Yes, her parents had seemed fond of her, but they were her parents. It was their duty. She fought back the rising tears. In the last week or so, she’d noticed her insane lack of decorum. For some unknown reason, she’d been a bit emotional and teared up at the most embarrassing moments. Colleen had decided the stress of her new station in life was causing her erratic emotions. That and being in love with a man who didn’t return the feeling.
She had reached the top of the stairs that led to the first floor, not remembering most of the trip there. Straightening her spine, she took a deep breath. She did not want to socialize today, but she would do her duty. She owed it to Victoria and Anna for welcoming her as one of their own. And her friendship with Cicely, although still in the first stages, was something she had come to appreciate. And Sebastian…
The winding staircase was abandoned, and as she neared the bottom, the noise of the people gathered in the drawing room rose in volume. She fought down the rising nausea. She could do this. She would do this.
Strange, she thought, that there were no footman at the bottom as usual. Before she could register that fact, she felt a hand in the center of her back. Then, she was falling, almost flying through the air. She landed on her side on the thick Persian carpet. Sharp pain radiated from the side of her head as the light grew dim. There was a shadow off to her left. She opened her mouth and tried to raise her head to see who it was, to call for help. Her head throbbed and every bone in her body ached. The moment she moved, the nausea returned. She thought she heard someone calling her name, then her vision dimmed and she thought nothing at all.
*
Sebastian downed the brandy, some of the best that could be bought, and sighed with satisfaction. Before both he and Daniel had gone to clean up, Daniel had summoned Jenkins. After a quick washing, he borrowed some clothes from Daniel. They’d regrouped in his library.
Daniel swirled the amber liquid in his snifter. “Now, explain why you do not want to tell Colleen.”
Sebastian sighed and looked over the rim of his glass at his best friend. He didn’t know how to explain to him, his oldest friend in the world, the fierce protectiveness he felt for a woman he barely even knew. Daniel had watched the whole horrid incident with Elizabeth. He’d warned Sebastian not to rush into the marriage. He’d not liked Elizabeth, and she had returned the feeling. If he told Daniel now, Sebastian worried he’d get much the same speech about the foolishness of his actions. And explaining it might… Well, Sebastian didn’t want to face that just yet. He didn’t want to face the feelings that had been almost overwhelming him the last few weeks.
“I do not want her to worry. Her trip here has been so stressful, then the late nights and the galas. I’m not certain her strength has fully returned yet. Besides, she has grown very close to my mother and sister. I cannot be sure she wouldn’t tell them.”
“I think if you explain the situation, she would heed your wishes.”
Daniel’s defense of Colleen surprised him more than his own feelings of protectiveness. “But she is a woman, and women do tend to gossip.”
He didn’t expect the sharp bark of laughter from Daniel and winced when it bounced off the walls.
“You are talking about your wife, Colleen, correct?”
His irritation pushed the edge of anger. “Yes, you know I am.”
“Colleen is probably one of the most levelheaded women—people—I know. I have a feeling if you went to her, explained the situation—”
“No.”
“Just that?” Daniel shrugged. “Just no?”
Sebastian nodded curtly. He couldn’t respond. Panic had joined the irritation, and they marched hand in hand causing him to take another swig of brandy. He didn’t want to say what he was really thinking. Telling Colleen might be ideal. Unfortunately, Sebastian couldn’t be sure the woman wouldn’t abandon him because of the threat. Truthfully, he wouldn’t blame her, but he didn’t want to take that chance.
“No. That is final. She’s my wife. It is my decision.” When Daniel looked ready to argue, Sebastian turned their conversation in another direction. “What I can’t figure out is, why like this? What is so important that they get the title now? They have had years to do this. Hell, my father has been dead for years, so the elimination could have been drawn out and not made to look so deliberate.” He shook his head. “This is the act of someone who is very desperate.”
The image of his uncle rose up like a rat from the gutter. Lazy, irritating and downright disgusting. It was well known that he kept mistresses and didn’t try to hide that fact from his wife, Prudence. He was sure there was a case to be made that the woman drove his uncle to taking mistresses, but Sebastian still didn’t agree with flaunting it in front of her.
“Your uncle is not the most likeable of characters.”
He nodded, realizing that his friend was thinking much along the same lines as he was. “No, but there is one thing…he is lazy. He would never take time to plan something like this. He is not intelligent enough to come up with the plan. That is the strange thing. If he is the one behind it, someone else is there with him.” It wasn’t as if Sebastian had spent the last six weeks sitting around, but with so many dead ends, his frustration was mounting. “It could be him, or it could be someone else.”
“You don’t think he could do it?”
“Not by himself, no.” But who? And why? The time line simply did not make sense to him. He shrugged. “I suppose it could be him.”
“It would be hard to track every one of these damn cousins. You Wares are a prolific bunch.”
Sebastian smiled. “There is that. I fear that my father was a disappointment to my grandfather.”
“So it could be any of them, but I would gather someone at the top?”
Sebastian sobered. “Yes. I am lucky I was bashed on the head and left for dead. Otherwise, it would be my death they were investigating. I just don’t see how they weren’t going to draw attention to themselves this way.”
“You are sure it isn’t James? He would be the one who would gain the most.”
“He doesn’t need the money, or I would think not. Jenkins is making some inquiries. But all the sons were well taken care of. Grandfather believed in making certain all members of his family had money and land.”
“So why isn’t Cicely married? I would think she had a nice dowry.”
Sebastian grimaced as the image of his younger cousin came to mind. Small boned, and a bit on the mousy side, she had quietly accepted Colleen as a cousin. The two women seemed to have formed a bond of some sort, both of them being bluestockings and Cicely on her way to being the spinster Colleen had been.
“She didn’t take. She’s been out for five years and has yet to have an offer that I know of. Pity, she is a nice sort of chit.” He sighed. “Her mother is a detractor. Would you want her for a mother-in-law even if a fortune came attached?”
Daniel grinned. “I don’t want any mother-in-law, but that is just me. However, I do see what you mean.”
Sebastian didn’t return the smile, knowing the life of a spinster with a mother like Prudence would not be pleasant by any standards. “As I said, she is a nice enough chit, but even I can tell she hates social occasions.”
There was a knock at the door and Dobbins, Daniel’s butler, announced Mr. Jenkins had requested a meeting with Sebastian.
“You have news?” Sebastian asked once Dobbins backed regally from the room.
The runner glanced at Daniel. “You can trust him.”
He hesitated for only a moment to give Daniel a thorough study. “Well, my lord, I can’t seem to shake this idea that your uncle is involved in this someway. So I have been tailing him. He has had some interesting chats with the Duke of Ethingham of late.”
“Ethingham? What would he have to do with Uncle James?”
“Now, you see that was my question and what I wanted to ask you. Why would he meet with the man three times in two weeks? I’m not talking social occasions wher
e they might accidentally bump into one another, either. And then there is His Grace’s peculiar interest in your wife.”
Sebastian forced his calm. “He has approached her on several occasions, true. But there is nothing to that. He tries to dally with many married women. I am not worried about Colleen.”
“But did you know he has been sniffing around her background, looking for things?”
His blood ran hot at the idea that Ethingham had been courting his wife. What he had said was true. He knew Colleen would never stray from their marriage, but the idea of Ethingham investigating her background…
Sebastian’s blood shifted and chilled. “You say the man has been checking into her background? Her heritage you mean?”
“Yes. The only thing I can think of is that your uncle might be trying to set the course for challenging your marriage.”
He shared a glance with Daniel, but neither one of them said a thing. Still, the wily runner picked up on it. “There isn’t a reason he could take to court, is there, my lord?”
“No.” Daniel had taken care of the documents. “But why would Ethingham be involved?”
“It is said His Grace can get fixated on what he wants and won’t give up until he succeeds. If your wife is what he wants—”
“He would be in a situation to take control of her life if I was out of the picture, and she was no longer the countess.” He sighed. It seemed far-fetched, but he would have never guessed his uncle and cousin would be murdered for their title. “But couldn’t they just be planning to kill Colleen as well?”
Even though it had been his words, they struck him to the core. His marriage to her had put her in danger.
“Yes, but unless they can arrange for an accident to take the two of you out, it would be even more suspicious. Discrediting her might be an easier way.”
Daniel chimed in. “Think about it, Sebastian. If there is another death, and it involves Lady Colleen, it would be odd. Well, more than odd. And you know he can’t take a chance with her being with child. That would make him lose any hope of claiming the earldom. Discrediting her claim would give him the earldom.”
For a second, his mind wandered. All the talk of Colleen pregnant brought up the image of her swollen with his child. A sense of rightness swept through him. He shook it off when he noticed the two men were staring at him.
Clearing his throat, he said, “That might work, but I just don’t see the connections. And why would he care about his daughter making a match? James cares of no one but himself.”
“Unless he wants her out of his hair. He doesn’t want to be saddled with Prudence and Cicely,” Daniel offered.
“There is something else, my lord. Your uncle is done up.”
That caught both his and Daniel’s attention. “I thought you said he did all right.”
The runner shifted his weight in the chair. “No. Your uncle likes the tables, he does. And he apparently has been losing a lot of money. His streaks have been bad.”
Sebastian leaned forward. “Really?”
“There is even speculation that might be one of the reasons his daughter isn’t married.”
“You were right, Sebastian,” Daniel said.
He sighed and rubbed his temple. “Is there anything else?”
“There is the unfortunate accident today,” Jenkins said. “That was an act of desperation. Everything before has been plotted and planned. That makes me concerned. Your wife may be in danger.”
“You said she wouldn’t be. You said they were probably going to challenge her heritage.”
Jenkins shifted again, apparently uneasy with confronting a peer of the realm. After a few moments, he sighed. “That may have been part of the original plan. But when an individual, a murderer, gets desperate, there is no telling what he or she might do. It is my duty to warn you.”
The “she” caught Sebastian’s attention. “Do you think this might be a woman?”
“Not really, my lord. There is no woman, save your cousin, who would benefit. And though I have seen some strange things happen in my time, I have never seen a woman of her character take charge like that.”
Sebastian nodded. “I’ll have to agree with you on that. Cicely is the type to faint at the slightest of things.” He paused. “Poor Cicely. If James is at the tables, perhaps there is no dowry now. Her hopes are bleak indeed.”
“I would suggest you take some measures, my lord.”
“Measures?”
Jenkins’ gaze grew penetrating. “I have a feeling you have not told your wife.”
Sebastian ignored Daniel’s chuckle. “How would you know that?”
He shrugged. “Most men think women do not need to know things like this. They think they can handle it. That they are protecting the women by not telling them. That might have been well and good in the beginning, but things have progressed, and although I think she was not the initial target, there is no telling what could happen.”
“Colleen does not need to know. We know nothing for certain, and I will not have her all aflutter for conjecture. There is no threat to her life.” And at that moment, he knew he could not stand not having her by his side. It was selfish and stupid, but desperation clawed at his stomach when he thought of her fleeing, running from him.
“My lord—”
The library door flung open and Gerry, one of Sebastian’s footmen, rushed forward.
“I am so sorry, my lord, but this man insisted upon seeing you.” Dobbins’ voice rang of indignation and censure. “When I refused, he ignored me.”
The sight of the tall, thin Dobbins trying to drag Gerry, who was built like an ox, out of the room brought a smile to Sebastian’s lips.
“My lord, Lady Victoria bade me to find you,” Gerry shouted.
“I will remove him in a moment, my lord.” Dobbins tugged on Gerry’s arm. He didn’t budge.
Daniel laughed. “No worries, Dobbins.”
“Gerry, what did my mother need? I can’t see that it required you to follow me here.”
“I went to your club, my lord, but when I did not find you there, I came here. I was there when my lord stopped by earlier looking for you.”
“What,” Sebastian said, trying not to get irritated with the young man, “did my mother want?”
“She wants you home.”
Sebastian opened his mouth to argue but Gerry’s next words stopped his comment.
“She says that you need to come home. Lady Penwyth, your Lady Colleen, has taken a tumble down the stairs.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Colleen. Wake up.”
Colleen ignored the summons. She didn’t know who it was, but she wanted to be left alone. Every time she even thought of opening her eyes, shards of pain sliced through her head, radiating within her body. Unable to deal with it and the queasiness, her mind drifted back, enveloping her in peace.
“Colleen, I insist you wake up.” Her mother-in-law’s voice cut through the pleasant numbness. A sharp odor tickled her nose. She came awake with a start, the sunlight pouring through the windows, scorching her eyes. The nausea returned. She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Bright…sun.” They were the only words she could formulate. And when had it gotten so bright? Why was she even thinking about that?
“Cicely, shut the drapes.” Victoria again. “You can open your eyes now, Colleen.”
It did feel darker. Slowly, testing the light in the room, she opened her eyes. Above her was the canopy of her bed. How did she end up in her bedroom?
She looked to her left, the area where she had heard her mother-in-law’s voice float from and found Victoria leaning toward her. Struggling to sit up, she upset her stomach again. Worry etched Victoria’s face, and she was so very pale.
“No, Colleen, you must lay down. The doctor should be here any minute.”
“What happened?” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded weak.
“You took a tumble down the stairs. Not very far, thank God, just the last few
steps. His Grace found you lying there.”
Victoria nodded to Colleen’s left. Although it took some effort, Colleen turned her head and it throbbed. Her body almost convulsed from the agony. The room wavered, but she fought the urge to slam her eyes shut again, determined to remain alert. When she completed the task, she was sure she wanted to die. She could not deal with the pain. But she focused her gaze on Ethingham.
She licked her lips. “Your Grace. Thank you so much for saving me.”
His frown turned darker, his face no longer the vision of a carefree rake. “I did nothing to save you, my lady. I found you lying there at the base of the stairs.”
“Still.” She swallowed another wave of nausea. “I would thank you for your assistance.”
“My Lady, Dr. Watkins is here.” The voice was familiar, a footman, but Colleen didn’t even want to try to think. Thinking hurt.
“Dr. Watkins. Please, come in.” After a rustle of silk, her mother-in-law entered into her line of vision and spoke to a plump, rather jovial-looking man.
“My lady,” Ethingham said, taking her hand. His blue grey eyes studied her, concern evident and overwhelming. “I will take my leave, but if you find yourself in a situation where you need help again, please, remember to call on me. At any time.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
After staring at her for a moment longer, he nodded and took his leave. She had the strangest sensation there was more to his comments than just a simple offer. The burning intensity in his eyes had struck her as determined. Determined for what, she had no idea, and at the moment she didn’t care.
Victoria drew the older gentleman to the side of her bed. “Colleen, this is Dr. Watkins. He is going to take care of you.”
“I’m fine, really.”
Victoria shook her head. “No, darling, you need to have him examine you and make sure nothing else is wrong. Please.”
Her fine blue eyes, so much like Sebastian’s, showed her concern so Colleen relented. “Of course.”
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