Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

T he young maid had jumped up and dropped into a curtsy as though it were an automatic reaction. Then she seemed to really see the newcomer for the first time.

"Mr. Harper? What are you doing snooping about the castle?"

"I needed to—" Harper drew breath, as if to reply, but then faltered. He glanced at Ester, then back to Molly, and the air seemed to leave him. Hands clasped before him, he cast his eyes to the floor.

"You are quite right, of course. It is not my place," he murmured, his tone far more subdued than before. "Ah… what you both must think of me."

Ester found herself exchanging looks with Molly. This was not the response she had expected. Harper was the man she had overheard speaking with Kingsley, talking to him as an equal. Now, he sounded humble and contrite.

"I think you've had quite a head for yourself," Molly chided, sternly, "but this is the house of a Duke and you are the manservant to a viscount. It is not becoming for you to assume you can lord it over His Grace's household. And certainly not over her ladyship."

Molly had puffed herself up as she faced Harper, and Ester wondered what arrogance the man had shown previously that the girl would take such pleasure in this.

"No, no, no. You are quite right, Miss. I have overstepped myself. I ask for your forgiveness as well as yours, your ladyship. A man in the service of the Viscount Kingsley easily gets airs and graces. My master regards himself as superior to most, even those who outrank him. It is a rather upside-down household. One where the lowest rank of gentleman sees himself as higher than a Duke." His face was red and his eyes skimmed from Molly to Ester, never landing for long on either.

"I can quite understand, Mr. Harper. After all, servants take their lead from their employers. If the example set is a bad one, I don't think you can be blamed," Ester said, trying to sound gracious without being condescending. "Now, tell me, what is it that you wished to seek me out for?"

"I… I don't…" Harper shifted uneasily, casting a furtive glance toward Molly before turning back to Ester. His mouth opened, then closed again, as if he were debating whether to speak in her presence.

Ester noticed the hesitation in his eyes and lifted her chin. "Molly is here to stay, Mr. Harper. Whatever you have to say, you may speak freely in front of her."

The weight of her words settled on him, and Harper exhaled slowly. He glanced once more at Molly, then back to Ester, his face tight with unease before he finally spoke.

"Your ladyship... Upon..." His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard. "Upon my honor, I was unaware. I swear on my sainted mother's grave, I knew nothing of his vile intentions. When I dispatched Jerry to retrieve the funds, I believed it merely a matter of settling a debt owed to my master—nothing more. But when I found him an hour ago, boasting about what he tried to do to you..."

He broke off, trembling dangerously as he raked a heavy hand through his hair, his voice dropping to a ragged whisper. "I wanted to kill that vermin. I came so close..." His fists clenched tightly, knuckles white and bruised in the dim light. "But then... then he began spilling about my master, and then… only then, I learned the true reason I had been asked to take money from you. What… what Kingsley tried to..." His face fell, shrouded in shame as he finished, "I had not known the true vile intent behind his demand for that money, Miss Fairchild."

Ester's breath caught, her heart thudding in her chest as Harper's confession unraveled before her. His eyes, raw and vulnerable, met hers earnestly. "Had I known, I never would have been part of it. I am no saint, Miss, but I am no monster. I want out—out from under Kingsley's thumb. But if I leave, he will have me killed, have my… have my family killed." His voice dropped even lower, almost a desperate plea. "I don't know what to do. I… I planned to run away." Just then, he shook his head and steeled himself, his eyes red-rimmed and tearful. "But I could not—not without first seeking your forgiveness, for both myself and that brute I once served under."

Ester realized her mouth had been hanging open wide by the time he was done. Perhaps they had misjudged this man—herself most of all. She thought about the cruelty and violence towards her at the lake. Though such acts were indefensible and not easily excused, the fact that this unknown man risked everything to offer his apologies for the sins of another struck her as… profoundly noble.

"…Mr. Harper. I feel that I have been done harm at your hands and that is difficult to forget. It seems that you are seeking to make amends?" she finally uttered.

Harper shook his head somberly. "To seek to make amends would be cowardly of me. I can only hope for your forgiveness for the part I played in your anguish. I wish I had possessed the knowledge and moral fortitude to act differently sooner. But having been tethered to the service of the Lords of Kingsley since boyhood, I knew no other life. Distrust of my master never found a place in my heart."

"You needn't live in fear of your master any longer," Ester reassured him placatingly. "As for your safety, and that of your families, His Grace the Duke is seeking to bolster his staff. He has tried to run this house for too long with only three. I could speak to him if you wish to be free of your master's malign influence, and I am sure he could ensure the security of your family also."

The hope in Harper's face and the bright smile were impossible to fake. Ester beheld the visage of a man earnestly seeking redemption.

"I cannot promise anything regarding your employment," Ester quickly tempered his burgeoning hope, "but I am prepared to put in a good word on your behalf."

Molly observed the exchange with a skeptical eye, watching Harper carefully. For his part, he stood with head bowed and hands clasped in front of him as though in supplication.

"I come from a humble family," he confessed bitterly, voice tinged with shame, "my father worked the docks on the Thames and my mother was a seamstress. I, having secured a position in the household of a gentleman, was considered to have risen beyond the rest of my family. Higher than any others. It pains me deeply to admit that my rise was built on a deception, serving not an honorable man but a scoundrel. When the time comes, I should be honored to testify against his character, and I would be profoundly thankful for any support you might offer with His Grace."

"Very well," Ester declared, resolved to do her best for this man.

She knew something of living with fear and felt compassion for the man standing before her. Being in service to such a deplorable lord must surely have been a life of constant fear.

"Perhaps it would be best if you took your leave for the moment. Return with your master to his house and speak nothing of our conversation. I will write to you after I have spoken with the Duke. I promise to do all I can on your behalf, good sir," Ester finished.

The gratitude that washed over Harper's face was so profound, so utterly devoid of guile—like that of a positively charmed child, that Ester felt even more assured in her decision. Julian would handle Kingsley, and Harper would soon learn what it meant to serve a truly honorable master. With effusive thanks, Harper left the room and Ester gave a contented sigh. It took a lot for her to be able to forgive him for his part in the tyranny inflicted upon her life.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Molly whispered after he had left.

"I think so," Ester responded quietly, her confidence cautious yet hopeful. "And if not, he will not get a second chance. But, I think that his actions to this point have been the influence of his master working upon him. His readiness to apologize upon discovering the truth speaks volumes of his character."

Was she being too trusting? Perhaps Molly had the right of it. Perhaps it was premature to forgive Harper so soon. But Ester found herself wanting to begin this new chapter of her life with a positive action. So many of her decisions to this point had been dictated by the wicked actions of others as well as her own fears.

"This will be a new beginning for Mr. Harper, Molly. We are beginning anew, why should he not have the same chance? I want to be done with fear and unpleasantness. I want to close this chapter of my life, and never have to live looking over my shoulders again. I cannot thank you and Julian enough. I hope one day soon, when this is all over, we will see each other again."

Molly smiled warmly. "I hope so too, Miss. And I hope the good lord sees fit to finally bestow some happiness upon this house."