Chapter 16
“This was not the way I wished to spend my wedding day,” grumbled Julian as he and Leo rode toward the section of his land that was a strange mixture of marsh and rock. Jake had sent word that he and a ditch-digging crew had found something important, but Julian could not see what of any importance could be found on this desolate piece of land.
“It is hours before you wed. Your mother very cleverly arranged it so that you marry just before the noon hour, thus we can all stumble out of the church, our ears and backside numbed by that word-loving vicar, and head for the table with all the food.”
“What a romantic you are, Leo.”
“I do my best. She is nervous, you know,” Leo said quietly. “She fears she will make a terrible countess. Perhaps you should have spoken to her about that.”
“I would have if my mother had not made sure Chloe was guarded every moment of the day and night.”
Leo laughed. “She is trying to keep you respectable.”
Julian thought his mother was trying to make him suffer, but did not say so. He had been stunned to find that Chloe was not in her bedchamber the night after they buried Beatrice, even more stunned to find out she was not in his, either. At first he had feared that someone had taken her, even that his uncle had somehow stolen her away. He was pleased he had not made too great an uproar because his mother had cheerfully told him that Chloe had been moved to the bedchamber next to hers. The master bedchambers were being readied for after the wedding. Worse, he had been stuck in a small room right next to his aunt. It was clear that a guard had been posted to make sure he and Chloe did no roaming in the night.
“It is a little late for that. And I have no idea why Chloe should think she would make a bad countess. She has been acting the hostess of your home for three years and she is a gently reared woman. Has had all the same teaching and training as my mother.”
“That is what I told her. Do not worry. She will not stand you up at the altar. Just do not make any criticism until she has settled in a bit. It will cut her to the heart. Once she is the countess for a while she will see that she can manage it well enough. Look, that is Jake.”
Julian spurred his horse to a slightly faster pace and rode up to where Jake stood with two other burly men. None of them looked well, all three being surprisingly pale for such muscular and fit men. They all stood in front of a large depression in the ground but he could not see past them enough to see what was in that hollow.
“You sent word that you have found something, Jake?” he asked.
“Aye, m’lord, that we did.” Jake stepped aside a little. “I am thinking we just found us The Pit.”
Cursing softly, Julian dismounted and one of the men quickly stepped forward to take the reins of his horse. Another did the same for Leo’s horse when he, too, dismounted. Julian cautiously walked to the edge of the pit and realized it was a lot deeper, and steeper sided, than he had anticipated. At the bottom were the remains of several people. He was sure that Jake was right in his assumption. They had found the infamous pit.
“Do you know how many are down there?” Julian asked.
“We think it be five, m’lord,” replied Jake. “We counted feet. Got ten. So, five people.” Although he did not move any closer to the edge, Jake did lean forward so that he could peer down into it. “I think that one near the far end, to the right, be Melvin. I recognize them boots. And one of the ones in the middle is Gordon, the butcher’s eldest lad. He went missing about two months past. They could not believe he would leave them but then decided he had trotted off to London. Too many of the young ones do and they never come back. I recognize that coat, as he was right proud of it. I can guess at the others just by recalling who is missing and mayhap, if we get closer, see something that I recognize.”
“Why would they kill the butcher’s lad?”
“He done said no to the lady. Had himself a sweetheart, he did, and he was going to be amarrying her in a month. He was not going to be betraying her in any way. That made m’lady furious.” Jake nodded down at the rotting remains of five men. “This is what he got for being a good, honorable lad who did not want to be no whore’s toy. Beggin’ your pardon, m’lord.”
Julian rubbed a hand over his hair and sighed. “No need, Jake. Let us see if we can get the bodies out of there. Once we know who is in there, as best as we can leastwise, we can tell their families and give them a proper burial.”
“We can do it, m’lord. You got a wedding to be at, eh?”
“Not for a few more hours, and since my mother has locked my bride away for safekeeping, I might as well keep busy.” He found the strength to smile when the men chuckled, but it was fleeting. “Damnation. I think the two of them were as mad as hatters.”
“They certainly were not right in the head near the end, no doubting that.”
Julian and Leo worked alongside the three other men to bring out the gruesome trophies of his uncle and late wife’s reign over Colinsmoor. Guilt was a heavy stone in Julian’s chest. This was but one horrible example of what his people had suffered while he was sunk in drink and whores. Chloe was worried that she would not make a good countess, yet he, a man born to the role, had made a poor earl.
By the time they had dragged up the bodies, Julian was covered in dirt and sick at heart. Jake and his friends had identified four of the bodies from recognizable bits of clothing, and were fairly certain they knew who the fifth one was. Julian looked at the body marked as Gordon, the butcher’s son, a young man in his prime, in love, and murdered by Beatrice because he had told her no. Melvin had been killed because he had tried to do right and tell his lord what was happening. The others had all died for much the same reason, self-preservation or stung vanity. It did not bear thinking about or he would disgrace himself by weeping like a babe.
He had brought this trouble to his people, good honest people whose families had worked for the Kenwoods for generations. Julian did not like to think of all the times he had left Beatrice to handle matters while he went into London to pursue a thriving career in government. He cringed as he thought of the year he had left Beatrice and Arthur in complete control while he had swallowed enough drink to fill the Thames and wallowed in whores. Gordon had been murdered during that time. He had put a knife at the throat of the people of Colinsmoor and then walked away.
Instructing the men to take the bodies to Colinsmoor and contact their families, he hurried back home. He would see that the bodies were buried well with a nice headstone although he doubted that would assuage the grief of those who had lost someone or ease his guilt. Julian cursed himself over and over for a blind fool as he rode.
“It is not your fault,” said Leo.
“No? I am the earl, the owner of these lands. I might be able to excuse myself for being blind in the first few years, but not at the end. I was wallowing in self-pity while my uncle and my wife treated these people like serfs. It is bad enough that I let them rob me blind, but this? How could I not have seen it if I had just paid a little attention to something other than myself.”
“We all pay attention to ourselves, Julian. It is the nature of the beast. And, forgive me, but even at your most wretched, I cannot blame you for not seeing that your uncle and the woman you married were any more than adulterers and thieves. I feel certain that if Melvin had reached you, you would have listened to him and done something.”
Julian wanted to believe that, but seeing those bodies had shaken his confidence in himself. He needed to find the other half of the treacherous pair that had murdered his people and kept the others too afraid to fight or even hope. They all looked to him now to fix things, and he did not deserve their trust.
He struggled to shake off his sadness and guilt as they reined in in front of his home. It was difficult when he could see the small signs of neglect, knowing from the ledgers he had gone through that the money for repairs had gone straight into the pockets of Beatrice and Arthur. He paused just as he opened the door and looked
at Leo.
“Beatrice was wearing no jewelry,” he said.
“What?” Leo looked at Julian as if he thought he might be going a little mad.
“Beatrice could never have enough jewels, yet there was not even a locket on her body.”
Leo cursed. “He stole it all. Has undoubtedly pawned it.”
“Or will soon. Beatrice had not been dead for long. The carrion crows had not even pecked at her yet.”
“As soon as you and Chloe are wed, I will start looking into that matter. Do you have any listing of what jewels she might have had?”
“I have one in my office. When you are ready to look it over, let me know and I can have it for you in minutes. Now”—he took a deep breath and forced aside all thoughts of Beatrice, Arthur, and how badly he had failed the people of Colinsmoor—“it is time for me to be married.”
Chloe winced as she was stuffed into her wedding gown. She did not understand why the dresses were all made for a corseted figure. She hated corsets. There should be gowns for people like her who detested corsets.
“I hope I do not have to take a deep breath today,” she murmured as Lady Evelyn’s maid laced her up. “It might embarrass Julian if I fall over at the altar gasping for air.”
“Hush,” said Lady Evelyn, a laugh clear to hear in her voice. “You look beautiful and you will be all grace and beauty as you kneel by Julian at the altar.”
“From your lips to God’s ears.”
Lady Evelyn stood back and studied Chloe for a moment. “Do you not want to marry Julian?”
“M’lady, I love the fool,” she said bluntly. “If you tell him, I may have to show you all my brothers taught me about playing rough, however.” She exchanged a brief grin with the woman. “I am just afraid. Afraid that he will never care for me as I do for him. Afraid I shall turn bitter if he does not. And afraid that I shall be such a bad countess that I shall shame him.”
“Foolish, all of it. I can help you whenever you have a question about being a countess.” She laughed when Chloe looked at her in shock. “Did not think of that, did you?”
“Nay, so now I shall worry that I am too stupid to be his wife.”
Lady Evelyn ignored that and said, “As for the love? Well, that is hard to comfort you on. I do not know what is in my son’s heart. I will say that despite all the trouble that has plagued the two of you, he is happier than he has been in years. He laughs. He smiles. He makes foolish manly jests. He barely drinks at all. I can promise you that he was ill pleased when I moved you out of his reach for a few days. He pouted as only a man can do. I think you are already an important part of his life. What you make of that is your business.” She gently slipped a rose into Chloe’s hair. “And you are the woman who saved his son and has loved that boy, raised him, and always waited for the time when his father could come and claim him. I do not mean that you should use the great debt he owes you to try and hold him to you; I just point out that he already has enormous respect for you, and that is no small thing. Even better, he trusts you. I can see it.”
“Aye, he told me he did.”
“After the hell that Beatrice put him through, that is probably of more worth to him at the moment than something called love.”
Chloe slowly nodded as she acknowledged the truth of that. When one had been deeply and repeatedly betrayed, someone who could be trusted was more important than anything else. She began to feel a little less uneasy about the step she was taking. She would still like to have him speak of love, but she could wait. She had the foundation. It was time to marry the fool and build the house.
“Well then, I am ready.”
“Good, for I believe I just saw him walk toward the chapel,” Lady Mildred said from her place by the window before turning and looking Chloe over. “And you do look beautiful, child.”
“Lady Evelyn has worked hard.”
“You have a natural beauty. Subtle. It will last and, even more important, if it fades a little as the years pass, you have the deeper beauty that is needed to hold a man to your side. Well, a man like Julian at least. Some men never learn the importance of it and always want more or something new.”
“Sometimes, m’lady, people are just bad and no one and nothing can change it.”
Lady Mildred gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I think I am beginning to understand that sad fact. I but pray that badness does not infect any of my girls.”
“I doubt it. They were raised by you, were they not.”
She smiled. “Oh, child, how can you think you will be a poor countess.” She hooked her arm through Chloe’s and waved to Lady Evelyn to open the door. “Let us go show Julian what a prize he is getting.”
Chloe fought back the nervousness and fear that tried to swamp her as she made her way to the little stone chapel at the end of the garden. Lady Evelyn had given her some very wise advice and she intended to heed it. One thing she was sure of, and that was that Julian would honor the vows he took today. All she had to do was make sure that he never regretted it.
When she reached the inside of the chapel, she had to smile. Anthony stood near the altar carefully holding a little pillow with matching rings on it. The pews were nearly filled between the Kenwoods and the men who worked for Leo, most of who were her kinsmen. Leo looked very handsome as he stood beside Julian, ready to be both Julian’s man and the man who gave her into Julian’s keeping. As she reached the altar, she smiled at Julian’s sisters and cousins, who had all insisted upon being her handmaidens.
Then she looked at Julian and felt the bite of panic. There was a darkness in his eyes, something that looked very much like grief. Did he now realize that he still loved Beatrice?
“Julian?” she whispered as she leaned toward him, unable to stop looking into his eyes as if she could read the answer to her fears there.
Julian knew she had seen the grief and shame he could not bury as deeply as he would like to. It astonished him that she could know him so well. When he saw the fear that darkened her eyes to almost black, he bent down and kissed her on the cheek.
“Hush, my little seer. What you see has naught to do with you or this marriage. It has to do with all that happened at Colinsmoor while Beatrice and Arthur ruled here.”
“What—”
“No. It is dark and unpleasant and I refuse to allow it to intrude on our wedding day.”
Chloe nodded and soon found herself kneeling beside Julian as they exchanged their vows. He spoke in a clear, firm voice, revealing no hesitation about binding himself to her for life. She did her best to sound as confident as he did. When he kissed her, she felt a tenderness in the caress that she had never felt before, and her lingering fear faded away.
The food and drink were joyfully consumed by the guests and Chloe felt her spirits lighten as she wove through the crowd, speaking with each one and accepting their congratulations. She thought it a little amusing that her relatives were all male and, except for Anthony, Julian’s were all females. Knowing what incorrigible flirts her kinsmen could be, she was pleased to see that both Lady Mildred and Lady Evelyn were keeping a very close eye on their daughters. She was just walking up to Leo when Anthony ran up to her and hugged her legs.
“You are looking very handsome today, young man,” she said as she stroked his curly hair. “Very manly.”
“That is what Papa and Leo said. You are my mama now.”
Chloe could not repress the wide smile that spread over her face. “Aye, I am.”
Anthony nodded. “That is what Papa told me, so I comed over to hug my new mama.”
Julian appeared and picked Anthony up. “Where are my thanks for getting you such a beautiful mama?”
“Thank you, Papa.”
“My pleasure.” Julian grinned and winked at Chloe. “Ah, I see that Greta has brought out some very fine cakes.”
“Cakes?” Anthony squirmed to get free even as his father set him down. “I needs to get some or the girls will eatem all.”
“Ah, obviousl
y there are a few gentlemanly manners we need to teach the boy,” he drawled as Anthony reached the table the cakes were on and nudged his way to it through the girls. “Although I can hardly blame him. Greta makes some very good cakes.”
“I will wander over and make the oink noise and that might slow him down,” said Leo. He paused by her side and kissed her cheek. “You make a very lovely bride, cousin. I was almost sorry to hand my burden over to this rogue.”
Chloe gasped in outrage when she felt a distinct pinch on her bottom and she glared at her cousin’s back. Then she had to smile because she knew he had just made the oink noise. Anthony looked at the cake he held in each hand and slowly put one back on the table. The girls were nearly helpless with laughter.
“Did he just pinch your bottom?” Julian asked, leaning close to her ear to speak so that no one could overhear him.
“Aye, he did, and I will make him pay for that sometime soon. That and calling me a burden.”
“Ah, well, now you are my burden.” He laughed when she made a noise that sounded very much like a growl. “Exactly what is the oink noise?”
“Just what you think it is. It is a piglet sound. If you make it when Anthony is being particularly greedy, it slows him down. He put one cake back, did he not?”
“And you do not believe he will go back for it later?”
“Of course he will, but later is better. If he stuffed all he wanted in his little face at one time, he would make himself sick.”
She leaned against him when she realized she could do so now. They were married. Even better, this was their wedding day, and even the most pious could not object to a little show of affection on such a day.
If He’s Wicked Page 22
