A Reason to Rebel (32 page)

“And you have not made her tell you if this is true? What sort of father are you? Did the bounder touch her?”

“That sort reckon they can do as they please with widowed women, but I doubt Estelle would have fallen for such an obvious ploy. Perhaps that is why they were at the solicitor’s establishment. To form a binding agreement before she submitted to his advances.”

“The blaggard!’ cried Cowper. “If he was here now I would plant him a facer for his impertinence.”

“Then here is your opportunity, Cowper.”

Alex, his expression set in stone, moved the curtain aside and stepped through the adjoining door.

Chapter Twenty

Estelle followed Alex into the room and enjoyed the sight of her father’s face turning white with shock. Cowper looked equally astonished but was the first to recover.

“Has…has this person made inappropriate advances towards you Mrs. Travis?”

“Unfortunately not.” Estelle shook her head, smiling in a secretive manner that implied precisely the opposite.

“Estelle, return to your room,” said Winthrop in a belated attempt to take command of the situation.

“I think not.”

“And you, sir.” Winthrop turned his attention towards Alex. “What is the meaning of this intrusion?”

“Oh, is that not obvious, Winthrop? Well then, permit me to explain. We understood that Cowper was in possession of something you wanted badly enough to offer him the selection of either of your daughters in return. However, we could not begin to think what it might be and so we contrived this little gathering in order to get to the bottom of the matter.”

“God damn your impudence, sir.”

“Cement, hum,” said Alex, ignoring the interruption. “I congratulate you on your foresight, Winthrop. This new combination of ground limestone and clay you spoke of will indeed revolutionize the industry, you are right about that. I can quite see why you were willing to sacrifice so much in order to be the first to the Patent Office with the idea.”

“You have been eavesdropping and yet call yourself a gentleman. Shame on you, sir.”

“It is not me who is likely to suffer shame, Winthrop. Stealing another man’s ideas for monetary gain is enough to have you transported. But plotting to murder another man because he stood in the way of your ambitions? Tut, tut.” Alex shook a finger beneath Winthrop’s nose. “Whichever way you look at it, there’s no escaping the fact that you are overdue an appointment with the hangman.”

“I shall deny it, of course, and you can prove none of it.”

“Oh, but I think we can.”

At a motion from Alex, Bradley and his colleague moved to subdue Cowper, but he adroitly evaded them and moved towards the door which Matthew had earlier locked. Finding his exit barred, Cowper turned with a growl of rage to face Bradley, only to discover that it was Alex who now stood between him and the connecting door.

Estelle watched the developing situation with a combination of fascination and dread, surprised that Cowper could absorb Alex’s chilling expression with every outward appearance of calm.

“Let me pass or it will be the worse for you.”

“Indeed, I should be most interested to learn how.”

“Then you will get your wish.” Cowper drew a shiv from his pocket and waved the weapon beneath Alex’s chin.

Alex laughed in his face. “With that toy? I hardly think so.”

“I shall enjoy extracting revenge for the heartache you have caused Mrs. Travis.”

“I was unaware that I had broken her heart. Are you fading away for want of my regard, Estelle?”

“Quite the reverse.” Estelle smiled at Alex. Fade away? Far from it. She had never felt so alive as when he had awoken her senses.

Cowper’s face darkened with obvious anger as he looked in her direction. He let out a frustrated roar. “You bastard! You would be wise to step aside and not antagonize me further. I think it only fair to warn you that I learned to fight in the rookeries and don’t abide by your gentlemanly rules of conduct.”

“Somehow that does not surprise me.”

“Do not imagine the fact that you are unarmed is likely to bother my conscience.”

“Thank you for the warning.” Alex bowed with mock solemnity. “Although it was scarce necessary. I did not suppose that you intended to fight fair, not if you entertain serious hopes of besting me.”

“You think yourself better than everyone. But your arrogance will be your downfall.”

“Undoubtedly, but not today, I think.”

They circled one another stealthily. Watching them, Estelle felt as though her heart had leapt into her mouth, aware that should Cowper win through underhand tactics she would be at his complete mercy. They were fighting over her, she realized with a jolt: Cowper because he wanted to own her, Alex because he wished to protect her. Cowper was armed with a dagger but Alex had nothing more than his wits to call upon. She was encouraged by the fact that he did not seem deterred by the unevenness of the contest. In fact he looked supremely confident.

Bradley and his colleague looked equally unconcerned, standing with arms folded as though they planned to enjoy the unfolding drama. Their faith in their master’s pugilistic abilities helped to calm her frazzled nerves. Would even Cowper dare to fatally injure a viscount or did he merely intend to get past him and through the door? Knowing how determined he was to possess her, she very much feared it might prove to be the former.

And he appeared to be gaining the upper hand. He forced Alex into a corner of the room and lashed out with his shiv when Estelle least expected it. It tore the fabric on the sleeve of Alex’s coat and Estelle could not prevent a small gasp escaping her lips when a thin line of blood soaking into the cloth. Alex fell to one knee, clutching his injured arm and Estelle feared that the fight must be over before it had even begun. Cowper clearly shared that view, his lips stretching across yellowing teeth in a parody of a smile as he observed Alex’s distress.

“This is likely to be easier than I imagined,” he said, his tone laden with satisfaction.

“So it would appear.” Alex, his attitude defeated, remained on the floor, completely at his attacker’s mercy.

“No!” cried Estelle as Cowper raised the dagger and angled it towards Alex’s heart. “Don’t harm him. Let him live and I will marry you.”

Cowper turned towards her, smiling in satisfaction. “So be it, my dear. Consider it my wedding present to you.”

Alex uncoiled his body from its crouched position, still clutching his arm. Estelle wanted to rush to him, to attend to his wound. But even more imperatively, she wanted to make him understand that she had done what she just did, promised herself to this odious man, for his sake. She would never be able to live with herself if he sacrificed his life on her account. But her feet appeared rooted to the spot and she could not move. Cowper, apparently convinced that Alex posed no further threat, stared at her with a hunger that turned her stomach.

Cowper’s momentary distraction was all Alex had been waiting for. With one swift tug that belied his injured status he pulled the rug from beneath Cowper’s feet. With a startled oath, Cowper tumbled to the floor, the shiv clattering on the wooden boards and coming to rest a safe distance away. Bradley swiftly claimed it whilst Alex, with an air of considerable satisfaction, buried his fist in the middle of the startled Cowper’s features.

“Did you really imagine you were the only one who was prepared to fight ugly?” he enquired mildly as Cowper swore profusely and dabbed ineffectively at his bloody nose.

Alex reached inside Cowper’s coat and extracted a sheaf of papers. He moved to stand beside Estelle and offered her a smile of reassurance, brushing away her attempts to look at his wounded arm.

“It is nothing more than a scratch. A convenient means to make Cowper think he had the upper hand. There was no need for you to offer yourself as sacrificial bait,” he added in an undertone, “although I appreciated the gesture. Ah, here are all the details of the cement that you were so anxious to get your hands on, Winthrop,” he said in a more normal voice. “Right here in Cowper’s coat all along. And in his own handwriting, too, I shouldn’t wonder. Well, if he used his position of trust in Leeds to steal the particulars, then he could hardly ask anyone else to write them down for him, could he now? Nor could he take the original papers or they would have been missed in an instant. So this scrawl must be his.”

Cowper was still sprawled on the floor with Bradley’s boot resting heavily on his chest. He regarded Alex with an expression of unmitigated loathing. Alex, impervious to his dislike, ignored him.

Estelle gazed at him, her emotions in turmoil. She had just witnessed the man she loved with a passion that scared her risk his life for her sake. She was overwhelmed by his willingness to take such a risk. Only slowly did she become conscious of Cowper’s gaze resting upon her in an attitude of such acute longing as to make her shiver. She turned away in contempt.

Her father appeared oblivious to the crowd of people in his study. He did not display the slightest anxiety about Cowper’s defeat, barely glancing in his direction. He clearly considered him to be expendable and rested his chin on steepled fingers, staring into the distance. “You have entered my house without my permission, Crawley.”

“I invited him in,” said Estelle.

“You are a woman and so your word carries little weight.” He waved her assertion aside. “Nothing you have heard here can be used against me,” he said to Alex, his voice gaining in confidence. “I would not recommend that you make a fool of yourself by repeating what you think you know. I will simply deny it, as will Cowper.”

“They are here with my permission, Father.” Matthew entered the room looking frail but resolute. “I believe I am still your heir, not banished from these premises and therefore in a position to invite whomsoever I please to join me here.”

“Matthew.” Her father appeared to deflate at the sight of his son, obviously aware that the game was up.

“And so, you see, Winthrop,” explained Alex, “your position really is completely hopeless.”

“What do you want of me?”

“I am glad you are prepared to be reasonable. It means we will be able to conclude our business more quickly and save the ladies from any more unpleasantness. But I think your son should be the one to outline his terms on behalf of himself and his sisters. After living beneath your tyranny for so long, it seems only just.”

“Father.” Matthew cleared his throat and spoke in a level voice that did not once waiver beneath his father’s blistering gaze. “You and Mother will leave this house within the next two days and go abroad. Forever. Porter here is an officer of the law and has a record of everything that was said in this room about Travis’s death. He will lodge those papers in his employer’s office, and if you step foot on English soil ever again, charges will be brought against you.”

“You cannot mean that.” The hands supporting her father’s chin were now visibly trembling, whether with rage or in frustration Estelle could not be entirely sure. Nor did she much care. “I am your father, when all’s said and done.”

“A father who was prepared to disown me.”

“I was not serious about that.”

“Were you not?” Matthew quirked a brow. “That is not how it felt to me. You, Cowper, will also leave the country or risk meeting a similar fate.”

“Matthew, you forgot to explain that your father and Cowper will sign confessions before they leave, which Porter will also lodge in his place of employment,” said Alex.

“Never!” cried both men together.

“Good,” said Alex in a languorous tone. “That is precisely the reaction I was hoping for. I personally would prefer to see you taken in charge immediately, you see, but for the sake of your children and their reputations I was persuaded to offer you a way out first.” He strolled across the room, confident and authoritative, the planes of his handsome face relaxed yet resolute. Estelle followed his every elegant move with her eyes, completely and absolutely in love with a man who could never be hers.

The two miscreants looked briefly at one another with calculating expressions, both appearing ready to shift the blame to the other in a last desperate attempt to save themselves. But Alex stood firm, deaf to their entreaties and the clumsy attempts on her father’s part to bribe him.

“Very well,” said her father, with a deathly look in his eye. “Since you leave me no alternative, let us be done with this.”

The confessions were written, signed and witnessed and the business was complete.