Shattered Dreams (25 page)

The
house certainly wasn’t the kind of place where someone as
impoverished as Charles Dandridge could afford to purchase himself.
It belonged to someone else. Jubilation swept through Harry when he
realised that he had finally located the mysterious ‘other party’
involved in the Dandridges’ schemes. As Harry settled into the
shadows to watch and wait, he rather suspected that he already knew
who owned the house. Bolsworthy.

The
sudden faint crackle of twigs to the left of him drew his
attention. He didn’t move. He daren’t for fear of discovery, but
tension positively reverberated through him as he waited for the
source of the noise to appear.

Even
though he didn’t get a good look at the man’s face as he marched to
the back door and disappeared inside, he was confident that the
third person who was working with the Dandridges’ was the warden
from the poor house named Cruickshank. It was only when he studied
the stature of the tall figure, and noted the finer details, that
he began to wonder if he was related to Mrs Dandridge in some way.
He certainly looked similar.

A
brother perhaps? A cousin? A nephew?

He
nodded at Joseph, who stood on the opposite side of the house, and
together they waited to see if anyone else - hopefully the
Bolsworthy woman - was going to appear.

Two days
later, Tilly was peeling potatoes for a pie that Suzanna wanted to
bake when Harry appeared in the doorway.

“
Tilly? Could I have a word with you for a moment?”

Tilly
looked at the sternness of his face, and felt her stomach drop to
her toes. It was on the tip of her tongue to say ‘no’, but she knew
that she couldn’t.

The last
few days had been wonderful, with lazy, carefree evenings in front
of the fire, card games and jokes aplenty. With all of the cooking
and cleaning that had taken place, the house had a heady atmosphere
of home that had drawn comments from everyone who stayed
there.

It was a
wonderful time of companionship and camaraderie that Tilly didn’t
want to end, but she knew that at some point in the not too distant
future, it must.

“
Of course,” she replied hesitantly, and offered him a smile
that didn’t quite make it to her eyes.

She was
aware of his commanding presence behind her as she walked to his
study, and felt almost brittle with tension.

“
Please,” he said as he waved her toward a chair. He moved to
stand in front of the hearth, and took a moment to stare into the
flames while he contemplated the wisdom of what he was about to do.
In spite of a few lingering reservations, he knew that it was far
too late to go back now.

Although
very little had happened with the Dandridges’ of late, and they had
yet to see any sign of the Bolsworthy woman, he knew it was only a
matter of time before something happened. Given what they had found
out about the poor house this afternoon, he was also now aware that
as soon as Dandridge or Bolsworthy were arrested, their
investigation into the thefts, and the poor house, would be
concluded pretty quickly.

With
that in mind, it was imperative that he take steps now to ensure
that Tilly was provided for. He glanced quickly at the letter he
had written to the solicitor on his desk, and knew deep in his
heart, that he had made the right decision.

“
We finished checking the registers at the poor house this
afternoon, darling,” he murmured quietly. He took a seat and stared
at his boots. “There are two other girls there. Both of them are of
similar ages to you and Suzanna.”

“
They weren’t in the registers either?” She knew he was going
to say ‘no’, even before he started to shake his head.

“
Where are they now?”

“
Marcus is questioning them before we take them home. They
live not far from here and have families, so we can leave them
where they are safe.”

“
Why not bring them here?” She frowned when her eyes met
his.

“
Because we have no idea why the Dandridges’ brought you all
here.”

“
They had letters too?”

Harry
nodded. “They all had letters offering jobs in Tooting Mallow which
didn’t exist. Both of them are from fairly impoverished backgrounds
so, once they got here, they had little chance of finding their way
home again.”

“
We have room for two more here,” Tilly protested.

“
I know sweetheart, but we are struggling to watch over
everyone as it is. If something does happen, we have five of you to
look after, not two ladies and a young lad. I want you to promise
me that if anything does happen -” he held his hands up warningly,
“- and I am not suggesting for one second that it will; you need to
take control of Zack. Don’t leave him to his own devices. Stay with
him and look after him.”

“
I promise,” Tilly whispered hesitantly. She wanted to ask him
what ‘something’ could happen, but then wasn’t entirely sure that
she really wanted to know.

For the
first time since she had left the poor house, she began to feel
afraid. Very, very afraid. “What’s happened?”

“
Things have gone a little too quiet,” he sighed. “I know that
sounds odd, and not in the least bit frightening, but it is
unusual.”

Tilly
nodded. She had no idea what he was talking about but knew that if
something made Harry look worried, then there was good reason for
her to be worried also.

“
I will look after Zack, I promise.”

Harry
nodded. “There is something else I want to talk to you
about.”

“
Alright,” she whispered.

The
atmosphere within the room suddenly grew still and watchful. It
felt as though something momentous was about to happen; only she
didn’t know what.

“
I have recently come into some money, and inherited a house
from a distant cousin,” he sighed. “It is a long way away from here
and, from memory; I don’t think it is any bigger than a small manor
house. It has about eight bedrooms I think, and more ground than I
know what to do with.” He ran a weary hand down his face.
“Unfortunately, I inherited the contents of the house along with
the house itself. Unless a lot has changed, it is full to the brim
with all of my cousin’s personal possessions. It needs to be
cleared out, and all of the contents catalogued. Then the entire
place will need to be cleaned, decorated and refurbished. God knows
what else it needs in the way of repairs and the like. I haven’t
been there since I was a small child to be honest with you, so have
no idea what kind of state it is in.”

“
Where is it?”

“
Cumbria.” Harry threw her a rueful look. “A small village
called Todworthy, near Windermere.”

“
You want someone to do all of that?”

“
I know it sounds a lot. I will be there, of course, if I am
not moved on to my next mission straight after this one ends.
However, if I am given a new investigation, the house still needs
to be sorted out. I don’t have the time to do it myself. It would
take weeks, months even, to catalogue completely, arrange for the
repairs to be done, etcetera, etcetera. I simply cannot be away
from my job for that long, even if I chose to quit the Star Elite
tomorrow.”

Tilly
studied him carefully, and wondered how anyone could live such a
vagabond lifestyle. She had only been homeless, and by herself for
a few days, and already longed to put down roots
somewhere.

“
If you don’t mind my asking, where do you hale
from?”

“
I don’t mind you asking me anything,” he threw her a cheeky
smile. “Whether I answer you or not is an entirely different matter
though. I hale from Nottinghamshire. I have two brothers, both of
whom still reside there.”

“
You don’t live in Nottinghamshire now?”

“
No, I don’t live there myself. I left when I joined the army,
and only go back to visit relatives. When I do go and see them, I
usually stay with one of my brothers,” he looked at her frankly.
“The only house I own now is the one I have just inherited in
Cumbria.”

He saw
her frown and knew she didn’t understand.

“
I haven’t purchased a house before because my work takes me
all over the country, and really hasn’t allowed me to put down
roots.”

“
It’s a dangerous job,” she said quietly.

“
It comes with its risks, yes,” he replied. There was no point
in lying to her. Although he didn’t want to scare her, she couldn’t
have her head in the clouds and be blind to the reality of what
could happen to him.

“
Will you do it? Will you help me?” He asked bluntly. He would
never tell her, but he had no idea whether the place was run down
and full of his cousin’s old things, or empty and a pristine
palace. It was of little consequence really, as long as he could
get her there.

“
I would love to,” she whispered. She had no idea why she
agreed so readily, she just knew that it was the right thing to do.
In spite of her best efforts, tears began to well. It felt as
though a huge weight had suddenly been lifted off her shoulders and
she struggled to control the surge of relief that swept through
her.

“
Don’t cry,” he murmured when a single tear began to trickle
slowly down her face.

When she
sniffed, and her chin began to quiver, he drew her into his arms,
and sighed when she immediately nestled against him as naturally as
if they had been together for years.

“
I am sorry. It is just -” she hiccupped.

“
I know,” he whispered. Now that he had suggested her
accompanying him to Cumbria, he knew that it was the right thing to
do. He wouldn’t settle until he knew that she was somewhere safe
and warm, where she was fed, clothed, and looked after. She needed
security and somewhere where she knew she could stay for as long as
she wanted.

The kiss
they had shared the other day had merely confirmed his suspicion
that he was in no position to ever say goodbye to her and send her
on her way by herself. As a result, he had to work with the
emotions she created within him rather than pretend they weren’t
there. Decision made, he now had to make her understand their
future together was already cast in stone.

Getting
her to agree to go to Cumbria was just the first step in a very
long road toward securing their future together.

“
I am sorry,” Tilly whispered several moments later. “Your
shirt is all wet.” She brushed the moisture off his shoulder, and
threw him a shaky smile.

“
Never felt a thing,” he teased. “I know the house in Cumbria
isn’t anything like the grandeur of Attingham House you are used
to, but I can promise you that you will have a place there for as
long as you need it.”

“
I don’t want you to feel responsible for me,” she warned. “I
mean, you are not the one who sent me that letter. You have no need
to correct any wrong.”

“
I know, but you deserve more than the cruel hand Fate has
dealt you,” he leaned back to look deep into her eyes. “We can help
each other out now because I have to be honest with you, I have
absolutely no idea how to sort a house out.”

She
smiled at him and knew he was lying. A man like Harry was able to
deal with any situation life threw at him, but she appreciated his
gesture.

“
Thank you,” she whispered and, when she felt tears being to
build again she quickly blinked them away around a wobbly
sigh.

“
Zack will come with us,” he assured her. “When we are done
here, we can leave Tooting Mallow behind and never set eyes on the
place again. For now, try and get some sleep.”

He took
a moment to drop a tender kiss on her startled lips but,
thankfully, she didn’t protest.

“
I will say goodnight then,” she whispered.

“
Goodnight, Tilly,” he replied huskily, and carefully released
her.

He
poured himself a brandy while she walked to the door.

Till
looked back at him from the doorway. “Did you find out where the
Dandridges’ have moved to?”

Harry
nodded slowly but didn’t expand.

Tilly
studied him for a moment but suspected that even if she asked, he
wouldn’t tell her. It wasn’t because he wanted to keep secrets; it
was just that she was better off not knowing.

“
He is still in the area, sweetheart. So we are going to make
sure that all of the doors and windows are locked, and everyone has
someone with them at all times. I don’t want anyone going anywhere
alone. Now that you don’t need a broadsheet, you have no need to go
anywhere by yourself.”

She
nodded, but strangely didn’t feel all that worried about the
Dandridges’ anymore. She knew that Harry and his friends were
working hard, all hours of the day and night in fact, to protect
everyone and keep them safe.

“
Goodnight, Harry,” she murmured gently.

“
Goodnight darling,” he whispered and watched the door close
behind her.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN