The Betrayed Lady Winters Read online

  It is not the worst; she reminded herself. The working class has hospitals that are much worse than this. I simply need to get him out of here.

  “I need to speak to someone about my father,” Ivy demanded as she found a lady in a matron’s outfit. Jonathon remained with her, but this time she felt confident to take the lead. “He was brought in here last night, and I would like to know what has happened to him.”

  Her heart thumped against her chest; she could almost feel her knees knocked together with nerves. This could be the moment that she learned her father had passed away and that was something she could not be strong about.

  “What is his name?” the lady asked her kindly. “I will find out what room he is in.”

  “Lord Otto Winters.” Ivy did not miss the way that the matron’s eyes widened at the name. That made her even more fearful. “He was taken from our home last night, and I believe it was suspected poisoning.”

  “We have got your father in a room on his own. Please, come with me.”

  At least he was not in a room with hundreds of other people. That was what scared Ivy the most. She feared that even if he managed to recover from the poisoning, he would become sick from something else. Ivy tried to focus on that one positive rather than all of the negatives that surrounded the situation.

  “He is in here. I shall get one of the doctors to come in and explain his health to you as soon as possible.”

  The matron left Ivy alone with her father with Jonathon making his excuses to wait outside the room also, and she took a step closer to see him properly. The image of the strong man, who had spent his entire life taking care of her, looking weak and sickly in that bed was devastating. He did not look like the same person; it was almost as if the life had been completely sucked from him. Seeing his chest rising and falling as he breathed gave her a glimmer of hope.

  “I am so sorry,” Ivy gushed as she took her father’s lifeless hand. “I am sorry that this happened to you.” She did not know if he could hear her, he was probably completely switched off from the world, but Ivy felt like she needed to say the words anyway. “I did not think that sending you off to speak to Duke Merrick would end up this way. I would have done it myself if not.” Emotion choked in her throat, stopping her for just a moment. When she started to speak again, her voice kept cracking. “I did not know that he was dangerous. I am not sure if you know, you probably do not, but Ewan has been arrested for the crime. For some reason, the police believe that he is the one who poisoned you, but I am going to solve this. I will make this alright.”

  Ivy sat there for a moment, just holding on to her father’s cold hand and looking at him. As far as she knew, he was mostly a well-liked man; she still could not think of any other enemies. It had to be Royce; there was no one else who would even consider doing this. No one else had reason to.

  “I will find out who did this to you for certain,” she muttered, more to herself this time. “I will do whatever I need to do. I will put myself in the line of danger to make this right. It is not right.”

  At that moment, she could not contain herself any longer. The tears streamed from her eyes and Ivy allowed them to fall. She did not even care that she was in public, she did not mind that it was not the right way to behave, she was upset, and she wanted to simply feel her emotions. There was not anyone here who would confront her about this anyway. Of all the places she was allowed to fall apart, surely this was it. Plus, she had spent her morning in the prison, so her emotions were already scattered over the place.

  “I do not want to leave you here, it feels so wrong,” she said while glancing her eyes around the room. “Maybe I shall ask someone to bring you home, and we can pay for a doctor to see you there.”

  Needing to do something positive, Ivy instantly rose from her seat, and set out to find the nearest doctor. She asked about the possibility of having him at home, but unfortunately, it was not possible right away. Because the doctors suspected that he had been poisoned, he needed to be under constant observation. They had to have someone checking in on him all hours throughout the day, and the only way they could do that was to keep him in this room. Ivy did manage to persuade the doctor to promise to send him home at the very first opportunity, which would have to keep her calm for the time being. It was not enough, but it was all that she could do.

  Ivy felt terrible as she said goodbye to her father and she left the hospital building. She did not want to leave him behind, but now she knew exactly where everyone was, what state they were all in, and what she needed to do. She had a plan now; she needed to get closer to Duke Merrick. She just needed to work out how she was going to make that happen. It was one of those things that seemed much easier said than done.

  * * *

  Ivy felt deflated as the carriage pulled up to her home. After she had left Jonathon, who thankfully insisted that he would come back whenever he was needed to assist her, all the positivity had raced from her body as she tried to work out what her next step should be. Nothing immediately came to mind. Of course, she would write a letter to her brother and inform him that their father was alive but in an unconscious state, but then the real work would begin. She would have to find a way to speak to Duke Merrick.

  The housekeeper stood at the door entrance, as if she was waiting for Ivy. “Oh, Lady Winters, I am so glad that you are back. Lady Turner is here, she insisted that she would wait to see you.”

  “Lady Turner?” It took Ivy a couple of seconds to recognize her friend’s married name. “Oh, you mean Mary. Of course, I do want to see her. That is wonderful that she is here.”

  Ivy’s mood lifted, Mary had come to see her because she cared, and that meant a lot. Plus, Ivy needed some of her wisdom and advice. This was the sort of thing that Mary would easily concoct a plan for.

  Ivy found her friend sitting in the drawing room, sipping a cup of tea. Relief flooded her, and she managed the first genuine smile that had crossed her face all day long. “Oh my goodness, I am pleased to see you.”

  “You have been out all day,” Mary commented as she rose to embrace her friend. “Is everything alright?”

  “I have been to the prison and then to the hospital. It has been a very busy day for me.”

  Mary felt shocked that her friend had done so much in one day. She knew how much of a harrowing experience that must have been. It would not be easy for anyone, but especially not for Ivy.

  “Oh my, that must have been hard.” Ivy nodded. “I am very proud of you for tackling everything.”

  Ivy took her seat and Mary did the same. “Ewan did not do this; he did not poison my father. He was not even near him before it happened. When I spoke to him today, he said that he arrived just as he collapsed.”

  “You think… you believe that he is telling the truth?” Mary did not like to ask that, but she needed to make sure that she covered all bases and that Ivy was not letting her family bond cloud her judgement.

  “I know that he is. I saw it in his eyes. Plus…” Ivy paused for a second to check that none of the staff were around to listen in. “I have reason to believe that it was Duke Merrick. It happened just after I told my father to turn down any request for spending more time together. I believe he did not take the news well.”

  Mary was taken aback; she did not know how to take that news at all. She was the one who had told Ivy that Duke Merrick had a terrible reputation, but she did not think that he would go this far… but maybe that was her being naïve. Her father had always told her to be fearful of a desperate man. Duke Merrick was desperate.

  “But poisoning your father would not ensure that he got money,” Mary queried. “It would do nothing.”

  “But it would be revenge. I think that he did it for revenge.” Ivy was determined to stick to her theory now; it was the only thing that made any sense at all. “And now I need proof of that to free Ewan.”

  “Are you planning on telling Duke Merrick that you have changed your mind?”

  “What do you
mean?” Ivy gave her friend a curious look. “Changed my mind about what?”

  “About wanting to marry him? Surely that would be a good way to ensure that he spends more time with you.”

  Ivy had not thought about that, but Mary was right. In that way, they would have to be around other people, someone would have to chaperone them, so she could not find herself in any danger, but it would also get her close enough to hunt for clues. That was much better than anything she could have come up with alone.

  “But how will I make that happen?” she asked Mary desperately. “My father is not here to write the letter for me, Ewan is locked away, and I have just sent Jonathon away. If he is not here to request the meeting, then what can I do?”

  “Write it yourself,” Mary answered spontaneously. “Duke Merrick understands that you are currently in a very difficult situation, just like the rest of society does. I do not think that he will judge you.”

  Ivy nodded, hoping that Mary was right. It scared the hell out of her, but if she was going to have to do this, then this was the best way, the safest way. She would have to search inside of her for all of her courage and face this head on. If she thought about her brother and her father, then she could do it for them.

  “Will you help me write the letter? I want to get this done now. I do not want Ewan to be in that terrible place any longer than he needs to be. I do not think that he is doing too well.”

  Mary had not ever been in a prison herself, thankfully she never had reason to, but she had heard things, dreadful things, and she could not imagine Ivy’s younger brother coping.

  “Let us start now. The sooner we get this letter sent off, the sooner we can find out what truly happened on the night of your party, because right now it is a mystery that really needs solving.”

  “Yes, let’s. No one wants this mystery solved more than me. I just want my family back together and for my life to go back to normal. I want this to all be nothing more than a terrible dream that I can wake up from.”

  Chapter 7

  March 4th 1832

  Regent Street, Mayfair, London

  Dear Duke Merrick,

  I take a pen in my hand to write to you with a heavy, apologetic heart. I am terribly sorry to communicate with you directly, rather than to go through the proper channels, but as I am sure you are aware my father is currently indisposed so it is impossible for me to do things in the right way.

  I would like to request a meeting with you if that is at all possible. My behaviour at the party was not as I usually am, I found myself under a lot of undue stress on that day, and I would like to say sorry to your face for that. I am also aware that you wished to spend time with me too, and that is something I am open to.

  Faithfully,

  Lady Ivy Winters

  Royce stared at the letter in confusion, wondering what it all meant. After the events of the party, he had not ever expected to hear from Lady Ivy Winters again. He assumed that he had done something to upset her and that she simply did not like him. Much as that disappointed him, he had come to accept it.

  So, this letter arriving as if from nowhere was a huge shock to him. But he found it to be a pleasant surprise. Without taking too much time to consider it, he grabbed his quill, and he wrote out a reply.

  March 9th 1832

  Bakers Street, London

  Dear Lady Ivy Winters,

  Thank you for your favour, it was wonderful to receive. I am terribly sorry to hear that your father is still unwell, I hope that his situation improves soon. The whole of London was saddened to hear what had happened.

  I would very much like to spend some more time with you, and will come to visit you at your home on the 15th if that is suitable. I expect you will have someone there who can chaperone us.

  Faithfully,

  Duke Royce Merrick.

  He did not know how this meeting would work out, but he was intrigued. The last time he had seen Lady Winters, she showed a fire that he admired greatly, and he wanted to know more about her. Of all the Ladies that he had spent any time with during the seasons of London, he had never found someone that captivated him. That was why he had not settled down. He had focused on his career because that seemed easier.

  Maybe this meeting was purely because Lady Winters needed a husband now that her father had suffered, maybe she did not like him at all, but that was something that he could figure out once they were together. He hoped that was not the case, that would come as a huge disappointment to him, but he would not be able to find out if he did not give her a try. Then he would be left with a lot of unanswered questions.

  In fact, the more that he thought about seeing Lady Winters again, the happier he became.

  * * *

  Ivy could not stop herself from continually peering out of the window as she waited for the arrival of Duke Merrick. It was his plan to meet at her home, which might not have been what she initially wanted, but now it felt like it was for the best. She needed to get used to spending time with him before she did anything rash.

  “Are you feeling alright?” Jonathon asked her cautiously.

  Ivy had felt terrible asking him to take more time out of his busy life to assist her, but she found herself unable to find anyone else. He had made the offer anyway.

  “I believe so,” Ivy answered with a deep breath. “I shall be alright soon.”

  But then she spotted the carriage pulling up outside the family home, and her heart leaped up into her throat. This was the man who had potentially wished her family harm, who had tried to destroy them all, and now she had invited him back inside. If it weren’t for Ewan’s wishes, then she never would have been able to do this.

  “I shall go and introduce myself first once he has been brought inside by one of the staff members,” Jonathon told her. “Then I will bring him in.”

  Ivy nodded, grateful to have this one man, who she had not met before, here He had been good to her. She knew that if she ever managed to escape this situation, she would make more of an effort to spend time with him in the future.

  Ivy tried to position herself in the living room while she waited for Jonathon to come in with Duke Merrick. She did not know how she was supposed to look. If her father were around, he would have been able to give her some advice, but he was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life. Since this situation was new to Jonathon as well, he could not help her. She was alone.

  I cannot do this, Ivy told herself in a panic. I cannot make this work.

  But then she sucked in a couple of deep breaths, and found her steely determination once more. By the time Duke Merrick entered the room, Ivy had transformed herself into a picture of beauty and grace. Royce almost had his breath completely taken away by the mere sight of her.

  “It is lovely to see you again, Lady Winters,” he said in his most charming tone of voice. “I am glad that you have invited me here to spend some time with you. We did not get off on the right foot beforehand.”

  Ivy felt a redness staining her cheeks, even though she had been through a terrible night, she was a little embarrassed about her behaviour. She lashed out and reiterated rumours that she did not even know the truth of. She had acted as though Duke Merrick was guilty, which made it more difficult to see him today. It was just lucky that she did not think that anyone else had heard her.

  She needed to apologize, and it was best to do it now. “I am terribly sorry…”

  Royce waved his hands, stopping her in her tracks. “Do not think anything of it. The night had gotten to us all. Your behaviour was very much understandable. I believe that we should forget about it and start again.”

  Ivy nodded gratefully. “Yes, thank you, I would like that too.”

  Jonathon did not know exactly how he was supposed to behave. He hovered behind the pair as if he thought that he needed to watch their every single move. It made both Ivy and Royce very uncomfortable. They felt like they could not talk so freely and that was obvious from the way they positioned their bod
ies.

  “So, you have been to see your father?” Royce did not know what else they could talk about.

  “I have. He is…” Ivy felt herself getting a little choked up. “He is unconscious at the moment. I am very much hoping that he will come back around soon so we can find out the truth about what happened to him.” She looked at Royce out the corner of her eye, but he was not giving anything away yet. As challenging as it was, she needed to dig deeper. “Did you see him on the night of the party? Just before he collapsed, I mean?”

  It was a dangerous subject matter, it meant they might have to discuss the fact, that at the time, she had decided she did not want to marry him. Ivy was not sure how she could avoid upsetting him, but she needed to know where he was at the time it happened. She looked up at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

  “I did see him,” Royce answered without flinching. “He was heading in my direction when he fell.”

  Ivy drank this in, wondering if it was the truth. If so, then Royce did not even know that she had rejected him in the first place. Unfortunately, it also meant that Royce did not have the motive that she assumed. On the face of it, this dispelled everything she had assumed, but since Ewan was not the culprit, it had to be someone.

  “Oh, I see.” Ivy tried to choose her next words carefully, so she did not seem to be accusing him. “So, you saw him fall? I did not see anything until he was already on the floor and my brother had been arrested.”

  “I did hear about your brother,” Royce told her sadly. “It is such a shame.”