Evermore (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #3)(35)

"What happened to change your mind?" I asked. "Why didn't you write then?"

"You met another woman," Celia said. "It's understandable. You must have been lonely."

"There was no one else. Never, ever anyone else."

Celia's breath hitched, but only I could have heard it.

"I didn't write because my situation grew worse. I went to prison."

"Prison!" Cara and I cried in unison.

Celia's cup fell to the floor. It was empty, fortunately, but she did not move to retrieve it. I picked it up and set it on the table. She'd gone quite pale.

"If I wasn't a failure before, then I was certainly one then. How could I support a wife from prison? How could I ever face her? I decided writing would have to wait. Indeed, I admit that I lost all hope of ever seeing your mother again. I was determined to give her up and I hoped she would forget me in time. It was for the best."

"She never did," I said, but I wasn't sure what was in my mother's heart. She'd never spoken of Louis. If anything, she seemed more in love with Celia's father as the years wore on. Poor Louis. Pining for a woman who did not care for him as much as he cared for her. Such a tragedy and a waste.

"What did you do to be sent to prison?" I asked.

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A riot started at a mine where I worked. Conditions were terrible and the pay poor. Many resented it and some decided to take action one night after drinking too much. They stormed the manager's office, broke windows and furniture, and stole some of the gold. Although I didn't participate, I was nearby when it happened, and was identified."

"How could they identify you when you didn't do anything?"

He shrugged. "That's the way it is when these things happen. Whenever there's chaos, witnesses become unreliable."

"Why didn't you fight the charge?" Celia cried. Tears shone in her eyes, but I'd wager they were tears of anger and frustration, because those were precisely the emotions warring within me.

"How can you be so...so calm about it all?" I asked.

Louis shrugged again. "Sydney's justice system is worse than London's. The wheels grind slowly, and a witness is a witness. I could not prove I wasn't there, so his testimony stood. It's not his fault. He had no malicious intent. It was an honest mistake and I've forgiven him for it. Especially considering whom I met in jail. It wasn't all bad in the end."

"Don't keep us in suspense!" I said when he didn't go on.

He smiled. "I met Harry in prison. He was the man who would become my business partner. We became good friends, perhaps because we were both innocent. Harry was wrongly convicted of theft by his own brother-in-law. In his case, the witness was malicious and deliberately gave false evidence. His brother-in-law wanted Harry out of the way so he could manage their joint business and reap all the profit. They had a large shop in the center of Sydney where they sold all sorts of things from haberdashery to groceries. When we both completed our jail terms, we decided to leave Sydney and start a similar shop in Melbourne in the south. That was two years ago and I return to London a prosperous man now."

"And a free one," I said, grinning. "Goodness, what a tale! Oh, what about the time you saved a man's life? Was that Harry?"

"Ah, that," he said, turning gloomy. "There was another prisoner with us who wasn't on good terms with anyone." He glanced at Cara and I suspected he was tempering his story for her sake. "Harry accidentally knocked the other prisoner's plate over during mealtime. He set upon Harry and would have killed him if I hadn't stepped in. The prisoner died some hours later in the infirmary from his injuries." He lowered his head. "That's another thing I've regretted every day since," he said quietly.

"But it was in self-defense."

"It still weighs heavily on my conscience."

"I'm sure your friend is glad you were there," Celia murmured. "You should not regret an action that saves another, better man. Emily called you noble." She lifted her chin. "I agree with her."

"Thank you. That means more to me than...well, than most things."

"I have a very brave brother," Cara said. "Tell me more about New South Wales. Is it very wild?"

"Much of it, yes. Victoria too. That's the colony in the south where I live now. Melbourne is its main center and a bustling, lively place it is these days. There is so much vibrancy there, so much hope. You can see it in the new buildings going up all over the place and in the eyes of the people too. I would love you to see it. All of you."

"Can we go, Celia?" Cara said. "Can we? Pleeeease."

"Absolutely not! The colonies are on the other side of the world. The voyage alone could kill you."

"Celia," Louis said, "don't dampen her enthusiasm. The voyage is not so bad if you can afford a decent cabin on the ship. And I can afford it."

Celia stood and held her hand out to Cara. "Don't be ridiculous. Our lives are here. No one is moving to the end of the world. London suits us perfectly. We have a thriving business of our own here and we cannot abandon it."

The strain in her voice was faint, but it was there. I doubted Louis would have heard it, not knowing that our business was in trouble. I certainly did, loud and clear.