He had hoped he would be able to get to Axelle and tell her what he had learned before any trouble ensued, but now, with the apprehension that had suddenly seized him out of nowhere, he realized he could be too late, and he pulled on the reins, urging his horse to go faster than it had ever done even as he silently prayed that he was wrong in his suspicion.
Please let me be wrong.
She had been right, after all, Axelle thought as her memory returned to her.
For a few moments after she had opened her eyes, she had been confused, not knowing where she was or why her wrists were suddenly bound behind her, but then, as her mind cleared along with her vision, she realized that Lady Caroline had most likely taken her captive, probably because she suspected that Axelle learned her terrible secret.
The terrible secret that she had killed Anne.
Striving to keep herself calm and ignoring the dull ache at the back of her head, she looked around the room, noting that she seemed to have been taken to an old, abandoned cottage. In all her rides, she had never spotted such a cottage and so she could only surmise that the cottage was on Westbury grounds and if only she could free herself, she could find a way back to the Ravenhall estate and find someone who could bring her somewhere safe until Reeve returned.
She tugged at the ropes and when it was clear they were thick and firmly tied, she tried to get up and look for something sharp with which to cut them. Much to her relief, she found a piece of glass from a broken window and was about to start cutting the rope when she heard footsteps, making her sit down against the wall in order to give whoever entered the impression that she had just regained consciousness and had not moved.
“So you’re awake,” Lady Caroline said, regarding her with an air of superiority and disgust, as if she was an insect she had stepped on, soiling her dainty slippers. “I would advise you not to attempt to escape from here nor to hope that anyone would come rescue you. Very few know of this cottage, which is the only one on this side of the river and there is only one boat to get across.”
She frowned but did allow herself to be discouraged, her hands continuing to work on cutting the ropes with the shard of glass she had found.
Thinking that she had to bide as much time as she could, she asked, “What are you planning on doing with me?”
Lady Caroline smiled in amusement. “What makes you think I’ll be doing something to you?”
“Well, you certainly didn’t bring me here for tea,” Axelle answered.
“You certainly have a bit of spite in you, and a lot of courage, I’ll give you that much,” Lady Caroline said, stepping forward. “But unfortunately, you lack wisdom.”
“You mean I was too cunning that I discovered your secret?”
Lady Caroline snorted. “Cunning? If you were truly cunning, you wouldn’t be here as my captive, would you? You were simply fortunate, or should I say, you were most unfortunate to have stumbled across the things you have.”
“My husband did say I had a penchant for getting into trouble.”
“Sadly, that penchant will be the cause for your demise,” Lady Caroline said. “Poor Reeve. It seems he will be losing another wife and again, not so long after marrying her.”
At the thought of Reeve’s devastated expression, Axelle felt an overwhelming surge of fear and sadness but she fought to remain undaunted.
“Why did you murder Anne?” she asked as she hastened to free herself. In doing so, she cut herself, making her wince but fortunately, Lady Caroline did not seem to notice it.
“You mean you haven’t figured it out yet?” Lady Caroline asked, amused. “Hmm. Shall I tell you?”
“By all means,” Axelle said. “If you are intent on killing me, you might as well tell me your secret.”
“Very well,” Lady Caroline said, sitting on the only chair in the room, which creaked in protest. “Since I once thought of you as a dear friend, I might as well give you the honor of hearing my tale.”
Axelle was tempted to snort at that but didn’t.
“Where shall I begin?” Lady Caroline paused. “Ah, yes. I remember that night that I learned my husband had been seeing Anne. I always tried to keep track of who my husband brings to his bed, you see, whether she be a noble woman or a strumpet.”
“You watch over your husband?”
“I have someone else do the surveillance,” Lady Caroline admitted. “And then I try to ascertain the situation myself. You see, my husband, fool as he is, likes to keep a token of the women he’s slept with and so I simply search the locked box in his study – of course, he doesn’t know I know about the box – and if I see something new there – I managed to procure a key, of course – then I know my husband has slept with some other woman.”
“So you found out that he was with Anne?”
“I did,” the older countess answered. “And of course, I was furious, but then she got married to the Earl of Ravenhall and I thought she was no longer problem.”
“But you realized you were wrong.”
“After she came here to the countryside, I decided to be acquainted with her simply out of curiosity. She was a pretty little thing, but not very bright and rather meek and timid. She didn’t know who I was.”
Axelle kept silent, trying to listen attentively to Lady Caroline even as she tried to cut through the last strand of rope.
“I couldn’t really see what Gilbert saw in her and then, I decided to just leave her alone.”
“But then you learned she was with child, didn’t you?”
Lady Caroline grinned. “Since I already had three children then, I knew very well how a woman looked like and felt when she was with child. Anne gave every indication of her condition and when I asked her, she did not deny it.”
“You thought it was your husband’s child.”
“Hush,” Lady Caroline told her. “Allow me to tell it in my own way.”
Axelle nodded. Silently, she exulted at having finally freed her wrists and decided to wait for the right opportunity to make use of her freedom.
“Since I could tell that she was already a little far along, I knew the child could not be Reeve’s. I knew, too, that Reeve did not know of the child’s existence. Men, after all, are slow to notice something they do not know much about. At once, I made the decision that the child could not be allowed to live. If Reeve knew of it, he would cast her out and she would no doubt come running to my husband and I could not have her ruining the family reputation or blackmailing Gilbert or getting money out of him, especially not when I had daughters.”
Axelle kept silent, waiting for Lady Caroline to finish.
“So one day, while I was riding and she was walking, I gave her a concoction, telling her that it would do her and the babe in her womb good and that I had taken it myself.”
“But it was actually a concoction to make her lose the baby, wasn’t it?” Axelle asked. “You asked Belinda to get you one from her mother and then you gave it to Anne.”
“And fool as she was, she drank it,” Lady Caroline said. “And it killed her.”
“You knew it would kill her,” Axelle told her. “You knew that if a woman was already far along in carrying a child, losing a baby would kill her. You did not just try to get rid of the child. You tried to get rid of Anne.”
“It was the only way,” Lady Caroline said, standing up and approaching Axelle. “Besides, it was better for me if she was gone entirely. She deserved it for having peddled herself to my husband.”
“In all likelihood, it was your husband who approached her.”
“She should have refused,” Lady Caroline said. “As should have all the women who my husband tried to take to his bed.”
Axelle snorted.
“Well, at any rate, that is in the past now,” Lady Caroline said. “My husband will never know he had a child with that woman.”
“He might already know,” Axelle told her. “Reeve went to see him earlier today to talk about Anne.”
At that piec
e of news, Lady Caroline’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped. Then, without warning, she approached Axelle and slapped her hard.
“How…how could you do this to me?”
“Your husband probably already knows you killed Anne,” Axelle said, ignoring the sting from the slap. “And Reeve, too. And if you kill me, he will certainly have you pay for it.”
“He won’t be able to prove anything,” Lady Caroline promised. “And as for your death, I will make it look like an accident, as if you had fallen from your horse, and so he will have no cause to accuse or even suspect me.”
Axelle gritted her teeth. “You will not get away with it.”
Lady Caroline simply chuckled. “Oh, I have gotten away with many things. How can you be sure it won’t be the same with this one?”
“Because I won’t let you.”
At that moment, Axelle got up on her feet, pushing Lady Caroline back before quickly heading out the door, running away from the cottage as fast as she could.
When she arrived at the bank of the river, she spotted the boat and was just about to untie it when she saw Lady Caroline coming with a pistol pointed at her.
Given no choice, she stepped away from the boat and raised her hands, hoping that Lady Caroline would not shoot her.
“Didn’t I tell you not to try and escape?” Lady Caroline said, clearly furious. “Now, you have certainly done something very foolish.”
“No, Lady Caroline. It is you who have done something very foolish and you if you kill me, you will only add to that and your children will suffer for it.”
“Do not talk about my children!” Lady Caroline stepped forward. “I will…”
“Put the gun down, Lady Caroline or I swear I will shoot you,” a voice suddenly interrupted them.
As Axelle turned her head, she saw Reeve dismounting his horse and she was suddenly filled with relief.
“I will shoot your wife first.” Lady Caroline stepped even closer to Axelle, pointing the pistol straight at her temple. “I am warning you, my lord, I am accounted a fair shot and at this distance, I can most certainly have your wife dead in an instant.”
Reeve frowned at that but did not lower his gun.
“Very well.” Lady Caroline grinned. “You can watch your wife die.”
She fired the gun but just as she did, Axelle bent down, missing it. Afterwards, she hurled herself at Lady Caroline, trying to wrestle the gun away from her. She had a hard time, however, since Lady Caroline was stronger than she appeared and the struggle went on for a few minutes before another gunshot went off.
At the sound, Axelle froze, wondering if she had been shot. She did not feel any pain, however, and a few moments later, Lady Caroline collapsed beside her, dropping the gun and clutching at her bleeding abdomen.
“Lady Caroline!” Axelle placed her hand on the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding. She knew she wasn’t supposed to try and save her since Lady Caroline had almost killed her, but at that moment, she could not help but feel some measure of pity for the other woman as she lay dying.
Lady Caroline looked up at her. For a moment, she tried to say something, but failing, she closed her eyes and after a few more seconds, her body lay limp.
Axelle knelt beside her, unable to move. Then, she started sobbing and when she had sobbed all she could, she went to the boat and rowed across the river to throw herself into the arms of Reeve, who held her tightly and pressed tender kisses into her hair.
“Ssh,” he said. “It’s all over now.”
Epilogue
One month later…
Her life was just beginning.
Axelle felt that way as she looked across the grand salon of Ravenhall Manor, which was currently filled with several nobles from London, among them Lord and Lady Ashton. For the first time in years, a ball was being thrown at Ravenhall Manor, Axelle having suggested it to lift everyone’s spirits after the ordeal that she and Reeve had gone through.
At first, Reeve had been against it, not convinced it was what they needed but then, he had been unable to refuse, especially after Axelle had persuaded him in bed.
She smiled at the memory now, even as she admired how beautiful the salon looked with all the lights of the glowing candles and the tapestries she had asked the servants to set up. It was filled with beautiful music, as well, the sound of the violins and the piano drifting out into the garden where some of the other guests, including many of the people who lived within the Ravenhall estate, were.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Reeve said as he approached her and handed her a glass of wine.
“Why not, my lord? There is cause to celebrate, is there not?” She took the glass from him. “Now that Anne’s death has been made clear, she can be laid to rest.”
“It is only a pity that her killer has not been brought to justice,” Reeve lamented.
“She died knowing that her children would grow up all alone without her to guide them,” Axelle said. “I think that is punishment enough.”
Reeve nodded.
“Really, my lord, did you have to ruin my mood by reminding me of her?” Axelle asked.
Reeve grinned. “Forgive me, and don’t worry, I have just the thing to remedy it.”
He led her out of the salon and into his second study, where he took out a package from behind his desk and handed it to her.
Like before, Axelle gasped as she recognized the package. “My lord, is this what I suppose it is?”
“Open it,” Reeve urged.
Smiling, Axelle did as she was told and when she saw the book inside, she gasped again. “My lord, how did you manage to procure this book?”
“I stole it,” Reeve answered.
“You didn’t!”
Reeve grinned. “I was merely jesting. As it so happens, there was something I could offer to Lord Elmsmoor which was worth more than the book.”
“What did you offer him?” Axelle asked curiously.
“Just a small investment,” Reeve said. “At any rate, he agreed to part with the book and now it is yours as it is rightfully.”
“You did that much for me, my lord?”
“Consider it a token of my affection.” Reeve stroked her cheek tenderly.
Axelle smiled, clasping the book to her chest. “How ever can I repay you, my lord?”
“I have an idea.” Reeve gave a mischievous grin. “Open the book.”
Axelle did and when she saw the illustrations on the page, she closed the book at once, her eyes wide with astonishment.
“My lord, this book…”
“Clearly, you have not read this book before,” Reeve said, still grinning as he traced Axelle’s lips with his fingertips. “And I am glad because now you can read it and only share the knowledge you have gained from it with me.”
Axelle’s lips curved into a smile, her grin eyes glistening with mischief and promise. “Well, I shall endeavor not to disappoint you, my lord. I am very good, after all, at learning from books.”
He, too, smiled, feeling more joyous than he ever had in years. “I look forward to it, my dear wife.”
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