His fatal legacy, p.27
His Fatal Legacy, page 27
‘Jane was going to leave me.’
‘Why?’
‘She knows.’
‘Knows what?’
‘I can’t say.’
‘Are they all right?’
‘Yes. I wouldn’t hurt them.’
‘Thank God,’ she breathed. ‘Now open this door.’
‘I can’t. If I do, they’ll leave.’
‘Right now, I don’t care what’s happened. All I want is to check on them. Will you do that for me, Robert?’
He shook his head.
Amy was appalled as she watched the darkness gathering around her son in the same way it had around Matthew, his eyes turning black. ‘You can still come back from this,’ she told him. ‘Not all is lost, but you have to open that door.’
‘I’m not losing Jane and Emily, I can’t.’
‘Whatever’s happened, I’m sure it can be worked out, but you will most definitely lose them if you keep them locked up.’ Amy was fighting against the alarm wanting to claim her as horrible images of what had been done to her daughter-in-law and granddaughter flashed through her mind. Why hadn’t she brought her coachman up with her? He was a strong, sturdy fellow. Because, in her arrogance, she’d assumed she could handle her son and only now did she realise that she couldn’t.
She held her hand out to him. ‘Give me the key right now.’
‘No, Mother. You should leave before…’
‘Before what?’ she said when he trailed off.
Robert looked so murderous, the blood froze in Amy’s veins and the panic finally won out. ‘Jane,’ she cried, hammering on the door. ‘Jane, are you all right?’
A wail set up from inside the nursery, so strong and hearty that Amy was assured that Emily at least was unharmed.
A flustered Amy turned back to her son, breathless and red-faced. ‘Open the door,’ she yelled at him in frustration and fear.
‘Now you know what’s happened, you can’t leave. You’ll come back with others and take them from me.’
‘Robert,’ she said, backing away from him. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘You can’t leave,’ he repeated in a strange monotone, fingers twitching, eyes unblinking. ‘If I lose Jane, I’m lost.’
When he lunged for her, Amy snatched up the vase on the hall table and smashed it as hard as she could into the side of his face. His head snapped sideways and he dropped like a stone.
Amy stood over him, shocked by what she had done to her own boy, her hands shaking, tears rolling down her face. She was reassured that she hadn’t killed him when she saw the rise and fall of his chest. There was a cut to the side of his head that was bleeding a little.
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered.
Emily’s cry snapped her out of it, and she knelt by Robert’s side and began searching his pockets, praying he stayed unconscious for at least a few minutes. She found the large key in his jacket pocket and jammed it into the lock. Her hands throbbed with pain as she turned the key. She threw open the door and rushed inside, being careful to remove the key from the lock so she couldn’t be locked in. She came to a startled halt when she saw a gagged Jane tied to the bed, regarding her with pleading eyes, one side of her face bruised and swollen. She’d managed to attract her mother-in-law’s attention by banging her slippered feet off the metal bedframe.
‘My God,’ breathed Amy.
After ascertaining that Emily was unharmed, just upset, Amy freed Jane, cutting her bonds with a pair of scissors she found in a drawer, the action worsening the ache in her hands.
‘Don’t worry,’ Amy told her. ‘Emily’s fine.’
The moment she was free, Jane flung her arms around Amy’s neck.
‘Thank you,’ she said, clinging onto her.
Jane released her and got up off the bed, taking a moment to rub her hands to bring the sensation back to them before going to her child and scooping her up.
‘We have to leave right now,’ Amy told her.
‘Where’s Robert?’
‘Unconscious outside the door. We have to go before he wakes up. My carriage is waiting outside. Is there anything you need to take?’
‘Just some spare nappies for Emily.’
Amy snatched up the pile of linen nappies and the two women rushed to the door.
‘He’s bleeding,’ said Jane when Amy pulled open the door to reveal Robert still sprawled on the floor.
‘It’s only a small cut,’ replied Amy.
They skirted around him, afraid to take their eyes off him.
They tore down the stairs, Amy leading the way, Jane following carrying Emily, who had stopped crying now she was back in her mother’s arms.
As they reached the first floor, they heard pounding footsteps from above.
‘Run,’ cried Amy.
She never thought she’d see the day when she was in mortal fear of her own son, but she’d seen in his eyes that he would do anything to stop his wife and daughter from leaving.
Robert must have been a bit woozy from the blow to the head because she heard his footsteps stagger, followed by a thud as he hit a wall.
They reached the ground floor and ran for the front door.
‘Get back here,’ roared Robert, causing them to jump and run even faster.
Amy fumbled for the catch on the door but her aching, deformed hands were unable to manage it.
‘Get the door, Jane,’ she told her as Robert raced down the last few steps.
Amy stood before Jane and her granddaughter and snatched up the heavy walking cane propped up in the stand beside the door.
‘Are you going to hit me again, Mother?’ snarled Robert, a line of blood trickling down the side of his face.
‘If I have to,’ she replied.
Behind her, Jane had managed to pull open the door.
‘Don’t go, Jane, please,’ cried Robert.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, eyes sad. ‘You went too far, Robert. I’m sorry.’
‘No,’ he howled as his wife rushed out of the house with their daughter.
‘I tried to stop this day from coming,’ Amy told him. ‘But you wouldn’t listen. You did this to yourself.’
Robert’s face twisted with anger and when he lunged for Amy, she drew back the heavy stick, causing him to recoil.
‘Don’t think I won’t,’ she told him. ‘Now we’re leaving and you’re not going to stop us,’ she added before backing out of the door.
Once she’d stepped out of the front door, she let the walking stick drop and rushed to the waiting carriage. Jane and Emily were already inside, the door standing open.
‘Run, Aunt Amy,’ cried Jane when she saw Robert pursuing her.
Amy got into the carriage, but she was unable to pull the door shut as Robert had grabbed onto it.
‘Go,’ yelled Amy, hammering on the carriage wall.
Jane retreated into the furthest corner of the carriage with Emily when Robert attempted to grab her.
‘Don’t leave me, please,’ he cried.
‘Leave us alone,’ she screamed, eyes filled with terror.
The carriage picked up speed, finally forcing Robert to release the door. He stood in the middle of the street watching them go, head bowed, eyes black, chest heaving.
Jane and Amy watched him through the rear window, sighing with relief when they turned the corner and he disappeared from view.
‘He’s going to punish us for this,’ murmured Amy.
29
On their return to Alardyce, Amy called for Rush and told him to assemble all the male servants in the study, including Forbes, who was still in the kitchen. Jane took a very distraught Emily upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms to calm her down. Amy ordered the two footmen, the heftiest of the stable lads, the coachman and Henry’s valet to remain upstairs at all times because they were expecting trouble. She refused to say what form this trouble would take, but Rush and Forbes had already guessed. She also told Rush to tell the female servants to stay downstairs in the kitchen and make sure the doors were kept bolted.
‘Where are the children?’ Amy asked Rush.
‘They’re in the village with the nanny and under-nanny, my lady,’ he replied.
‘Thank goodness. Have you heard anything from Sir Henry?’
‘I’m afraid not.’
She turned to the second footman. ‘Ensure all the doors are locked,’ she told him, knowing he would do the job a lot faster than Rush.
‘Yes, my lady,’ he said before rushing out of the room.
Amy told Frederick, the first footman, to stand guard outside the room Jane and Emily were in and not to allow in anyone but her. Standing at six foot two, he was the biggest and sturdiest of all their male staff, which was why she’d selected him for this job. Because of his height, he was paid a very hefty wage, as height was how the worth of a footman was judged.
Amy dismissed the rest of them, except Forbes. ‘I expect you’re in need of a new position?’ she asked him.
‘Yes, my lady.’
‘You’ve proved yourself to be trustworthy and intelligent. Rush is due to retire soon, and I need someone I can rely on to take his place. Are you interested in the position?’
‘Yes, my lady,’ he said, delighted. ‘But you should know that I’ve never worked in a house this large.’
‘That’s very honest of you, which convinces me even more that I’ve made the right decision. It’s no different, really, and Rush is an excellent teacher. Until the position starts, which won’t be for another six months, you’ll be under-butler and you’ll be paid double what my son paid. You will also have your own room in the servants’ quarters. Are those terms acceptable?’
‘Y… yes, my lady,’ he breathed, a little overwhelmed. ‘Very much so. Thank you.’
‘Excellent. We’ll sort you out with a uniform but that can wait because very soon we’re going to have an unwanted visitor.’
‘Mr Alardyce?’
She nodded.
‘May I enquire if Mrs Alardyce is well?’
‘She is and she’ll be very grateful for your concern. Emily needs her nanny. Do you know where she is?’
‘Yes. She went to her sister’s house in the Old Town.’
‘Could you give her address to the coachman so he can fetch her, please?’ She thought it safe to let the coachman leave because she had plenty of capable male servants to see off Robert.
‘My lady,’ he bowed.
Forbes exited the room, leaving Amy to stare out of the study window down the drive. Robert would be on his way, and he would be more furious than ever.
She decided to check on Jane and Emily while they waited for the inevitable storm to descend on them. On her way to the stairs, she passed the second footman, who assured her the rear of the house was locked and that he was on his way to check the front. Amy thanked him and moved on. She wondered if the servants knew who they were taking these precautions against. They weren’t stupid, no doubt they’d already guessed, but they were loyal and would act like the professionals they were.
Amy had almost reached the bottom of the stairs when a voice behind her said, ‘Hello, Mother.’
She stopped and slowly turned to face her eldest son. ‘You’ve never looked more like your father,’ she told him.
‘Why, thank you,’ said Robert, with a smile devoid of anything pleasant. He’d wiped the blood from the side of his face, but it was still congealed in his hair and his normally immaculate clothes were rumpled. But it was his eyes that were the most frightening. Memories of what Matthew had put her through started assailing her.
‘You look frightened, Mother,’ he said, advancing on her.
‘I will never be afraid of my own son,’ she replied, standing her ground. ‘How did you get in?’
‘I broke a window in the conservatory. A room composed of glass can never be secure.’
‘You won’t win Jane back by breaking into houses. Go home and allow her to calm down. You frightened her.’
‘I didn’t mean to.’
‘You hit her,’ she exclaimed. ‘How could you?’
‘It was an accident. You don’t understand what she’s been like since Emily’s birth. She’s become paranoid, thinking people are out to get her.’ He sighed heavily. ‘I didn’t want you to find out like this, it’s why I had to keep her locked up for her own safety. She threatened to take Emily and run off. I couldn’t allow her to put my daughter in danger…’
Robert was silenced by a slap to the face.
‘Don’t you dare,’ spat Amy, so furious she was able to ignore the pain shooting through her right hand. ‘Don’t you bloody dare. Matthew tried the same cheap trick to take me away from you, telling Esther I was going mad and needed locking up, and it’s an insult that you think I’d believe it. There’s nothing wrong with that girl except for the fact that she’s terrified of her own husband, and I can’t blame her for that. She told me everything in the carriage ride back here. I know what you did to Benjamin Richardson as well as to all those maids and that you were probably in on Knapp’s death too. This isn’t anything Henry and I haven’t already considered, but it’s still a shock to have it all confirmed.’
She grimaced when he wrapped his hand around her throat and pushed her back against the wall.
‘You’ve dictated to me for the last time, Mother. I am master of my own life, not you. I’m taking my wife and daughter home and I promise you’ll never see them again.’
‘Don’t think you scare me,’ she snarled back. ‘I’ve faced worse than you.’
‘Matthew’s not here to save you this time, and where’s Henry when you need him? Not around, as usual.’
‘Go on then, Robert, strangle me like you did those poor girls, but I swear to God I will give you one hell of a fight.’
‘I always did admire your feistiness,’ he said before casting her aside and making for the stairs.
Amy hit the floor hard, landing on her back. Fortunately, the worst of the impact was absorbed by her corset. She dragged herself up to a sitting position.
‘He’s here,’ she yelled in warning. ‘Robert’s here.’
He paused. ‘Calling for your servants, Mother? The second footman is currently unconscious in the billiard room, the valet’s locked in a cupboard and Rush is lying winded on the library floor.’
‘You hit a defenceless old man, you coward?’ she cried, getting to her feet. ‘The darkness has entirely swallowed you, just like Magda said it would.’
‘I might just pay your witch friend a visit on my way home with my wife and daughter.’
‘I hope you do. You’ll never get the better of her and Fenrir.’
Robert just glared at her before continuing on towards the stairs, smiling when he saw Forbes blocking his way, armed with a poker.
‘I might have known it was you who came telling tales,’ said Robert.
‘I won’t let you hurt Mrs Alardyce,’ he told him. ‘She’s a kind, gentle woman who never did anyone any harm.’ He tilted back his head defiantly, but his trembling voice betrayed his fear. Robert might be half his age, but he was the most intimidating man he’d ever met.
He was knocked sideways by a punch to the face and fell to the floor unconscious, the poker falling from his hand.
‘I never did like him,’ said Robert, staring down at Forbes with distaste.
Amy snatched up the dropped poker and placed herself before the staircase. ‘You’re not going anywhere near Jane and Emily. I refuse to let you do to them what Matthew did to me.’
She yelped when Robert grabbed her arm and twisted, forcing her to drop the poker, his other hand wrapping around her throat.
‘Let… go,’ she grimaced as he started to squeeze.
Robert looked into his mother’s eyes and recalled all the happy times they’d shared when he was a boy – her soft voice as she’d sung him to sleep, held him when he was afraid, clinging onto her after they’d fled Huntington Manor, terrified he’d lose her again. Her deformed hands clawed at his arm, and he saw the flesh where her nails had once been, torn out because she’d refused to tell Matthew where he was.
‘Robert,’ she rasped, her eyes filling with tears because of the pain in her neck.
He found himself dragged backwards, forcing him to release her. He was whipped round and a fist was slammed into his stomach, folding him in half.
Robert gasped and looked up into the furious eyes of his stepfather.
‘You little bastard,’ snarled Henry before punching him in the face, knocking him onto his back. Henry looked to his wife. ‘Amy, are you all right?’
She nodded, shakily sinking onto the bottom step, a hand to her neck. ‘Fine,’ she replied, her voice coming out weak and strained.
Robert was back on his feet quicker than Henry anticipated and attempted to punch him, but Henry dodged and drove his palm into the side of Robert’s face in a classic bare-knuckle move.
‘Do you think you’re the only gentleman Jackson taught to fight bare knuckle?’ Henry told him when Robert regarded him with surprise.
The two men charged at each other, fighting savagely, the Marquess of Queensbury’s rules entirely forgotten as they clashed with the brutality of the most savage of bare-knuckle fighters, tumbling from the hallway into the study.
After beating Tommy Tompkins, Robert had thought he could beat anyone, but he found himself hard pressed against Henry. He’d always known he was tougher than he looked, felt the brute strength in his wiry body every time they’d clashed in the past, but he hadn’t been prepared for the sheer ferocity with which he fought, and Robert understood it was because he’d seen him throttling his wife.
Robert managed to get the upper hand slightly. He was younger and stockier than Henry and sent him reeling with a blow to the solar plexus, causing his stepfather to gasp for breath.
Robert loomed over him and drew back his fist, ready to deliver the punch that would end this fight, when Henry suddenly straightened up with surprising speed and struck him with his forearm, pain erupting in Robert’s face as he felt Henry’s arm bone drag across the lower half of his face. As he was bent backwards, Henry delivered a right hook that sent Robert crashing to the floor. As he fell, he shook off the dizziness trying to claim him, snatched a poker from the fireplace and lashed out, catching Henry in the left thigh, making him yelp with pain and stagger backwards.
