Shattered Dreams (22 page)

Everywhere gleamed to a high shine and smelled of lemons,
soap and food depending on whichever room you walked into. The rugs
had been beaten, the floor swept and scrubbed so thoroughly that
Harry almost didn’t want to walk on it for fear of marking it. He
was sure that he could eat his dinner off it, if he wanted
to.

“
Thank you for this. All of you,” he smiled. “Of course this
house isn’t mine, but I am sure that Sir Hugo will be grateful for
your efforts.”

“
What is happening back at the house?” Zack asked with a nod
in the direction of the poor house. They all knew where he was
referring to, even though he didn’t seem able to bring himself to
speak the words themselves.

“
Well, the wardens were collected by the jailer’s cart
yesterday. They are in Battlington jail where they will wait to be
questioned by my boss, Sir Hugo. He is in Cornwall at the moment,
dealing with some family business. As soon as he is free, he will
be here. The magistrate’s men are working with a few of the
residents to keep the poor house secure while we identify how many
people are not listed on the registers. Soon though, the people who
want to leave will be allowed to go. Those who do not have anywhere
else to go will be treated considerably better than they have been,
of that I can assure you all.”

Tilly
shared a look with Suzanna. She would be very glad never to have to
go anywhere near the place ever again, and didn’t even want to see
it across the valley. It was a horrifying place to be, to see, and
to even know about. It was impossible to conceive of why anyone
would even want to build such a horrible establishment and allow
people to live there. To some degree, it would be a good day when
she could leave it, and Tooting Mallow, far behind.

“
What is likely to happen to the wardens?” Suzanna asked with
a frown. She hated the thought that Mrs Taylor would be allowed
back out onto the streets again, if she was questioned and managed
to convince everyone that she was innocent. The thought of crossing
that particular woman’s path again, even in public, filled her with
dread.

Barnaby
read the fear on her face. “Don’t worry, once they have answered
the questions, they will be charged with crimes like false
imprisonment, and whatever else Sir Hugo can come up with. They
will pay for their part in the atrocities that have taken place. As
for the governor, he has also been rounded up and charged with
neglect of his duties. He too is languishing in jail as we speak
because he has received his salary, but has not been doing the job.
It’s fraud.”

“
None of them are likely to see daylight this side of their
court cases,” Harry assured them. “Right now, the Dandridges’ are
our primary concern.”

“
What’s going to happen to them?” Zack asked, full of
curiosity.

“
Well, that is something we are working on, but it is official
business that we can’t talk about right now,” Harry confided, and
tapped the side of his nose secretively.

Aware
that Tilly was looking at him, he issued her with a warning look
that was more of a silent plea for her not to push for information
he wasn’t in a position to give just yet. “I am sure that I don’t
need to tell you to stay away from the poor house, and don’t trust
the Dandridges’ in any way.”

Tilly
shook her head and smiled at him.

“
The Dandridges’ don’t have any possessions here, so really
have no reason to come back,” Barnaby warned darkly. “If they do
turn up on the doorstep, let one of us deal with them. Don’t let
either of them into the house, no matter what they might tell
you.”

“
Now that the house work is nearly done, I should like to go
into town, if I may?” Tilly announced quietly when everyone lapsed
into silence.

“
I will come with you,” Harry announced firmly. He had no idea
what she wanted from town. As long as she didn’t intend to purchase
any tickets for the post chaise then they were going to be fine.
There was no earthly way that he was going to let her go anywhere.
Not now, not after last night’s kiss.

It had
been damned impossible to get his wayward body to cool down enough
so that he could get a proper night’s sleep last night. He had
tossed and turned restlessly until, just before dawn, he had been
driven from his bed by the raging lust that had hammered through
him. Rather than pace around his bedroom like a caged tiger, he had
taken his turn on watch at the Dandridges’ lodgings hours earlier
than planned.

However,
in the quiet of the early morning, he had been forced to confront
the emotions that churned within him. It unnerved him a little to
realise that Tilly had now become an integral part of his life.
Over the last week, she had almost been his obsession. Now that she
had been at the Rectory, even for a brief time, he was even more
convinced that he felt more for Tilly than just compassion. That
kiss they had shared last night had seared him, and it was now
absolutely essential he ensure that she remained in his
life.

She was
beautiful; stunning even. She captivated him; intrigued him. It had
driven him downright mad with worry when she was at the poor house
and he couldn’t see her, didn’t know how she was, and had no way of
being able to see her again. He knew that he couldn’t go back to
that – ever.

Unfortunately, in spite of all of that, he still wasn’t
entirely sure that he wanted a wife. Being married wasn’t conducive
to the kind of work he did on a daily basis. It involved sleepless
nights, being away from home for weeks, or months at a time, and
came with dangers that put his life at risk far too frequently than
was wise for a family man.

However,
he didn’t want Tilly as his mistress, or his housekeeper. That only
left one position available for her; his wife. Aware that he was
going around in circles, and needed to think about this a bit more
carefully later, he turned his attention back to the people in the
kitchen.

“
Can I come?” Zack asked in a whiny voice. The plea in his
eyes as he stared longingly at Tilly made her smile, and she nodded
at him.

“
Of course.”

“
If I am not being too presumptuous; what do you need?” Harry
asked curiously.

“
I only need a broadsheet,” Tilly explained. “So I shouldn’t
take long.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to justify what
she wanted to do, but she did.

“
What do you need a broadsheet for?” Barnaby demanded
bluntly.

“
I need to see if anyone is advertising for staff,” Tilly
replied quietly.

She saw
the look Barnaby shared with Harry, and opened her mouth to ask
them what was wrong only to close it again with a snap when Marcus
suddenly stalked into the kitchen with a dark scowl on his
face.

“
The Dandridges’ have gone,” Marcus declared without preamble,
and threw Harry and Barnaby a dark look as he stalked around the
table and disappeared into the study.

Harry
and Barnaby shared a look and then followed.

“
Stay here,” Harry ordered Tilly, but placed a reassuring hand
on her shoulder as he passed. “Don’t leave the house without
me.”

“
I -” She didn’t get the chance to say anything else before
the men suddenly vanished from the room.

“
What do you think they are planning?” Zack whispered, and he
threw a furtive look at the door.

Tilly
wasn’t sure that she wanted to find out. She had no idea what this
meant for any of them but knew instinctively that something had
just changed considerably, and it wasn’t altogether for the
better.

“
I have no idea, Zack. Right now, we need to concern ourselves
with what we are going to do when we have to leave here,” Tilly
sighed.

She
hated to even broach the subject, but she needed him to start to
think about his future.

“
I think that I would prefer it if we stayed together, Zack,”
Tilly told him quietly. “I don’t have any family and I know that
you don’t. It would be much nicer if I could consider you my family
now.” She watched his eyes grow wide with wonder, and grew a little
misty eyed at the stunned joy that was evident on his face as he
stared at her for several long moments before he threw himself
across the room at her.

It had
been wonderful to witness the transformation that had taken place
within Zack over the past day or so. His enthusiasm toward
everything life could offer was simply captivating. His constant
appetite for food, and life, along with his cheeky persona and
infectious laugh had endeared him to them all.

She had
no idea how it would work yet, or what they were going to do, but
she simply couldn’t even contemplate dropping him off at the
nearest orphanage. They had to remain together; she simply wouldn’t
contemplate any other alternative.

“
I would love that,” he beamed proudly and threw a delighted
smile at Suzanna. “I have a sister,” he declared triumphantly to
nobody in particular and hugged Tilly again.

Tilly
laughed and hugged him back before she ruffled his hair. “Does this
mean that I get to tell you what to do?” She teased.

“
Ha! You already do,” Zack laughed, and broke away so he could
dance around the table.

Tilly
watched him for a moment, and decided that he had a little too much
energy and it needed to be put to good use.

“
Come on, you can help me get the first of the sheets in.
Then, if Harry is ready, we can go for a stroll into town and fetch
that broadsheet. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can then
see what jobs are available, and decide what we are going to do
once this Sir Hugo has been to question us.”

Zack
nodded enthusiastically, and hurried off to fetch his
coat.

The men
within the study remained quiet until Harry closed the
door.

“
We could ask Sir Hugo to help them. After all, they are an
integral part of this investigation,” Barnaby growled. “I will be
damned if we just abandon them.”

“
We aren’t going to,” Harry replied obliquely, but didn’t
expand on what he had planned. Until he had the finer details in
place in his own mind, he didn’t want to discuss the future with
anyone.

“
We will all help them out,” Marcus said quietly.

He knew
from the look on Harry’s face that he was more than a little
interested in the fate of the beautiful young woman who had,
astonishingly, turned the house into a warm and welcoming home,
seemingly overnight. If he was honest, he would have been more than
a little interested in her himself; if it weren’t for his
entanglement with the delightful woman he had left behind last year
who he just couldn’t forget. He sighed deeply, and quickly turned
his attention back to his colleagues.

Harry
threw him a dark look. “I feel responsible for their plight. The
Dandridges’ should never have been able to get their grubby fists
on the Rectory seal. If I had done a better job, Tilly wouldn’t
have been lured here under false pretences, and could have been in
a secure position elsewhere by now. It was my mistake that brought
her here, and it is down to me to correct it.”

“
It’s not your fault though, Harry. You were sent here because
the Dandridges’ were thieving goods and money,” Barnaby
argued.

“
I agree,” Marcus sighed and leaned back in the chair. “Nobody
said anything to any of us about forged letters and false job
offers, or even missing people. I don’t think Sir Hugo knows they
are linked.”

“
I wrote to him and explained.” Harry shook his head, and felt
the heavy weight of guilt begin to ease. If he was logical, he knew
that he couldn’t be to blame for the Dandridges’ stealing the seal,
or Tilly’s fictitious job offer. Hugo hadn’t warned him about it,
because Hugo most probably hadn’t known the depths to which the
thieving servants had sunk. It had only been Tilly’s arrival at the
house that had warned them there was more to the Dandridges’ crimes
than theft.

“
We will leave it to you to decide what to do about Tilly and
Zack,” Barnaby assured him. “When the time comes, we will help you
in any way we can. I will take Suzanna back to her family when we
are done here and she is free to go.”

“
When was the last time you saw Dandridge?”

Marcus
threw him a dark look. “He went into the bloody lodgings yesterday,
but nobody has seen anything of either of them since. We have been
watching that place but, somehow, they still managed to get past
us.”

Harry
and Barnaby looked at each other.

“
Has anyone been inside their room?” Harry asked Marcus with a
scowl.

He knew
that the Dandridges’ had definitely taken a room there because he
had seen their bags on the end of the bed for himself. It was a
little disconcerting to think that they had evaded Harry and his
colleagues so successfully but, now that they knew that the
Dandridges’ probably used disguises, they were better armed to know
what to look for so they could make sure that it didn’t happen
again.

Marcus
nodded and threw them a dour look. “The bed doesn’t even appear to
have been slept in.”