‘Back to Beldale, sir—can’t do anything until it’s light. At least we know who’s behind it all.’
‘Do we, Tip—but do we?’ His lordship’s voice was weary as he led the way back into the hall, where another distasteful sight met his eyes.
Judith was on her knees, attempting to pacify her distraught mother who was now moaning loudly and rocking herself from side to side, demanding to know what was to become of them all. Ridgeway stepped forward to meet the viscount, thankfully leaving the old woman to Judith’s administrations.
‘What is it, old man?’ he said, quickly taking note of his cousin’s dejected air. ‘You did not find them?’
‘Finchley …’ began Sandford, his tone heavy, then he staggered back in surprise as a suddenly upright Lady Butler elbowed Ridgeway aside and all but threw herself at him.
‘He lies! Whatever he has told you—it is all lies!’ she panted, clutching at his lapels.
Ridgeway gripped her roughly by the arm as Sandford wrenched himself away from her clawing hands and Judith stared at her mother in shock.
‘Wh-what are you saying, Mother?’ she gasped. ‘Do you know something about all this?’
‘Nothing—nothing!’ wailed Lady Butler, vainly trying to pull herself away from Ridgeway’s grip. ‘I tell you the man lies—he’s an incompetent old fool—you cannot believe a word …’
Her voice trailed away weakly as Sandford, eyes glittering, reached out and took hold of the neck of her night-rail.
You despicable old woman!’ he ground out. ‘It was you! My God, it was you all the time! What a fool I’ve been—where is she? If you’ve hurt her I’ll kill you—I swear I’ll kill you myself!’
‘Robert! For God’s sake!’ came Judith’s voice in protest, as both she and Ridgeway leapt to extricate Lady Butler from the viscount’s furious grasp while Tiptree struggled to hold his master back.
‘It’s your own fault!’ spluttered the woman, from the comparative safety of the settle where Ridgeway and Judith had finally managed to deposit her. ‘You should have married Judith—I didn’t mean any harm…’
Judith stepped away from her mother in dismay, her hands covering her trembling lips.
‘What are you saying?’ she whispered. ‘Are you to blame for Harriet’s disappearance?’
‘No, I am not,’ rejoined the old woman obstinately. ‘I didn’t tell him to take her away. I only wanted to put Sandford in dislike of her—make her look cheap and common—which she is!’ She stared defiantly at the grim-faced viscount who was still fighting to remove himself from Tiptree’s iron hold.
‘Have done, guv, do,’ said the groom, in exasperation. ‘You’ve the whole night to spare. If you want to find out where Miss Cordell is, you’ve got to hear her out.’
At these words Sandford ceased his struggles and Tiptree at once released him.
Lady Butler shook her head. ‘I don’t know where he has taken her. I never intended anyone to get hurt—Beldale was a mistake. Beckett should never have …!’
‘You were responsible for Lord William’s accident!’ Judith, horrified, collapsed into Ridgeway’s outstretched arms. ‘Mother! What have you done?’
‘I didn’t do anything—I merely pointed out to Finchley how much better off we would all be once you became countess—Beckett took it upon himself to feed Beldale’s horse with one of his potions and Beldale went down. No one expected him to recover—well, he is very old.’ Lady Butler shrugged, as four pairs of eyes stared at her in shocked incredulity. ‘When Sandford came home with her I could see that I would have little difficulty in showing her up for what she is—having her fall into the lake was just a lucky chance. Beckett happened to see her on the path, but the fool let the whore’s brat get away—and he told me that his lordship here only laughed when he saw her appalling state—so you must see that it was necessary for me to think of something else.’
‘I can’t believe I’m listening to this,’ groaned Sandford, with his head in his hands, as Lady Butler nodded at her audience in cheerful unconcern. ‘You arranged Miss Cordell’s mishap in the woods?’
‘Well, it is true that I wrote the note—rather a clever idea, I thought.’ She shrank back as Sandford moved angrily towards her. ‘And I did help Elspeth to give her the pink biscuits. That was very tricky—because Elspeth …’ At these words Judith gave a frightened gasp. ‘I would never have allowed her to eat one, my dear—surely you do not think that?’
Her daughter gave a strangled moan and buried her face in Ridgeway’s chest as her mother coolly continued her incredible tale.
‘Hinds picked up the gloves she had dropped in the stables—another lucky chance—and it proved very useful in my clever little tryst scene. Beckett failed to get the emerald ring, of course—that was a puzzle to me for I had seen her wearing it—but I knew that the whole thing had succeeded when I heard that you had taken each other in such dislike!’
Judith, who had known nothing of these events, was staring at Sandford in consternation. ‘That was why you had quarrelled,’ she said weakly. ‘But you made up—I saw you—and when you came to dinner …!’
‘That was when everything started to get out of hand,’ cut in her mother, calmly straightening her nightcap. ‘Finchley told me that Beckett had caught the trollop’s brat and was waiting to know what I wanted him to do. Well, I told him that it was their problem and nothing to do with me—which, of course, it isn’t, for I’ve done nothing wrong at all and …’ she glared resentfully at Sandford ‘—you can shake me all you like, but I still don’t know where he is or where he has taken her!’
‘Do you really believe that you will go unpunished for your part in these events?’ asked Sandford incredulously. ‘People have been hanged for less! You must be insane!’
‘Robert!’ Judith’s face was white. ‘She is my mother!’
‘For which you have always had my sympathies,’ said her brother-in-law tartly, ignoring his cousin’s angry look. ‘What time is it, Tiptree?’
‘Close on one, sir—at least three more hours before dawn.’
‘We’ll get back to Beldale then,’ said the viscount wearily. ‘I’m leaving you in charge, Charles—make sure she’s still here when I get back. See to those two in the kitchen—and for God’s sake don’t let any word of this get out!’
‘Now, look here, Robert,’ exclaimed Ridgeway, in protest. ‘Judith is very upset about all this—her mother, dammit!’
‘What would you have me do, Charles?’ said Sandford icily. ‘Offer her a viscountcy? Apparently none of this would have happened if I had done so!’
‘That is very true,’ said Lady Butler, unperturbed at her daughter’s obvious distress. ‘You see how you have brought the whole thing upon yourself!’
‘I think not, your ladyship,’ rejoined Sandford softly. ‘Although it pains me to have to say this, it appears to be entirely thanks to you that I have other plans for the title.’
Lady Butler frowned. ‘Why ‘'thanks to me''?’ she asked. ‘I have explained that I had nothing to do with any of this business!’
The slightest flicker of a smile crossed Sandford’s lips as he prepared to leave. ‘You tell her, Charles,’ he said, ‘although I doubt that the lady will appreciate the irony.’
‘Aye.’ The older man nodded, holding Judith’s hand firmly in his own. ‘I’ll willingly do that for you, man—and mebbe add a few words on my own behalf!’