Edward listened in amazement. One of the things that struck Edward was how silent Niki could be. That begged the question as to where these boys learned to rattle away as though it were their last day on earth.
“This is our favorite,” Christopher informed Edward once they were in the barn. “His name is King. Uncle Walker rides him.”
“He’s a fine horse,” Edward agreed, taking in the proud head and neck on the black-and-white stallion. “What horse do you ride?”
“We don’t ride yet.” Richard was the one to volunteer this information. “But we go in the pony cart sometimes. Mama drives.”
“Does she? Well, that must be fun.”
Edward sat down on a bench outside the building, a bit of sunlight coming through the clouds. It hadn’t rained yet, but the sky was mostly overcast.
The boys sat on either side of Edward, falling quiet for a moment. When he glanced at them, however, he noticed that they kept stealing glances at his boots.
“Shall we go for a walk,” Edward suggested, “or do you want to sit awhile?”
The boys were off the bench so fast that Edward laughed. Rather loath to move from his sitting position, he rose slowly from the bench and began to follow the small blond boys, who seemed to know where they were going.
They weren’t even a stone’s throw from the barn when Edward spotted Niki heading their way. Edward removed his hat as she approached, greeting her loudly enough that the boys turned and saw her.
“We’re going on a walk!” they told her, rushing over to be close.
“With Edward!”
“Sounds fun. May I come along?”
The boys were all for this, and in very short order Edward and Niki were walking side by side, the boys skipping and dawdling ahead of them in turn. They were oblivious to the adults at their heels, and when Edward sensed this, he began to question Niki.
“Where do the boys stay while you’re traveling?”
“With friends.”
“Clearly friends you trust,” Edward commented.
“Most assuredly.”
“But you’re in Collingbourne right now. Did something happen?”
“No. I just felt it was time for a change.”
The answers were noncommital. Edward somehow thought she would volunteer more. He was quiet for a moment. As he was asking himself if his questions should be more specific or if he should drop the idea of learning more, Niki volunteered a question of her own.
“Is that all? I assumed you’d want to know a good deal more.”
Edward chuckled. “And I was wondering if I should be more specific or give up pressing you.”
“Ask anything you wish. When we were in Portugal, my only fear was that Pomeroy’s men had hired you to gain my confidence.”
“Who is Pomeroy?”
“A French agent, hired by my mother-in-law.”
Edward came to a stop so he could look at her. Niki looked back, her face open as she watched him. From the corner of his eye Edward caught that the boys had stopped and were looking at them. He made himself move on, Niki falling into place beside him.
“Why would she do such a thing?” Edward asked, his voice telling of his confusion.
“She wanted the boys. She still wants them. She desires to raise them for her own.”
“I think now is the time I’ll ask you to tell me the whole story.” Edward glanced toward her. “Will you, Niki?”
“Yes, as long as the boys aren’t nearby.”
Both Edward and Niki watched as they stopped to look in a hole, but when they moved again, she began to talk.
“My husband, Louis Bettencourt, died suddenly. The boys were very young—just babies. The doctors said it was his heart. I was crushed and shaken, but my mother-in-law was devastated. She wouldn’t eat for days. I felt sure she would die as well, but some weeks after the funeral, she rallied and became more herself. What I didn’t realize was that she had lain there in her bed and made plans to take my sons from me.
“That first year we nearly lived with her at her estate outside of Paris. We had our own home, but it seemed to give her comfort to have us near, and she was usually very kind. But after a year had passed—the boys were just past their first birthday, and I had stopped wearing black—she encouraged me to go and do some things, telling me to leave the boys in her care.
“I didn’t see it then, but she wanted me absent from them as much as possible. I did travel some, but I missed them so much that I was often back before planned. Then she asked me to visit a friend who had written that she was unwell. I did as she asked, and through one pretext or another, I was gone for more than two months. The boys barely knew me when I returned, and I hadn’t been back in her home a week when she asked me to travel again. I was ready to say no, but she cried and told me how unwell she was, and as Louis’ wife I must visit this elderly aunt.”
Niki had to stop. The pain of that time came back to her with surprising force. She had been so naive and trusting.
“You don’t have to go on,” Edward said quietly, thinking that it must have been awful.
“I want to,” Niki said, finding it true even as memories flooded back. “I returned as swiftly as I could, but it was too late. Mrs Bettencourt had taken the boys and moved to an undisclosed place. Only servants were left at the estate, and it looked as if she’d disappeared from the face of the earth and taken my sons with her.
“At first I was immobile with my grief. I didn’t know what to do or where to turn. My father wasn’t well and died shortly after this time, never knowing that his grandsons had been taken. When that happened, I realized I was fully alone. I knew I would have to find the boys on my own. And that’s what I did.”
“Mama!”
“Yes, Chris.”
“The creek is ahead.”
“All right, go on but do not get wet. Stay well back until we get there.”
The boys shot off with energy to spare, and Niki picked up the pace a bit to keep an eye on them.
Edward could see that the rest of Niki’s story would have to wait. His mind scrambled with the facts she’d offered. As they joined the boys alongside the slow-moving, still very cold stream that ran through the Blackburn property, he asked what he thought to be a safe question.
“How are you old enough to have five-year-olds?”
Niki smiled. “I was married when I was 16 and had the boys a year later.”
“How old was your husband?”
“Significantly older, more than 12 years.”
Edward looked thoughtful, and Niki couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking.
“Edward,” Christopher suddenly called. “Come and see the water.”
Edward moved ahead without seeing the surprise on Niki’s face. She followed a little more slowly, and by the time she reached the banks of the creek, the three “men” had hunkered down to look for fish, careful to keep their knees out of the mud.
“Let’s cross the bridge!” was Christopher’s next suggestion. “Come on, Edward,” Richard begged, and this time Niki spoke up.
“Tell me they are not calling you Edward,” she demanded.
Edward only smiled at her and went after the boys, who had already reached the small footbridge.
“Come with us, Mama,” was the next call, and Niki lengthened her stride to keep up. She wanted to talk about this discourtesy immediately but could see that she was the only one distressed by it. She crossed the bridge behind the threesome, and for a time just listened.
“Look at that fish! Did you see it?”
“I did see it,” Edward told Richard. “It was big.”
“We don’t like to eat fish,” Christopher informed him, “but Gar does.”
“Does he?” Edward asked, his voice giving nothing away.
“Do you know Gar?” Christopher asked.
“I don’t believe I do,” Edward had to tell him.
“He takes care of us when Mama travels.” Richard supplied this.
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“With Juliana,” Christopher added, pulling at a weed with his small fist.
“They keep us safe so no one can take us from Mama.”
Edward had all he could do not to look at Niki. He didn’t think the boys knew of this and wondered if she’d overhead.
“Look at this rock!” Richard suddenly said, his hand going out to grasp the stone that filled his fist.
“Let me see,” Christopher demanded, but Richard held it away from him. “Let me, Rich,” Christopher tried again.
“No.”
Niki stepped in, holding her hand out. “Please, give me the rock.”
Richard did so, but not before glaring at his brother. Niki didn’t miss this, and, without even glancing at the rock, addressed her angry son.
“What’s the problem, Richard? Why wouldn’t you allow Christopher to see your rock?”
“I found it.”
“What does that matter?”
The little boy’s lip protruded a bit, and he looked on the verge of tears. Niki waited patiently for an answer, but none was forthcoming.
“Did you think Chris would lose it?”
“No.”
“Then why can’t he see it?”
“It’s mine. I found it.”
“It would still be yours,” Niki said logically. “It’s in my hand right now, but it’s still yours.”
Richard began to calm. He looked at his brother and then back to his mother’s hand. “I’m sorry, Mama. I’m sorry, Chris,” he stated repentantly.
Niki gave him the rock. As soon as it was in his hand, his twin crowded close for a look. Richard let him look before glancing up at his mother.
“That’s much better, Rich. Thank you.”
Her approval went a long way. The little boy smiled up at her in relief and even handed Christopher the rock to hold.
Edward had stood back during this exchange. He’d wandered a slight way off but returned when he found Niki’s eyes on him. The boys walked farther along the creek bed, Christopher looking for a rock of his own. Once again Edward found himself able to have private conversation with Niki.
“Did Richard surprise you with his observation?”
“Completely. I assumed they didn’t know a thing.”
“Are you bothered that they know?”
“I’m not certain. I rather wish Gar or Juliana had warned me. I’ll have to find a way to ask the boys about it.”
For a moment they walked in silence, but Edward still had too many questions to remain mute.
“Why all the moving around, Niki?” Edward asked. “How does that keep Mrs Bettencourt from finding the boys?”
“She tries to track them through Osborne,” Niki began, and then realized it was much larger than this. Before she could go on, Edward had another question.
“What of these friends, Gar and Juliana? Doesn’t Mrs Bettencourt go after them?”
“No. She doesn’t know they exist. You see, I never mentioned having a friend named Juliana Wood, since I hadn’t thought about her in years. We hadn’t seen each other since we were in school. After Mrs Bettencourt had taken the boys, I chanced to run into Juliana. She had married Edgar Lawton by then, and I met him as well.” Niki paused and tried to gather her thoughts, suspicious that she sounded as disjointed as she felt. “When I told Gar and Juliana what I was going through, they offered to help. Well,” Niki continued, choosing her words, “‘help’ doesn’t actually describe how involved they have become. And you can only understand that if you realize that Gar Lawton is unlike any other man I’ve ever met. He’s a complete eccentric. He thinks moving about and keeping the boys safe is a great adventure. They’ve moved six times in the last three years, both in France and England, just to accommodate the boys and me. Pomeroy’s men have never found the Lawtons. They follow Osborne, but he always loses them before he gets back.
“And added to all of that, the Lawtons, Denley, and I all have other friends involved. These friends get mail to a central place so we can retrieve it, and that also helps me keep the boys safe.”
“Why do you not just confront your mother-in-law?”
“I tried that, but it did no good. My search took me back to the estate outside of Paris, and Mrs Bettencourt was actually there. To my chagrin, the boys were not. She had lost all charm at that point and told me with complete confidence that I would never see my sons again, and she would raise them as her own.
“The authorities did next to nothing, telling me it was my word against hers. From that point, I began to follow her. When I discovered where the boys were, months had passed. Gar, Juliana, and I sneaked in and took them away in the night. It was horrible. I don’t know how my mother-in-law had managed it, but they were terrified of me. They cried for their grandmother for nearly a week before they began to settle. It was some time before we became a family again. They were so little and frightened all the time. They’ll never be able to tell me what they went through, and short of my death, I’ll never allow her near them again.”
Edward thought it the most astounding story he’d ever heard. It was nothing short of beastly to take a woman’s children from her. Edward had seen Niki with her sons, albeit briefly, but enough to recognize that she was a kind and loving mother. The elder Mrs Bettencourt could not have been thinking with anyone but herself in mind.
“So you go about disguised as a man,” Edward said thoughtfully.
“Denley and I came up with that, since it seemed to throw my trackers off the path.”
“Why not just stay tucked away with the Lawtons?”
“Because no one is safe forever. People talk. Servants and delivery folk share inconsequential details that seem harmless at the time, but they all lead to clues when you’re tracking someone. Mrs Bettencourt has the resources to keep looking forever, which means I have to be very careful.”
“How long will you stay here?”
“For as long as I can.”
“Do the Walkers know the details of your plight?”
“Yes. Aunt Mary hasn’t even written her children to tell of my visit. The smallest thing can lead to discovery.”
“And if you have to leave here?”
“We’ll go back to the Lawtons.”
“What if they’re found out?”
“They’ll move.”
“Then where will you go?”
“Wherever they are.”
Edward looked at her.
“You have every detail in place.”
“I have no choice.”
“But what of a normal life, Niki?” Edward couldn’t help but ask. “What of school for the boys? When will they know a real home?”
Niki’s smile was a bit sad.
“No home is worth our separation. When the boys are a little older and not so vulnerable to abduction, I’m sure I’ll be able to do things differently, but not now. Not yet.”
The boys were coming back to join them. Christopher’s feet were wet, and he was cold. Niki had a few words with him about stepping into the water, but even at that it was time to return to the house.
Again Niki listened as her sons chatted away to Edward, seeming never to run out of words. They talked to him all the way back to Blackburn Manor, until Denley appeared and ushered the boys away to wash and change.
“They’re so talkative,” Edward commented, his eyes twinkling. “And I know they don’t get it from you.”
Niki laughed a little.
“Gar talks a great deal, and so does Juliana. They’ve been with them most of their lives.”
Several things came to mind when Niki said this, but the sad note Edward heard in her voice caused him to fall silent. When Henry arrived on the scene not a minute later to meet Niki and tell Edward he was ready to leave, the younger Steele felt as if both he and Niki had been rescued. It was a lot to take in, and suddenly Niki looked tired too.
The Steele brothers soon said their goodbyes and exited. Henry was quiet in the coach, but almost the moment they arrived
home, he asked Edward for every detail.
Newcomb Park
“She must have an impressive level of unlimited resources,” Henry said over dinner that evening before they could even begin to eat, causing Edward to laugh.
“We spoke of Niki Bettencourt for an hour this afternoon. Have you been thinking about her all day?”
“Off and on, yes. I mean, to live as she does, she must have income from somewhere.”
“True, but that never came up.”
“Is this Lawton fellow a relative, did you say?”
“No, he’s married to Niki’s old school chum.”
“Have you always called Mrs Bettencourt, Niki?”
Edward smiled. “No, I first called her Mr Osborne.”
“You know what I mean, Edward. I just noticed that you call her Niki.”
“I do, don’t I?”
“When did that start?”
Edward tried to think and ended up shrugging, unable to remember.
The conversation moved on to several topics, including a letter from their sister, Charlotte Barrington of Bath. Edward attended to Henry’s comments and even had thoughts of his own to share, but the fact that he called Niki by her nickname lingered in his mind for the remainder of the evening.
Blackburn Manor
As she tucked the boys into bed that night, Niki’s movements were slow and thoughtful. She knew the boys were tired and ready for sleep, but she also knew that she would not get much rest if she didn’t question her son about his comment to Edward.
“Hey, Rich,” Niki asked, her voice calm and undemanding, masking the small flutter of emotion that moved inside of her. “Do you remember what you told Mr Steele today?”
“About what?”
“About why you stay with Gar and Juliana.”
“Oh, yeah, so we’ll be safe.”
“What has Gar told you about that?”
“I don’t know,” the little boy answered, looking uncertain.
“He said that we can’t trust everyone,” Christopher put in, his eyes on his mother. “He said that if we wandered off, someone might think we didn’t have a family who cared, so they might take us home and put us in their family.”
“And you would cry if that happened,” Richard added, now understanding what his mother wished to know.