38

Charles and Jeremiah Hawke met with Mr Staunton in his office four days later, the affidavit safely signed, and lodged it in the solicitor’s safe.

‘What are we going to do now?’ Charles asked. ‘We have proof that he’s married, but he can still maintain that Dolly was married to a different Nicholas Bryan.’

‘Difficult to maintain when our original information came from a man who followed him from Dolly’s house where he’d spent the night, to Sophie’s where he spent the day,’ pointed out Mr Staunton. ‘Hannah can testify to Luke Mangot’s visit if necessary.’

‘I think it is unlikely that he’ll contest what we can put before him,’ Mr Staunton continued. ‘If we let him know we have traced the marriage to St John’s, Waterloo, and that you, Mr Hawke, have made a copy of the entry in the register, certified by the rector as a true one, he’s unlikely to dispute it. If it went to court he could end up in prison. If we confront him privately, Dr Bryan can simply disappear without anyone but us being any the wiser.’

‘Of course he’s not a doctor, is he?’ Hawke reminded them. ‘He only spent a few months at St Thomas’s.’

‘You’re quite right, but I think that the fact that he’s married is more important just now. He mustn’t be allowed to make a bigamous marriage with Sophie,’ Charles said.

‘I agree,’ said Mr Staunton. ‘And we need to make further enquiries before we can be sure he is not a qualified doctor. However,’ he went on, ‘I think it would be wise to watch him carefully in case he does go back to Clayton Street to find Dolly. That would be further proof. I would like you, Mr Hawke, to continue to follow him until we are sure that he has given up all thoughts of marrying Miss Ross. I think Mrs Dolly Bryan was right to be concerned about her safety.’

‘That can be arranged, Mr Staunton,’ agreed Jeremiah. ‘’Course, I can’t keep watch twenty-four hours a day. I’ll have to call in my assistant, Rufus.’

‘Whatever it takes, Mr Hawke,’ replied the solicitor.

‘Before we confront him,’ Charles interposed, ‘we shall have to break it to Sophie.’

‘If you would like me to undertake that, Mr Leroy...’ began Staunton.

‘No, thank you, Mr Staunton,’ answered Charles. ‘That is something I must do myself. My cousin will be distraught when she hears what we’ve discovered, and I must be the one to explain.’

Stepping into the street, Charles had sighed as he left the lawyer’s office, having a fairly good idea what Sophie’s reaction would be to his news. But he was relieved they had some concrete evidence that would end Nicholas Bryan’s plans regarding marriage to her.

And so Charles returned to London the next day, not at all looking forward to his errand. He didn’t warn Sophie that he was coming, and he was glad that Hannah was alone in the house when he arrived so that he was able to tell her of the discoveries they had made.

‘So it was true,’ she cried in dismay. ‘What a wicked, wicked man, to lead her on so!’

‘She may not believe me at first,’ Charles said. ‘And she’s going to wonder how we came to hear about it.’ He looked at Hannah ruefully. ‘So, I’m afraid that’s going to implicate you.’

‘Don’t you worry about that, Mr Charles,’ Hannah said. ‘She may be angry at me at first and call me interfering for sending for you, but in the long run she’ll believe I did it for her own good.’

‘She is going to be very upset,’ Charles said, ‘so I know she’ll need you, Hannah. It’s you she’ll turn to.’

‘And you, sir,’ asserted Hannah. ‘She’ll turn to you as well.’

‘I doubt it,’ said Charles with a sigh. ‘I think in my case she’ll want to shoot the messenger. Where is she today?’

‘Gone to that Madame Egloff for a final fitting of her new clothes. Oh, Mr Charles,’ Hannah cried as she realized what she’d just said, ‘how are we going to tell her?’

‘I’m afraid there’s no easy way, Hannah.’

Charles was quite right. When Sophie got back from Madame Egloff’s she was full of bubble. The fittings had gone well and she would be able to collect the completed garments at the end of the following week; black for immediate wear and pale grey and lilac for later in the year when, though still in mourning, she was married. She was delighted when she found Charles drinking tea in the parlour.

‘Have you got another meeting with Mr Hawthorne?’ she asked as she joined him beside the fire.

‘No, not yet. As I told you before, these things take time. But I do think that eventually he will join us in the purchase of another ship. No.’ Charles sighed. ‘I’m afraid I’ve come to talk to you about something entirely different.’

Sophie waited a moment before saying, ‘And that is...? From your face I think it must be something bad. Has something gone wrong at Trescadinnick, or on the estate? Are my aunts both well?’

‘They are quite well, thank you. No, it’s nothing like that.’

‘Well, what then?’

‘Sophie, it’s very hard for me to tell you this...’

‘Then just tell me,’ said Sophie. ‘That’s always the best way with bad news.’ She cocked her head at him in the way he so loved. ‘Don’t you think?’

Charles nodded and drawing a deep breath, said, ‘Sophie, I’m afraid we’ve just learned that Nicholas Bryan is already married.’

The colour drained from Sophie’s cheeks and he reached out to take her hand, but she shook him off. ‘We?’ she demanded. ‘Who’s we?’

‘Mr Staunton and I—’

‘You and Mr Staunton? How did that happen? What were you doing? Why were you checking up on Nicholas? You were, weren’t you? Don’t you dare deny it!’

‘We certainly made some enquiries, yes,’ Charles began.

‘There, I knew it. How dare you check up on my fiancé?’

‘We felt it our duty,’ responded Charles. ‘It was with the best of intentions—’

‘The way to hell is paved with good intentions!’ snapped Sophie. ‘Your duty indeed!’

‘Whatever you think about that,’ Charles said, ‘it wasn’t we who were told that he was already married.’

‘Oh, and who was it then?’ cried Sophie. ‘Because I don’t believe a word of it!’

‘A man came to the house, here, one day when you were out. Hannah answered the door and he said he had information about Nicholas Bryan. She didn’t believe him at first, but he showed her a marriage certificate naming Nicholas Bryan as the groom. He was married to this man’s sister, Dolly.’

‘And he was asking for money, I suppose.’

‘Yes, he was,’ admitted Charles, ‘but that didn’t make his information wrong. He didn’t give Hannah the certificate, of course. But he showed it to her and she remembered the names of the couple, the name of the church and the date, 6th January 1883. She sent me a telegram, asking me to come to London.’

‘Hannah sent you a telegram? I don’t believe it!’

‘Well, she did and I came at once.’

‘And that’s why you were here last week? It had nothing to do with Mr Hawthorne or whatever he’s called, did it?’

‘Not at the time, though I’ve an appointment with him in a fortnight.’

‘I don’t care about your appointments with him,’ Sophie retorted. ‘How do you know it’s my Nicholas Bryan? There could be a hundred others.’

‘We know because this woman’s brother followed Nicholas from her house to yours. Nicholas had been with Dolly trying to buy her silence. He offered to buy the marriage certificate so that there’d be no evidence to link him with his wife. Unfortunately for him, there is other evidence that can be produced, church records and the like.’

Silence fell round them, broken by the crackling of the fire. ‘And there is no doubt?’ Sophie said at last.

‘I’m afraid not. Nicholas and Dolly were married on 6th January 1883. Dolly is still alive and they are still married.’

The tears which had been flooding her eyes overflowed and began to course down her cheeks as she wept. At a loss to know what else to do, Charles pulled out his handkerchief and she took it blindly to staunch her tears.

‘Does Hannah know?’ asked Sophie as at last her tears subsided.

‘Yes, I told you, it was she who sent for me...’

‘But does she know it’s true?’

‘Yes,’ replied Charles. ‘I told her when I got here. I wanted her to know that she’d been right to call me.’

‘She should have told me, not you.’ Sophie sniffed.

‘Maybe, but I think she did the right thing. She couldn’t have made the enquiries we did, she didn’t have money at her disposal to get rid of the man, and she didn’t want you to know anything about it unless it proved to be true. Imagine how you’d have felt if she’d told you and it had all been a hoax.’

‘But it isn’t, is it?’

‘No,’ Charles replied gently. ‘I’m afraid it isn’t.’

‘Have you told anyone else?’

‘No, of course not, and we won’t. We shall try and deal with everything as discreetly as possible. Now you know, we can confront Nicholas with what we’ve found out.’

‘Oh no,’ Sophie said, some of the old spirit reasserting itself. ‘I’m going to be the one to confront him.’

‘Dear Sophie, I’m not sure that’s wise,’ Charles said. ‘I think he is a man of very uncertain temper. He could become violent. His wife was afraid of him.’

‘Well, I’m not,’ declared Sophie. ‘I shall have it out with him.’

‘If you’re determined to do so, I think you should have someone with you.’

Sophie shook her head. ‘No,’ she said. ‘It’s not the sort of thing you can do in front of an audience.’

Charles did not stay at the house that night. He could tell that Sophie did not want company and he took himself off to the hotel he’d planned to stay in the previous week. Before he had dinner, he took an omnibus to Waterloo Station and from there followed the way Luke had led them to Clayton Street. When he reached the end of the road he walked along the pavement and was pleased to see that number 14 was empty. It was clear that no one was living there; Dolly and Luke had moved on.

That evening Sophie called Hannah into the parlour. ‘Sit down, Hannah,’ Sophie said. ‘We’ve got to talk.’

Hannah took the chair that Charles had been seated in earlier. It was warm beside the fire and had anyone seen the two of them through the window, they would have thought them best friends sitting together for cosy chat. The atmosphere between them was strained, however, as Hannah waited for Sophie to speak.

‘Hannah, I wish you’d told me about that man who came to the door about Nicholas,’ Sophie said at last. ‘Rather than go straight to my cousin.’

‘I’m sorry, Miss Sophie,’ Hannah answered, ‘but I did what I thought was best. I didn’t know if what that man told me was true. I knew I couldn’t find out but I thought Mr Charles might.’

‘I know,’ sighed Sophie, twisting her engagement ring round and round her finger. ‘And it does seem to be true. Oh, Hannah, what am I going to do?’

‘Well, I think you should give him his ring back and say that as there is no question of marriage between you, you’d prefer not to see him again.’

‘What will everyone in the village say?’ wondered Sophie dismally.

‘It doesn’t matter what they say. It’s none of their business, and as soon as something else happens it’ll all be forgotten. No one will know why the engagement was broken off. They may speculate, but Mr Charles isn’t going to tell them the reason, is he? Nor are you and I, and you can be sure Dr Bryan isn’t. They will just think you changed your mind, which I might add you are quite entitled to do.’ She smiled across at Sophie. ‘Be brave, Sophie. Chins are being worn very high this year!’

That brought a faint smile to Sophie’s lips before she said, ‘But poor Nicholas will have everyone wondering why.’

‘Poor Nicholas has only himself to blame, Miss Sophie.’

‘You’ve never liked him, have you?’

‘I’ve never trusted him,’ Hannah answered honestly. ‘And this has proved me right. He’s a liar. If he’s been lying to you about this, what else has he lied about? What other secrets is he hiding?’

‘Hannah,’ Sophie began and then stopped. She knew another secret Nicholas was hiding but could she, should she, finally confide in Hannah about his parentage? It would mean explaining how she had broken into Jocelyn’s room and found his letters, leading her on to searching her mother’s bureau for the replies, and then the meetings with Nan Slater. She thought of the old woman lying there dying, in the cold of winter, when she’d gone out to fetch firewood. Would she still be alive, Sophie wondered, if I hadn’t taken her that firewood? But that was ridiculous speculation; it was simply dreadful misfortune that she had slipped on the icy surface of the yard while fetching some wood indoors.

All these things flitted through her mind as she sat by the fire, and Hannah, seeing that she was having some sort of battle with herself, simply waited.

At length Sophie said, ‘Hannah, if I tell you something, you have to promise me that it goes no further. Will you promise?’

‘It rather depends on what you’re going to tell me, Miss Sophie. Of course I want to help you in whatever way I can, but please don’t burden me with a confidence that I can’t keep.’

Sophie stared at her for a moment. In the months since her mother had died, Hannah had changed. She had been there all Sophie’s life, a friend and comforter, offering sensible counsel when she was asked; occasionally speaking her mind, but always softening her comments with a smile or a word of affection. Recently, however, she had been a good deal more forthright, criticizing Sophie for her behaviour when she thought it justified, and Sophie recognized a difference in their relationship. She knew Hannah loved her just as she always had, but as an adult not as a child. She could see the sort of love she’d received as a child was now given to AliceAnne, but she also realized that neither of them was actually the centre of Hannah’s world.

Still, she needed Hannah’s no-nonsense counsel now, so she said, ‘Well, I’ll tell you anyway, but I hope you’ll feel able to respect my confidence.’

Hannah nodded and waited while Sophie composed herself.

‘You remember when you found me moving the wardrobe in my bedroom at Trescadinnick?’

Hannah laughed. ‘Indeed I do, Miss Sophie. What you thought you was up to I do not know!’

‘I wanted to explore my Uncle Jocelyn’s room. I wanted to know why it had been locked up for so long, why he had been shut away for all those years, rather than being remembered as a loved member of the family who had died young.’

‘I recall you said something of the sort,’ said Hannah.

‘Well, I did manage to get into his room and it was just as he had left it the day he died. There was a half-written letter in his desk, but more than that, there were letters from my mother and also from a girl he was in love with and wanted to marry. She was carrying his child.’

‘You never read his letters, Miss Sophie.’ Hannah sounded shocked.

‘I did,’ admitted Sophie, ‘and I discovered a great deal about him and his fiancée, Cassie. She was expecting Jocelyn’s child and as far as I can tell his father, my grandfather, refused to give his consent to their marriage.’ Sophie looked up. ‘Just as he did with my parents.’

‘Not quite the same,’ Hannah interposed. ‘Your mother and father simply wanted to get married. There was no question of illegitimate children.’

‘No, but listen, Hannah, till you’ve heard the whole story.’ And Sophie went on to tell her everything that she had discovered, including her conversations with Nan Slater, culminating in the revelation that Nicholas Bryan was the fruit of that relationship.

‘He’s my grandfather’s grandson,’ Sophie said. ‘If Jocelyn hadn’t fallen to his death in the fog, they’d have married and my grandfather would have had a legitimate heir.’

Hannah was silenced for a moment as she tried to take in what Sophie was telling her. Then she said, ‘So he came back to Trescadinnick to try and claim his inheritance? Is that what you’re saying?’

‘That’s what I thought, but when I told him what I’d found out, he denied it all. He admitted he was an illegitimate child, brought up by his aunt and uncle when his mother died giving birth to him, but obviously he didn’t want that known. He said he loved me and he wanted to marry me. I believed him, but now? I don’t know. Was everything a lie? Everything has changed and now I have to confront him with the fact that he’s already married. I don’t know what’s true and what isn’t. Ever since I first met him, he’s paid me special attention, made it clear that he wanted to be more than just a friend. I fell in love with him and he loved me. At least I thought he did. Oh, Hannah, why has he led me on when he knew we could never marry?’

‘He didn’t think anyone would find out, Sophie, and it was pure chance that we have. If we hadn’t he’d have married you.’

‘Would he? Do you really think that?’

‘I know it, Sophie,’ Hannah replied gently.

‘But why? It would be no marriage at all.’

‘No.’

‘So why?’

‘You’re asking what I really think?’

‘Yes,’ Sophie replied. ‘Of course I am.’

‘He was marrying you to get his hands on Trescadinnick. Now I know he’s an illegitimate Penvarrow, I’m certain.’

‘You think he doesn’t love me,’ Sophie said.

‘That I don’t know. Perhaps he does in his own way, but from what you’ve told me it seems to me that he came to Trescadinnick, not to claim an inheritance that would never have been given to him, but to have some sort of revenge on the family. They’d refused to accept his mother, which made him a bastard.’

‘You don’t know that!’

‘No, I don’t, not for sure, but why else would he come? He must have known Thomas Penvarrow would never acknowledge him as a grandson.’

‘What sort of revenge?’

‘I don’t know,’ confessed Hannah. ‘But whatever it was, I think it changed when he met you. Once you arrived on the scene, young, beautiful, available as a wife, what better revenge than to marry you, and claim what he considered as rightfully his?’

‘But he didn’t know I was the heir!’ cried Sophie.

‘Sophie,’ said Hannah patiently, ‘everyone knew, or at least they guessed. Once that lawyer had been, it was clear that old Mr Penvarrow had changed his will and that you, a true Penvarrow, would inherit Trescadinnick. Didn’t Dr Bryan witness his signature?’

‘Yes, but he couldn’t have known what was in the will.’

‘Your grandfather didn’t like him, did he? Maybe he saw which way the wind was blowing. He may not have known exactly who Nicholas was, but he made very sure that whoever you married couldn’t get his hands on the Trescadinnick inheritance.’

‘He wanted me to marry Charles.’

‘I know,’ said Hannah. ‘And if he had left well alone, that might have happened.’

Sophie gave a short laugh. ‘I don’t think so, Hannah. Charles made it quite clear that he wouldn’t consider the idea. He said if he wanted a wife he would choose his own, and it wouldn’t be a chit from the schoolroom. He really was most clear on the subject.’

‘So I heard,’ said Hannah wryly. ‘But maybe he’s had time to change his mind. You seem to get on very well.’

‘That’s because there’s absolutely no expectation of anything more than friendship between us,’ declared Sophie. ‘Charles doesn’t want me, even if I wanted him.’

‘But he does protect your interests,’ pointed out Hannah, ‘which brings us back to this question of Nicholas already being married.’

‘Charles is coming again tomorrow, and I shall tell him I’m going back to Trescadinnick to have it out with Nicholas.’

‘Sophie, I think you should tell Charles everything else you’ve found out about Nicholas,’ Hannah advised. ‘I think that is all part and parcel of why he came to Trescadinnick in the first place.’

Sophie sighed. ‘Maybe,’ she conceded. ‘I’ll sleep on it and decide in the morning.’