“Money?” Ursula parroted. She was starting to get annoyed that nobody seemed inclined to answer her.
“Because our dearest father was a scoundrel, that’s why,” Hyacinth snorted in disgust when Alfred remained silent. “To everyone else, he was a pillar of society; someone who could be trusted to deal with legal matters with integrity. In private, he was a gambler, and ran up debts he couldn’t hope to repay. Unfortunately, rather than stop gambling when he realised how bad things had got, as most decent people would do, Abraham continued and sank us all as deep as it was possible to go.”
“He was a solicitor. A reputable man who ran a thriving business,” Trenton muttered. “Surely to God he didn’t ruin the business as well.”
Alfred shook his head. “No, he didn’t, but only because he didn’t own the business outright. He did borrow money off his partner as well. I think his partner knew about his gambling and lent him the money knowing he couldn’t repay it. When it became evident that his creditors wanted their money back, father’s business partner demanded his money back too. Abraham was forced to admit that he couldn’t repay the debt, so the partner got Abraham to sign over his share of the partnership in lieu of repayment. It still wasn’t enough to clear all the money he owed, and once he had given up his partnership he could no longer work there after that. I lost my job too.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Trenton countered less than sympathetic. “Did he have a lot of other debts?”
Both Alfred and Hyacinth nodded.
“Without the business, or a wage, he had no way of paying them,” Hyacinth murmured.
“What happened to him? Is he in Debtors’ Prison?” Ursula asked, as horrified as she was enthralled by their story.
“He took that gun and blew his brains out.” Alfred nodded to the gun in Trenton’s hands.
Trenton stared down at it. “Do you expect me to believe that your father, or mother, knew about Ursula’s wealth, and your mother decided to come to London to get her hands on it?”
It was too ridiculous a notion to contemplate and shook his head in disgust.
“We faced eviction from our house because we couldn’t settle Abraham’s debts. Mother had some savings put aside, but they weren’t enough to cover our living costs let along any debt repayments. We needed to do something to change our circumstance, or we would have been living out on the streets with nowhere to go. Rather than use her savings to pay the creditors, we snuck out like thieves in the middle of the night. The only place we could think of disappearing to was London. We agreed to come with her in the hope that she would suggest we go out to work, and we would have a bit of freedom at last. Unfortunately, mother had other ideas.”
When Alfred lapsed into thoughtful silence, Hyacinth glanced at her brother.
“We had no recommendations so couldn’t get jobs. Mother had the idea that we could use the last of our savings to pass ourselves off as
aristocracy, or people who were well connected. If we could get into the ballrooms of the ton, we could find wealthy people to marry, and it would solve our financial problems.” She pierced Trenton with a dark glare. “Unfortunately, because of our situation, we would have to use force if necessary to persuade someone to marry one of us, or compromise them.”
“God, you are merciless,” Ursula snapped in disgust.
Hyacinth glared at her. “We were facing destitution. It is amazing what you will do if you have no money and nowhere to go. We baulked at the idea when mother suggested it, and tried to persuade her not to make us do it. She refused to listen to us. Instead, she brought her entire wardrobe with her, added lots of fripperies and lace, and created a wardrobe of slightly out-of-date clothes.”
“How did you get a letter of recommendation though? I mean, you can’t just waltz into the ton, and have people willing to welcome you with open arms. You cannot be connected to anybody,” Trenton asked with a frown.
It was an audacious scheme; and lunacy for someone so unused to the ways of the ton. The fact that they had even tried it, and gotten as far as they had, was a miracle on its own. He couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if the season had been in full swing.
“My father was a solicitor. He knew of people in society who had estates in Somerset. We used one of their names and falsified a letter. It was a risk, but enough to get us into someone’s ball. Mother made acquaintances with people, but was too pushy at times and offended several people with her unsophisticated ways. She wasn’t used to the protocols of society and we all made a lot of mistakes. It was hit and miss for a long time. However, it didn’t take long before she overheard your aunt telling her friends that she was expecting you to arrive from Yorkshire. She was looking forward to being able to show you the sights of London and, hopefully, you would marry before your birthday at Christmas. She was telling her friends about the huge sum of money you were due to inherit when you reached five and twenty.”
Alfred snorted disparagingly. “Mother was determined you would be our meal ticket to better times. The fact that you were due to inherit a lot of money made you a prime candidate.”
“That, and the fact that your aunt told her friends that you came from Yorkshire, and weren’t used to the ballrooms of the ton,” Hyacinth added.
Ursula looked at Alfred, who glared back defiantly. “I told her we were crossing the line into criminality but she wouldn’t listen to me. She had sniffed the scent of money and nothing would thwart her. Running away from our father’s debts was one thing. We were going to lose the house anyway. Abduction, kidnap, false imprisonment, and God knows what else she would have dragged us into meant we all faced jail if we were caught.”
“Let me get this straight. Once you found out about her money, you planned to abduct Ursula and force her to marry you, Alfred, and then wait for her birthday. As her husband, you would gain control of any money she inherited and your family issues would be resolved. What about Ursula though? Did you not consider that she would object to the marriage? Did you not consider that her family would question why someone like her would marry someone like you, Alfred?” Trenton asked. He was physically trembling with rage and shook his head in disbelief at the outrageous scheming. He wasn’t entirely sure if it is stupidly arrogant or naively ignorant, but it was foolish to even attempt such a fete and hope to get away with it.
Alfred looked hesitantly at Hyacinth. “The family wouldn’t question the marriage if she was ruined completely and with child. She would be a social pariah if she walked out on a marriage. I would claim that the realities of marriage had tipped her mind and, as her husband, I would take control of her life. She wouldn’t be allowed to tell anyone anything.” He looked straight into Trenton’s eyes. “Not even her family.”
Trenton snorted. “You don’t know her family. Her Aunt wouldn’t allow you to get away with trying to block her from Ursula’s life because they know she would never do such a thing.”
Hyacinth glared at him defiantly. “We told mother that we weren’t going to get away with it, but she wouldn’t be reasoned with. I told her I would get a job, but she wouldn’t have that either. She wanted me to be at home so I could fetch and carry for her.”
“Hyacinth was nothing but mother’s maid,” Alfred announced sadly. He placed his hand comfortingly over his sister’s and they smiled sadly at each other for a moment before Hyacinth looked solemnly at them.
“I had hoped that we wouldn’t get away with it, if I am honest. I would have much preferred time in prison to spending the rest of my days with mother. She was a witch, in the truest sense. She didn’t care one iota about us. We were merely there to serve her. I wanted to work to earn some money but she wouldn’t allow it.” Hyacinth looked at her brother. “We had discussed ruining her plans so she would forget the idea, but we knew mother would only try something else.”
“If we failed at this she would have become impossible to live with. She would have made our lives miserable until we gave her what she wanted. At least if I married and had money, I could move me and Hyacinth away from her,” Alfred murmured.