Silent Revenge

by Laura Landon

  “I want to know when the opium shipment will arrive.”

  Rosalind lifted her head and laughed. “What kind of fool do you take me for? Do you know what Colin would do to me if he found out I gave you that information?”

  Jessica fired her answer right back. “Do you know what will happen to you when the authorities arrest you? Do you know the penalty for smuggling opiates?”

  “How dare you!” Rosalind jumped from the sofa and swept across the room to the window. She stared out into the garden for a long time before she turned. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because if Tanhill is not stopped, he will destroy all of us.”

  “Perhaps you will not survive, but I—”

  “None of us will survive! You forget, I grew up with him. I know him. He does not share. You’ll be lucky if you escape with your life.”

  “No.”

  Jessica refused to give up. Rosalind was her only chance to protect Simon. “You have the most to fear, Rosalind, because you know too much and you demand too much. Look around you. Do you honestly think my stepbrother will give you free rein with his purse to keep spending like this?”

  Rosalind stared at her, then sat down on the sofa. She kept her head high and her shoulders erect in a show of composure, but she wasn’t composed. She was scared. Even though she was a survivor, what Tanhill might do to her frightened her.

  “What will I get out of this if I give you the information you want?”

  “Fifty thousand pounds. Help me and I’ll make sure you never lack for money. Give me the date and time of the opium shipment, and you will live the rest of your life as you are accustomed.”

  Rosalind paced the floor, obviously contemplating her dilemma. “What’s stopping me from going to Simon myself and offering him the same deal? Perhaps I could even convince him that I am more suited to him than you.”

  Jessica smiled. “You are welcome to try.”

  “You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  Jessica lifted her eyebrows and tipped her head slightly. “Excuse me for being so blunt, but you are too late. You would have Simon now if you had stayed out of his father’s bed.”

  “My, my. The bite of your tongue can be wicked. And so unexpected.” Rosalind’s face turned as red as if Jessica had slapped her. “I see you and Simon have shared all our dirty little secrets.”

  “This is your only chance to save yourself, Rosalind. You can give Simon the information he needs, or you can take your chances with Tanhill.”

  Jessica’s heart hammered in her chest. For a moment she feared Rosalind would not make the right choice.

  With a swish of her emerald-green silk skirt, Rosalind turned and stood before Jessica as proudly as a queen. “Colin is expecting a messenger today informing him of the date and time the shipment will arrive. The message is to be delivered here, and I am to inform Colin of its arrival. Come back tonight at eight o’clock and you will get your information.”

  Jessica breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Once you receive the information, Simon will have to act fast. Colin is anticipating the shipment anytime now.”

  Jessica nodded and rose.

  “He loved me, you know,” Rosalind said, a look of pride on her face, “but I was young and foolish. I thought only of living the lifestyle Simon’s father lived and spending money like he spent it.” She paused. “And being a countess. I was afraid Simon’s father would live forever, and if I didn’t marry him, he would marry someone else and there would be no inheritance left for Simon and me to enjoy.”

  The look in her eyes softened. “It’s amazing how quickly the money was gone. When all is said and done, you realize your title cannot fill your closets with beautiful gowns. It was a mistake to let Simon go.”

  As quickly as she’d shown a hint of remorse, she squared her shoulders and wiped any softness from her face. “A mistake it is too late to do anything about.” She lifted her chin. “You will have the information you want tonight at eight. Tomorrow morning, I expect a bank draft for fifty thousand pounds deposited in my name.”

  She hesitated. “Don’t let anyone see you come here. You are not the only one who is afraid of Colin. I have lived with him. I know how evil he is.”

  Jessica stared at Rosalind and almost felt sorry for her. What must it be like to be so desperate for wealth you would prostitute yourself to a man like Tanhill?

  “Are you sure you will have the information by tonight?”

  “Yes. The messenger should arrive sometime this afternoon. Whether you believe it or not, I still have feelings for Simon. I don’t think it would be in anyone’s best interest if Colin were to win. Especially yours, Lady Northcote. Now go, before anyone knows you were here, and make sure no one sees you come tonight.”

  Rosalind turned to look out the window facing the garden, dismissing Jessica with unapproachable finality.

  Jessica left her without saying anything more. She walked across the black-and-white marble entryway and out the door a frowning butler held for her.

  She walked down the narrow walk to her waiting carriage.

  “The master not like it that you come here,” Sanjay said, opening the carriage door.

  “You must not tell him, Sanjay. Simon cannot know I was here.” A rush of panic raged within her. “It would be too dangerous for him.”

  “But not dangerous for you?”

  “No. I am not in danger, but if Simon found out I came here, he would be.” Jessica took a step closer. “Promise you will not tell him.”

  Sanjay put a finger to his cheek and studied her. Jessica didn’t trust the look in his eyes.

  “Maybe just this once I do not tell him. Maybe.”

  Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. Rosalind could have the money. Jessica didn’t care if she gave up every pound of it. But she could not lose Simon. She would not let Colin kill him.

  Tonight she would get the information Simon had spent the last two months trying to find. She would pay him back for risking his life to protect her.

  Jessica didn’t feel nearly as confident as she made her way back to Rosalind’s town house later that evening. With a bravado she did not feel, she pounded the brass knocker and jumped when the heavy oak door swung open on its own. Her hand trembled as she tentatively pushed it open, then walked inside.

  The house was empty. No butler stood there to take her cloak. No maid came to show her to the drawing room. Only the faded flickering of half-burned candles in the chandelier showed the way.

  Jessica walked across the foyer, the gooseflesh rising on her arms with each step she took. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

  She took a candle from the table beside the drawing room door and lifted it high. Upon entering, she noticed that the room looked much like it had the last time she’d been here except there was no warm fire blazing in the fireplace, and no candles lighting the darkness.

  And Rosalind was not here waiting for her.

  Jessica rubbed the back of her neck, easing the tiny prickles that bit into her skin. In a quick second, she made the decision to leave and take the hackney coach she’d hired home.

  She turned to run from the room but came to a halt when a man stepped out in front of her.

  It was Colin.

  He hadn’t changed in the ten years since she’d last seen him. He was still as broad-shouldered and menacing as the day he’d left, with the same loathing repulsion carved on his face when he looked at her.

  He stepped forward and blocked her exit. There was no way to get past him. The blood pounded in her head.

  “It’s been a long time, freak. Aren’t you glad to see me?”

  The light from her candle cast a shadowed glow on his face. It was frightening.

  He took one step toward her, and Jessica retreated until the wall would let her go no farther. From this angle she noticed a broken vase on the floor and an overturned chair behind the writing desk.

  There’d been a struggle he
re. Raw fear erupted within her like an active volcano. She stared at him like the deaf-mute he thought she was.

  “Rosalind sends her regrets, but she is unable to meet with you.”

  Jessica felt another wave of real fear. Where was Rosalind? Thousands of voices screamed in her head, telling her to run, warning her to get away from him, but her legs would not move. Why had she come alone? Why hadn’t she at least told someone where she was going?

  “Do you know what I’m saying?”

  Her stepbrother looked at her like she was a trained animal and he expected her to perform a trick. “Rosalind said you would be able to understand everything I said, but you can’t, can you?” His eyes narrowed with contempt. “Can you understand me?”

  Jessica lifted her chin. “Yes, I can understand you.”

  The startled expression on his face showed his surprise as well as his horror. Jessica could tell he thought she was still the same as when he’d left.

  “I don’t believe it,” he said, dropping his head back onto his shoulders and laughing. “What a fool I’ve been. I should have known even revenge would not have made Northcote marry you if you were truly as repulsive as I believed.”

  “Let me pass, Colin,” she said, putting on a brave front. “You are too late. I’m Lord Northcote’s wife, and you have no right to—”

  Her stepbrother grabbed her arm. “Right? What do you know about rights? What is right about a deaf freak inheriting all that money?”

  Jessica twisted out of his arms. “The money was my father’s,” she said defensively. “It did not belong to you.”

  “The money should have been mine. The plan was perfect. Your father was to die in the carriage accident, and his money was to go to my mother.”

  Jessica’s heart skipped a beat. “You killed my father?” She stared at his mouth, unable to believe what he’d said. “Why, Colin? What did Father ever do to you?”

  The incredulous look on his face darkened with unmasked hatred. “What did he do? He was going to let them ruin me. I needed money to pay my debts, and he refused to give it to me. He made me a pariah in society. Creditors hounded me day and night, demanding money I didn’t have. Your father was going to let them throw me into debtor’s prison.”

  Colin fisted one hand and slammed it against the palm of the other. He shook his head as if he remembered something he would rather forget. “And there was the unfortunate incident with that barmaid. I didn’t think anyone had seen me leave her room, but someone must have. I was being blackmailed, and your father refused to pay the money.”

  He stepped back and smiled. But it wasn’t a smile Jessica wanted to remember.

  “I couldn’t have that, so I arranged for your father to have a little accident.”

  “But that accident killed your mother, too.”

  He shook his head. “That wasn’t how I had it planned. I thought she had gone to the country for the weekend. I didn’t intend for her to die. I needed her alive to inherit the money.”

  Jessica choked on the words. “You killed them both.”

  He glared at her with more vehemence than Jessica had ever seen anyone express. “She was not supposed to die,” he repeated. The veins stood out on his neck. “I don’t know why she went with him. She couldn’t stand to be around him any more than I. She hated him. She only married him for his money. Everyone knew that.”

  Jessica shook her head.

  Colin laughed again. “You are such a fool. Your father didn’t care for my mother any more than she cared for him. The stupid man thought his darling little girl needed a woman’s tender, loving care, and that my mother, Lady Tanhill, would actually use her title and influence to introduce a freak into society.

  “Then the money went to you. In a trust, until you were twenty-five years old. To be given to your husband when you married.”

  Colin reached out again and laughed when Jessica twisted away from him. He was playing with her like a cat with a frightened mouse, tormenting her until he came in for the kill.

  “You cannot imagine how disappointed I was to hear you had married Northcote. I was terribly upset to learn you’d given him my inheritance. We are enemies, you know. I almost killed him in India. Pity I didn’t finish the job. He has caused me nothing but trouble since that day.”

  Colin reached out. Jessica twisted, but could not move out of his reach in time. He clamped her face between his thumb and forefinger and jerked her toward him. He squeezed her cheeks until she thought her jaw might break.

  “Did you actually think I would let you keep all that money? Did you think I would stand by and watch all that wealth slip past me and go to you?”

  He smiled at her, a frightening sneer, his lips curling upward in disdain. In the candlelight, the look in his eyes shone with a demented glare, and Jessica’s heart leaped to her throat, consumed by a fear as cold as ice. She had to get away from him.

  “You gave Northcote my inheritance without even knowing what you had done. You stupid bitch. I suppose you gave him your body, too?”

  Jessica shook her head to clear it. She needed to think.

  “Has he come to your bed yet?”

  Jessica didn’t react. She couldn’t let Colin know Simon had.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter now.” Colin curled his lips in disdain. “Where you’re going, there will never be a chance you’ll give him an heir.”

  Jessica opened her mouth to speak. Perhaps she could reason with him. Perhaps she could convince him to let her go. To her utter horror, she found no words would come out.

  “Oh, God. How pathetic,” he said, turning his head as if he could not abide to even look at her. “It’s good I’m here.” His lips curved upward maliciously. “It’s good I have come to help you…sister.”

  Waves of panic pounded in Jessica’s ears. Every spot where he touched her hurt. He enjoyed causing pain, she could see it in his eyes, tell it in the look of pleasure on his face. She tried to pull away, but his grip on her arms tightened.

  “I’ve come to take care of you. I’m going to put you away so society will not have to look on you any longer. I’m going to lock you away; then I am going to find the man who stole my inheritance and kill him.”

  Jessica fought with all her might, but he was too strong. His arms came up beneath her chin and pinned her to the wall.

  “It’s almost finished,” he said, glaring at her, the repulsion and hatred so obvious it sent chills down her spine. “Before the night is over, both of you will get exactly what you deserve and I will have more money than I will ever be able to spend. Quite fitting, don’t you think?”

  Jessica clamped her hands around his arms. Her fingernails dug into his flesh as she tried to pull him away from her, but Colin pressed his arm tighter against her throat. God help her, she couldn’t breathe.

  “It’s no use fighting me, sister. No one even knows you’re here. Except Rosalind.” His lips curled upward, the look in his eyes gleaming with self-satisfaction. “Poor Rosalind. She should have known better than to betray me.” His grip tightened. “She’ll never deceive me again.”

  Jessica gasped for air. Rosalind was dead. Colin had killed her.

  He held her in his grip and turned to the door and hollered. “Frish.”

  A burly giant appeared from the darkness and walked to where Colin had Jessica pressed against the wall. He reeked of body odor and strong garlic, and stared at her like he had more to fear from her than she did from him.

  “You know what to do with her, Frish,” Colin said, starting to push her forward. He stopped when the repulsive giant held out his hand.

  “Where’s the money, bloke? You said you’d have the money with you. I ain’t takin’ her ’til I get paid.”

  “No! You can’t do this, Colin!”

  He was going to put her in an asylum. Colin was going to give her to this big bully and have her locked away.

  Frish gave Colin a scowl that would have frightened most men. “That was our deal. I ain�
�t goin’ nowhere ’til I been paid.”

  “Don’t worry, Frish. You’ll get your money. I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”

  “You said you’d have it tonight.”

  Colin’s temper exploded. “Something came up. I’ll have your money tomorrow.”

  “You’d better, Mr. High and Mighty. Or someone else will be knowin’ where the little lady is hid. There’s more that’s got money than just you. If you want to keep where we’re takin’ her a secret, you won’t try to cheat us.”

  Colin glared at the man. “You’re getting paid well, Frish. Don’t even think of double-crossing me. The day you do will be your last day on this earth.”

  “No!” Jessica screamed, swallowing the panic in her throat. “You can’t do this, Colin.”

  “Who’s going to stop me, freak? Northcote?” Colin laughed. “He’ll be dead by morning.”

  Jessica struggled harder to get away from him. The hatred inside him was so powerful she had trouble breathing.

  “Now get going,” he said, shoving her forward. “Take her to Mrs. Broadly and tell her to lock her up and forget she’s there. I don’t want anyone to know who she is. Is that understood?”

  “Sure, mate.”

  The man called Frish grabbed her from behind and pulled her up against him.

  Jessica struggled harder, twisting until she had at least one arm free. “Please,” she said, turning in his arms until she could see his face. “Don’t listen to him. I am the Countess of Northcote. I will double whatever Colin has promised you if you’ll let me go.”

  “Well, blow me over. She claims to be the Countess of Northcote.”

  “I am,” Jessica insisted. “I’m the Countess of Northcote.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Colin interrupted. “She’s insane. Why do you think her family wants her put away?”

  “No! Colin, please. Don’t do this!” Jessica fought Frish with every breath she took, but he was too strong.

  “You always were too proud for your own good,” Colin said, watching her struggle. “Even as a child you thought you were better than anyone else. Always sticking your nose in the air like you were somebody when you were nothing.” Colin leaned close and yelled in her face. “Nothing! The closest your father could come to giving you a title was to marry one.”