Tom snorted. “Not after what I’ve done.”
A chill swept through her, settling low in her stomach. Her chest tightened and her throat felt as though it was closing over.
What had he done?
She recalled Tom’s sense of humor and how kind and patient he had been with her. Was it truly possible he had been the one to kill Julian?
He nodded grimly as though reading her thoughts. “I need to leave the country and you’ll give me those jewels to pay for it.”
“No,” she replied automatically.
His lips thinned and all warmth fled from his face. His pale eyes were like stones, hard and unforgiving. She tried to swallow and failed but lifted her chin regardless. She would not let him have her jewels, nor would she allow him to escape justice.
“There are others coming,” she said. “The earl knows of your involvement.”
“Unlikely.” He reached behind him and drew out a pistol.
She could not tell if it was loaded already, but the length of the barrel pointing toward her chest was enough to make her heart beat so fast she feared she might collapse to the ground.
“He does. He will be here soon,” she insisted.
“Then you had better hand over your jewels with haste.” He gestured for her to move into the building with a jerk of the gun.
Chastity studied the shadowy interior of the modest building. Why would he want her off the road? Her gut twisted. If Tom was capable of staging Julian’s death and making it look like a suicide, he could do the same to her. “I am not going in there.”
“You are or I shall shoot you.”
His finger twitched over the trigger. Sweat beaded upon his brow and he tugged his collar. The set of his jaw did not lead her to believe she would leave this situation alive, but she could not simply give up.
Especially when she still wanted to tell Valentine she loved him. The sting remained but the distance reminded her of the man he was. He’d made a mistake and goodness knew, she had made plenty of those too.
Sighing, she stepped into the shelter of the building and stiffened to control a shiver that could not be attributed to the cool temperature inside the shelter but was most likely caused by the pistol pointed at her back.
She turned slowly, and he gestured for her to keep retreating until her back met the cold, rough brick. She felt it tug at her lace, clinging to it. Farm tools and sharp implements were hung upon the walls, bearing down upon her like a beast ready to swallow her whole. And in the center of it was Tom—a man she had thought her friend.
“What happened, Tom?” she said softly “You do not need to leave. Surely you do not wish to leave your wife?”
“She’ll abandon me when she finds out what happened anyway,” he muttered.
“We can speak with the earl—”
“I don’t even know who you are but you cannot save me from the noose. No one can.” He ran a hand over his face. “You were there to find out what happened to Julian, were you not? I should have guessed an eccentric like the earl would hire a damned woman.” He shook his head and gestured wildly with the gun. “God knows, I never expected that, but I knew it the moment you went to see Rose. I knew it was only a matter of time.”
“Before we found you out?”
“I never intended for any of this to happen.” He gave a little shrug. “I’m not a bad man, Chastity. If that is even your name.”
“It is.” She went to take a step forward.
He flicked the gun at her. “Stay!” he commanded. “And start taking off your jewels. All of them.”
“I know you are not a bad man,” she said as she pretended to fumble with the clasp of her bracelet. “Which is why we can solve this without you running away.”
“It was all Julian’s fault. He refused to help me.”
“Why did you need help?”
“I had a little money trouble. Not that a woman like you would know about that.” He eyed the entrance to the building. “Hurry up with those jewels.”
“Did Julian have money?” She loosened the bracelet and held it out.
“Throw it on the ground.”
“I will. When you tell me what happened.”
He rolled his eyes. “You are not in a place to be demanding answers.” Tom tugged his necktie, loosening it until he could free his collar. “But it will not matter soon enough.”
Chastity gulped. She knew for certain now—he intended to kill her.
If she could just distract him or make him talk for long enough that when someone came by, she would make her escape. “It must have been an accident.”
He nodded vigorously. “It was,” he said. “I only meant to frighten him a bit. Make him realize I was serious. But then we ended up in a fight and I had to kill him.” His gaze met hers and the hardness faded, replaced by an almost childlike bearing.
“Why did you fight?”
“He had a rich uncle.” He shrugged. “You must know he was the earl’s nephew if you were investigating him.”
Chastity briefly closed her eyes. Valentine hadn’t been lying, but then had she not known that really?
“He had access to a fortune, but he would not share it. He told me he didn’t have any money.” Tom made a face. “He was a liar, and I warned him I would reveal all if he did not help me.”
“If it was an accident, perhaps we can explain that.”
“I killed the nephew of an earl. Of course I will be hung,” he snapped. His posture stiffened and he took a few steps back to peer out of the building “Now hurry up with those jewels.”
The faintest thud of horses hooves rumbled the ground. She eyed Tom, then the bracelet in her hand. This might be the only chance she got.
“Here, take this.” She flung the jewels toward him and while he fumbled to catch it, she dashed past him, toward the sunny opening of the building.
A bang resounded from behind her. She felt nothing but a push and she toppled forward. When her head met the ground, the briefest flash of pain billowed through her skull. Then everything went blessedly dark.
∞∞∞
Pain speared through Valentine—straight to his gut. He tightened his grip on the reins and pushed his mount to move faster. The sound of the gunshot still echoed around the countryside. Or was it his mind? Either way, it wasn’t good. The moment Mrs. Cooke had informed him Chastity had left with Tom and that Tom had been seen with a pistol, fear gripped him. Tom had been at the ball that night. He couldn’t fathom why he would want to harm Julian, but absconding with Chastity while armed did not bode well.
Now a gun had gone off. The tension in his gut had turned to hot, swirling fire. He gritted his teeth and urged the horse in the direction of the gunshot. He’d been lucky to catch sight of new tracks on the ground or else he would have lost their trail entirely. But Chastity was a clever woman. She couldn’t be hurt. She’d be safe.
If she wasn’t, he didn’t know what he’d do.
Aware of the sickening pound of his heart, he scanned up ahead. His stomach lurched as though someone had driven a fist directly into his gut. Or more likely to his heart. Upon the ground, in a sprawl of expensive fabrics lay Chastity. Tom kneeled over her.
God. She had to be alive. She just had to be.
He dismounted, scarcely bringing his horse to halt. His boots hit the ground so hard his feet stung.
“Tom Lowe,” he bellowed as he sprinted over.
Blood stained the ground near Chastity’s head. Front down, her head angled, her eyes were closed, her skin pale. The world might as well have crumbled beneath him and the desire to drop to his knees and roar and the unfairness of the world ate into him, but when Tom scrabbled to his feet, a gold necklace dangling from one hand, his world narrowed in on the man.
Tom held up his hands. “It was an accident. She fell!”
“You shot her,” he said through clenched teeth as he rounded on the man.
“It was all an acci—”
Valentine put a hand to
his neck and slammed him against the brick wall of the farm building. The necklace fell from Tom’s fingers. Tom groaned and kicked and though he wasn’t a weak man, his hits were no worse than a fly nipping at his skin. Valentine felt nothing but pure, burning rage. It surged through him, made his skin hot, his muscles burn. He could take on a thousand Toms right now.
“Chastity was an innocent in this.” Valentine pressed hard on Tom’s neck and watched his eyes bulge. “All she wanted to do was help her sister.”
“Please,” Tom begged, clawing at his hold.
“By God you shall pay for this.”
The man’s eyes went wide and gradually rolled back in his head. Valentine felt the slowing pulse beneath his palm, fighting to continue beating. He had moments left and Valentine wasn’t sure what he deserved—justice by his own hand or justice in the eyes of the law. Tom passed into oblivion, slumping against his hold.
“Valentine?”
He dropped Tom abruptly and whirled at the reedy sound. Chastity pressed up from the ground with a groan.
His heart rebounded against his chest and he hastened over, dropped hard to his knees beside her and gripped her face. “You’re alive.”
She nodded and grimaced, then put a hand to her head. “Just about.”
“I thought he’d killed you.” His eyes burned and he fought to take all of her in, running his gaze over her body and face and those green eyes that were still vibrant. “I thought he shot you.”
“He did.” She gestured to her arm. “Then I think I hit my head.”
He twisted to view her arm, where a thin line of red and shredded fabric marred her arm. The bullet was long gone, thank goodness. When he put fingers to her hair, however, they came away strained red. That was where the blood on the ground had most likely come from.
He cupped her face again. “Do not fall asleep on me,” he ordered. “You have quite the head wound.”
“I do not think I could after what just happened.” She nodded in the direction of Tom’s prone body. “He did it, Valentine. He told me he killed Julian and penned a note to hide what he’d done. He was trying to blackmail him because he found out about him being your nephew.”
“How did he even find out?”
“I imagine he overheard it or perhaps Rose told him. Your nephew and the maid intended to marry.”
“Ah.” He ran a hand over his face. “Julian was my sister’s child.”
“You do not need to explain.”
Pulling a handkerchief out of his waistcoat pocket, he pressed it against the back of her head. She inhaled sharply.
“Forgive me. And yes, I do.” He exhaled slowly. “Julian was born to my sister when she was but eighteen. I do not know who got her in the family way, but the man would have nothing to do with her, even after promising love and marriage. She was so ashamed she hid her pregnancy until it was too late, and she went into labor. She died giving birth to Julian and I could not bear for anyone to think less of her, so I covered up her manner of death and placed Julian with a loving family—the Harpers.” He gave a tight smile. “I could scarcely even admit to you what had happened. I did not want to see her memory tarnished so.”
“You must have loved her very much.”
“I did.”
“You dealt with so much grief in such a short time. And at a young age too.”
Valentine lifted her chin to peer into her eyes. They looked clear until tears clouded them. “I am sorry I hurt you with those reckless words. I would never do so deliberately.”
“I know.” She gave a soft smile. “I’m sorry I doubted you, Valentine. I was scared.”
“I get scared too,” he admitted. “But, Chastity, my biggest fear is not having you in my life.”
Her eyes rounded. “It is?”
“Well, hell, if you are not going to say it, I will.” He gave a dry chuckle. “I love you, Chastity. I want to make you my wife. I’ll even shave and wear a cravat for our wedding and dance and be polite to everyone if you wish.”
She lifted a shoulder, then winced and touched his face. “I rather like the beard.”
“Is that a yes?”
Smiling softly, she nodded slowly. “I love you. So much. I did not think such love was possible.”
“Neither did I.” He dropped a soft kiss upon her lips and bundled her close, drawing her gently into the cradle of his arms. “We shall wed with haste. I’ve been apart from you for too long already.”
“I cannot remember when we were last apart actually. I did see you yesterday,” she reminded him.
“Already arguing with me,” he muttered.
“Of course.”
“Perhaps you can save your arguments until you have seen a doctor and are rested.” He nodded toward Tom’s limp form. “And he has been handed over to the sheriff.”
“With any luck, the gossip shall cease about Eleanor, and Julian will have justice.”
“I imagine they will be gossiping about us instead,” he said dryly. “What a strange love match—the duke’s daughter and the recluse.”
“I do not think it strange at all, but, Valentine, how will you cope with the gossip?”
He grinned and kissed her firmly before drawing back to look at the woman he could not wait to make his wife. “With you at my side of course.”
Epilogue
Sunlight dappled through the trees, lingering over the modest burial plot. Chastity drew in the fragrance of freshly cut grass and nearby honeysuckle. Though only an hour’s drive outside of London, the church graveyard offered a peaceful spot, shaded by old oak trees and surrounded by fields.
“You were right,” Valentine admitted. “This was a better spot for him than the family mausoleum.”
She set the simple bouquet of flowers upon the grave and took a step back to join Valentine, taking his offered hand and moving close to him. She curled her fingers around his upper arm and rested her head against this shoulder.
“How could your sister not approve of such a spot?” She gestured about. “It’s beautiful.”
“And Julian was a Harper really.” He motioned to the older graves nearby. “They raised and loved him. It is only fitting they are able to visit with ease.” He released a heavy sigh. “My only regret is I did not come to know him better.”
“The past cannot be changed,” she reminded him. “But at least we all have some answers to what happened now too. It will bring everyone involved some peace.”
“I do not usually hunger for blood, but Tom Lowe deserved no less than a hanging.”
She felt tension ripple through her husband, and she patted his arm. The gunshot to her arm would always leave a slight scar and it had taken several days of headaches and sleeping in odd positions for the wound on her head to heal, however, she was safe, and Julian had his justice. Even the gossip about Eleanor had gone and several contrite members of the ton visited almost as soon as the news broke. Chastity would not forget those people easily, but she was not immune to enjoying their groveling. It was no less than her sister deserved.
“What shall you do about Rose?” she asked as they made their way back to the waiting carriage, following a graveled path past the front of the humble, flint-walled church just as the bell rang out a quarter past the hour.
“Julian wanted to marry her and look after her. From what you said, her father will press her into a marriage with a man she does not like, so I intend to give her some money. She can say it was from Julian or explain it any way she likes, but it will be enough to give her independence and do whatever it is she wishes.”
“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.” She let her lips curve. “I always knew you were soft-hearted.”
“I am most certainly not,” he said firmly. “And I shall deny it most heartily if you tell anyone.”
They paused by the waiting carriage, and Valentine glanced back at the church. “Rather reminds me of our wedding day.”
“It rained that day,” she pointed out.
“Did it?” Brows raised, he looked back at her. “I do not remember.”
“Well that is reassuring.”
“If it helps, I recall your shoes. They were cream with little spots.”
“How is it you remember that but not the weather?”
His gaze met hers, his eyes darkening and full of promise. “I remember everything about you, Chastity.”
She glanced away, her cheeks warming. “Now is most definitely not the time for talk like that.”
“I do not see that I said anything wrong.”
He gestured for the footman to open the carriage door and handed her in, then climbed in next to her. As soon as he was seated, he took her face in his hands, tilting her chin up so she could not look away. Not that she would want to. They might have rushed their wedding and caused quite the stir as to why, but neither of them regretted the freedom to be with each other as husband and wife.
Despite the echoes of both their pasts remaining, Chastity found the painful throb of her previous marriage to be fading rapidly. When she had a man she trusted explicitly, who loved her beyond reason, it was hard to hold onto those hurts. Even Valentine could not bring himself to care about the whims of the ton and agreed they would stay in London for a few months more until Chastity could be assured Eleanor no longer needed her.
“Mostly I remember how we met. How full of fire and spirit you were.” He dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. Her body tingled as the carriage moved off, making her rock into him.
“I do not think you liked that at the time,” she pointed out.
He shrugged. “Perhaps. But I like it very much now. There is not a single thing about you I do not like.”
“Even my love for shoes?”
“I can live with it.”
“Well I like everything about you too.” She stroked a finger down his smooth jaw line. “Though I do so miss the beard.”
“Give it a few days,” he promised.
“I have to wait that long?”
He chuckled, pulled the curtains across the carriage window and took her firmly into his arms. “As if I can deny you anything,” he murmured before bringing his mouth down on hers and kissing her so passionately he left her in no doubt of the truth behind his words.
Temptations of a Duke's Daughter (The Duchess's Investigative Society Book 2) Page 20
