Redemption (6 page)

“Patricia,” Lizzie whispered with a flurry of excited relief.
“Aunt Patricia. Of course.”

She had
written to her aunt infrequently, but had sent festive greetings
only last year. Surely Aunt Patricia could accommodate her for a
night or two until Lizzie could figure out what to do – couldn’t
she?

“Derbyshire isn’t too far away by coach,” she murmured and
flicked a furtive glance toward the door as she considered
that.

Feeling
far bolder than she had felt all evening, Lizzie hurriedly left the
room. Once in her bedroom, rather than make her way to bed she
began to trawl through her wardrobe, choosing only the items of
clothing to take with her that she desperately couldn’t bear to
leave behind. She dug through her bureau until she found the
notebook she was looking for and carefully placed it on the bed
with the rest of her belongings. The pitiful handful of clothing
she eventually gathered to take with her left half of her carpet
bag empty, but at least it was light enough for her to carry by
herself.

As she
closed her packed bag she realised just how frugal her life had
actually been without her even realising it. It highlighted just
how little a burden she actually was to her step-brother, and that
made his need to off-load her seem incredibly spiteful. It went
some considerable way toward obliterating any trace of guilt she
might feel about helping herself to his money.

“He
deserves it,” she muttered with a sniff as she climbed into
bed.

She wasn’t sleepy but settled down anyway because needed to
get as much sleep as possible while she could. Tomorrow as going to
be an extremely busy day and, thanks to Julian’s callous disregard
of her, she had no idea where she would be tomorrow night. She
needed to rest. She didn’t bother to change into her night gown;
she had packed the only decent one she had in her bag and couldn’t
be bothered to fish it back out again. Instead, she lay down with a
weary sigh and tried to think about how long her journey to
Derbyshire was going to take.
It would be
a perilous journey at best because she was young, unchaperoned, and
really hadn’t travelled much at all in her lifetime, but she had no
choice.

Willing herself to sleep she closed her eyes. To her
consternation the image of Ben immediately swam into the forefront
of her mind. A small ache began around her heart and blossomed to
life the more she tried to close all thought of him, and the events
of the evening, out. She wouldn’t be sorry to see the back of
the
ton
and the
smog-filled streets of London. In fact, she would be quite glad to
put the false niceties of the aristocracy far behind her. If only
there was some way she could see Ben, just once more before she
left, then she would. Unfortunately, she doubted she would ever see
him again now. She wondered briefly if she should write him a note
to explain what had happened. After all, the least she owed him was
an apology for what had happened earlier, but what could she say?
Sorry for the terrible misunderstanding? I am sorry you thought I
was Melissa Bradwort? I am sorry I didn’t tell you who I really was
because I was enjoying the kisses too much?

The
memory of the pure venom on Melissa’s face was more than enough to
quell any idea Lizzie had about writing to Ben. It would be better
for her tender heart if she never had to set eyes on him again and
was reminded of everything that could never be a part of her life.
It hurt to even think about Benjamin McArthur. The thought of
having to leave London, and him, behind tomorrow brought forth an
ache deep within her that was so fierce she had to force her
attention to more mundane matters, like where her walking boots
were, and which shawl she was best to wear beneath her cloak
tomorrow, but the tears fell steadily into her pillow
anyway.

The
following morning, Ben knocked on the front door at Pendlebury
House and waited impatiently for the butler to answer it. He was in
no mood for any of Julian’s arrogance today, and was going to see
Lizzie whatever the man said.

When the
door finally did open, Ben stalked into the hallway only to be
stopped by Julian, who came out of his study to meet him, his face
wary and unwelcoming.

“She
isn’t here,” he said bluntly before Ben spoke.

“Where
is she?” Ben demanded. He refused to allow the man’s arrogance to
prevent him from speaking to his intended bride.

“She has
gone. She left this morning and won’t be back.” As he spoke,
Julian’s eyes slid away guiltily. He studied the floor beneath his
feet in a way that made Ben immediately suspicious. Something was
not right.

He
stared at Julian suspiciously. “Where has she gone? What have you
done with her, Pendlebury?”

“I won’t
have her whoring herself around the ballrooms. She has gone away
and won’t be back. Where she has gone is none of your business
though, so you are wasting your time standing here.”

Before
Julian took two steps toward his study, Ben grabbed hold of his
shirt and threw him against the wall. The solid thump of his back
hitting the wooden panelling of the hallway was immensely
satisfying to Ben who tightened his hold menacingly. He took
advantage of Julian’s stunned disbelief to make it clear that
Julian was outclassed in both strength and size, and tightened his
hold further still to silence Julian’s instinctive
protests.

“Where
is she, damn it? Tell me now, Julian, or I swear as God is my
witness I shall ensure you are barred entrance to every single
gaming house and whore house in London. After last night’s debacle
nobody of note wants anything to do with a scoundrel like you; not
even your gaming pals want anything to do with you if what I heard
at White’s this morning is right. You are a social pariah now and,
as far as I am concerned, you can remain that way for the rest of
your miserable life. However, I shall not allow you to drag Lizzie
into your foul ways. Tell me where she is, or I will search this
house from top to bottom in spite of you.”

Julian
snorted derisively and waved toward the stairs nonchalantly, but
could do little to hide the worry that lingered in his
eyes.

“Go on
then. Please, be my guest,” he said in a voice that shook with
fear. “Go and search, but you won’t find her here. Her room is at
the top of the stairs, second door along to the right. Go and see
for yourself. She has only taken the things she wanted to keep, the
rest is still there. She left before dawn this morning and won’t be
back in London. Ever.”

Ben
stared at him and knew he was hiding something. “What have you done
with her, Julian?”

“I
didn’t do anything with her,” Julian protested. He tried to prise
Ben’s fist off his shirt but to no avail. “I told her last night to
get out, so she went.”

“You
threw her out?” Ben’s voice was deadly. He knew from the shifty way
Julian’s eyes darted frantically around the hallway that he had
done the unconscionable and cast his step-sister out of the
house.

Guilt
immediately swept through Ben when he realised he should have done
more to stop her leaving the ball last night. That guilt quickly
turned to anger at Julian’s callous disregard of her, and drove him
to focus the full force of his fury on the man before
him.

“Where
did she go? I hope for your sake that you know, Pendlebury. Surely
to God you didn’t just let her walk out of here with no idea where
she was going?”

Julian’s
silence was condemnatory. Ben stared at him in horror as he
realised that Julian had, indeed, allowed Lizzie to leave the
house, and had no idea where she had gone. He slowly released his
hold on Julian’s throat and watched him slither down the wall and
regain his feet.

“You
have, haven’t you? You have allowed you own step-sister to simply
walk out of here, and have no idea where she is. Does she have a
chaperone with her?”

Julian
shook his head. “She is my step-sister,” Julian countered, finally
looking him in the eye. “You heard her declare last night, in front
of everyone, that I am no longer her guardian. I am therefore not
obliged to provide her with a roof over her head.”

“You are
obliged man, of course you bloody are. You are her only relation,
damn it,” Ben snarled, disgusted at how any man could shirk his
familial duties in such a way.

“I have
work to do,” Julian murmured quietly as he tugged ineffectually on
his cuffs and straightened his jacket.

Ben
snorted. “Work? You? I don’t believe you. Why, you have never done
a day’s work in your life, Pendlebury, and you and I both know it.
Unless there is something about the gaming houses and whore houses
that has changed, Pendlebury, you don’t know how to
work.”

Julian
didn’t wait for Ben to say anything else and disappeared into his
study without a backward look. Ben wasn’t prepared to be dismissed
so easily though, and marched after him. His mind raced with all
sorts of possibilities as to where Lizzie might have gone but he
didn’t know for certain. Although he had listened to as much gossip
about her as he could, he really didn’t know her quite as well as
he would have liked. He didn’t even know where to start looking for
her, and needed information from Julian if he had any hope of
trying to get her back.

Although
he had been keeping a careful eye on the beautiful Elizabeth Pinner
for several months now, he knew very little about her family. He
was aware that her father died some years ago, and her mother,
having hit upon hard times, re-married a profitable gentleman named
George Pendlebury. Their marriage had been successful, until both
parents had died in a carriage accident one particularly harsh
winter. Julian, Lizzie’s step-brother through marriage, was her
only surviving relative as far as Ben knew. There were certainly no
other Pendleburys in and around London. Unfortunately, in spite of
numerous attempts at gleaning more information about her, Ben had
been unable to ascertain any other intimate details about her
family because all anybody seemed to want to talk about these days
was the latest scandal surrounding Julian, and the spiralling debts
he didn’t seem able to repay. As a result, Ben had uncovered very
little about the Pinners.

“I warn
you now, Pendlebury, that if I do not have word of Lizzie’s
whereabouts within the next three days, I shall destroy you.” He
narrowed his eyes when Julian slowly turned to face him, and stared
at him with eyes that were as cold and hard as they were furtive.
Whatever was going through Julian’s mind right then fuelled the
man’s inner scorn because the worry that had been on his face
earlier was now replaced with a derisive look. Ben wasn’t about to
be put off though. Before Julian could speak, he placed his hands
firmly on the desk and leaned forward until his face was mere
inches from Julian’s. He almost smiled when Julian leaned back
warily.

“I will put word out that you cannot repay your debts, and
shall question publically what you have done with your sister;
step-sister. You made your hatred of her perfectly clear last night
in front of half the
ton.
People will gossip and speculate as to whether
she has been murdered or not. Together with your debts, it will
bring about your total and comprehensive downfall from all walks of
society. The
ton
won’t like your tossing your step-sister out of the house for
a minor indiscretion, and even your cohorts on the seedier side of
life won’t want to know you once you are under suspicion of her
murder.”

“I
haven’t murdered her,” Julian growled. He attempted to sound
bullish but failed miserably.

“Prove it. You will be
persona non
grata
whether you have hurt her or not
until you can provide proof.” He hoped to God that Lizzie was still
alive but needed Julian to provide the evidence in the form of the
woman herself. “I hope for your sake that she is still
alive.”

When
Julian merely stared at him, Ben stood upright and straightened his
shoulders. “Three days, Pendlebury, then I shall take this scandal
to the magistrate to investigate. After all, at the moment a
single, unchaperoned female has suddenly vanished. You were the
last one to have words with her; scornful, hate-filled words at
that. You are a profligate, womanising, gambling wastrel who is up
to his eyes and ears in debt. Heaven only knows what went on in
here last night. I am not prepared to take your account of events
as a true and accurate version, and question whether she is still
alive or not. If she is alive then I suggest you find her, and
quickly or you could find yourself being charged with her
murder.”

“But I
don’t know where she is,” Julian protested. The realisation that
Ben was serious seemed to dawn on Pendlebury, who began to look a
little panicked. He glanced frantically around the empty room as
though desperately looking for answers; or waiting for Lizzie to
pop up from behind the chaise.

“It is
your moral obligation to ensure she is safe and well, not leave her
out on the streets somewhere. If you have lost her then I suggest
you bloody well find her again,” Ben bit out, feeling more
frustrated and angry than he had ever felt in his entire life. He
wanted to hit something, Julian mainly, but he also didn’t want to
waste a single moment. He had to try to find her himself and he was
not going to stop until he had her safely beside him where she
belonged, or he at least knew what Julian had done with
her.