Redemption (24 page)

“Did
Trent do it, or Sayers?” Ben had no idea why he was asking but,
after Barnaby’s efforts to try to find Lizzie, the least he could
do was get as much information out of Julian as he could while the
opportunity was there.

“I am
not sure. Samson was unusually nervous but belligerent about going
to Trent’s gaming house. He had to be drunk to go there though.
Once we were there, he saw Trent and became incredibly worried but
wouldn’t tell me what about. When Trent sent us a bottle of his
finest brandy on the house, Samson was wary of the generosity
behind the offer but imbibed his fair share of it. I cannot
remember much after that,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Samson
was dead by morning. He had been strangled.” Ben leaned toward him.
“Is that why you are here?”

He knew
from the immediate way Julian looked him straight in the eye that
he was. Julian was a scared man and he would much rather spend his
time wasting away within the confines of the jail under suspicion
of murder than take his chances outside where Trent could pick him
off at will.

“Did you
see it happen? Is that why you sent Lizzie away?”

Thoughtful silence settled over them while Julian
contemplated that. “She has been my step-sister for as long as I
can remember. Although we are not close, I couldn’t stand to have
it on my conscience if anything happened to her because I was in
the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Has
Trent threatened her?”

Julian
shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Trent accosted me the following
morning when I was in bed with his sister. He was waving an IOU in
my face, apparently signed by me. I don’t know how I could have
signed it though because I was too drunk to even see a quill much
less use one.”

“Did you
see your signature?”

Julian
shook his head. “Not close up, no. Trent was his usual less than
pleasant self. When I told him that I couldn’t pay him, he said he
would have to take something of mine in lieu of payment. I told him
that the bank was dry and I couldn’t afford to pay him anything but
that didn’t seem to matter to him. He said he would have to take my
sister then because she could provide services he had customers
for.”

The
men’s eyes met over the table.

“Did you
set her up? When you publically humiliated her at the ball?” Ben’s
voice was deadly.

“I thought that if I ruined her publically and cast her out
it would be all over the
ton.
With Samson dead -” He shrugged and left Ben to
fill in the blanks.

“I don’t
think that Trent will give up very easily. He knows where you are
now. Although the guards here will protect you should Trent pay a
visit, he isn’t going to allow you to leave without him knowing
when you go and which way you are heading.”

Julian
swore. “You have to keep Lizzie away from him. Keep her at McArthur
house. Better yet, send her back to Derbyshire with that blasted
aunt of hers. She needs to be far away from here, Ben.”

“She
owns half of Pendlebury House. If you wanted her to go back to
Derbyshire, you should have waited until all of this was over
before you told her of her good fortune. Good fortune which, by the
way, she is not using to clear your debts,” Ben warned
him.

“I don’t
want her to pay my debts now,” Julian declared firmly. “I have had
the opportunity to think about that a bit more. If I pay Trent off
this time, even though I didn’t accumulate the debts in the first
place there is nothing to say that he won’t try to blackmail me
again. It is like paying blackmail money for a crime I didn’t
commit. Next time though, he may well take Lizzie as
payment.”

“I agree
that you should not pay him because once people like Trent get wind
of an easy way of making cash he will make the most of every
opportunity available to him.”

“What
about the Star Elite?”

“I have
to tell them,” Ben sighed. “My friend is one of them. They will
undoubtedly want to speak to you. If they haven’t been to see you
yet, they will do so soon. They need to ask you some questions
about Joshua Samson’s behaviour the night before his
death.”

“Trent
hinted that Samson had paid with his life for not complying with
his demands.”

“Did
Samson frequent Trent’s gaming house?” Ben asked
curiously.

“No. I
had a strange conversation with Samson about a week before he was
killed. Samson hinted that he had seen something that scared him
and he wasn’t sure what to do with the information.”

“Did he
tell you what it was? Give you any hints or anything?”

Ben
sighed when Julian shook his head.

“I told
him that he could tell me anything but he didn’t confide in me. I
asked him the last night we were together but he refused to budge.
He said it would all get resolved in time, but he kept looking
worriedly at Trent as though there was something he was waiting
for. The next thing I know, Samson was murdered.”

“So you
sent Lizzie away having made it clear to as many people as you knew
that your association was at an end. Then, when she disappeared and
I started to make noises about her disappearance being suspicious
with the magistrate, it gave you the perfect opportunity to
disappear yourself. If you were arrested for murder, Trent would be
less likely to come after you, right?” Ben leaned back in his chair
and studied Julian.

He
suspected a lie was being told somewhere, if only he knew where.
“So why inform her about her wealth if you didn’t want her to pay
Trent for you? Why drag her into all of this by telling her she
owns half of Pendlebury House? I mean, I know she owns it, but
keeping the news from her hasn’t bothered you before.”

“There
is a clear and present threat to her life, McArthur. I was hoping
she might use her inheritance to purchase somewhere to live miles
away from here. I intended to continue to pretend I wasn’t in
contact with her. Nobody other than the authorities needs to know
she is still alive. Trent is after easy cash. He is hardly likely
to scour the country for Lizzie now is he?”

Ben
sighed in disgust. “I played right into your hands when I went to
the magistrate and told him I suspected you had killed her didn’t
I?”

Julian
nodded, and looked around the room derisively. “I can think of
better places to stay, but nowhere safer, can you?”

“Lizzie
has been to the solicitor so you should be released any day now.
What do you intend to do then because Trent is still out there and
still looking for you?”

“Lizzie
gave me an idea when she came to see me.” Julian sighed deeply. It
was the sigh of a troubled man.

“Selling
Pendlebury House? But you will have no money to live off because
there will be very little spare cash coming off the house
sale.”

Julian
smirked at him. “I have money stashed away,” he said obliquely. “I
will sign Bristledown over to her. It has really always been hers
anyway. I hate the damned place, but Lizzie used to love it there.
She has asked many times over the years to go back but I refused
because I never bothered to get it repaired after the fire.
However, now that Lizzie has money, she has more than enough to
oversee its renovations that will make it liveable again. She can
live there to her heart’s content if she wants to, and doesn’t need
a man to do it.” The meaningful look he gave Ben was acknowledged
with a nod.

“She
could live there. If it could be lived in it would also give you
the perfect place to stay. You could vanish from London yourself,
and nobody would know where to look for you.” Ben leaned his elbows
on the table and shook his head in disgust. “If you have
disappeared, Trent will be more likely to move on to an easier
target.”

“A
couple of years should do it. I can get Lizzie to settle my bills
on my behalf after my disappearance.”

“She
isn’t going to spend any of her money on your debts, Pendlebury,
you can forget that,” Ben snorted.

“I don’t
expect her to. I will give her the money to settle the bills on my
behalf. She won’t need to touch her own.”

“What
about your mistress?”

“Trent’s
sister is not my mistress.”

Ben
snorted. “She has moved into Pendlebury House in your absence. Her
clothes are scattered all over one of the guest rooms. Don’t try to
deny it, Pendlebury, I have searched the house with Lizzie myself
and seen them with my own eyes.”

“Fine, I
moved my mistress in,” he spat in disgust and glared defiantly at
Ben. “It was my house. I don’t have to explain myself you,
McArthur. If I moved my mistress in it is nobody’s business but
mine.”

Ben
smelt a rat. Before he could ask Julian more about it though,
Julian leaned across the table and spoke in a hushed
whisper.

“Please
take this to the Star Elite. I have no proof other than Samson’s
odd behaviour the night of his death, but Trent is behind his
death. They need to investigate him.”

“Trent
is a dangerous felon who should be behind bars. However, he is also
as slippery as an eel. Everything he does is thought out carefully.
The man doesn’t make mistakes,” Ben countered. “But I will tell
them. Or you can when they come to see you.”

Having
heard Julian’s version of events, Ben felt somewhat more malleable
toward the man seated opposite, however was still highly suspicious
of his version of events. Why was he telling him everything so
readily? Julian didn’t do anything unless there was something in it
for him. Why was he suddenly so conciliatory? There were gaps in
his story that just didn’t ring true to Ben, but he had no idea how
to dig for the truth without drawing out Julian’s belligerence
again; or yet more lies.

“What do
you plan to do about getting out of here without Trent seeing you?
Trent probably has people outside waiting for you to
leave.”

Julian
shrugged unconcernedly. “I don’t know. I cannot walk out of the
main gate if Trent is watching it but unless I disguise myself,
which is going to look damned odd to the governor here, there is
nothing I can do.”

“The
solicitor is coming to see you tomorrow. You are then a free but
hunted man. If you run to Bristledown, you are putting Lizzie at
risk. Go to Pendlebury House, and Trent will get to you before you
even walk through the door. Besides, you can’t go back there really
because it is no longer yours.”

“I know.
As soon as I get out of here, I need to leave town but with no
money I don’t know how far I can get.” He lifted eyes that silently
asked Ben for help in that regard. In spite of his instinctive
refusal, Ben found himself digging into his pocket. He dropped
several gold coins onto the table with a glare. “This is all you
are ever going to get from me. It will gain you access to a chaise
and a change of clothing. Get out of town and stay out of sight.
Don’t come back.” Ben leaned forward. “Don’t go to Bristledown, or
Pendlebury House. I am telling you now that as soon as you are gone
I intend to make Lizzie my wife. She isn’t going back to
Derbyshire, to Bristledown, or anywhere else without me as her
husband. Under my protection, nobody dare touch her. If Trent even
attempts to speak to her I shall have the full weight of the Star
Elite down upon him faster than he can blink. You do your bit,
Julian, and vanish. Don’t go to Bristledown once you sign those
papers because it is no longer yours and you should not see it as a
refuge. I don’t expect you to contact Lizzie again from now on
either. If you wish to speak to someone, you send a note to me, is
that clear? Your association with Elizabeth Pinner is now at an
end.”

Ben
leaned forward menacingly. He saw shadows flicker deep in Julian’s
eyes and suspected that he had stirred up some inner anger
somewhere. After several moments of thoughtful silence Julian
nodded, looking so much like his usual arrogant self that Ben
wondered if he had just been conned in some way.

“I have
written a will and left everything I have to her. Over the last
several weeks, I have painted a rather downcast picture of my debts
so that word got around. Numerous bills I could pay I have ignored
so that people would close accounts and the gossips would run rife.
If Trent believed I had run up innumerable debts I couldn’t pay off
with other people, I thought he would be less inclined to pester
either me or Lizzie.” Julian frowned at the table. “I was
wrong.”

“Is that
why you borrowed on your half of the house?”

Julian
looked him straight in the eye and Ben knew his answer was an
honest one. “I have to get rid of the bloody place somehow. This
way, the banks can take half of the proceeds. I already have the
cash off it.”

“You
have no intention of living there again yourself then?” Ben was
unsurprised when Julian threw him a rueful look.

“When
people like Trent get you in their sights they rarely let you off
the hook. I am not going to end up like Samson did,” Julian
snorted. “I don’t like Pendlebury House any more than I like
Bristledown. It was always my father’s house. It’s too big for me.
I would much prefer somewhere smaller, and considerably less
expensive to run. Now, I need to work out what I need to do about
Trent.”