The Ragged Heiress (48 page)

Lucetta laughed in spite of herself. ‘We won’t let that happen to you. I’m going to call on my uncle and set matters right.’

‘Your uncle, miss?’ Perks looked up from his screed of papers with puzzlement written all over his face.

‘I’m surprised that the secret didn’t leak out,’ Lucetta said, eyeing him curiously. ‘Did no one hear the altercation between myself and Mr Jeremiah?’

Perks shook his head. ‘No, miss.’

‘All will be revealed soon,’ Giles said. ‘Miss Froy will explain everything once she’s settled things with her uncle. Isn’t that so, Lucetta?’

‘There’s a cab now,’ Lucetta said, hurrying off to claim a hansom cab that had just deposited a rotund gentleman in a city suit outside a wine merchant’s office. Giles caught up with her as she was instructing the cabby to take them to Thornhill Crescent.

‘Is this wise, darling?’ Giles demanded as he climbed in beside her. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to wait for a day or two and allow your uncle to settle in at home?’

Lucetta turned to him, clutching his lapels. ‘That’s the second time you’ve called me darling.’

‘Do you object?’

His smile was tender and she felt her heart sing with joy. She slid her hands under his collar, pulling his head down so that their lips met. ‘I love it, Giles.’

‘And I love you,’ he said softly. ‘More than life itself.’

Lucetta sighed as he claimed her lips in a kiss that blotted out the past. Nothing that had gone before mattered. They were the only two people in the world and Lucetta knew that they would be together forever. Giles was her life and her true love. She nestled against him breathing in the scent that was his alone. Her bonnet had fallen off and her hair had come loose from its chignon, but she didn’t care.

‘I thought I had lost you,’ Giles murmured. ‘When Mary told me you had gone to find Sam, I thought you had chosen him.’

Lucetta pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes. ‘I think I fell in love with you from the start, Giles, but it seemed to me that you and Mary were destined for each other, and I was confused about my feelings for Sam. I realise now that it was puppy-love. My poor father was right, and my wayward behaviour killed him.’

Taking her by the shoulders, he gave her the gentlest of gentle shakes. ‘That’s absolute nonsense, my love. Your parents were drowned when the
Caroline
went down. As to the stroke, anything could have brought it on. You mustn’t blame yourself.’

Lucetta sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder.
‘I’m not looking forward to facing Uncle Bradley and Jeremiah.’

Giles held her close. ‘I’m with you now and always, Lucetta. We’ll face them together.’

Bradley Froy’s manservant admitted them to the house with the greatest reluctance. Lucetta was certain that she would have been forced to wait outside in the cold if Giles had not insisted on seeing Mr Froy senior and his son on a matter of extreme urgency.

They were left standing in the hallway while the ageing servant negotiated the stairs to announce their arrival, but it was Jeremiah who descended moments later and the expression on his face was not welcoming.

‘What do you want?’ he demanded.

Lucetta stepped forward and to her surprise she was not afraid. With Giles at her side she felt invincible, and the affidavit and copy of her father’s will tucked away in her reticule gave her further encouragement. ‘I must speak to you and my uncle together, Jeremiah.’

‘Imposter!’ Jeremiah’s voice rose to a girlish screech. ‘Get out of my house.’

‘You’re mistaken,’ Lucetta said calmly. ‘This is my house and I can prove it.’

‘What’s all the noise, Jeremiah?’

Lucetta glanced over her cousin’s shoulder to see her uncle standing at the top of the stairs. He was deathly pale and leaning heavily on a cane, but apart from a slight slurring of his speech he did not appear to have been badly affected by his recent illness.

‘Uncle Bradley. It’s me, Lucetta. I need to speak to you urgently.’

‘I’ll have them thrown out, Pa,’ Jeremiah spluttered. ‘You should be resting, Father. You know what the doctor said.’

‘Damn the doctor. They’re all a pack of charlatans.’

‘I am one of those charlatans,’ Giles said with a wry smile. ‘If you need medical attention I am on hand.’

‘On hand to fleece me,’ Bradley muttered, turning away and hobbling along the galleried landing. ‘Come upstairs if you must. I suppose I won’t get any peace until the girl has had her say.’

Lucetta needed no second bidding. She brushed past Jeremiah and hurried upstairs, following her uncle into the drawing room. She paused in the doorway, gazing round at the unfamiliar furnishings and the heavy embossed wallpaper that made the room seem smaller than she remembered, and depressingly sombre. The only piece of furniture that she recognised was the chaise longue on which her mother had languished during her episodes of ill-health, only now it was reupholstered in crimson and gold damask and Aunt Eliza was perched on it with her thin shoulders hunched and her dark eyes glittering with malice. She reminded Lucetta of the crows that had haunted Guthrie’s dreams and circled over his grave. Lucetta shivered and curled her fingers around Giles’ hand for comfort.

‘What is she doing here, Bradley?’ Aunt Eliza demanded, stabbing the Persian carpet with her ebony cane.

Bradley limped over to a wingback armchair close to the fire and lowered himself onto the seat. ‘She is after money, no doubt. News of my successful trip must have spread round the city like wildfire.’

Lucetta stood in the middle of the room, taking in every last detail, and to her surprise she felt nothing. This was not the home she had loved and yearned for, it was just a house inhabited by strangers who happened to be related to her. She smiled up at Giles as he held her hand and she knew then that her home would be wherever he was. Bricks and mortar meant nothing. Only people mattered. She braced her shoulders and turned to face her accuser. ‘You do recognise me then, Uncle?’

Bradley waved his stick at her. ‘Get on with it, girl. What is said between these four walls is between us. You have no proof of your identity.’

‘Well there you are wrong,’ Lucetta took the papers from her reticule. ‘I have a copy of Papa’s will and a sworn affidavit from witnesses who are willing to stand up in court and testify as to my identity.’

‘We buried Lucetta Froy,’ Eliza Bradley cried angrily. ‘This house belongs to us.’

Giles moved as if to speak for her, but Lucetta laid her hand on his arm. ‘It’s all right, Giles. I can deal with this.’ She handed the documents to her uncle. ‘My solicitor has the originals, Uncle; these are simply copies.’

Bradley cast his eyes over the papers. ‘What do you want? I’m a sick man; you must be careful what you say.’

‘You are my legal guardian until I’m twenty-one,’ Lucetta said calmly. ‘I don’t want to fight you, Uncle. You are still my father’s brother and I believe he was fond of you, goodness knows why. I have a proposition to put to you and Jeremiah.’

‘How dare you,’ Jeremiah hissed. ‘You were a poor girl living with a villain when we last met. How do you think society would view Miss Lucetta Froy if the truth were to come out?’

Lucetta cast him a cursory glance. ‘Be quiet, Jeremiah, and listen to what I have to say.’

Later that day, Giles related the scene to a fascinated Sir Hector and an admiring Mary as they sat round the dining table in Lonsdale Square.

‘I didn’t know you had it in you, Daisy,’ Mary said in an awed tone. ‘Weren’t you terrified that you might faint or burst into tears?’

‘She’s made of sterner stuff,’ Giles said proudly. ‘By the end of the meeting Mr Bradley Froy was glad to accept the most generous terms that my dearest Lucetta offered out of the goodness of her heart.’

‘Well done, Lucetta,’ Sir Hector said, clapping his hands. ‘It was a decision that would have done credit to King Solomon himself.’

Lucetta felt a ready blush rising to her cheeks and she shook her head. ‘I don’t want the house, Sir Hector. I think my papa would have agreed with my decision to let Uncle Bradley stay there rent-free for the rest of his life.’

‘But what about you?’ Mary asked anxiously. ‘Where
will you live? Or should I ask where will you and Giles live? I’m assuming that you plan to marry.’

‘We do,’ Giles said, reaching out to grasp Lucetta’s hand. He raised it to his lips and the gold filigree bracelet on her wrist glinted in the candlelight. ‘My dear girl has accepted me and I couldn’t be happier.’

‘That’s absolutely wonderful news,’ Mary said, smiling. ‘Have you bought her a ring, Giles?’

Lucetta held his hand to her cheek. ‘It was too late today, but we are going out first thing tomorrow morning.’

‘And the announcement will be in
The Times
on Monday,’ Giles added proudly.

Sir Hector raised his glass. ‘Congratulations, Giles.’ He beamed at Lucetta. ‘I hope you will be very happy, my dear.’

Mary drank the toast, but there was a question in her eyes as she replaced her glass on the table. ‘What will happen to the business, Daisy? Have you given that away too?’

Lucetta shook her head. ‘No, definitely not. It doesn’t come to me until I’m twenty-one, but until then I am going to take a keen interest in it. On my solicitor’s advice, it’s being made into a limited company where I am the major shareholder. Uncle Bradley and Jeremiah have enough shares to give them a modest income, and Jeremiah will be sent abroad to oversee the running of the warehouses in Asia and Indonesia. He will have Papa’s trusted managers to guide him and Uncle Bradley will advise him.’

Giles squeezed her fingers. ‘I can see who has inherited her father’s business head,’ he said, smiling.

‘And you don’t mind your wife having a career of her own?’ Mary held her hands up as if she was shocked by the prospect, but the laughter in her eyes belied her words.

‘I’m going to promote Perks to the position of manager,’ Lucetta explained hastily. ‘It’s not as if I’m going to work every day, although I will visit the warehouse often to make certain that everything is as it should be.

‘And I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ Giles added. ‘I’m not going to make a fortune from practising in one of the poorest areas in London. I’ll be glad for our children to have an inheritance to look forward to.’

‘My goodness,’ Mary said in genuine amazement. ‘You’ve thought of everything, except the most important thing.’

Lucetta raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t think of anything that would spoil their future happiness. ‘What is that, Mary?’

‘Where are you going to live, Daisy? It’s all very well giving the family home to your uncle and aunt, but you and Giles can’t live in a tent.’

Sir Hector cleared his throat. ‘I think I can solve that particular problem. As you know, I’m retiring soon and Mary and I will move permanently to Stockton Lacey. This house will be empty and it is reasonably near your new practice, Giles. I’ll be more than happy to give it to you and Lucetta as a wedding present.’

Lucetta gasped at his generosity, but she shook her
head. ‘We couldn’t accept it, Sir Hector. What about Mary?’

‘I can answer for myself,’ Mary said, smiling. ‘I have more than enough for my needs with a small legacy from my mother.’

‘And the Grange will pass to Mary on my demise,’ Sir Hector said. ‘She is well taken care of and I’ve always thought of Giles more as a son than a nephew. And don’t forget, he has three sisters to marry off.’

‘Heavens, what a task,’ Mary giggled.

‘I don’t mind one bit,’ Lucetta said sincerely. ‘You can’t imagine how happy I am to be part of a family once again.’

Giles rose to his feet, moving to stand behind Lucetta’s chair and resting his hands on her shoulders. ‘We may never be rich in financial terms,’ he said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. ‘But if love is counted as an asset, Lucetta and I will be the wealthiest husband and wife in the East End.’

‘Amen to that,’ Lucetta said, jumping to her feet and flinging her arms around his neck. ‘I do love you, Giles.’

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Copyright © Dilly Court 2010

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First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Arrow Books Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA

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