Hope - Lesley Pearse [254]
Hope frowned. ‘Everyone will talk about this anyway,’ she said. ‘Surely you aren’t thinking of telling the police you killed him, instead of me?’ That seemed the logical explanation of his odd statement. Rufus was after all a gentleman and perhaps he believed he must keep her out of this.
He put his hands to his head as if it was hurting.
Concerned, she put Betsy down on the armchair, went over to him and put her hand on his arm. ‘None of us will be in any trouble; Albert was a murderer. He came here today to hurt you and possibly your mother too. I’m not afraid of telling anyone I did it. It was horrible, but it’s done now and I’m glad he’s dead.’
His hands dropped from his head, and he looked at her bleakly. ‘He talked before he died.’
Hope’s stomach lurched. The one thing she had comforted herself with was that Albert’s death would put an end to her nasty memories and save Rufus from ever knowing the whole truth about both his parents. But she might have known Albert wouldn’t die quietly.
‘What did he say?’
‘About Mother and Nell’s precious Angus,’ Rufus spat out. ‘I don’t know which is the more hurtful, that my mother was unfaithful, or that you and Nell knew about it and covered it up.’
A strangled sob came from Lady Harvey. Hope felt a slight sense of relief that Albert didn’t appear to have revealed his relationship with Sir William, but she felt indignant that Rufus would blame her and Nell for his mother’s wrongdoing.
‘Have you forgotten we were servants?’ she retorted. ‘We would’ve been cast out if we’d uttered a word about it.’
He looked suddenly deflated and despairing. ‘Yes, of course, that was unfair of me. I suppose I want to rage at my mother, as this was clearly what Albert held over her for years. But how can I rage at her? Just look at her!’
Hope turned. Lady Harvey looked so old, frail and vulnerable, with no trace left of the vivacious young woman who had captured the Captain’s heart.
‘Let it go,’ Hope pleaded. ‘Hasn’t that dreadful man done enough damage to both our families? Don’t let him do any more. Now, please take me home because I can’t bear anything more. But we must get someone to come in with your mother because she shouldn’t be alone after such a shock.’
‘I’m not just his mother; I’m your mother too.’
Both Hope and Rufus wheeled round at Lady Harvey’s strange statement.
She was sitting upright now, and although she was still crying she had a steadfast look about her.
‘Don’t be silly, Mother,’ Rufus said, his tone softer as though he was speaking to a child. ‘How can you be Hope’s mother?’
‘I am,’ she insisted, looking up at them both. ‘Hope is the result of my love for Angus. Nell and Bridie told me she was stillborn because of the scandal, and Nell took my baby home to Meg Renton.’
Hope and Rufus stood like statues, staring in silent astonishment at Lady Harvey. The wind was getting up outside, making a roaring sound in the chimney, and Betsy was making little gurgling sounds, but no one spoke or moved for some minutes.
Lady Harvey broke the silence. ‘I know my mind wanders sometimes now, that I forget things and get mixed up. But this is the truth and you must believe me,’ she said, her voice cracking with emotion. ‘Hope is your half-sister, Rufus. If I’d known she had lived and where she was, maybe I could have found a way to bring you up together. But I didn’t know who she was until the day Nell left Briargate; that’s when she told me.’
Hope and Rufus stared at each other.
‘But Nell believed Albert had killed Hope!’ Rufus exclaimed. ‘If you knew Hope was your daughter, why didn’t you do something? Can you really have so little feeling?’
Hope put one hand on Rufus’s arm to calm him. ‘She was frightened of the scandal, I expect.’
‘You know what your father was like back then,’ Lady Harvey said defensively. ‘I was scared, but I did tell him the truth eventually because Albert was blackmailing me. That’s why he burned the place down, because we stood together and told him to leave.’
Rufus put his hands to his head again. ‘So