Redemption (23 page)

“I
should be grateful if you would allow me to take Julian’s papers
home with me this evening. I want to take a closer look at
them.”

“That’s
fine,” Lizzie murmured, unable to deny him anything.

Ben
tipped his head to peer down at her. “Hopefully, now that Trent
knows where Julian is you won’t be bothered by him again. He has no
reason to approach you now.”

“Why do
you think he has approached me? I mean, surely he doesn’t expect me
to just hand him a load of money over? What is to say that Julian
actually owes Trent anything?” She gasped. “I am not defending him,
you understand, but I am not some addle brained female who will be
bullied into handing someone cash when they demand it.”

“He
undoubtedly wants to use you to get Julian to pay him.”

“Kidnap
me, you mean?”

“Look, I
am not saying that for definite. He may have just been trying to
get you to pay him on Julian’s behalf. You know, a woman by herself
is vulnerable, and with him being the disreputable type he would
think nothing of bullying you to get his money. Don’t take any
risks, that’s all I am saying, Lizzie,” Ben sighed. “This is London
after all, not the wilds of Derbyshire. There are pick-pockets and
scoundrels in every quarter, you know that.”

Lizzie
knew he was right. She sighed ruefully and studied the carriage
floor.

“Just
don’t take risks, that’s all I am saying. God knows that Julian has
been getting himself into; and what dangers Trent hinted at
surrounding him. Whatever they are, you should not be involved in
it.”

“I have
brought you so much trouble, haven’t I?” she whispered
morosely.

“I don’t
mind. Besides, I quite like coming to the help of a damsel in
distress,” he mused, resting his head against the squabs and
tugging her closer still.

She
smiled. “I am just glad that Julian is languishing in jail and
isn’t around to give us any more trouble.”

Ben
snorted. “I doubt that he is languishing. I hear that the work
there is endless and the hours long, while the food is poor and
hope of escape is non-existent. I hope I don’t offend you when I
say that I think it will do Julian a lot of good to experience that
kind of life for a while. If it helps him appreciate the things he
was given through birth right, and ensures that he doesn’t take
them for granted so much and looks after them a bit better in the
future, then his spell in prison can only be a good
thing.”

“I
know,” Lizzie sighed. She was struggling to turn her attention off
what had just happened in the street, and glanced out of the window
with an apprehensive shudder. “That was the same man who accosted
me outside the hotel this morning - Trent,” she whispered in a
voice that was barely audible. “He seems mighty determined, doesn’t
he?”

Ben
heard her though and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Well,
he is nothing if not persistent,” he growled. “In the morning, stay
at the hotel until I arrive to fetch you. Don’t leave the hotel
without me. I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself from now
on.”

“I think
it is pertinent for me to go and see Julian again to find out what
his connection is to Trent.”

Ben
shook his head. “Let’s take a closer look at these papers first.
Then, once we have your belongings out of that house and the place
has been secured, and your solicitor has Julian’s signature on the
papers he should sign, you can turn your back on the entire debacle
and leave your step-brother to sort out his own problems upon his
release.”

“I
wonder if he plans to reside at Pendlebury when he is allowed
out?”

Ben
doubted it. “If the locks are changed, and his half of the property
effectively belongs to the bank, he has no right to stay there. I
am not telling you what to do, but I think it would be incredibly
foolish to hand over the keys to Julian again, especially given he
has connections of some kind to Trent. If you don’t want to deal
with it yourself, give the keys to the solicitor. Let them handle
it. If Julian wants access to the property then he needs to get his
own legal counsel to work on his behalf, and provide a reason why
he should be let back in.”

She
nodded, and yawned sleepily as she listened to the reassuring thump
of Ben’s heart beneath her ear. There was something strangely
reassuring about the sound and she snuggled closer contentedly and,
as far as she was concerned, the longer the journey could continue
the better.

Back in
the road they left behind a large black carriage rolled slowly
forward. Its silent and watchful occupant studied Pendlebury House
while a second man climbed aboard. As soon as the door closed, the
huge lumbering monstrosity disappeared into the thickening fog as
silently as it arrived. The only sign that it had been there at all
was the sound of the steady clip-clop of the horses’ hooves on the
cobbled surface of the road.

On the
other side of town, Ben watched Lizzie disappear up the main
staircase of the hotel before he reluctantly returned to the
waiting carriage and rapped out the directions to his home. He
hated to leave her even for a moment but he had no choice. Having
to bow politely over her hand rather than kiss her soundly the way
he wanted to do didn’t sit too well with him either, and he wished
now that he had stolen a few more kisses while they had been alone.
It was too late now though. Lizzie had gone to find her aunt and
her bed for the night, and not a moment too soon if the paleness of
her cheeks was any indication.

As he
made his way home, Ben turned his attention back to what he had to
do next in order to protect her. First things first, he had to read
the contents of the papers in his pocket. He rather felt that they
were the key to Julian’s strange activities of late; of which he
suspected were more complex than he first thought.

For some
strange reason, he wouldn’t quite let go of the thought that Julian
had caused Lizzie’s disappearance to get her away from the danger
Trent mentioned. It seemed strangely odd behaviour for someone as
cold-hearted and self-centred as Julian, but why else would someone
like Pendlebury turn his back on his self-indulgent lifestyle for
the rather dubious confines of a prison while knowing that the
woman whose death he had been arrested for was indeed alive and
well, and living in Derbyshire?

It
struck Ben as deuced odd that he should not write to Lizzie as soon
as he had her address, especially since Ben had threatened him with
arrest from the first day of her disappearance. He rather suspected
that there was something Julian hadn’t told anyone yet, and that
Trent knew what that was. However, the last thing Ben was going to
do though was approach Trent for details.

That
meant that he only had one course of action left available: he
needed to go to see Julian in prison, preferably before Lizzie
did.

CHAPTER
TEN

The
following morning, Ben stood back while the guard opened the door
to the visitor’s room in the jail. He was a little surprised to
find Julian already waiting inside but, having spent the last few
moments talking to the warden, his own arrival was a little
delayed. Still, he had found out what he had wanted to know, namely
that the solicitor hadn’t been to the jail yet, but planned to
visit tomorrow. Meantime, the papers confirming Lizzie’s survival
were on their way to the magistrate. That gave Ben today to
discover what he could about Julian’s problems before he could
decide how best to keep Lizzie safe.

“McArthur,” Julian growled. A dark scowl marred his pale face
as he watched the guard close the door. He turned accusatory eyes
on Ben. “Where is my sister?”

“Step-sister, Pendlebury, there is a difference.” Ben shook
his head in disgust at the state of the man opposite. His sallow
complexion sat amid cheekbones that were more prominent than Ben
had ever seen on anyone. When accompanied by sunken, bloodshot
eyes, and grubby clothing, Julian looked as though he had descended
about as low as it was possible to get in life.

“What do
you want?”

“I want
to know what connection you have to Trent.” Ben threw the man
opposite a warning look. “Don’t try to deny it. We spoke to him
last night. He is looking for you.”

Julian
leaned bony elbows on the table and dropped his head into his
hands; and became a vision of absolute dejection but it had little
impact on Ben. Julian’s once straight and proud shoulders drooped
despondently in a manner of a man who had last all hope and was now
sunken into the deepest pit of despair. As far as Ben was
concerned, he deserved every second of the misery he endured given
what he had put Lizzie through.

“Where
is Lizzie now?” Julian asked, ignoring the question.

“She is
at my house. She was residing in a hotel but I moved her to my
house where the staff can keep an eye on them.” Moving Lizzie to
McArthur House was the next on Ben’s list of things to do this
morning but he didn’t tell Julian that. It really was none of his
business any more.

Julian
turned a sharpened gaze on Ben. “I need to see Lizzie.”

“Not a
chance. I am not going to countenance you dragging her here again.
It is no place for a lady. She doesn’t belong here, not even for a
brief visit.”

“So what
do you want, McArthur?”

“We left
a note for your mistress. I have demanded that she move out
immediately,” Ben announced.

“You did
what?”
There was no anger on Julian’s face, just
surprise.

“I have
also arranged for the locks to be changed before I hand the keys to
the solicitor. When you leave here you will need to go to them.
They have some papers for you to sign. You need to put forward an
argument to them to be able to stay at Pendlebury House again. It
is effectively no longer yours to reside in now.” Ben felt an air
of satisfaction as he informed Julian of his dire circumstances
outside of the jail. Still, there was some niggling element of
worry that refused to leave Ben. Julian was taking this all too
calmly; too rationally. He was far too thoughtful than was
characteristic, and that troubled Ben more than anything. Something
was wrong, he was sure of it.

“I know
I need to sign Bristledown over to her. I said she could have the
damned place and I meant it,” Julian groused.

“Not
just Bristledown,” Ben countered. “Pendlebury House too.” He
watched recognition dawn on Julian’s face. “The sale of Pendlebury,
which Lizzie has agreed to by the way, will enable you to pay the
bank the money you owe. However, you will still owe them a
considerable amount, and will struggle to pay them off without a
proper job. Not only that but you owe Trent a significant amount of
money too.”

“No, I
do not,” Julian snorted in outrage. “I don’t owe Trent a single
penny. If that’s what he told you the man is a bloody
liar.”

“Well,
Trent says that you do.”

“Trent
is lying,” Julian protested.

“Can you
prove it?” Ben challenged. There was a glint of something in
Julian’s eye that warned Ben that he was being honest. If that was
the case, what other connection could Julian have with Trent that
made the gangster so determined to speak to Lizzie?

Julian
turned sullen. “No, I don’t. You know I don’t. Men like Trent don’t
leave a paper trail. I only went to his gaming house once but the
bastard set me up. I was in my cups, and the drink just kept on
coming. When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in bed with
that blasted troll of a sister of his. Before I could get out of
the place, Trent himself walked in and claimed that I owed him a
hell of a lot of money.”

“You
don’t have any recollection of running the debts up?” Ben frowned.
He sensed from the way that Julian was speaking that he was finally
telling the truth. Why would Trent lie though?

“I was
already in my cups when I arrived, and drank steadily while I was
at the tables. My good friend, Samson, was there too. He was
drinking just as much as I was.”

“He was
found floating face down in a river in a park by some woman. The
Star Elite are investigating,” Ben murmured. This made Julian perk
up and he stared at Ben with renewed interest.

“
The Star Elite are involved?” he gulped as though he was
sensing a rainbow at the end of his personal storm. He leaned back
in his chair with an uncharacteristic air of satisfaction about him
that made Ben blink. The speed in which this man changed emotions
was shocking, and left Ben to wonder just who the real Julian
Pendlebury was.

Was he
the down and out wastrel nabob who had fallen on hard times and
felt as dejected and morose about life as he looked? Or was the
sadness Ben had witnessed a moment ago merely a front for less
affected emotions Julian had unwittingly given him a glimmer
of?

“It is
just a rumour,” Ben corrected seeing no reason why he should tell
Julian anything else.

“Samson
was a good friend of mine. I was sorry to learn of his demise,”
Julian murmured.