“I’m surprised there are still so many paintings still hanging,” Gerald observed.“Although it looks like some didn’t make it through the last party.” He pointed to a pile at the end of the hall. [JD1]“Let’s start with the study.”
The study, like the rest of the house, was a shambles. Drawers were pulled out, books were thrown and scattered all over the floor. And bottles were smashed.
“It appears he was looking for something,” Banbury observed. He pointed to the open safe—the door was still hanging open. “Lady Bowles said he made her give him the combination.”
Gerald felt an almost menacing presence in the room. He silently fumed as he recalled Selena’s story. Vern had terrorized Selena and her mother. No woman should have to endure such treatment. He silently swore he would make Vern pay.
They continued to sift through papers and books, searching for something that could tell them what Vern was planning.
“Vern might be insane, but he’s a clever bastard,” Gerald said. “He knows his impersonation of Percival Bowles could not last more than a few months at best.”
“True, and he couldn’t just go to London to meet with the solicitors to get his greedy hands on Bowles’ money. Such actions would be questioned by the solicitors, and he couldn’t risk that,” Banbury added.
“Nor could he sell any paintings or furnishings,” Wright said. “There wouldn’t be time for that either. Not to mention he would be drawing attention to himself.”
“Eventually word would get out,” Gerald said.
“There are enough people out there who know what Percival looks like, including myself,” Wright added.
“But as we’ve seen, he stole all the jewelry they had in the house, he could make his escape with that,” Banbury suggested.
“True, but it would still take time for him to sell it on the black market,” Wright said. “Yes, there are pirates who will take jewelry as payment, but they would most likely slit his throat while he’s sleeping.
“And there weren’t enough funds in the house for him to be able to plan his escape to God knows where,” Banbury said. “So, what is there left for him to do?”
Gerald saw the corner of a document that had slid to the floor, peeking out from under the desk. He picked it up and quickly scanned it, shouting a curse as everything crystalized in his mind. “It’s our betrothal contract. Mine and Selena’s.” He held it up for his friends to read. “He knows!” he shouted. “Damn it to hell. He knows. Selena is to inherit her grandmother’s estates and money on her 21stbirthday.” It’s right there plain as day in the betrothal contract. He raked his hands through his hair. “Her birthday is in two weeks! He’s planning to kidnap her. We’ve got to get the hell out of here and back to Bellwood.”
As they made their way out of the study, they heard a vase topple over and footsteps running down the hall. Alarmed, Gerald and his friends took off after the intruders.
They followed the thieves to the kitchen. Signaling to Wright and Banbury, Gerald entered the kitchen on stealthy feet. He could hear crying and whispering that sounded like it was coming from the larder—a room with the door standing propped against the wall. It must’ve gotten in someone’s way, and they saw fit to rip it off—like so many other doors and drawers they had seen since their arrival. He stepped inside scanning the almost empty larder and in the far corner huddled behind a pile of empty baskets, he saw them. A little boy, who appeared to be seven, and a little girl. Their tear-stained faces were stark with fear as they clung tightly to each other.
“Well, who do we have here?” Gerald asked, a little more abruptly than he intended as Banbury and Wright entered right behind him. The little girl began to shake even more. “What are your names?” he asked, in a gentle voice, as he crouched down.
The little boy pushed the little girl behind him as though protecting her, and stood, with his shoulders straight, as though willing to take any punishment on her behalf. “M’name’s Paul and this be m’lilsister, Kat,” he said in an accent that sounded slightly cockney.
“Where are your parents, Paul? More to the point, why are you here?” Wright asked.
“Our mum brung us here when she got off work atThe Pig and The Poke. She said there would be nice things for us and plenty of good food to eat. When we got here, there weren’t much in the way of food. I managed to find us some apples. Mum told us to stay put and she went off with some bloke. She were laughing with him, and he passed her a bottle of whiskey as they left. Kat and I waited and waited until we fell asleep and when we woke, everyone was gone.”
“Where do you live?” Wright asked.
“Makes no difference, now. We never had one place to live. Mum was always moving from village to village. I guess she got tired of bringing us along with her.” The boy’s lower lip trembled as he spoke. I’m taking care of my baby sister. Our mum don’t want us.”
“How long have you been here, Paul?” Banbury asked softly crouching down next to Gerald.
“Maybe four days,” the little boy said. “Like I said, we ate what we found on the tables, but t’weren’t much.”
Gerald looked at the children. They were severely malnourished and clearly in need of a bath and care. Anger roiled in his belly. What kind of mother would treat her children like that and then abandon them? “We don’t mean you any harm. Would you allow us to help you?” Gerald asked. “We have food with us and warm blankets. We can take you to my home where we can help you.”
Paul turned to his little sister and whispered in her ear. She in turn whispered back.
“All right, we’ll go with you, milord,” the boy said to Gerald. “But please feed Kat first, she hasn’t been feeling too good.”
“I promise you we have more than enough food for both of you,” Gerald said gently.
They helped the children out of the hiding place. “Gerald picked up Kat and carried her in his arms and Banbury held Paul’s hand as they walked back out to their horses where their footmen were waiting.
Wrapping the children in blankets, they fed them from their supplies and gave them water.
