Anna Jacobs (34 page)

Hudd smiled to see the snooty fellow brought low then ran to get the fancy cord that held back the curtains in the dining-room, locking the French windows as he did so in case there was anyone else out there, though he hadn’t seen anyone. Graye was groaning so Hudd quickly bound his hands, and as his prisoner began to regain consciousness, hauled him to his feet and marched him out into the hall.

Opening the door of the sitting-room he thrust his captive forward. “Look what I found, sir.”

With a cry of dismay, Serena jumped to her feet.

Fleming grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back down on the chair. “If you know what’s good for you—and for him—you’ll stay there and make no attempt to help him! The slightest attempt to help him and we’ll shoot him dead before your eyes. I have a gun in my pocket.” He patted it and she could see the shape. She knew he would do what he threatened, so stayed where she was.

None of them saw Ruby, who had been just about to enter the hallway and had therefore seen what was going on. She clapped one hand to her mouth to keep back a cry and after a moment’s hesitation, ran for the back stairs.

Serena closed her eyes, knowing Fleming was watching her as much as Marcus. When she opened them, she gave her husband a long, level look which offered no clue as to her feelings. She waited, motionless.

“Bring him forward,” Fleming ordered. “I’m pleased you’re doing your job so well, Hudd, very pleased. You won’t find me ungrateful. Now do me the favour of staying here while I talk to Mr Graye. We wouldn’t want him to get too excited, would we?” He looked Marcus up and down scornfully. “Strange way to come calling. You should have used the front door. It’d have looked better. As it is, you’ve played into my hands.”

He looked at Serena again and it was to her he spoke. “I’ve sent for Crandall who’s on duty as magistrate, and you’ll tell him you want Graye prevented from coming near you, that you made a mistake in marrying him, that the marriage was never consummated and you’re so afraid of him offering you violence that you’ve sought refuge with me here.”

Serena looked at him without saying a word.

“She’ll not do it,” Marcus said. “The mistake was ours in letting her come to see you, but I’m here to take her away again.”

“Oh, she won’t be leaving. She’s eager to stay and look after her brother, aren’t you, my dear? And as I said, she now wants the marriage annulled because she’s afraid of you. That
is
what you want, isn’t it, Serena?”

“Yes, Father.”

Marcus stared at her in alarm. Her voice and whole demeanour were different. She didn’t even look like the same woman, so subdued and colourless did she seem. “I don’t believe that. Serena darling, you can stop pretending now and I’ll take you home. Tell Fleming he’s wrong about our marriage.”

She bowed her head and stared down at her lap. Marcus’s safety depended on her compliance with what her father dictated, because Fleming would be happy to use the gun. She longed to run to her husband and feel his arms around her, but didn’t dare. Fleming laughed out loud as Marcus called her name again, but she kept herself very still, summoning up the old ways that had served her before in this unhappy house.

“You see,” Fleming said. “My daughter is a sensible woman, not one of your modern independent types. She knows how to obey.”

As the doorbell rang, Marcus struggled to get free of Hudd and found himself pushed against the wall, with his head twisted so that he couldn’t breathe properly.

As the doorbell sounded again and there was no sound of Ruby going to answer it, Fleming went out and himself opened the front door. “Thank heavens you’re here, Crandall. We’ve had to restrain an intruder.” He gestured towards the sitting room, where Marcus was still struggling with Hudd.

Crandall marched into the room, his voice booming out. “Stop this at once, man! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The grip on his head and neck loosened suddenly and Marcus could breathe again, but he knew they’d tricked him nicely. He seemed able to do nothing right today. And why was Serena not even looking at him? Surely she hadn’t really caved in to Fleming’s threats?

* * * *

While this was happening Justin had also rung the doorbell. When no one answered it and he heard shouting from inside, he tried the front door and found it unlocked. Crandall’s wife had said he was coming here and Justin could only pray that the magistrate had already arrived. “You stay here, Vic. No good all of us putting ourselves in his clutches.”

He closed his umbrella and pushed the door open. There was a great deal of noise coming from the room at the rear, so he moved quietly forward to see what was going on. What he saw made him march inside the room where Hudd was holding his client in what was clearly a painful position.

“Let go of him!” Justin shouted and only then did the people in the room seem to notice him.

Hudd didn’t remove his hands from Marcus’s neck. “I daren’t, sir. He’s too dangerous.”

Justin smashed his umbrella down to break Hudd’s hold. That move made the man curse, but he let go of Marcus’s neck at least. “My client couldn’t breathe, Crandall. Wouldn’t you struggle for breath?”

Marcus was wheezing and gasping, unable to loosen his collar because his hands were still bound behind him.

“Who let
you
into my house, Redway?” Fleming demanded. “Get out at once.”

“The door was open. I knocked and called out, and when I saw my client being so violently restrained, I felt I’d better come in.” He felt for his pocket knife and before anyone could stop him, pulled it out and cut the cord binding Marcus’s hands behind him.

With a groan Marcus brought his hands forward and said in a voice that rasped still from the pressure on his throat. “Hudd hit me on the head then tied me up. When he started trying to strangle me, of course I struggled against him.”

Crandall stared at him as if he’d suddenly grown horns. “That’s not what it looked like to me.”

Fleming said smoothly, “He’s lying, of course. I’m delighted you’re here, Crandall. I’m sorry to call you out, today of all days, but I want Graye forbidden to come near my poor daughter, who’s had to flee from his violent behaviour.”

Marcus looked at Serena, expecting her to deny this, but she sent him a quick glance, shook her head slightly and bowed her head again. He could only guess that some threat was being held over her head, perhaps a threat to her brother. Why else would she be doing as Fleming ordered? “Don’t do this, love,” he begged, speaking to her only. “Think of yourself. We’ll find another way to help Aubrey.”

She didn’t answer and Fleming moved quickly to her side, one hand on her shoulder, fingers digging in cruelly.

“I think you’d better leave, Mr Graye,” Crandall said. “And I wouldn’t advise you to come here again or I’ll be forced to lock you up for the sake of this young woman’s safety.”

At that moment a voice said from the doorway, “You’re doing too much locking people up, Father.”

Aubrey came into the room, having taken a minute or two to straighten his clothes and give the terrified Ruby time to leave the house. She’d sworn she’d not return, whatever anyone said, and that she was leaving Tinsley on the first train she could catch, but he’d persuaded her to go to the Weaver’s Arms and wait there.

 He was surprised to see so many people, but wasn’t surprised by the anger on his father’s face, anger that was quickly banished.

“My poor son, how are you feeling now?”

“I’m feeling fine, just as I was until your men kidnapped me this morning.”

Fleming turned to Crandall. “You see. He’s delusional, needs protecting because he can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t.”

The magistrate stared at the slight young man.

Aubrey looked back steadily. “I’ve been under the supervision of several doctors for the past few months, first as I was recovering from my injuries and then when I worked as an orderly in a convalescent home. I think they would have known if I was mentally unstable, don’t you? I’ll be happy to give you their names and the address of the convalescent home.”

“And
I
think that Tolson, who’s been your doctor for years, would know you better than any of them could,” Fleming said.

Crandall nodded. “Good fellow, Tolson, very sound.”

Marcus seized the opportunity to go and stand by his wife. “You all right?”

She whispered, “Marcus, keep away, save yourself!” then as Fleming swivelled round to stare icily at her, she bowed her head again and pressed her lips together.

Fleming took a couple of steps back to stand between her and her husband. “You shouldn’t encourage your brother, Serena. He could harm himself. And you’ve been in a very fragile state yourself since your mother’s death, or you wouldn’t have married a near stranger who only wants your money.”

Crandall stared at Marcus distastefully. “He’s Lonnerden’s cousin and that’s no recommendation. The fellow was a loose fish if ever I met one, and his father wasn’t much better.”

“I’m prepared to forget what Graye has done this time,” Fleming said, “if you’ll just get him and Redway to leave. My family and I need to talk. We’ve a lot of time to make up with Frank.”

“I’m not staying here,” Aubrey said at once, “nor is Serena. We’ll leave as well.”

Fleming smiled at him. “Your sister is definitely staying here. You might think about joining her.”

Aubrey stared at her. “Serena, surely not?”

“I can’t leave,” she said in a toneless voice.

Justin put out one hand to restrain Marcus from going to her. “I don’t think you can do anything at the moment.”

“I’m not leaving without her,” Marcus said, folding his arms.

“You’ll leave now or I’ll call in the police,” Crandall snapped.

Serena looked at her husband. “Go. Now. Please, Marcus.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you to.”

He let Justin pull him into the hall and after a moment’s hesitation, Aubrey turned to join them.

“You’d better stay here until Tolson arrives, young man,” the magistrate called.

“I’d rather be in a police cell than here,” Aubrey said. “My father’s a liar and my sister doesn’t really want to stay, you know.”

Fleming made a soft tutting sound. “You see, Crandall? And he’s just heard her say she does.”

“Poor fellow. We’d better keep him here, for his own sake.”

Hudd moved between Aubrey and the door to the hall.

Justin said in an urgent undertone to Marcus, “We can do more if we’re free—for both of them. Come
on!”

So Marcus, after one last glance backwards at Serena, walked towards the front door.

Hudd shoved Aubrey back into the sitting room, so that he tumbled to the floor, and followed Marcus, grinning. As Justin opened the door, however, four men pushed their way in and two of them grabbed Hudd, quickly muffling his cries. The man who was clearly their leader looked at Justin and Marcus. “What’s been happening?”

“This is Aubrey’s friend Jim,” Marcus explained and then told him quickly what had occurred.

“I think we need to go back. I have a few things to say to Fleming and for that I need witnesses. And perhaps when your wife hears what I have to say, she’ll think differently about staying.”

“I’m more than happy to return,” Marcus said grimly. “What about him?” He gestured to Hudd.

“He can come too, but my brothers will keep an eye on him.”

Jim led the way into the sitting room again, where Fleming and Crandall were now sitting down, looking very cosy together, while Aubrey stood beside Serena, who was shaking her head to something he was whispering. Everyone turned to see who had come in.

Fleming jumped to his feet. “I don’t know where you found reinforcements, Graye, but you can just take your men and leave. She’s
not
coming back to you and I have a magistrate here to witness what’s going on.”

Crandall nodded vigorously.

“I’m not connected to Mr Graye,” Jim said mildly. “And if you don’t mind, I’ll sit down too. I’ve been a long time recovering from war injuries and I’m still not myself.”

“Whoever you are, I wish you to
leave!”
Fleming snapped. “I’m too busy to see anyone.”

Jim looked across at Aubrey and Serena, smiling. “What I have to say is going to shock you, Serena, and I’m sorry I have to do it so publicly. When I tell you that my name is James Lang, would it mean anything to you?”

She stared at him open-mouthed, then nodded. “Yes. Mother told me about you. But if you weren’t dead, you ran away and left her, so I’m not sure I care whether you’ve come back or not.”

Jim looked across at the magistrate who was frowning in an attempt to follow this. “I’m Serena’s real father.”

Crandall blinked in shock.

“She looks like him,” Justin pointed out.

Reluctantly, Crandall nodded.

“And she also looks like her mother,” Jim said in a low voice, smiling at Serena but with sadness clear beneath that smile.

“I don’t know why he’s trying to cause trouble, but it’s a pack of lies and I want him out of this house,” Fleming said. “Of course he’s not her father. I am. Everyone knows that.”

Crandall shifted uncomfortably, staring from one man to the other. “They do look very alike and I remember the talk at the time. She was born only six months after the marriage.”

“They don’t look alike. And he’s
not
her father, probably not even James Lang!” Fleming shouted, but when he tried to move towards Jim, one of the other men stepped forward. 

“I’m Jim’s brother and no one knows better than me who he is.”

Jim turned back to the magistrate, “I have papers back where I’m staying which prove who I am, but it’s more important now that I tell my daughter what happened, why I left, and I’d like you to be a witness to that.” When the other man nodded, he went on, “Over thirty years ago, I was going to run away with Grace Illingham and marry her, because I loved her dearly and because she was carrying my child. I didn’t care about her money, only about her.”

Fleming made a loud scoffing noise.

“Let him continue,” Crandall snapped.

“Ernest Fleming paid some men to capture me and prevent me from meeting Grace. They took me to Liverpool and put me on a ship bound for Australia. I had to work my passage and the voyage lasted several weeks.