‘When it was clear Sebastian was not a man to be manipulated, they turned on him. Ichabod was particularly angry. He resented Sebastian being everything that he wanted to be: handsome, wealthy and refined. Ichabod drank a lot at social gatherings and one could guarantee to find him in the gaming rooms. But those two things got worse over time and soon we found ourselves in debt. Sebastian helped him out a few times, more for my sake than for Ichabod’s, but once I started living with him and Clare, Sebastian cut Ichabod off, refusing him money or to help him out of his numerous scrapes.Ichabod thought Sebastian might come round eventually, but it gradually became clear, even to Ichabod, that he would not.’
‘I assume Ichabod was not happy about this.’
It was strange talking about her late husband with this man on a sunny day in southern England. Her years with that man were so far removed from the reality she was now in for it to seem like it had all been a vile nightmare.
‘Ichabod was furious, always going on about how it was unfair that Sebastian had been born into money, apparently forgetting that he had been too and that he had spent many years squandering it while Sebastian had increased his through hard work. My parents agreed with him that Sebastian should be supporting his lifestyle, even when his behaviour became increasingly erratic. I found that odd at the time, but maybe,’ she said, finally coming close to the confession that needed to be made, ‘they were already hoping Ichabod’s anger would work in their favour.’
Tobias slowed to a stop. She turned to face him. The sun was throwing shadows across his face, making his expression hard to read. Behind her, Daisy stopped too, her large body gently bumping against Grace’s back.
‘There’s no easy way to say this, so I will just…’ She waved her free hand around in front of her, almost hoping she could catch the words she needed on the summer’s breeze. ‘I think I told you before that, at first, I thought Clare’s and Sebastian’s deaths were part of a terrible accident. It was only when I realised my parents were manipulating their hold over Charlotte that I decided to remove her from their care. I knew that Sebastian wanted you to raise her and I did what I did, but that was not because I thought any member of my family, Ichabod included, was dangerous.’
‘What you did was very brave.’ Tobias’ voice was deep and firm, utterly certain as he had been every time he had said it.
She laughed, but there was no humour in it. ‘If you had seen me, you would not be effusive in your praise. I was terrified the whole time.’ She would not speak of the journey to New York. The gut-churning terror, the hiding in wagons, the people who had taken care of her and received nothing but her thanks in return. Those days were over and she did not want to revisit them. ‘I met Sarah, my lady’s maid, in New York. She was running away from a violent spouse, but unlike me she didn’t have the means to travel. I paid her as a companion and we have been together ever since.’
Her mouth was dry, but swallowing did not help. ‘We set sail under fake names. Sebastian had already put together the paperwork, obviously realising, before I did, the threat my family posed. I took Charlotte to the lawyer, who delivered her to you. Sarah followed their carriage to Glanmore House to make sure that you took her in. I did not think I would be able to witness her being handed over to another family and not break utterly. When it was clear you had not rejected her, Sarah and I returned to New York. I needed to collect the belongings that I gave to you, but I also needed the money Sebastian had put aside for me. And I wanted to put my parents off the track. I wanted them to think Charlotte and I had moved inland, towards Pennsylvania. I thought that they would spend time and money searching for us in America and not think to travel to England. I did not want to go back. It broke my heart to leave Charlotte, not knowing if I would ever see her again, but I had to leave.’ The journey back had been miserable, but she did not dwell on it, because those long weeks were not part of the story. ‘It was not long after I arrived back in New York that Ichabod found me.’
She shuddered, remembering the press of his fingers around her arm, his voice snarling in her ear.
‘Did he hurt you?’ Tobias asked.
She looked up at him. There was no trace of the smiling man from earlier. Rage was burning in the duke’s eyes, but she wasn’t sure whether that was directed at Ichabod or the story as a whole. His fury would only increase as this tale went on.
‘Nothing worse than had been done to me before,’ which was one way of answering the question. From the twist of his lips, she realised he must have guessed she was not telling him everything. The details were not something to which she wanted to return. ‘It was during this encounter that I found out the truth.’
Now she turned her gaze to the fencing that ran around the training yard, focusing on the wood instead of looking at Tobias. She did not want to see how he reacted to what else she had to say. ‘In the time that I had been gone, Ichabod had sold the home he and I had shared. He needed the money from the sale to pay for his debts. He had taken lodgings in a fashionable but run-down apartment and he took me there. I was too tired and frightened to put up any fight.’
‘Was Sarah with you?’
‘No. We were parted, which worked well in the end, although it did not feel it at that moment. At the lodgings he told me that… he told me that…’ It had been over a year since that day, but she could still smell the stale carpet and picture the rip in the wallpaper, the one she had stared at as Ichabod had spoken. The lodgings had seen better days and it was a sign of just how far her late husband had sunk by that stage. ‘He told me that it was him who had killed my sister and Sebastian, that my parents had told him to do it. He said that it had been easy to tamper with the carriage, and that he had run them off the road, knowing Sebastian would not be able to right the vehicle onceit was falling. He was glad, because he had never liked Sebastian. He…’ Her face was wet; she had not realised she had started crying. She wiped her cheeks with her free hand. ‘He was only sorry Charlotte had not been in the carriage with her parents as well, because it would have meant, or so he thought, that I would have come into Sebastian’s fortune.’
Tobias swore under his breath, before muttering, ‘I do apologise for my language. Go on.’
Grace would have laughed at that, the idea that she should not hear a swear word from this man, when her own husband had told her he wished Grace’s beloved niece had been killed. ‘He was so far gone in his cups that he thought I would tell him where Charlotte was. That if I understood how much money we would stand to gain if we had control over her or her fortune, I would agree to it. He was an even bigger fool than I had realised. I would rather die myself than let even the slightest harm come to her. He did not understand the depth of love I have for my sister’s child.’
Tobias’ dark gaze was locked on her face, but his expression was blank now.
She pressed on, glad that this was finally out, even if it felt as if her heart were breaking anew. However Tobias responded to what she said would shape her relationship with his family. It was the risk she had taken when she had handed Charlotte over to their care. She had known there might come a time when they would deny her access to her niece because of the actions of her family. Charlotte’s safety had trumped her own happiness, as it had from the moment Grace had taken her away from her grandparents.
‘Ichabod’s confession terrified me.’ Those few words did not do justice to the blind terror she had experienced, how she had cowered from her husband, hiding her horror at his grotesque actions becauseshe feared she would be his next victim. ‘After a while, I agreed to tell him where Charlotte was when he was sober. Either believing I was too afraid of him to disobey or because the alcohol had deadened his ability to think properly, he thought I was telling the truth. He fell asleep and I ran. In my absence, Sarah had managed to procure transport for us with some merchants. I was glad, because returning to England was too risky. Ichabod, or my parents, might have followed me and hiding Charlotte with you would have been for nothing. We travelled to Philadelphia and stayed there for several months, setting up fictional signs that we were moving on from there to Chicago should anyone come looking for us. When there was no sign of either party, Sarah and I returned to New York. Word reached me that Ichabod was dead. He had been in a fight after an evening of drinking and gambling and had died after a blow knocked him to the floor. I thought, hoped, that what was left of Sebastian’s fortune, his house and some of his other assets, was enough to keep my parents satisfied and that, without Ichabod’s help, they would not pursue Charlotte or me. I travelled to Boston to get the possessions I had hidden, which is when I tried to contact your investigator. But I dared not hang around. Eventually, I came to England because I was selfish. I wanted to see Charlotte again, and, despite what you say, I fear that is what has brought my parents here. The rest you know.’
Her final words seemed to drift away on the breeze. Tobias did not move and neither did she. Daisy shuffled on her feet, but did not tug on the reins. A wave of exhaustion rushed over Grace. Her story was out there; everything that needed to be said, had been. Without realising she was doing it, she slumped backwards onto Daisy, who kept still and took her weight. Now Tobias knew everything, knew that she had been married to a murderer and that her family life was sordid and foul, she would not blame him or any of his family if theycut her from their lives. There were times when she did not want to be in her own skin, such was the horror of the events that had unfolded. However they reacted, she could hold her head up high. After a life of being controlled, she had done the right thing, had strived against all the odds to be standing exactly where she was now, telling Sebastian’s brother how his life had ended. Her sister would have been proud.
‘Grace,’ said Tobias. ‘May I…?’
Her eyes focused on him; he was holding his arms out to her as if he intended for her to step into them. His fingers flexed, as if urging her towards him. At the same time, Daisy stepped forward, nudging Grace’s back. Grace took one tentative step towards the duke, in case she had misunderstood his intent. His warm fingers came to rest on her hips, tugging her towards him. She took another step. His arms banded about her, his palms pressing against her back until her whole body was flush with his. Her fingers clung to the lapels of his jacket as she buried her nose against his clothes, trying to be surreptitious as she inhaled deep lungfuls of his delicious cologne.
‘I am sorry,’ she said into his chest.
One large hand stroked up her spine, soothing and reassuring. She pressed herself closer, until there was no air between them.
‘You have nothing to be sorry about,’ said Tobias. ‘You are one of us now. No one will hurt you ever again.’
Chapter Twenty-one
Grace had stopped crying, so Tobias should drop his hold on her. They were out in the open and if one member of the house party rounded the corner, then scandal or a marriage were the only two outcomes. Yet his body was not responding to his mind’s orders. All his life he had followed rules, been the dignified duke he’d been raised and been expected to be. It was humbling to discover that underneath all the fine clothes and an Oxford education, his base instincts were those of a Norse invader, who would stop at nothing to protect what was his. Neither his mind nor his body were ready to face the fact that Grace wasn’t his. He would deal with that when the blood wasn’t rushing through his veins, urging him to act.
As a child, he’d been bemused when his younger brothers got into fights with one another, not understanding their apparent constant need to push and shove until whichever adult was around would yell at them to stop. Now he understood. The need to make Grace’s husband pay for what he had done to her was clamouring within him, screeching like a banshee to scorch the earth.
