Elizabeth raised her head. “What of the burial master? He is waiting below.”
“I shall attend to all.” Suzanne’s tone brooked no argument. “Fiennes can be interred in the parish cemetery. The remainder can wait until your father arrives.” She helped Elizabeth to her bed and drew the curtains. “Rest now, and we shall speak when you wake.”
Sudden panic seized Elizabeth. She caught Suzanne’s hand. “You will not leave?” It had never felt like a home; if left alone now, it would seem even more desolate. Most of the servants were trustworthy, yet their presence could not ease the solitude that threatened to close in about her.
“If you do not mind, I shall send for Arthur and a trunk. I promise I shall not leave you to face this alone.”
Reassured, Elizabeth leaned back into her pillows and allowed sleep to claim her.
Lady Westland
She made quick work of the burial master’s questions. The body would be removed on the morrow and interred without ceremony. Suzanne almost spat at the sight of the corpse itself, such was the revulsion that coursed through her. Her own bondage to a similar monster had long since taught her the depth of such tyranny. She was glad he was dead—glad her dear friend would no longer live beneath his dominion.
Elizabeth was fortunate. In the short time Suzanne had known her, she had seen how the girl’s natural charm had faded, smothered by a dictatorial husband. Her vivacity and delight in life had dimmed, replaced by a polite reserve and a melancholy submission. Yet those shadows lifted when they were alone. From experience, Lady Westland knew too well that prolonged exposure to a man like Fiennes destroyed more than cheerfulness—it undermined the self entirely.
Elizabeth would escape the worst of the ruin. Perhaps she might recover more swiftly than Suzanne herself had after her husband’s death. Still, there would always be scars; acquaintance with a manipulative and calculating mind always left them.
“Mr Wilkens, a word, if you please.”
The solicitor came at once, his blue eyes anxious. She led him to the study, pausing on the threshold to take in the unnaturally ordered room. Once he had entered, she closed the door behind them.
“Your keys,” she said crisply, extending her hand.
He blinked, taken aback. “Madam?”
“I will not have a thing altered or concealed by you before Mrs Fiennes has seen it. You worked closely with her husband—surely you knew what he was. I cannot trust that you will not act against her interests.”
Wilkens’s shoulders sagged. “I confess I behaved ill, at least at first. Yet months have passed since I realised the error of my ways. It began in Hertfordshire, when the master contrived to ruin Mr Bennet and marry his favourite daughter.”
“And yet you did nothing?” Suzanne walked about the room slowly, pausing to examine the polished desk and matching bookcase.
“What could I have done?” Wilkens’s voice rose with desperate sincerity. “He was my employer. I earned more under him than I might have done in ten years at the dismal office where he found me.”
She pulled a ledger from the shelf and opened it. Neat columns of figures met her eye—tidy, efficient, heartless.Elizabeth will have no difficulty here,she thought, replacing it with care.
“I suppose you may be excused as far as that goes,” she replied, turning to face the man. His expression of regret appeared genuine, and she relented a little. “You knew Mr Fiennes’s affairs better than any other living man.ShouldMrs Fiennes retain your services, you will be expected to speakplainly of every matter—and I do meanevery. The least prevarication will not be borne. Moreover, she requires steadiness—someone of sense to guide her through the coming months. Her babe is due in October. All must be arranged and settled before that time.”
He nodded his agreement. “I give you my word, your ladyship.” He hesitated, then folded his hands before him. “She will not like what there is to find. Everything Mr Fiennes did was within the law, yet he had no conscience. He pursued his ends by means most callous, though never unlawful. His fortune is immense; he gained estates and businesses through others’ debts. His estate in Hertfordshire was one such prize.”
“You meanherestate.” Suzanne crossed her arms, her gaze steady. “Everything he possessed will be divided between Elizabeth and the child.”
“Aye, precisely. Mr Fiennes had no will until he married. I always thought it peculiar—he was so exact in every other aspect of his business save that one.”
Suzanne gave a short laugh. “Men of his ilk have a firm belief in their own infallibility. He likely neglected the matter because he could not conceive of dying.”
Wilkens adjusted his spectacles, blinking behind the lenses. “Be that as it may, his worldly goods now fall to his wife and unborn child under the rules of intestacy. As far as I am aware, he had no other family who might contest the inheritance.”
“Very good. You may withdraw for the day. Have you lodgings elsewhere, or did you reside here?”
“I have a room in the house. Mr Fiennes preferred me at hand at any hour.”
Suzanne inclined her head. “And the two hulking brutes he employed? Where do their loyalties lie?”
“Kane and Sloan are loyal to whoever pays them.” He gave a helpless shrug. “Mr Fiennes engaged them after one client took exception to his conduct and attacked him.”
That will not do,Suzanne thought. Elizabeth must be surrounded by those whose fidelity is not purchased by coin alone.“Will they present a difficulty?”
Wilkens looked uncertain. “I cannot say, madam.”
