Over the Misty Mountains (21 page)

Rebekah was terrified. She felt like an intruder and wanted to flee, but there was no way out. Whoever had entered was standing just inside the door, and she could not slip by unnoticed. She suspected it was a young couple who had come to have a moment alone in the darkness, but then when they spoke, she recognized Charlotte’s voice immediately.

Can that be Mr. Will?
Rebekah thought. But she did not recognize the voice that came. Then she heard Charlotte whisper, “Father, it’s all going to work out fine.” And she knew that it was Mr. Van Dorn, Charlotte’s father, whom she had seen once already.

“We must be careful.” The voice came in a secretive whisper. “If we’re found out, it would be terrible, Charlotte.”

“We’re not going to be found out. I’ve taken care of that.”

“How can you be sure of it?”

“Because I’ve changed the ledgers so that they think Patrick has stolen the money. How will they ever know any different?”

“That’s what you said in your letter, but it’s very dangerous. A study of the books might—”

“Nobody’s going to study the books!” Charlotte said. “It’s all done, and all we have to do is wait and be careful. You did destroy the letter, didn’t you? The one I wrote you?”

There was a silence, and Mr. Van Dorn whispered, “No, I didn’t.”

“Father, you’re a fool! If anyone saw that letter—!”

“They won’t see it! I promise you!”

“Is it at home? One of the servants might see it!”

“No, it’s in my suitcase in my guest room.”

“Then, as soon as this party’s over, go up and destroy it!”

“All right. I will.”

Rebekah stood there listening, and suddenly it all clearly fell into place. She remembered how she had seen Charlotte changing the books the day she was dusting in the library, and how angry the woman had become and had driven her out of this very room. Now she knew the truth, but what could she do about it? She was terrified lest they find her there, so she crouched down and listened as they continued to whisper.

“If you hadn’t lost most of our money in that foolish investment, we wouldn’t have to be doing things like this!” Charlotte snapped.

“It was a sure thing! I did it for the family.”

“You have almost made paupers out of us, and now the only hope that we have is to take over the Martin Shipping Company. If they ever found out how close to bankruptcy we are, Anne Martin would call the wedding off. That’s the reason I’ve been pushing for an early wedding.”

“I . . . I wish we didn’t have to do this.”

“We’ll be doing them a favor. Will’s a fool! He could never run the business. As for Patrick, he’s a nobody! Who cares what happens to him?”

“I suppose so,” Mr. Van Dorn said, his voice tired. “We’d better get back to the party before they miss us.”

“Don’t forget. Burn that letter as soon as the party’s over.”

“All right, Charlotte.”

The door opened again, and Rebekah blinked against the light, then it closed. Her heart was beating fast, and she waited only long enough to give the pair time to move away. Then she quickly left the library. No one was in the hallway, so she ran to the stairs and hurried to the second floor.
They’d never believe me. It would be my word against theirs. I’ve got to have that letter . . . !

She went to the room that the Van Dorns were occupying and tried the door. It was unlocked. She stepped inside quickly, and by the light of the lamp on the bedside, she scanned the room. There were three bags beside the bed, and she opened two of them, finding them filled with Mrs. Van Dorn’s things. The last one was obviously Mr. Van Dorn’s. She went through the contents with trembling hands, thinking,
If someone comes in, they’ll think I’m a thief. I’ll be put in jail
. But she had to go on. Finally she found a thin package of letters next to his shaving kit. With hands trembling so badly she could hardly handle the papers, she went through them until she found the one signed by Charlotte in which she told her father how she had changed the books. Quickly she replaced the things in the suitcase, put it down, and left the room. Fear made her knees tremble, and she stopped to take a deep breath, for she felt faint.

“I’ve got to tell Elizabeth and Patrick, but they’re at the ball now. I’ll wait until morning, then I’ll give them the letter.”

Chapter Fourteen

Conspiracy Unveiled

“What’s that? Did you hear something, Patrick?”

Elizabeth slept very lightly. She had heard what she thought was a faint scratching at the door and sat upright in bed. Reaching over, she shook Patrick, saying urgently, “Wake up! There’s somebody at the door!”

“Uuuhh! What’s that you say?” Patrick’s voice was fuzzy with sleep, but when Elizabeth repeated her insistent statement, he awakened fully and got up at once. “Who could it be at this hour?” he muttered. He walked over to the door, put his hand on it, and opened it. “Who is it?”

Elizabeth could not hear what he said, but he shut the door, then came back and said, “Put your robe on, Elizabeth.”

“Who is it? Is one of the children sick?”

“No, it’s Rebekah. She seems quite urgent about something.” Patrick pulled a light wool robe out of the clothespress and put it on as Elizabeth slipped into the blue silk one she kept next to the bed.

“What can she want at this hour? It must be one of the children!”

“We’ll soon find out.”

Elizabeth waited nervously as Patrick moved across the room, stopping to light a lamp from a candle they left burning. He turned the wick up so that the room was illuminated. His hair was wild and ruffled, and concern lined his face as he opened the door quietly. “Come in, Rebekah,” he said. He stood back, and the young woman stepped inside. She was fully dressed, and her eyes were wide, the hollows of her cheeks highlighted by the lamplight.

“Is Sarah sick?” Elizabeth asked quickly. “Or Andrew?”

“Oh no, ma’am. They’re all right. It’s not that.”

They waited for her to speak, and when she did not, Patrick said kindly, “Are you sick, Rebekah? Or is it your grandmother?”

“No, nobody is sick, sir. It’s just—well, I don’t know how to say it.”

Seeing that the girl was terrified, Elizabeth walked over and said, “Don’t be afraid, Rebekah. Whatever it is, it’s all right. Here, sit down and tell us about it.” Seating herself beside the frightened girl, she asked, “Is something wrong with you, Rebekah?”

Rebekah’s cheeks flushed, and she reached up and touched one of them nervously. “Oh no, ma’am. It’s not me. It’s just something I thought you and Mr. Patrick ought to know about.”

Patrick pulled a chair closer and said quietly, “I can see you’re troubled. Just take your time.” He reached over and patted her shoulder and gave her a warm smile. “Don’t worry. Whatever it is, we’ll help you.”

His reassurance warmed Rebekah at once. She twisted her hands nervously and looked down at them. She knew she had to tell them what she had discovered, but now that she had come, it all seemed dangerous somehow. The world of the servant was so far removed from that which these two occupied. They could have no possible way of knowing how difficult it was for her to step across the invisible line. For a servant to meddle in the affairs of those who ruled the big house—well, it was something she had never heard of—certainly something she had never thought she herself would do. Looking up and seeing the concern on their faces, she gathered her courage and began, “I . . . was in the library last night while the party was going on.”

“Were you, Rebekah?” Elizabeth said quietly. “You went to get a book, I suppose?”

“Yes, ma’am. I couldn’t sleep . . . and usually I don’t go into the library. Mr. Will, he usually gets books for me, or sometimes his father does. But I read the last of the ones he gave me, so I thought I’d just go down and get another one. I didn’t think there’d be any wrong in it.”

“Of course not! I’ve heard Father say many times he’s proud of the way you’ve picked up on your reading so much.”

“Did he say that, ma’am?”

“He surely did. So I don’t think you have to worry about borrowing another book. It wasn’t such an awful thing, going into the library like that.”

“Oh, but that wasn’t it, Miss Elizabeth,” Rebekah said quickly. She took a deep breath and said, “I . . . I know about the trouble you’ve had—you and Mr. Patrick. About the money being missing, and how you . . . well, you’ve been blamed for it.” She looked straight at Patrick, and there was a fierceness, almost, in her mild sweet face. “I know you didn’t do it, sir. You wouldn’t do a thing like that. Never in a million years!”

Patrick reached over and took her hand and squeezed it. “I appreciate your saying that, Rebekah. It’s good to hear.”

“I’m saying no more than what anyone thinks who knows you, Mr. Patrick. It’s not right.”

“But what does all this have to do with your going into the library?” Elizabeth asked, somewhat bewildered. She felt a warm feeling for the young servant girl and determined if there was any way to help her in the future, she would do it. Not that there would be any way with her and Patrick out on their own resources, but she knew many people who would be glad to have a good servant like Rebekah.

Rebekah swallowed hard, looked at the two, and then said, “Well, I was in the library—over in the corner, you see. It was real dark, and only one candle was lit. I’d just reached up to get a book, and I opened it and was looking at it to see if it was the right one—and then the door opened.”

The girl halted abruptly, and a frightened look crossed her face. “Who came in, Rebekah?” Patrick asked.

“It was Miss Charlotte and her father, Mr. Van Dorn.”

“Did they see you?”

“Oh no. They didn’t see me. It was like, ma’am . . . they just came in to talk, kind of. And they whispered like they were afraid someone would hear them. I was over in the dark corner, and I crouched down so they wouldn’t see me. Oh, I was so afraid! All I thought was they would catch me there, and they would report me to your mother. She wouldn’t like it, Miss Elizabeth.”

“Did you hear what they were saying?” Patrick inquired.

“Yes, sir, I did.” She looked at him fully in the face and said, “They were talking about the company, Mr. William’s shipping company, and about you.”

A warning alarm went off in Elizabeth’s head. Something seemed sinister about Charlotte and her father creeping into the library to find a secret place for a meeting while the party was going on downstairs. “What did they say, Rebekah?” she asked quietly. “Tell me every word of it.”

“Well, I didn’t hear it all, ma’am, but what I did hear was that Miss Charlotte had written a letter to her father, and she had told him in the letter how she had changed those business books that you’re always working in to make it look as though Mr. Patrick had taken the money.”

Patrick stared at the young woman, unable to believe what he was hearing. “Are you sure you heard them right, Rebekah?”

“Oh yes, sir! They were whispering, but I’ve got very good hearing. Miss Charlotte said, ‘You didn’t keep the letter, did you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, but it’s in a safe place.’ And then she said, ‘You didn’t leave it at home? One of the servants might find it.’ And then Mr. Van Dorn said, ‘No, it’s in my suitcase.’ Then that’s when Miss Charlotte told him to burn it, and they said a lot of things about how it would be better if you and Miss Elizabeth weren’t in the business anymore, and how when your father died, Miss Elizabeth, they could take it all.”

“I see. Did they say anything else?” Elizabeth asked calmly. Fury was rising in her, but she hid it from Rebekah.

Rebekah thought hard for a moment, then said, “They said how it would be better if you and Mr. Patrick were out of the house. That she would always be able to make Mr. Will do whatever she wanted him to. And I almost forgot—that Mr. Van Dorn has lost his money somehow, and that the new business would save them as soon as Mr. Will and Miss Charlotte got married.”

Patrick reached over and hugged the girl’s shoulders. “It took a lot of courage for you to tell us this. I think, though, we’ll have to have the letter. No one would believe you. It would be your word against the Van Dorns’.”

“Oh, I’ve already got the letter,” Rebekah said. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out. “I went up right away, into the room, and I took it.” She looked very frightened and pulled her shoulders together. “Would they put me in jail for stealing it, sir? I couldn’t bear to leave my grandmother.”

“Of course they won’t. Now don’t you worry. You did the right thing. Now that I have this letter,” Patrick said, his jaw growing tense, “it’s all I need.”

Elizabeth reached over and hugged the young woman. “You’ll never know how much this means to me and Patrick. Now Patrick won’t have to go around with a blot on his name.”

“That’s right. You just about saved my life, Rebekah.” Patrick smiled. “I’ll have to find some way of making it up to you.”

“Oh, it was nothing. You and Miss Elizabeth have been so kind to me and to my grandmother. I hope this will all come out right for you.” She hesitated, then asked, “Do you still think Mr. Will will marry Miss Charlotte?”

“I doubt it,” Elizabeth said dryly. “Once he finds out about her deceit in this, I hardly think he’ll want her for a wife.”

An odd look appeared in Rebekah’s eyes, and for the first time she smiled. “I think that would be good. She wouldn’t make him a very good wife, I don’t think.” She rose suddenly and said, “I’ve got to get back to my room.”

“Thank you again, Rebekah,” Patrick said, walking to the door with her. He patted her shoulder as she went outside and said, “I’d kiss you, but my wife is a jealous woman. She won’t let me kiss any good-looking young girls, you know.”

As soon as the door closed, Patrick turned to his wife, and for a moment they stood there, both thinking about the fraud that had to be exposed. Patrick took a deep breath and said, “It’s going to be like a blast of gunpowder going off. Are you sure you want to let your parents know about this?”

Elizabeth stared at Patrick. “What are you talking about? Of course we’ll let them know about this. You don’t think I’d let Will marry a . . . a vixen like that, do you?”