Chapter Eleven

The only sound in the room was the rustle of papers turning. The Accused sat, head bowed, his hands between his knees. This was the end of the road for him. It wasn’t that he had been careless; he had had no idea that there was an organization set up to combat the leakage of information. Obviously they had suspected him for some time. The capture had been swift and efficient, timed to accost him when he had a great deal of incriminating evidence on his person. Fleetingly he wondered if his blackmailer knew about the organization. It mattered not. He was done for, and he was glad of it. Glad of it! At last he was free of that devil who had turned him against his own country. His accuser glanced up and met his eye. “We shall not be asking you any more questions. We know most of it. I am sorry for you.” He stood. “I shall leave this dueler here on the table. It is fully loaded. You know what to do.”

****

“Whatever is happening?” Helena exclaimed. At the same time the noise they had heard previously began again, as several pairs of booted feet trod downstairs. Caroline and Helena stared at each other, amazed and confused. There seemed to be a discussion going on in the foyer and then they heard the sound of farewells and the crunch of carriage wheels on gravel.

Suddenly a key turned in the lock. Helena and Caroline stood back from the door. Timms entered. He bowed, then moved to clear away the tea things.

Helena gathered her courage. “Timms, why was the door locked?”

“Ah…Miss Marshfield, I was requested to lock the door. We have had a very important visitor here today who did not wish to be recognized.”

“I see.”

Caroline looked askance at Helena who shrugged and smiled. Fortunately Caroline was more concerned to find out what her father and Robert had discussed and went upstairs to find out. Helena lingered and said to Timms, “The Prince of Wales, Timms?”

“Lord Sidmouth from the Home Office has been here, miss, but as to the other influential gentleman, my lips are sealed. I must say you are close to the mark.”

Amused, Helena followed Caroline to Robert’s room where she found a celebration taking place.

“Ellie, congratulate us! Ivor and I are to be rewarded for services rendered. And I have been appointed permanently to the Committee. There is a stipend that goes with the position.”

Helena sighed a deep, thankful sigh. “Wonderful!” Then to everyone’s surprise—especially her own—she burst into tears of relief. Embarrassed, she fled the room. She had been under such a mountain of worry lately that it seemed she could not comprehend the lifting of the big load off her shoulders. Her brother was safe. He had an occupation which he would enjoy doing. And Sir Ivor, too, had been rewarded in some way. She wondered if Mr. Yardley would receive anything. He certainly deserved it because she had a strong suspicion that a lot of funds from Mr. Yardley’s businesses had been diverted to the Special Advisory Committee. Who were the other two mysterious members of the Committee who were based at the Horse Guards and the War Office?

She sat on her bed feeling thankful and lethargic. Their futures had taken a turn for the best, but she was exhausted, unable to bring herself to understand their good luck.

Caroline peeped around the door. “Dear Helena, are you better? Such a surprise as it was when you cried. Sir Ivor says that it was not to be wondered at, as you had been under a strain since first hearing of Robert’s injuries.”

Helena smiled mistily through her tears. “Yes, I suppose he is right.”

Caroline pushed open the door and practically bounced into the room.

“Helena, what is even better is that Robert has been promised a small estate by the Prince Regent! Something to do with services to the Crown. I don’t precisely understand. Apparently the occupation he is to undertake is something to do with what Papa and Sir Ivor have meetings about. Perhaps you may understand more than I do.”

“Not really, Caroline. But I am very thankful; especially about the small estate, since some of Prinny’s stipends are often delayed.”

“Oh?” Caroline’s brow wrinkled.

“Did they give any indication where the estate might be?” Helena was dying to know. It could make a great difference to all of them if it was a viable estate.

Caroline sat on the bed beside Helena. “Sir Ivor seems to know all about that,” she said. “Helena, do you think Robert should speak to Papa now?”

Helena sighed. Caroline was concerned only with one thing. “I don’t know, Caroline. It’s not for me to say. It seems such a short time that you have known one another but…”

Caroline smiled and patted her hand. “All will be well, Helena.”

Helena felt that Caroline had moved beyond her, that she had matured considerably in the past week and left her erstwhile governess far behind. It was as if their roles had been reversed.

She kissed Helena lightly on the cheek then got up off the bed. “I must go to Robert to glean all the information I can. Perhaps he will speak to Papa today.”

Helena sat, gazing out the window at the spring sunshine. Her world was changing fast. She was not sure what ramifications Robert’s appointment would have for her. Restlessly she rose and paced the room. She wished things were more settled so that she knew whether she was to continue working for the Yardleys or not. Should Caroline and Robert gain permission to marry, would they really want her living with them? Newlyweds would surely require a certain amount of privacy at first. Oh, heavens! She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She could end up just being Ariadne’s companion. How ghastly! Time would tell.

But a major problem still remained. The promissory note hidden in her reticule preyed on her mind. It would be the last straw if Robert were to lose his newfound security over that wretched vowel. She had brought it with her to Stafford House. For some reason, a sense of impending doom hung over her whenever she looked at that awful vowel.

She must discuss it with Robert as soon as possible, now that he was much improved. He had probably long since forgotten about it. He would most likely think her fears were far-fetched.

But when she returned to Robert’s room, she intruded upon a scene where she had no place.

Josh Yardley held Caroline’s hand in one of his own and had placed his free hand on Robert’s good shoulder. “I couldn’t have asked for a better bargain for my girl,” he was saying emotionally.

Helena began to creep quietly away, but he noticed and turned to her. “Come in, Helena. I have just received the grandest news! Did you know about this?”

“Er…yes, I suspected.”

“Now we are all one family. And of course, Robert and I will be doing a little work together won’t we?” He waxed lyrical in his excitement. Robert grinned good-naturedly. Helena could tell that he would deal well with his future father-in-law.

“I must make haste to go and tell your mama,” he said to Caroline. “I had no hesitation in not consulting her on this matter because we are of the same mind. Even though she has not met him, I know she will be as pleased as I to welcome Robert into our family. After all, we have known about Sir Robert for some considerable while. Congratulations to you both.” He nodded to Robert. “I shall speak to you further on this.” After a swift pinch on Caroline’s chin he was off, in his usual ebullient fashion.

Robert pulled a face. “When he speaks to me further, I hope my dismal prospects do not make him change his mind.”

“No!” Caroline was most indignant.

Robert grinned and tightened his clasp on Caroline’s hand. Helena realized that his years in the army had bolstered his confidence considerably. He was a long way from the frightened, lonely youth who had set out for army headquarters with his commission in his pocket and most of his worldly goods in a valise.

Lucky Robert. Caroline was a young woman who wouldn’t care that he couldn’t ride or dance well. He had been her beau idéal ever since she had read his war correspondence. She would be a helpmate in good times and in bad. They deserved each other.

But where did that leave Helena? In the middle of all the excitement she had been forgotten. She wouldn’t have it any other way of course. She loved them both dearly. No doubt within the next few days Robert would make known his plans for the future, and she would find out if they included her. If they did not, well…there was always Miss Fichton’s seminary. Not a thrilling prospect, but a secure one, and a lot easier than being a companion to Ariadne. She would get used to boredom once more.

Unfortunately, if that was to be her fate, she would not see Robert and Caroline above once or twice a year.

And she might never see Sir Ivor again. No doubt he would marry within the next few years. He would need an heir. Helena would hear about it from Robert and Caroline in due course. She sighed heavily. Well, she had plenty of experience at putting on a brave face so she would manage. Nobody would ever suspect that she’d fallen head over heels for someone so far above her touch.

But now she must draw Robert’s attention to that promissory note so that any remaining debt could be paid out prior to his marriage. It was possible he had cleared the debt without her knowledge.

When Caroline left Robert’s room to prepare for dinner, Helena showed the vowel to Robert. “Robert, do you remember this?”

“What is it? Oh, I vaguely remember that we found that just before I joined up.”

“Yes. Nobody has come to collect.”

“Frankly, it looks to me like the sort of thing men write when they’re in their cups. It probably doesn’t mean anything.”

“It’s just that I have a strange feeling about it.”

Robert shouted with laughter, then winced at the pain in his shoulder. “Dear Helena, if I had a penny for every time a female had a ‘strange feeling’ I would be a rich man!”

Helena pulled a face at him. “Thank you. You know I’m not given to fancies. No, what I dread is that this scrawled letter might be an ‘E’”.

“If it is, so what? It could stand for Edgecumbe, Evesleigh, Elverton, or—”

“That is what frightens me, Robert. That it might stand for Elverton.”

“Look here, Helena. We paid that sour-faced clutch-fist every last groat he said he was owed. I know Father was friendly with him, but you and I never trusted him. That’s why I made sure I paid him out in full. What else could we possibly owe him?”

Helena’s cold hands twisted in her lap. “I have a terrible feeling that Papa may have been trying to arrange a marriage between us. Do you remember how Elverton always acted as if I were a chattel of his?”

“But Ellie, they would not use a vowel for such a serious transaction. All they had to do was arrange it formally between them. Surely you don’t believe Father would stoop so low as to use you as a gambling chip? Don’t be ridiculous!” Robert was becoming angry.

“You have no idea how often I was brought into the room when Elverton called,” she said quietly. “At first you were at Magdalen. Sometimes you were away in town. At other times you were tooling about the countryside with friends, so you never saw his attitude toward me. Last month at Caroline’s dress-party, he tried to force me to dance with him by saying we still owed him something. If it weren’t for Sir Ivor, he would have told everybody there what the stake was. I couldn’t bear it.”

Robert stared into space, saying nothing for a moment. “It must be several years since you saw him. Do you think he lost track of you, didn’t know where you were?”

“Yes. I have been careful not to frequent any place he might go.”

“Oh, Ellie. You shouldn’t have kept this to yourself. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have arranged for Ned or Tally to make sure you were safe.”

“That was what I wanted to avoid. If our father was so lost to decency as to promise me to Elverton in a card-game, I didn’t want the world to know. We have had enough to live down. I did not want your prospects soured.”

Robert twisted restlessly in the bed. “I know one thing. Yardley and Stafford are both suspicious about Elverton’s activities, but I don’t know what it is they suspect. It just came about in general conversation.”

“Then why did Mr. Yardley invite him to Caroline’s dress-party?” She stared at her brother. “I presumed that Mr. Yardley was toad-eating him, wanting it known that he hobnobbed with an earl. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he had another reason for inviting Elverton.”

Robert shrugged. “I should say so. I see my future father-in-law as a very shrewd man. I doubt he’d let his social ambitious override his common sense. Why don’t we leave it up to Ivor and Josh? And that vowel may have nothing to do with him. It’s probably meaningless now. Why don’t you burn it?”

“You don’t know how often I’ve wanted to! Now that you’ve suggested it, I shall do so. Right now,” she said with decision.

Light-hearted with relief, she hurried to her room and poked the screwed-up paper into the grate. When the maid came to light the fire that evening, it would be gone forever. For so long it had hung over her shoulders, and she was well aware that she had become embittered with its threat to derail her life. Lord, what a relief to think that Robert did not consider it to be of any import.