Running back inside the house on swift but silent feet, Annabelle rushed up the stairs and wasted no time in entering the master bedroom. She closed the door and instantly knelt before the large fireplace, counting eight bricks up from the floor on the left side of the hearth, as Kingsley had told her. Her fingers fastened on the seventh and eighth bricks. She pulled outward and winced at the scratchy sound they made. Laying them on the floor beside her, she then reached into the dark crevice. Immediately her hand clutched the sack.
“At last! I’ve found it.” How easy it had been, she smugly decided and replaced the bricks before returning to her bedroom, where she sat cross-legged on the bed and emptied the sack’s contents onto the coverlet.
Annabelle gasped at the glittering flash of garnet earbobs and a matching ring. They were mingled with an emerald and sapphire necklace, a diamond pendant, and gold and silver rings and bracelets. It had been a long time since she’d been able to touch such pretty and expensive jewels. She hurried to the mirror, pinned the diamond on the front of her robe, and hung the garnet earbobs from her ears. My, but she looked so different when she wore fine things! Almost as if she’d been born to them.
“Soon Tanner will buy me furs and jewels,” she informed her reflection. “And I’ll be a proper lady, just like Diana Sheridan.”
She giggled, then sighed and replaced the jewelry in the sack. When she handed it to Kingsley barely five minutes later in the carriage house, he insulted her, as usual. “I hope I don’t find any of my property missing.”
“It’s all there. Check for yourself.”
Which is what he did. Apparently satisfied with her honesty, Kingsley rewarded her with a smile. “When are you leaving?” Annabelle asked him. “And when will I finally be able to lay claim to Tanner?”
“Not so fast, my eager whore. You must do something else for me first. I need you to sell these jewels for me. I must have money and clothes before I return to Briarhaven. I’m master there now, and the master can’t return in rags. Besides, Diana can’t see me like this.”
“You do look wretched,” Annabelle agreed, “but where am I going to sell your jewels? Who has such money these days?”
“Many people still have money. They pretend to be bad off so no one will try to take it away from them.” Kingsley handed her the small sack. “There’s a man named Cyrus Thompkins who lives on Orange Street. His house is in deplorable condition, but within its walls is a veritable treasure house. Take the jewels to him. He’ll pay you a good price.”
“And then?” Annabelle inquired, wondering how many more errands she’d have to perform.
Kingsley grinned broadly and scratched his head. “Then we put our plan in motion.”
Annabelle hoped so. After she was in her room again, she took out the jewels. The garnet earbobs and ring were quite beautiful, and she’d always been partial to garnets. She looked much more fetching in them than some dowager lady would. When she closed the sack and hid it in a drawer, the garnet set rested in Annabelle’s jewel box. “Kingsley owes me something for all of my trouble,” she insisted aloud, but she knew that Kingsley might wonder what had happened when she didn’t hand him the sum of money he thought Cyrus Thompkins would pay him.
To prevent Kingsley from becoming too suspicious, she substituted a copper bracelet and choker Samuel had given to her in exchange for the garnets. Of course, the garnets would have fetched a higher price, but the copper wasn’t worthless either. Kingsley would have to take her word that Mr. Thompkins couldn’t pay her what the jewels were worth. Bad times and all that sort of rubbish, that’s what she’d tell him. He’d never be able to dispute her, not if he didn’t want to play his hand too soon.
~
A shiver of apprehension slid down Diana’s spine, and she glanced around the garden, seeing no one. Lately she felt as if she were being watched; it was an extremely unpleasant sensation, but one she couldn’t shake. She didn’t see anyone standing at the windows in the house, or in the kitchen or the slave quarters. Her gaze suddenly shifted upward to the room above the carriage house and she started.
For a second she imagined she saw someone watching her, but she blinked and saw nothing when she looked again. Evidently it was the sun hitting the window at a certain angle, the light playing tricks on her eyes. But she trembled and wondered if she might be losing her mind. Perhaps she was dreaming and believing herself to be awake.
She could have sworn that the face at the window was Kingsley’s.
~
Cammie bustled around Diana’s room, pulling the expensive satin gowns from the wardrobe and repacking them in the trunk that Diana had brought with her from Briarhaven. “I bet I’ll like Briarhaven, Mrs. Sheridan. Ezra’s told me all about it, and it sounds so pretty. I just know I’m going to be friends with Hattie, but do you think little Jackie will like me? I hope so. I like children.”
Diana glanced up from the chair before the fireplace, a letter from Anne rested on her lap. She smiled encouragingly at Cammie. “Jackie is a dear little boy and he needs a mother. He has a great deal of love to give, and so do you, Cammie. I predict that once he sees you, he won’t let you out of his sight.”
Cammie flushed and returned to her chore. Diana was so happy for her and Ezra. As soon as everyone was at Briarhaven again there would be a wedding between those two. Maybe the wedding would herald a return to normalcy at Briarhaven. Diana hoped that the scars of this ravaging war would heal quickly. Even now, the British were preparing to flee Charlestown and the American force was ready to enter. The evacuation of military personnel could come at any time. The harbor buzzed with activity; British frigates constantly entered and waited.
Anne mentioned in her letter that the Richmond family wanted to return home to Charlestown very much, but that they didn’t dare risk entering the city at that time. “We’ll wait until we’re certain that the British are withdrawing,” Anne had written. “So far, all we ever hear are rumors. No one really takes the war too seriously on Oak Island. Sometimes it seems that it was all a bad dream.”
“You’re thinking too much again.”
Diana looked up with a wrinkled brow to see Tanner standing before her, dressed in a white linen shirt with a slight ruffle along the edge and tight-fitting breeches. She held out her hand to him and he took it to plant a warm, caressing kiss upon her palm. “I was thinking about Anne and the war. Do you believe that we can go on from here?”
“Yes, of course. The war is ended, not our lives.”
“But Briarhaven is in ruins, Tanner. I doubt we’ll ever get the fields into shape in time for planting season.”
Tanner drew Diana to her feet and placed a gentle hand upon the swell of her abdomen. “This is all you need to worry about now, Diana.”
Imagining their child always caused Diana to smile. “I bet she’ll have hair the color of pitch with eyes to match. Just like you.”
“Sounds like a little devil you’re describing, but she’ll be an angel — just like her mother.”
“An angel, is it?” Diana wound her arms around Tanner’s neck and kissed him deeply. The sound of Cammie’s delighted giggle broke the spell, and Diana found herself flushing, having forgotten Cammie was still in the room.
“Don’t forget to close the door when you leave, Cammie,” Tanner said, not even glancing her way. All of his attention was centered on Diana.
“Sometimes I hate being an angel,” Diana drawled after Cammie had left. “It’s so boring.”
“Are you bored now?”
“Most definitely.” Tanner whisked her from her feet but groaned when he deposited a laughing Diana on the bed. “I’m not so easy to lift any longer,” she said.
“And my back isn’t what it used to be, either,” he told her, and slowly began to untie the laces on the front of her gown.
With a hand on his, she stopped him. “If you’d rather not, if you think I’m not attractive enough…”
“Be quiet and let me love the most beautiful
woman in the entire universe.”
Diana instantly obeyed.
20
Diana dreamed about Kingsley again, feeling the sting of the riding crop and the coolness of the floor beneath her knees when she fell. His face loomed before her, his eyes cruel and cold, his curses hot and filled with hatred. She cried out in her nightmare but woke in a pool of sweat, only to find Tanner was sleeping peacefully beside her.
What a horrible, tormenting nightmare, one she thought she had buried within the dark recesses of her mind. Why did she dream about Kingsley now, especially now that she was so happy and looking forward to the future — a future with Tanner and their child?
She pulled the cover about her, suddenly chilled, and sought Tanner’s body in the darkness. Even in sleep, his arm wrapped protectively around her, and finally Kingsley’s face and brutality faded, and she fell into a dreamless sleep.
~
“Remember, Cammie,” Tanner instructed the servant, “to close up the house tight, make certain all windows and doors are locked when you and Ezra leave for Briarhaven in a few days. The carriage might be crowded with all of the trunks. Can you both manage on your own?”
“Oh, yes, Mr. Sheridan. Ezra and I will manage just fine. Now you and Mrs. Sheridan have a pleasant journey and leave the rest of the packing to me.” Cammie’s ready smile faded some and she whispered lowly, out of earshot of Diana, “But what about Miss Hastings? She hasn’t left yet.”
“Miss Hastings will be leaving tomorrow,” Tanner assured Cammie. “We had a nice talk and she agreed to find accommodations elsewhere.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Sheridan.” Cammie made a small curtsy to Tanner and Diana and departed for the kitchen.
Hugging Diana when he drew near her, Tanner bestowed a light kiss on her forehead. “Curtis is waiting with the carriage outside. I’ve instructed Ezra and Cammie about getting things in order before they leave Charlestown. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes…”
Tanner, ever alert to Diana’s changing moods, frowned. “What’s bothering you?”
Diana waved a hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. “Nothing really, but I have this odd feeling?”
“The baby?”
“No, more like a … oh, I’m being silly … but I’ve been wondering if we should leave Charlestown now. The British are still here and Farnsworth might wonder why the great Mariah is willingly heading into American territory.”
“Samuel knows I have interests at Briarhaven,” Tanner explained, “and he’s more than eager to return to England, so I expect no trouble from that quarter. Just what is bothering you, Diana?”
Tanner hugged her tighter and Diana buried her face onto the front of his heavy cloak. “I dreamed about Kingsley last night,” she admitted.
“He’s dead.” Gently, he lifted her chin and smiled down into her eyes. “There’s nothing to fear any longer, from Kingsley or the British. You’re safe in my arms.”
Diana stood on tiptoe and kissed him. Tanner was right, she decided. She was safe, safe, safe. But why was she plagued with this gnawing feeling of dread?
~
“Everything’s in readiness. Attacking Tanner’s carriage on the Charlestown road will be very easy. My two accomplices await me.” Kingsley couldn’t help but smirk at Annabelle’s sneer.
“Just where did you get these accomplices?” she asked, her gaze straying to the street where Curtis waited with the carriage to drive the Sheridans for their trip home to Briarhaven.
“In Rawdontown, and I admit that the two of them pounced on my offer, so eager were they to earn a bit of money — and a bit is all they’re getting. You know, there’s something to be said for hard times, Annabelle. It brings out the worst in people and they work cheap.”
Annabelle knew all about hard times and what one would do for a little money. However, it seemed that Kingsley Sheridan was prospering. Dressed in a decent suit of clothes, his hair combed back in a queue and a new tricorn upon his head, he was almost handsome. Almost. There was something about those eyes that always sent a shiver up Annabelle’s spine, and she’d been around men who were less gentlemanly than Kingsley, people who’d slit a person’s throat for a bottle of ale. But they had never frightened her like this man, and though she wanted to be free of Diana, she couldn’t help but pity the woman who’d soon find herself in Kingsley’s clutches. “Just make certain Tanner isn’t hurt,” was Annabelle’s reminder to him after she told him that Tanner and Diana were now entering the carriage.
Kingsley made a mocking bow and left. Seconds later Annabelle was in her room waiting for Tanner’s return — to her.
~
Tanner smiled to himself. He was happy, not only happy but delirious with joy. The woman he loved leaned against him, her gloved hand resting in his. His child grew in her belly, each day becoming stronger. And he was wealthy, rich enough that he’d be able to get Briarhaven on its feet again. There wasn’t anything more he wanted in life than what the Creator had already given him. A surge of gratitude overcame his hesitancy at praying — it had been so long — but he offered a silent prayer of thanks and wondered what Diana would think if she knew that while he held her in his arms he was praying. Probably she’d approve, and this brought a secret smile to his lips.
A bright and cool morning, with no threat of rain, promised an easy trip. The horses swiftly thundered down the road, the carriage wheels clicking rhythmically in their wake. More than likely, they’d arrive earlier than they anticipated at Briarhaven; however, no one expected them since they hadn’t sent a message on ahead. But it didn’t matter when they arrived home. Tanner knew that Hattie would cry with gladness, Aunt Frances would good-naturedly lecture them about something, and from what Diana had told him about Clay and Marisa, those two would gaze rapturously into each other’s eyes and probably not realize anyone had arrived. Yes, he was suddenly eager to be home again, thinking of Briarhaven as his home. And it was his, finally and completely his.
Diana dozed in his arms, and Tanner nodded off for what he thought was a few seconds but could have been minutes. Suddenly he was jarred awake as the carriage came to an abrupt halt. Diana fell to the floor, her head cracking against the door, though he stayed in his seat. Making a mad reach for her, he cursed aloud, intent upon taking Curtis to task but wondering why they’d stopped. “Diana, are you all right?” he cried and pulled her from the floorboards.
“Oh, God!” he groaned to see blood dripping from a cut on her forehead.
She stared up at him with glazed eyes. “Tanner … my head … hurts so.”
Taking a kerchief from his pocket, he dabbed at the blood. “Lie still. I’m going to see why we’ve stopped.” Gingerly he placed her on the seat and got out of the coach, his face a thunderous black. That damned Curtis! What in the name of God were they doing stopped here … ?
But Tanner’s rage died when he stepped to the front of the carriage. There he found Curtis, no longer sitting on his perch but lying now in the middle of the road with a gaping knife wound in his stomach. He was dead, and the murderer stood over his victim’s body and calmly wiped the knife clean on Curtis’s coattail.
For the first time in his life, for the only time in Mariah’s experience, Tanner didn’t react quickly enough. Being a spy had sharpened his wits, but he wasn’t a spy now and he hadn’t expected any danger. Contentment had dulled him, lulled him into a false sense of security, something he instantly regretted as he felt the cold blade of a knife rip through his cloak and mercilessly slice through the wall of muscle on his back. He made a move to turn and get to Diana, but another man blocked his path and stabbed at him again, this time in the side.
“Di … an … a,” he moaned, determined to get to her, to protect her somehow, someway. But once again the knife found him and Tanner fell face down in the roadway.
Kingsley came from behind a tree that lined the road and passed a quizzical eye over his brother. “Did you kill him?” he asked the second man.
“Of course I killed him, guv’nor. What you take me for, an amateur?”
Kingsley had no recourse but to believe that the man was proficient with a knife. After all, he’d never hired killers before now. “Then get their bodies off the road, bury them somewhere, anywhere, for all I care. Just get rid of them.”
“Whatever you say, guv’nor. But how’s about our money? We done did the job for you.”
“Aye, we did,” the other henchman chorused.
“Here then, you bleeding bandits.” Kingsley took a small pouch of gold from his pocket. “I’m giving it to you now because I can’t stand here all day arguing with you. Just do as I say.”
“Sure, gov, but there’s a lady in the carriage who seems to be knocked out. Should I see if there’s somethin’ she might be wantin’?” the man queried with such a leer on his face that Kingsley was instantly on his guard.
“The lady is my responsibility.” Kingsley rose to his full height and looked down his nose at the man. “Do as I told you.” Not wishing to waste time checking on Diana, Kingsley quickly climbed up to the perch and took the reins in his hands. He nodded coolly at the two men, keeping his eyes away from Tanner’s body and that of the driver. And then he was off.
~
“What we gonna do with ‘em?” the man who’d killed Curtis asked the other man, warily eyeing their victims.
Tanner’s attacker shrugged. “I dunno. I ain’t never killed nobody before. Have you?” The other one shook his head. “We did our job, like we was hired for, but I ain’t haulin’ ‘em off somewhere, takes too much time. The bloody bugger should have paid extra if he wanted ‘em buried. Let’s put ‘em on the side of the road. My palms are itchin’ to sample some fine liquor and good women, and I don’t mean the church-goin’ type.”
The other man laughed in agreement, and they dragged the two bodies to the side of the road and ran the distance into Charlestown like Lucifer was behind them.
~
About two miles down the road Kingsley stopped the carriage to tend to Diana. He found her lying on the seat, blood dripping from a gash on her head. She moaned. A good sign, Kingsley decided, because he wanted her alive. His loins ached for her, and she was the reason he hadn’t died. He wanted her with a fierceness that shook him. If he’d dwelled upon his consuming desire for a woman he had tormented during all of their married life, he’d have understood that most of his lust came from the fact that Diana had willingly given herself, body and soul, to Tanner — a man he loathed. But Tanner was dead now, and Diana was his. She’d do whatever he said, whenever he said it, and derive great amusement from knowing he’d taken Tanner’s woman from him.
Savage Deception (Liberty's Ladies) Page 26
