For the Roses (Claybornes' Brides (Rose Hill) 1)

The words haunted her.

It wasn’t possible for her to keep up her pretense forever. Two incidents sent her world careening.

The first happened quite by accident. She was pacing back and forth in the entryway, waiting for the mail to be delivered, when Eleanor came hurrying down the stairs.

“I have wonderful news, Victoria,” she cried out. “Lady Lillian wants me to become her assistant. She likes me, really likes me, and thinks my organizational skills are just what she needs. She leads such a busy life. She’s needed someone to help her for a long time. Do you know what else she told me? She’s going to help me find a husband. She will too. Your Aunt Lillian can do anything she sets her mind to. She told me I was like a daughter to her. Yes, she did. Isn’t it all wonderful?”

Mary Rose wasn’t surprised by the news. She wanted to be happy for her friend. Eleanor had had a difficult past. She’d never known her own mother, and Aunt Lillian hadn’t had any children. They were two lonely people who could help each other.

“It is joyful news, indeed,” she told her friend. “Does this mean you’ll never want to go back to ... America?” She’d almost asked her if she had made up her mind not to go back to Montana, but quickly changed her mind.

“There isn’t anything in America for me, Victoria.”

“What about Cole? Didn’t you care about him?”

Eleanor took hold of Mary Rose’s hand and smiled at her. “I’ll never forget him. How could I? He gave me my very first kiss. He won’t ever marry me though, and I’m grateful I found out he wasn’t the marrying kind before I gave my heart to him. Besides, we really don’t have anything in common. I’m much better suited to life here, Victoria. So are you,” she added with a nod.

Mary Rose ignored her last comment. “I’ll miss you.”

Eleanor frowned. “Miss me? You aren’t going anywhere, and we’re always going to remain fast friends. Do you know I’m accepted by your friends because of who you are? You’re Lady Victoria, for heaven’s sake. Why, just look at yourself in the mirror. You have become your father’s daughter all right. No one could ever know you didn’t grow up here. I’m so proud of you. Your aunt’s proud of you too. She loves you with all her heart. Honestly, she does. I must run now. There’s so much to do today in preparation for our move.”

Mary Rose watched her friend hurry back up the stairs. Edward walked into the entryway then. She was thankful the younger butler was in attendance today and not her father’s other “man” as he was called. Russell, the senior staff member, had been in Elliott’s employ much longer, and she knew it wouldn’t be as easy to get information out of him.

“Edward, may I have a word with you? In confidence,” she added so he would know she wouldn’t tell anyone about the conversation. “I need to know something. Has my Aunt Lillian been intercepting my letters from home?”

Edward’s complexion visibly paled. “No, Lady Victoria, she hasn’t.”

She was going to have to accept what he said as fact, she supposed. She nodded, then turned to go up the stairs. She stopped suddenly when Edward blurted out, “They only have your best interests at heart, mi’lady, especially Lord Elliott.”

She slowly turned around. “My father’s been taking my letters, hasn’t he?”

He didn’t answer her but turned his gaze to the floor. She thought his silence damning. “I thought it was my aunt,” she whispered. Her voice sounded bewildered. “I don’t know why, but I never considered my father would do ... How long has it been going on?”

“From the beginning,” he answered in a low voice.

“And the letters I wrote to my brothers and left on the hall table to be posted? Did he intercept those too?”

Edward looked into the drawing room to make certain they weren’t being overheard, then answered her. “Yes, but you had already figured everything out, hadn’t you? I’m not being disloyal by confirming your suspicions, am I?”

“No, you aren’t being disloyal.”

“Your father was only following the physician’s advice, mi’lady. He was very happy to notice you’d stopped writing to those men. I heard him tell his brother-in-law that the advice had been sound. You were letting your past go.”

“The physicians advised him?”

“I believe so, Lady Victoria.”

The staff apparently knew more about the workings of the family than she did. She would have to remember to ask Edward her questions in future. She would get the truth from him.

She was too disheartened to continue the conversation. She thanked him once again and then went up to her bedroom.

Her father believed she’d left her past behind her—and her brothers, she thought to herself. Mary Rose hadn’t forgotten, of course, and she hadn’t quit writing. She’d known someone was intercepting her mail after she’d read Adam’s letter asking her why she hadn’t written. Thank God for Ann Marie. The sweet lady’s maid was quietly making sure her letters were posted.

She was so furious she could barely form a coherent thought. She knew she was going to have to get past her anger before she even tried to talk to her father to find out why he would do such a cruel thing to her. After an hour of pacing and thinking about the situation, she decided not to talk to him at all. He would only tell her he was doing what was best for her, and God help her, if she heard those words just one more time, she thought she would start screaming and never be able to stop.

Her anger wouldn’t go away. She begged off going to the theater with the family that evening, giving the excuse she was tired.

A hot bath didn’t soothe her nerves. She put on her nightgown and her robe and reached for her locket. She kept the treasure in an ornately carved Oriental box on top of her dresser. She wanted to wear the locket to bed. Perhaps a good night’s sleep would put everything back into perspective, and she would once again have enough stamina to be understanding.

The box was empty. Mary Rose didn’t panic, at least not right away. She carefully retraced her steps around the room. She remembered she’d taken the necklace off that morning just after she’d gotten out of bed. Yes, she was certain she’d done just that. And she always put it in the little box for safekeeping during the day.

The locket had vanished. An hour later, she was tearing the bedroom apart for the second time. Harrison came home and found her on her knees looking under their bed. He collapsed into the nearest chair, stretched his legs out, and thought that if he didn’t get some sleep soon, he would pass out.

His mind was still reeling from the information he’d found damning MacPherson. He felt tremendous anger as well, and now that he was close to tying up all the loose ends and finally going to the authorities, the tension inside him was building to an explosive level. He was as edgy as a caged bear. Lack of sleep was surely the cause, he knew, for he doubted he’d had more than three hours’ rest each night for the past week.

MacPherson was never far from Harrison’s thoughts. Rage would wash over him every time he thought about how the bastard calmly worked by Elliott’s side all these past years. Elliott had trusted him completely, and all that while, MacPherson had witnessed his anguish and his desolation. The son-of-a-bitch knew . . .

Harrison forced himself to block his thoughts. He was too agitated to go to bed right away and decided to tell his wife what he’d found out.

She hadn’t noticed him yet. “I found it, sweetheart,” he called out.

She bumped her head when she bolted upright on her knees. “Where is it? I’ve looked everywhere. Oh, thank God. I thought I’d lost it.”

Harrison heard the panic in her voice and only then looked at her face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing. I was trying to tell you I found the discrepancy I was looking for. What have you lost?”

“My locket,” she cried out. “It’s disappeared.”

“We’ll find it. I’ll help you look. Just let me get my second wind.” He let o

ut a loud yawn after giving her his promise.

“What if it was thrown away?”

He closed his eyes and began to rub his brow. “I’m sure it wasn’t. Come and kiss me.”

She couldn’t believe his cavalier attitude. “You know how important my mama’s locket is to me. I think they took it. I’ll never forgive them if they did. Never.”

His wife was shouting. Harrison straightened in his chair, braced his elbows on his knees, and frowned at her. He was determined not to let his weariness make him impatient.

“After a good night’s sleep . . .”

“We have to find my locket before we go to bed.”

He decided to try to put it all in perspective for her. The locket was important to her, yes, but they would eventually find it.

“Will you calm down? No one took your locket. You’ve simply misplaced it. That’s all there is to it.”

“How would you know if they took it or not? You’re never here long enough to know anything that goes on.”

“I’ve been busy,” he shouted out. “I was trying to tell you . . .” He stopped before he went into an explanation about MacPherson. Now wasn’t the time. She was too distraught to hear a word he said.

He let out an expletive then. “You could be a little more understanding,” he said.

She staggered to her feet. She was so furious, her hands were in fists at her sides. The dam inside her burst, for it was suddenly all too much for her to endure. All those months of trying to be someone she wasn’t was finally taking its toll.

“Understanding? You expect me to be understanding about their sneakery? My father takes my letters before I can mail them, and I’m supposed to be understanding? How long do you want me to be patient, Harrison? Forever? When you aren’t working day and night finishing whatever in God’s name you’re determined to finish, you’re running around looking for evidence to convict MacPherson. You’ve been scratching the wrong itch for months now. Oh, shame on me. I’ve used another expression my relatives find distasteful.”

“What are you talking about? What’s distasteful?”

She didn’t answer him. He wouldn’t understand. No one did. She turned her back on her husband and stared out into the night.

“They all love you,” he assured her in a calmer tone of voice.

She whirled around again. “No, they don’t. They love the woman they’re all creating. Do you know what Aunt Barbara told me? I’m supposed to think of myself as a blank canvas and let them create their masterpiece. They don’t love me. How could they? They don’t even know me. They love the idea of having Victoria back, and now everyone’s trying to pretend I’ve lived here all my life. What about you, Harrison? Do you love me or their masterpiece?”

The implication behind her question sent him to his feet. If she wanted to argue, then by God he would accommodate her.

“I love you,” he roared.

The argument didn’t end there; it escalated. She was distraught and terrified by what was happening to her, and he was simply too exhausted to reason anything out. The combination was explosive.

What the hell had she meant about a canvas, for God’s sake? She started shouting again when he demanded she explain. They said some unkind things to each other, though nothing that couldn’t be forgiven, and when Mary Rose realized she was going to start weeping again, she pointed to the door and ordered him to leave.

He did just that. Then she got into bed and cried herself to sleep. She was awakened by her husband’s fervent apology.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry,” he told her over and over again.

She believed she could forgive him anything. She loved him and would do anything to protect -him and their marriage.

They made love, each desperately needing comfort from the other, and when he was just drifting off to sleep, he heard her whisper, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Victoria.”

Dear God, he’d called her Victoria.

She went home two days later.

August 14, 1874

Dear Mama Rose,

I have to spend the rest of the afternoon in my bedroom as punishment because I didn’t act like a lady today. I punched Tommy Bonnersmith in the nose and made him bleed. He had it coming, Mama. Cole had taken me into Blue Belle, and I’d just walked outside the general store when Tommy grabbed hold of me and planted his mushy lips on top of mine.

I didn’t tell Cole what Tommy had done to me. He came outside and spotted Tommy sitting on the ground holding his nose and crying like a baby. My brother would have shot Tommy if he knew what happened and I don’t want him shooting anyone else. He’s getting a bad reputation.

I’m not at all contrite about my behavior. Adam and Cole are always telling me I shouldn’t ever let any man take liberties with me. Tommy was doing just that, wasn’t he?

Are you disappointed in me?

Your loving daughter

Mary Rose

21

Harrison returned to Lord Elliott’s house just as the ship Mary Rose was on sailed for America. He didn’t know she’d left, of course. No one did.

He walked into the conservatory, where Elliott sat with his assistant going over transactions.

“Where’s my wife?”

Elliott looked up at Harrison and smiled. “She went shopping with her lady’s maid,” he answered.

“Will you excuse us, MacPherson?” Harrison asked. He clasped his hands behind his back and forced himself to look composed. He wanted to grab MacPherson by the neck and send him hurtling into hell for what he’d done, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to give in to the impulse.

“Why don’t you go and order some tea for us while I talk to my son-in-law?”

MacPherson bowed to his employer and left the room. Harrison pulled the doors closed behind him.

“I doubt anyone will hear us talking, Harrison. Everyone’s gone out for the day, and the staff is busy packing. Something’s wrong, isn’t it? You’ve got that look in your eyes.”

“We have company, sir. The authorities are waiting in the hall to arrest MacPherson. God willing, they’ll get him to confess everything. There’s enough evidence though to convict him of embezzlement, and one way or another, the son-of-a-bitch is going to be locked away. He’s the one who planned the kidnapping.

Elliott dropped the papers he’d been holding in his hand. His mind raced to keep up with the information Harrison had given him.

He couldn’t seem to take it all in. “George . . . George took my Victoria from me? No, no, he couldn’t have. He was fully investigated, and no one found a thread of evidence to connect him to my daughter’s disappearance. Now you’re suggesting . . .”

“Douglas saw him get out of the carriage and hand the basket to a woman.”

“Douglas? Who is he?”

Harrison was taken aback by the question. Dear God, Elliott didn’t even know the names of her brothers.

“One of the men who raised her,” he answered. “Douglas is one of her brothers in every damned way that counts. You’d better come to terms with that reality before it’s too late.”

Elliott was so stunned by what Harrison had told him about MacPherson, he couldn’t think about anything else. He didn’t even notice how angry his son-in-law was becoming.

“There was embezzlement?”

“You’ve been making donations to an orphanage that doesn’t exist. The place did exist at the time Victoria was taken, of course, but it closed a couple of years later. I doubt any of your money ever got past MacPherson’s pockets.”

“But embezzlement and kidnapping are two different . . .”

“MacPherson was behind it, sir. There isn’t any doubt.”

Elliott doubled over in pain. He was so sickened by the truth, he thought he was going to throw up. He desperately tried to compose himself.

“Give me a minute, son, just a minute,” he whispered.

Harrison sat down beside him and put his hand on

Elliott’s shoulder. He didn’t say a word, but patiently waited for the man to sort it all out in his mind.

It only took Elliott a short while to calm down enough to want to know everything.

“Start at the beginning and don’t stop until you’ve told me everything.”

“We know MacPherson took a large sum of money from one of your accounts the day before your daughter was kidnapped. He took Victoria late the following night, and delivered her to the nursemaid. I suppose the money he’d stolen was for the woman to use to support herself and the baby while he milked as much ransom out of you as he could. The papers he’d taken from the Bible were probably going to be sent back to you as proof he had your daughter.”

“But what happened? We never received a ransom demand ... just that first note . . .”

“It all went sour on MacPherson,” Harrison said. “That’s what happened, sir. Douglas told me the woman didn’t want to take the basket. He saw her shake her head at MacPherson, but her mind was changed when he produced the envelope full of money and waved it in front of her eyes.”

“And then?”

“The nursemaid got cold feet, and after MacPherson left, she found the nearest alley and threw Victoria into a pile of garbage. Then she ran away.”

“Can you prove all of this, Harrison?”

“I can prove he embezzled, sir. It’s enough to put him away for the rest of his life. Douglas insists he’d recognize MacPherson today. I’m not so sure myself, but I think your assistant will be convinced by the authorities to talk.”

“If the nursemaid hadn’t had second thoughts, would I have gotten my daughter back? No ... no, of course I wouldn’t have. He would have killed her, wouldn’t he?”

“Probably,” Harrison agreed.

Elliott began to shake with fury. “All these past years that monster has been sitting by my side, calmly acting as though . . .”