve found this out by listening to them this afternoon. They didn’t truly care about Leo or Rose at all. If something terrible happens to Leo, I will have to live with it for all of my life.” She shook her head and looked toward the exit. “I will go. There is nothing else left to say. The investigators have gone away, I do not know where to. But I do not wish to remain here waiting. I have ruined it all. And I am sorry. But please know that all I did was out of love for Leo.”
Winnie paused for a moment and then raised her eyes at her sister. “I know that you love our brother. I wish you could’ve just listened to me, but now you’ve endangered him even further.”
Victoria nodded, there was no fight left in her, something that greatly alarmed Winnifred, for her sister always had something to say. No matter what the reason for their disagreements and quarrels, and no matter who was in the right, Victoria never gave in. Today, she did.
As she turned to leave, Victoria pointed to something behind Winnifred.
“It seems your paramour has tracked down one of the Bow Street Runners. His name is Wilson. Mr. Wilson.”
When Winnie looked back, she saw her sister was correct. She saw Mr. Markham and Seth were talking to another man. He was a tall, thin fellow in an ill-fitting outfit that looked like it was trying to drown him alive. She started to make her way toward them when a sense of responsibility overtook her. Victoria was her younger sister, after all, and no matter what she’d done, she was family.
Her feet twitched as she glanced back over the shoulder. To her surprise, the spot where Victoria stood was empty. Winnie scrutinized the area and spotted her sister, already several feet away, her head hung low, and her shoulders slumped forward.
Off in the distance, Winnifred spotted Hester, Victoria’s maid. She wanted to call out to her sister—she did not want them to part on such terrible terms, but she couldn’t bring herself to. No, not when Seth and Mr. Markham had finally cornered one of these incompetent investigators. She rushed back to where they were standing, leaving Victoria to return home alone.
* * *
“Miss Keating?” Hester’s soft voice drifted to Victoria’s ear as she rushed down the gravel walkway.
“Let us go. I can’t bear to be here another moment, Hester. My gullibility might’ve killed my only brother. The only member of my family who truly loves me.”
She rushed along the path. The beautiful large trees on either side of her waved in the wind. How she loved Vauxhall Gardens, it was one of the few places she could visit with both Winnifred and Leo and not fall into quarrels with her sister because there was so much to do and so much to feast your eyes on.
A wave of nostalgia overcame Victoria as she remembered the last time she had been here, not even a month ago. A concert brought the three siblings here together. If she closed her eyes, she could still hear the beautiful music that so enchanted her. She could still see the thousands of lights that illuminated the Gardens that evening. How peaceful it had been. How easy that banter was between the three of them that night.
They’d enjoyed supper while overlooking the river and reminisced about the many times their parents brought them to Vauxhall Gardens over the years.
To think these Gardens, which have brought me so much joy over the years, should bring about such a tragic end for my brother. And at my hands. I know Winnie’s words were unnecessarily cruel, but they were true. It was my foolish decision to involve the authorities that might now cost my brother his life.
“Miss Keating, you know that is not true. Your sister loves you very much. It is just the two of you that have such different temperaments….”
“After today, my sister will hate me forever. And I cannot blame her.”
“Miss Keating, it wasn’t your fault. I was with you when you spoke to the investigators at the magistrate’s court. They seemed ever so sure of themselves. And they have such a stellar reputation for dealing with all the no-good scum in this town. After all, they made quick work of the highwaymen. Surely, nobody could blame you for wanting to trust them.”
“I should have been suspicious of their reaction when they saw the letter. They knew the handwriting at once. They knew that it belonged to one of the members of the Roamers. Did you see how wide Henderson’s eyes became when he realized this man Elton was involved in Leo’s disappearance? He all but salivated at the chance of catching him. They never cared about bringing home Leo and Lady Rose, they only cared about arresting these men.”
“That’s his occupation in life, Miss Keating,” Hester protested. “Do not be so hard on yourself. And do not take your sister’s words to heart. She has always been strong-minded, and she will realize how unjust her words were once she is in a better way.”
Hester, her maid since Victoria turned five-and-ten, was an older woman, not quite as old as their mother would have been, had she lived, but certainly older than most of their maids. Victoria usually found Hester’s mere presence a comfort, as something about her reminded Victoria of her mother.
Today, however, not even Hester’s soothing tone could put a stop to the self-hatred that overcame Victoria. As they passed the rotunda and stepped out of the Gardens and into the street, she could not help but wonder just how she was to continue in this life if something terrible happened to Leo.
No, Victoria was certain she would not have one joyful day in all of her life if her brother did not come back to them. She could never forgive herself—and neither would Winnie.
Chapter 21
