Suffragette in the City

  A smile stole across Helena’s lips, and after she delivered a final kiss to his forehead, and I one to his adorable lips, we went downstairs.

  Several hours later, the library was the scene of a domestic storm.

  “No! I will not have it, Cassandra! You might be betrothed to the man, but it is beyond improper that you should spend the night in the same room with him.”

  I glanced at Joshua, hating to make a scene, but resolute. “I’m sorry to give you grief, Mabel, but that is not acceptable. Griffin has been severely drugged. I will not be able to sleep knowing he might have some sort of the reaction.”

  “The doctor said he would be fine.”

  “I don’t care. I’m spending the night with him.” I started to rise from the sofa.

  “I will not have it!” Mabel yelled, startling Joshua. “No sister of mine will behave with such impropriety!”

  “For heaven’s sake, Mabel—the man was drugged almost to death!”

  “I don’t care! I refuse to allow you to shame us with such scandalous behavior. What if it got out? How would we hold up our heads?” she shouted.

  “There is nothing we could do that we haven’t already done,” I yelled back.

  Mabel gasped, and things pretty much went downhill after that, dissolving into one of our rare arguments that ended in hurtful accusations and slammed doors. I stormed up to my room and waited until she went to rail at Joshua for having such an unreasonable sister before slipping into Griffin’s room, where I crawled into bed with him, my hand on his chest just because it made me feel better to have it there.

  Griffin slept through the night and late into the morning. It wasn’t until noon that I found him sitting up in bed, rubbing a hand over his stubbly cheeks.

  “Ah, sleeping beauty awakens,” I joked as I entered, turning to hail Annie as she left my room. “Send up some coffee, please. Lots of it.”

  “I thought I was dreaming,” Griffin said, yawning, looking around the room. “What am I doing here?”

  I sat carefully on the bed and ignored, as best I could, the large expanse of hairy chest in front of me. I reminded myself sternly that he was recovering from a head wound and overdose of opiate, and although he might enjoy the expressions of affection that I was so desirous of showing him, it would be better to wait until he had fully recovered.

  “Do you remember anything about yesterday?” I asked, keeping my eyes fixed firmly on his face.

  He frowned and rubbed his head, grimacing when he touched the injured spot. “Not much. I remember you, and a fat man who tried to take my clothes off.” He looked down at himself, then pulled the blankets up modestly as a housemaid came in with coffee.

  “Do you remember anything about being drugged, or hit on the head?” I asked as I poured him a cup.

  “No. Just a bad dream about stairs.”

  I told him briefly what had happened. My narrative was interrupted frequently and punctuated with several outraged comments and scattered oaths throughout.

  “Very well, I will promise that I will never again—“

  “—under any circumstances—“

  “I will never again under any circumstances climb out of a skylight, frolic on a roof, scramble down a drainpipe, or walk along six-inch ledges.”

  “And?” Griffin asked, glowering at me.

  “Oh, nor will I use myself as bait of any sort. Are you happy now?”

  “No. But tell me again what you said to Sherry.”

  I repeated it. His scowl faded and a little smile curled his lips. “I wish I had been there. He must be furious. I can’t wait to see him.”

  Our eyes met and the smiles left both our faces. I placed my hand gently on his cheek. We sat like that for a moment, then he pulled me forward and onto his chest.

  “I owe you my life,” he whispered, kissing me gently.

  “It wasn’t quite as dramatic as that.” My hands moved to his bare chest as his mouth claimed possession of mine, a moan of pleasure slipping from my lips as his tongue stirred the embers of a fire than never completely extinguished. Carefully, gently, slowly I pulled myself away from him. “You’re not supposed to overextend yourself. The doctor said you must not make any quick or strenuous actions, lest it cause your head to hurt.”

  He protested, but I left him to get dressed by himself. Ten minutes after he came downstairs to the sitting room, Mullin entered, murmuring, “Lady Helena St. John…er…”

  “It’s all right, Mullin,” I said, climbing off from Griffin’s lap. I straightened my dress and tried to look like Griffin hadn’t been in the middle of a detailed examination of my mouth, simultaneous with a tactile mapping of my upper person. “Helena! Here is the brave hero, all in one piece, as you can see.”

  “Yes, I can see he’s feeling much better,” she said with a smile as she kissed his cheek. Robert, who was behind her, grinned.

  “Much,” Griffin said, sliding me a glance that instantly set my heart beating faster.

  I cleared my throat and tried to not think of how close we had come to being discovered in a far more embarrassing position. “Mabel and Joshua have taken the girls to the zoo. You’ll stay for luncheon, I hope.”

  All three agreed, and before long, we were sitting at the dining table, a cold repast before us.

  “The time has come for all of us to be completely honest,” I told them as I passed around cold chicken.

  “Honest? I’ve always been honest with you,” Helena said.

  “Of course you have; I never doubted that. My comment was aimed primarily at your brother. It’s time he tells us what he suspects.”

  Griffin grumbled a bit at that, but in the end agreed. “I will, but only after you explain what you think has been happening.”

  “Very well. I shall begin by telling you all about my cousin’s role in this.”

  “Your cousin?” Helena asked. Griffin scowled at me.

  I quickly explained Freddy’s part in the kidnapping. “I am fairly confident that his plan was to marry me after he had drugged me just enough to make me not quite lucid.”

  Griffin muttered a few choice phrases that I thought best to ignore.

  “But that’s illegal,” Helena protested.

  “Of course it is, but I now realize I have been shockingly misled as to Freddy’s true nature. But there is more to it than that—I’m convinced that he has some connection with Lord Sherringham.”

  Helena laid down her fork, shocked at my comments. “My dear Cassandra, just because I saw your cousin speaking with Harold, it doesn’t follow that he had a part in your kidnapping!”

  “I’m lost—what does the earl have to do with you two being kidnapped?” asked Robert.

  We all looked at Griffin.

  “There isn’t any proof,” Griffin said to me, acknowledging the suspicion in my mind.

  “No, but the connection is there. Helena saw them talking at that costume ball.” I smiled at the recollection. “You made a charming Arab, you know.”

  He grinned in return. “I thought we made quite a pair.”

  “Oh, come now, you didn’t know who I was until Helena told you.”

  “I didn’t tell him,” Helena reminded me. Robert looked confused.

  “I knew you as soon as I saw you. There are not too many women with brilliant green eyes, and yours, sweetheart, are unmistakable.”

  I smiled at his compliment and continued with a more sober train of thought. “To answer your question Robert, it has been my belief for some time that someone means to…well, to be blunt, to kill Griffin.”

  Helena gasped in horror, but took the news better than I had expected. “I knew it! But, why? Why would anyone want to harm you?”

  “The most common reasons are for gain, love, or revenge,” I mumbled as I fought with a tough piece of chicken. I looked up and saw I had the attention of the table. Turning to Griffin, I set down my fork and knife and asked, “Who would benefit by your death?”

  “Helena mostly, and probably
Harold.”

  “Do you have a will?”

  “No. I’ve been meaning to make one, but just haven’t found the opportunity.”

  “If you were to die in your current state, your estate would likely be divided equally between Helena and your brother; at worst it would go to Lord Sherringham in its entirety.”

  “Possibly.” He frowned.

  “Helena, you told me once that you inherited from your mother. Who controls your money until you are of age?”

  “Harold does. Oh, and there is another trustee, Oliver Hope.”

  “And if you marry, is your fortune settled on you?”

  She blushed and only just refrained from glancing at Robert. “No. I won’t have it until I’m twenty-five.”

  Something niggled in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t pinpoint it.

  “I don’t understand the purpose of your questions, Cassandra. What are you trying to say?” Robert asked.

  I ignored it and turned back to Griffin. “Why would he want you dead? He’s got everything, a title, an ancestral home, respect, position, a house in town—”

  “Debts up to his knees,” Griffin interrupted. “There is no money from Rosewood, and he has run through what little money Letitia brought to the marriage. The house in town is mine, not Sherry’s. I bought it when his creditors forced him to sell it.”

  “The house is yours? Does your brother have a house?”

  Their heads swinging in unison between Griffin and me as if they were at a tennis match, Helena and Robert watched us in stunned silence.

  “He had Rosewood, but that was destroyed, and all that’s left is three hundred acres of land leased for the next forty years.”

  “If the house had not burned,” I said absently, “it might have kept him from coveting your income.”

  He looked at me oddly, his mouth twitching. “You should know the worst if you’re going to marry into the family. I don’t have any proof, but I’ve always believed that Sherry burned the house down himself.”

  “Griffin!” cried Helena, clearly unable to comprehend what her brother was saying.

  “I’m sorry Helena, but it’s time you know the truth, too. Sherry always was a little different, and he loathed having to share Rosewood with us. My father specified in his will that Rosewood always be our home as well as Sherry’s, Cassandra. He hated that. It wasn’t too bad when I was at school, but when I came home—”

  “I can’t believe it. Do you know what you are saying?” Helena asked.

  “He knows, Helena,” I said sadly, wishing I could shield her from this heartbreak. “But you must admit, it fits. Lord Sherringham is an important person in the House of Lords but has no means and no house, living in his brother’s home; I can only imagine what that would do to a man of his immense pride.”

  Helena had tears in her eyes. “But to kill Griffin—our own brother—he couldn’t do that!”

  “No, I agree with you there. That’s why he had to find someone to do the job for him. With Griffin out of the way, he would inherit...a sizable fortune?” I looked the question at Griffin, who nodded wearily. I forestalled the urge to kiss him silly. “I have a suspicion your brother has been less than honest with your inheritance, as well, Helena. When was the last time you had an accounting?”

  “I—I don’t pay attention to those things,” she mumbled miserably to her plate.

  “What about the other trustee? Wouldn’t he notice if Helena’s brother were embezzling funds?” Robert asked.

  “I hardly ever see him,” Helena answered.

  “Hrmph. I think it’s time someone had a look at your trust, Helena. I’ll speak to Hope about it in the morning.”

  She smiled gratefully at Griffin. We talked the situation over for a while longer, but didn’t come to any conclusions. Robert and Griffin were all for immediately confronting Lord Sherringham, but Helena and I cautioned them against doing so.

  “After all, we don’t have any proof,” I pointed out. “Nothing but a few suppositions and coincidences. As Joshua mentioned earlier, we don’t know anything other than the first names of the thugs, or where they took us. The police would laugh at such an unsubstantial accusation, especially when it targets an important person like Lord Sherringham.”

  Everyone agreed with that.

  “What we need is evidence,” Griffin said, frowning at the orange he held in his hands. “I think I can get that.”

  “How?” Helena and I asked together.

  “I’ve been thinking about it, and I believe I know the reason you were kidnapped as well as me. Yesterday, no, it was the day before yesterday, I told Sherry we were engaged.”

  “Engaged?” Helena gasped, leaping up to hug me. “Now I shall truly have you for a sister. Oh, I am so happy!”

  I stared at Griffin, astonishment uppermost in my mind as Robert congratulated us both, and Helena kissed her brother. I decided to keep to myself the observation that I hadn’t actually agreed to marriage, feeling it was best to deal with the threats hanging over us first.

  “I take it Lord Sherringham was not pleased with this news?” I asked Griffin when Helena and Robert sat down again.

  “You could say that. He was enraged and tried to forbid me marrying you, but I told him to mind his own business.”

  “So, he would want to get rid of Cassandra as well as you? Why?” Robert asked.

  “Because he knew one of the first things I would do would be to make my home ready for my bride. That would mean he and Letitia would have to leave, since they would refuse to tolerate Cassandra’s presence. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean that to sound so harsh.”

  I smiled at the look of concern in his beautiful eyes. “I understand. You are quite right, they would see me as a threat, a thorn in Lord Sherringham’s side that he could not possibly tolerate.”

  “But why did they need to kidnap you?” Helena asked.

  “I’m not absolutely certain your brother is guilty of that particular crime. My cousin Freddy is deeply in debt. He has been proposing to me almost on a daily basis.” I interrupted myself and turned to Griffin. “What or who is Roget’s?”

  “Hmm? Roget’s? Moneylenders.”

  “That would make sense. If Freddy was being pressed to make good his debts, he would be desperate to find an easy way out. I’ve always been fond of him, and can only assume that he thought I would be happy to accept him on the basis of that affection. Once we were married, he would have access to my money and be able to pay off his debts.”

  “How terrible!” Helena shuddered.

  I looked into Griffin’s endlessly deep eyes. “Yes, it would be terrible.”

  His frown deepened. “That means both your cousin and Sherry have employed the same men—a situation that’s far too unlikely to be coincidental. There must be a connection between Merlin Black and Sherry.”

  Everyone looked at me expectantly. I hated to disappoint them but had to admit I didn’t have the slightest idea of an answer. “I agree, there has to be something there, something the two have in common, but what it is…well, your guess is as good as mine.”

  “We just need to reason it out.” Griffin rubbed his eyes. “You overheard your cousin talking to the two men who attacked us twice—three times if you count the assault on me at home—”

  “Possibly a fourth and fifth time, as well,” I interrupted, looking at Helena.

  “Oh?”

  “There was the bag snatching episode,” I reminded him.

  “And the white slavers,” Helena added. “Don’t forget about them.”

  “White slavers?” Griffin asked, looking incredulous.

  “Er…it seemed a plausible theory at the time,” I said, clearing my throat and ignoring his and Robert’s laughter.

  “All right, so now we have five attacks. Two on you and Helena, one on me alone, and two on you and me together. It doesn’t make sense. Either that or I was hit harder than I thought.”

  “No,” I agreed slowly. “I think
it’s clear now that there were two distinct campaigns of violence against us, one targeting you with a very serious intent, and one focused on Helena and me that is really nothing more than a mild annoyance. But who is behind the latter? Surely Freddy has nothing to gain by frightening us…” The words froze on my lips as my eyes met Griffin’s. He nodded. “Oh! He wouldn’t dare!”

  “It looks like he did.”

  “Did what?” Helena asked.

  My lips thinned. “He tried to scare me into marrying him. That rotter! Well, that explains a great deal.”

  “But not the connection between him and Sherry,” Griffin said wearily.

  He was looking decidedly tired, so after making him promise he would, under no circumstances, confront his brother or otherwise endanger his life, the St. Johns went home; Helena to fret, and Griffin to do a covert search of his brother’s papers for proof of his nefarious activities.

  I decided my time should be spent in a productive manner.

  I sat in the library and worried.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The following day I received a note from Mrs. Heywood informing me that she had been released from prison, and asking if I could stop by and see her the next morning, as she had something of importance to discuss with me.

  The day passed slowly, the hours dragging by at an interminable pace. I was unsettled, and paced aimlessly around the sitting room, unable to stay in one spot for more than a few minutes.

  “Cassandra, for heaven’s sake, you are making me nervous! Sit down,” Mabel complained, craning her neck as I passed her for the tenth time.

  I sat down and watched her work on her embroidery.

  “And don’t stare at me, that makes me even more nervous.” She looked up from the pinafore. “What’s wrong with you? You’re not normally restless like this.”

  I stood, too fretful to sit any longer, and went to the window to look out at the overcast morning. “I feel like something is hanging over my head, like I am waiting for something to happen. I feel…unsettled.”