For A Love So True Page 3

  “I’ve been coming here for the past few days hoping to run into you,” Elias said as he took the reins of her mare and tethered her to a tree. He then reached up and helped her off the horse. “This is a beautiful horse, do you have a name for her?”

  “Swift,” Mary said breathlessly when she was back on her own two feet. She felt bereft when Elias moved away, keeping a respectful distance. “Her name is Swift.”

  “Sounds like the name of a racing horse.”

  Mary giggled. “Swift is the exact opposite of a race horse. Papa says her bones are too big and she is just lazy. But she serves me well.”

  “She suits you, a gentle horse which isn’t skittish around strangers.”

  “She has her moments, but usually she’s calm and even children and old people can ride her.” They walked a short distance away from the horse to a small clearing, where Elias led her to the stump of a tree.

  “This is my thinking place,” he said. “Now that I no longer have horses to train, this is where I spend a lot of time when mama doesn’t need me.”

  “How is Mrs. Cartwright doing?”

  “Surprisingly, she is coming out of her gloom and I think I heard her humming a song just yesterday afternoon.”

  “I’m glad to hear that Mrs. Cartwright is doing well.”

  There was a companionable silence that was only broken by birds calling out to each other in the tree tops. Small rodents scurried around in the undergrowth but the two of them sat holding hands.

  “Every time I think about you, I want to walk up to your front door and ask for your family’s permission so I can begin courting you. But then something stops me.”

  “What?”

  “Call it fear, call it timidity. Your family is so different from mine and I know that I’m just fooling myself by hoping something can come out of our friendship.”

  “Why do you doubt that things can work in our favour?”

  “Mary,” Elias held her chin gently and turned her to face him. “Look at us. We have to hide in the bushes in order to meet, and should anyone chance upon us there’ll be a lot of explaining to do. If you’re seen in such a secluded spot with me, it will tarnish your name and you’ll be considered a ruined woman.”

  “I don’t care,” she said passionately. “If it was up to me, I would even tell you that we should run away together.”

  Elias sighed, pulling her into his arms. “Much as that thought is appealing, I believe in doing things in the right way. If we try to do anything like eloping, your family will be more than justified in thinking that I’m a gold digger. We have to be patient and wait a little longer. Time has a way of working things out and as my mother usually says, whatever will be, will be.”

  “But for how long?”

  “My darling,” he tucked a stray hair back under her hat. “Patience is a virtue and let us trust that if God wills for us to be together, then no amount of obstacles will keep us from each other. In a little while things will be alright. Meanwhile, I am happy that you’re here and I just want you to know that I think about you all the time, wishing you were close to me. You’re the last person I think about as I go to sleep and the first who comes to my mind when I wake up.” He kissed her forehead. “Because I love you so much, I wouldn’t want you to get into any kind of trouble with your folks, so I’ll let you go.”

  “But I don’t want to leave you, not just yet.”

  “My love, I understand that. However, if we have to get the approval of your family then I suggest that we limit our secret meetings. It hurts me to know that you’re so near and yet so far again, but let us not give anyone the chance of frowning upon us.”

  “Don’t you want to be with me? Don’t you love me as much as I love you?”

  “Never doubt my love for one moment, Mary. It is my deep love for you that wants things to work out for us in the proper way, so we can be free to love. Elopement and hiding creates all kinds of problems that I wouldn’t want you to deal with. If we start our relationship on a wrong footing, it could strain things between us and all I want is for us to be free to share our love, my darling.”

  6

  Perilous Times

  Elias had a knack for recognizing people, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on why the wiry man walking ahead of him looked so familiar. It wasn’t like him to pay much attention to people on the streets, but this particular gentleman caught his eye because of the company he was in.

  Being a race horse trainer and owner had often put Elias in the path of some unsavoury bookies who wouldn’t hesitate to decapitate a man for failing to pay a gambling debt. The small man was in the company of one such bookie and Elias was troubled. He had a bad feeling about the whole issue and tried to ignore it as none of his business. However, thoughts of the two men kept troubling him especially since he was quite sure that he knew the small man.

  Two days later, he found out who the man was: Lord Victor Murray’s chief steward. He saw him and George in town and finally remembered that he had seen him at a distance once or twice when he visited the duke’s manor. Why the man should have been in the company of that particular bookie troubled him and he wondered if he should tell Mary about it. Then he decided that he was probably making much ado about nothing, so he held his peace for a while. But his conscience wouldn’t leave him be and he found himself at the duke’s front door.

  The butler who opened the door stared at him with mild curiosity. “Yes?”

  “Good morning, sir. I would like to see Lord Murray, if you please.”

  “Wait here,” the man started closing the door and then remembered. “Who shall I say wishes to speak to the duke?”

  “Elias Cartwright.”

  The butler nodded, shut the door in Elias’s face and left him standing outside. He wasn’t in the least bit offended by the man’s manners but hoped the duke wouldn’t refuse to see him. The door opened moments later and this time it was George Murray who stood there.

  “Elias Cartwright, what brings you to our doorstep this early in the day?”

  “Good morning, Lord George. I wished to speak to your father on an urgent matter.”

  “If this has anything to do with my sister Mary, you’ll be wasting your precious time. Father has forbidden Mary from seeing you at all.”

  “That’s not what brings me here, it is a disturbing matter and if you’ll please allow me to see your father, he can judge for himself if it’s worth his attention or not.”

  “Very well then,” George opened the door wider. “Follow me.”

  Elias had been to the manor once or twice but that was when the duchess was still alive. It looked like it had been redecorated but before he could admire the vast hallway, was ushered into the duke’s private study.

  “Good morning, your grace,” he bowed slightly at the duke who didn’t bother rising from his chair behind the oak desk. Elias felt slighted but this wasn’t the time to reflect on how he wanted to be treated by the family of the woman he loved.

  “Good morning, son. What brings you to my house this early?”

  He decided not to waste any time with trivialities because it was obvious the Murray men weren’t too happy about his presence in their household. “As you know, I have been breeding racehorses and this brings me into contact with a lot of people who are part of the racing world.”

  The door opened and Mark came in. He went to stand beside his brother as if they were forming a defence against him. He shrugged inwardly and went on.

  “When my father died, I had to sell all my horses but Lord Combs asked me to help train a couple of his horses. So I’ve been going to the racing tracks and on three occasions I saw something which concerned me.”

  “And what’s that?” Mark looked at Elias and then at his father and brother. “What does it have to do with us?”

  “Believe me, sir, if I didn’t think it was important, I wouldn’t have come here at all. Your chief steward whose name I don’t know, has been coming to the racing tr
acks.”

  “What’s wrong with a man coming to watch horseracing when he has free time?” George frowned slightly. “I hope you’re not coming here to spread any unwarranted gossip.”

  “No sir. It’s true that anyone can go the racing tracks, but the company that your man keeps is what is concerning. Three times I have seen him in the company of Howard Prattle.” From the expressions on the three men’s faces, Elias knew that he now had their attention. “I can see that you all know who he is.”

  Lord Murray looked at his sons. “Why would Walter be in the company of one of the worst men that England has ever produced? A bookie and a thug.”

  “Why don’t you ask him, father?”

  Lord Murray shook his head. “No Mark. If I ask him and he’s doing something wrong, he will cover his tracks and then we’ll never be able to find out what’s going on.”

  “No man who values his reputation ever wants to be seen in the presence of that man with such a dubious character. Why would Walter be seen in his company?” George turned to Elias. “Why would you care to bring us such information?”

  Elias didn’t hesitate at all. “Because of Lady Mary. She’s very dear to me and I wouldn’t want her to suffer any kind of distress. From my experience, anyone who comes in contact with Howard Prattle is either deep in debt to him or else is looking to borrow hefty sums of money. Unfortunately no one ever comes away unscathed after dealing with the likes of Howard. Families have been ruined and people ended up taking their own lives for the shame that follows.” Elias shook his head. “For your chief steward to be dealing with that man can only spell doom and trouble for the family in the end. Howard deals in thousands of pounds and somehow I doubt that your man would be in possession of such vast sums of money. That only means that your estate is somewhat involved.”

  That was enough to make Lord Murray stand up. “I have never once doubted Walter or even thought of him as being the kind who would put my family in jeopardy. This puts a whole new light on things.” He turned to Elias. “Would you do me a favour son?”

  “Yes, your grace.”

  “Would it be possible for you to find out whatever is going on down at the race tracks?”

  “That wouldn’t be a problem, my lord. But I would also suggest that you begin to take a closer look at your books and ensure that all is well.”

  Elias was surprised when Lord Victor Murray walked to him and held out his hand. “Thank you for the information and for alerting us to the fact that things could be going wrong in our midst.”

  7

  Danger Looms

  Following Walter and finding out what he was up to wasn’t all that difficult. Elias knew how to make himself part of a conversation without even being invited to since he was well known around the tracks.

  Once again he saw Walter with Howard and waited until the latter had moved away before approaching the man who looked like his whole world was about to shatter. Elias hoped he wasn’t too late to avert disaster to his beloved’s family.

  “I never tire of watching these races,” he began, on the lookout for Howard. “Do you come here often?”

  “This isn’t a place that I wish to be found, but circumstances …” Walter’s voice trailed away. He looked around him and Elias realised that the man was really scared. Something was happening and it was obvious that he wasn’t pleased to be here but was probably being forced to be.

  “In any case, sometimes people win big and I love to watch as winners scoop great prizes. But it is also sad to watch those who lose, and especially bets.”

  “Only fools would bet on horse racing,” Walter turned to take a good look at Elias. “Why, it’s Mr. Cartwright. Sorry about the death of your father.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’m afraid you have the advantage over me.”

  “Walter Sheen is the name, and this is the last place that I want to be.”

  “That sounds strange, especially since you’re here.”

  “It’s all out of my control, but I wish to God that I had never set eyes on that man called Howard.”

  Elias pretended not to know who was being referred to. “Who?”

  “Howard Prattle, the bookie.” Walter shook his head sadly. “My brother-in-law, the lout that he is, managed to borrow a large sum from the man and now he has disappeared. He’s left my sister and her two teenage daughters facing ruin and now Howard wants his money back, or else he has threatened to sell my nieces and my only sister.”

  Elias didn’t know what to say, especially since he had thought the worst about the man.

  “I’ve been coming here to plead with Howard to give us some time to raise the money, but he says that for each week that his debt is unpaid, the interest goes up. Right now the debt is standing at over ten thousand pounds and rising with each week.”

  “Why not go to Lord Murray and ask for his help? I’m sure he can help you raise the money and then treat it like a loan to you.”

  Walter shook his head. “The last person I want involved in this is Lord Murray. He warned me before that if my brother-in-law got into trouble again, he wouldn’t lift a finger to help again. You see, twice before that good for nothing has landed into trouble and on both occasions it was Lord Murray who bailed him out. Not this time, and if he comes to know what is going on, I could even lose my job.”

  “But what are you going to do then?”

  Walter sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Howard says he’s still thinking about what I can do to settle the debt. It’s been three weeks now but he’s still not come up with a solution.”

  “I think the man wants you to be so desperate that you will agree to his terms and conditions. Don’t you see, if I’m not wrong, he’s targeting Lord Murray’s estate and the only way to get at it is through you. It’s obvious that a desperate man would do anything and once Howard gets you into a corner, he will make you do things that you never expected to do just to save your sister and nieces. The best thing is to go to Lord Murray and let him know what’s going on.”

  “But what if I lose my job? How will I help my family then?”

  “If you can’t talk to Lord Murray then I suggest you speak to either of his sons. They’ve been through tough times and I know they understand when someone is in dire need. Don’t make yourself a target. Howard wants you desperate enough to jeopardise your job with the duke, and possibly end up in jail.”

  They watched in silence as Howard came towards them. “Elias Cartwright, I don’t see your horses anymore.”

  “No sir, I sold them all after my father died. But usually I come around to see if anyone needs me to train their horses for them.”

  “This gentleman has no horses,” Howard cast a mocking glance at Walter. “In fact, he has nothing of value, save his job.”

  “Everyone has something of value,” Elias said. “When I lost my horses, I thought that was it for me. It was my mother who suggested that I find work as a trainer for other people’s horses, and here I am. It may not be much, but at least it’s still a decent way of earning money.”

  Howard seemed to ponder Elias’s words. He touched his chin and nodded slowly. “Come to think of it, this gentleman has three gentle mares that are of worth to me,” Elias wanted to box the man’s ears for referring to Walter’s family in such a derogatory manner. It was obvious that he wanted to humiliate the poor man, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. “We don’t seem to be coming to an agreement about something.”

  Since Elias didn’t want him to know that he was aware of what he was trying to do to Walter, he shrugged. “I need to take my leave, Lord Combs might be searching for me since I’ve been training his horses.”

  “Yes indeed, run along now and leave us to continue with our discussion.” Elias walked a few steps away and then Howard called him back. “If you ever need some extra work, please let me know. I have some horses that need training and I could do with a man like you.”

  “Yes sir, and thank you
very much. I’ll consider your offer.”

  * * *

  Two days later, Elias had the information he knew would probably put Walter in trouble, but would probably save the duke’s estate from ruin in days to come. After parting from Walter and Howard, he had met with some jockeys and other trainers who were acquaintances and he subtly introduced the issue with them.

  That was when he found out just what Howard was up to. Apparently, he bore some old grudge against the duke but no one knew what it was except that a woman was involved. Some speculated that it was to do with the duke’s dead wife, while others thought it was to do with some other lady. The obvious thing was that Howard wanted to use Walter’s misfortunes to bring the duke down.

  “When Lord Murray was in dire straits, Howard rejoiced. He thought the man was finished and would seek to borrow money from him. In fact, he offered the duke large sums of money but wise man that he is, Lord Murray refused to accept any kind of help,” this was the information Elias got from an old jockey. “Howard intended to get the duke indebted to him and when he was unable to repay because of the high interest, would have forced him to sell his manor and lands to him, or he would repossess them.”

  Elias conveyed all this information to the duke and his sons. “It’s quite apparent that Walter has been a victim in all this. Howard specifically targeted his brother-in-law so he could get to the man who is in charge of your estate, my lord.”

  “What a wicked man,” Mark exclaimed loudly. “Someone should shoot him and rid the world of such a menace.”

  Lord Murray shook his head. “Men like Howard are like a deadly disease which creeps up on people unknowingly. One moment people are fine and in the next they are dropping like flies. The grudge he has against me has to do with the wife of a dear friend of mine. Many years ago, Howard got the lady into a compromising situation and threatened to expose her and her husband unless she agreed to pay him large sums of money. The poor woman was so distraught that she came to ask me for help. Thankfully at the time, I still had some money and helped them out before things got out of hand. Howard never forgave me for interfering and I only found out later that he wanted the lady to leave her husband for him but she wouldn’t. He swore revenge and has been trying to ruin me ever since. When we were down and out of luck, he tried to entice me but I refused. I would rather starve than take a single penny from that man.”