"What of it? It is my house, and I can walk anywhere I want, at any hour!" Huntsford swallowed. "Perhaps I was checking on my dear mother!"
"I don't think that's an answer, Harms."
"And I don't think I like your attitude! How dare you raise questions, when I am the person who came to Adrienne's rescue at the moment she needed me most. If I remembered Frakes-Hogg's name, it is only because I was paying close attention. I believe that you are jealous, Essex!" He couldn't resist the urge to stand up and point at Nathan, his voice rising dramatically. "Why not be a man and simply accept responsibility for your failure? Take it on the chin, old chap!"
"Has anyone ever told you that you are barking mad, Harms?" Nathan inquired in measured tones.
"I won't stand for this. I am taking Adrienne back to her room—"
"No," she cried. "I don't want to stay there alone. I never want to sleep in that room again!" The mere thought of Walter's blood pooled on the floor by her bed made Adrienne pale with revulsion.
"Perfectly understandable," Lady Thomasina agreed. "Miss Beau will sleep on the sofa in my bedchamber, with Angus and me for company. I'll give her a drop of laudanum to relax her." She heaved herself to her feet. "Now then, let us all attempt to sleep for a few more hours. Dawn will be here soon enough."
Only Nathan didn't rise. Instead, he pulled a footstool over for his feet and stretched out. "I will stay here. I do not intend to put any more distance between myself and Miss Beauvisage until we know for certain that there isn't anyone else involved. If Frakes-Hogg had an accomplice, that person may be loose in the castle, and I won't take another chance with Miss Beauvisage's safety."
Huntsford Harms opened his mouth to argue, but the expression on Adrienne's face told him that would be a mistake; she only wanted peace. So he pretended that Nathan didn't exist. Savoring the night's victories, Huntsford bade the fair damsel good night and took his leave.
* * *
At dawn, Nathan Raveneau stood in the tall windows of Lady Thomasina's sitting room and breathed the soft air of a new day. Sunrise was a pretty sight from any vantage point, but lately he'd been craving the sugar-pink morning skies of Barbados. The candied hues had a way of melting into the ruffled turquoise ocean, and the breezes were clean and full of promise.
Now Nathan remembered why he never had been able to stay long during his visits to London. There was something about the English people that, in time, drove him over the edge. He certainly felt that way now, trapped in this moth-eaten castle with the crackbrained Harmses and their equally peculiar guests and servants. Every time Huntsford Harms opened his mouth, Nathan's patience frayed a little more.
To make matters worse, even Adrienne seemed to be giving way to the madness. How could it be that she no longer shared knowing looks with Nathan, but sympathized with that Town Beau instead? If it was only Nathan's own male ego at risk, he could have borne it, but all his instincts warned that there was more to Huntsford Harms than met the eye.
A rustling sound made him turn just in time to see Adrienne padding across the other side of the room. Clad in her nightgown and a fringed silk shawl, she looked even more vulnerable because she was barefoot and her hair tumbled loose down her back. When she felt Nathan's gaze, she stopped and turned her face toward the light.
"Good God," he muttered, closing the distance between them, "you look terrible."
"And you grow more charming by the moment," she replied in a tone edged with weariness. "That's why I don't want to see you. My nerves can't bear it."
He'd only meant to remark on the way that her shadowed eyes stood out against the dead white of her face; to let her know that he was worried, that he cared. "Dearest chit," he murmured tenderly, "I am concerned for you. Perhaps I should have said that no romantic heroine has ever looked more beautiful in her moment of tragedy."
Adrienne shook her head. "You don't understand what I've been through. There's simply no room for levity, however well meaning. And now you'll have to step aside. I must find Hortie, so that she can help me find another bedroom nearby." Her expression was haunted. "Perhaps she'll be good enough to move my things for me. I just don't think I can go back in there yet."
"Why don't you ask me for help? What do you think I'm doing here?"
She looked at him in mild surprise.
"You sit down, and I'll take care of everything." He gently took her arms and guided her into Lady Thomasina's favorite chair, which reeked of her powder. "Just rest. Close your eyes, and when you open them, I'll have your new quarters arranged and a bath ordered."
"Oh—that would be... lovely." Adrienne's face clouded then. "Has the constable arrived?"
"No. I only sent a messenger within the last hour, so it will be later in the morning before he arrives. Do you remember who it will doubtless be? Frakes-Hogg's friend, the beefy fellow who intervened on his behalf in Winchester."
"Oh, well, I suppose there's nothing we can do. At least Walter is dead now, so there's no more danger. All the constable can do is record the facts, and they couldn't be more straightforward, could they? Then he'll go away and leave us alone. I just want to sleep, on clean sheets, for days...."
"A fine idea. Meanwhile, rest, and I'll return in a few minutes."
There was so much he wanted to say to her, but clearly there were other matters that must be arranged before Adrienne could listen. As Nathan chose a new room for her, next to his own, and moved her belongings, he mulled over all the events surrounding Walter Frakes-Hogg's death. It just didn't fit together properly. Returning to her tiny bedchamber to be certain he hadn't left anything behind, he found himself staring at the horrible stain that was still visible on the floor, despite all the maids' efforts, and then he looked at Adrienne's bedclothes. Her pillow was wedged between the bed and the wall, and the sheets were torn away from the mattress. The linen strips that had been used to bind and silence Adrienne were scattered about. Dear God, how much did that monster put her through before Harms interrupted?
It galled Nathan to think that a supercilious dandy like Huntsford Harms could have been a hero, while he had slept in ignorance across the corridor, but it was easier to swallow when he realized how desperately Adrienne had needed rescuing. The realization that Frakes-Hogg might have raped and even murdered her if he'd been allowed to finish sent a sickening chill down Nathan's spine.
He ought to rise to the occasion and thank Harms, but he knew that he simply couldn't get the words out. His gut insisted that there were secrets yet to be told. He just hoped that he could uncover them before anything else happened....
"I thought you might be napping," he said to Adrienne upon reentering Lady Thomasina's suite. She stood in the same window where he had watched the sun rise a short while ago. "Are your feet cold? Come, I'll take you to your new room. I think you'll like it better." He was the picture of kindness as he guided her toward the door. "It's on the other side of the corridor, where the sun is better, and you're just far enough now from her ladyship that you'll have a good excuse for not coming when she rings!"
Adrienne smiled automatically at this sally, but her eyes were distant. "I'm very fond of Lady Thomasina, you know. I feel rather guilty for the laughter we've shared at her expense."
"You're beginning to sound too good for this world, chit. Soon you'll decide to join a convent, and your father will think I've driven you to it." Behind his humorous tone was concern. What would it take to restore Adrienne to her old, headstrong, infuriating self? Had Walter Frakes-Hogg's assault beaten down all her feelings? "Dear Adrienne, do not forget that I am your friend. And remember, too, that all days will not be as dark as this one. You must struggle to find your way back to the light."
After they passed into the corridor, Lady Thomasina opened the door between her bedroom and sitting room and peeked out. "Did you hear that, Angus? He is trying to come between Miss Beau and Hunty!" She glanced down as the terrier trotted over with a food-stained glove finger. "I am quite determined in the matter, yo
u know. Nothing else will do except a marriage between Hunty and Miss Beau. It will be wonderful for me, of course. I've decided that I'll call her Addie when she is my daughter. We'll read together all day long, and she'll give me exquisite grandbabies, and Hunty won't dare to put me out in the dower house as long as Addie is his wife." Smiling dreamily, Lady Thomasina waddled over to her dressing table and found the little cache of old chicken bones she kept for Angus. "Here you go, darling. I do hope you aren't sick again! Now then, I must listen for Hortie, when she carries the hipbath to Miss Beau's room. She's been very cross with me for ignoring her lately, but I'll find a way to win back her trust, beginning this very morning. There's no one else who could take my secret warning message to Hunty, and there's no time to lose!"
Angus wasn't listening. As her ladyship opened her inkwell, dipped in a worn nib, and began scrawling madly on a sheet of foolscap, the terrier curled up on her skirts and gnawed at the spoiled chicken bone.
* * *
Adrienne looked around her new bedroom with a wan smile. "I do like it. I think it will be more cheerful, though it needs a good cleaning. Thank you for your help, Nathan." She opened the door further, waiting for him to leave.
It would have been easy to leave this conversation for a time when she was stronger, but the future was too unpredictable. "I know how tired you are, but I really think we should talk. Will you sit with me for a few minutes? I'll leave when Hortie comes with your bath."
"You've sent for her?"
"Yes. God, Adrienne, you're so pale. Every time I look at you, I am so sorry." He shook his head, searching for words.
Taking a chair near the window, across from his perch on a high trunk, Adrienne sighed. "There's no point in dwelling on it, is there? None of us can change what happened. I am telling myself that I must be grateful I'm alive and Walter is dead. I'm safe now, and shall remain so."
"Thanks to dear Hunty," he muttered in acid tones.
"Yes, that's right!" At last Adrienne found a reason to raise her voice. "I owe him my life, whether you like it or not, and I cannot allow you to castigate him in my presence any longer. I will not tolerate any more of your mean remarks."
"You... won't... tolerate?" His voice dripped disbelief. "What the deuce has he done to you? Cast a spell?"
"How many times do I have to remind you that Huntsford saved my life? That would be reason enough to feel loyal toward him, but I must add, in all honesty, that we have been forming a friendship for some time. Once I had an opportunity to know him, away from his frivolous friends and you, sir, I discovered that he is a nice person. And he treats me like a precious jewel."
"Oh, for God's sake, don't tell me that you've fallen for a lot of flattery! I would have thought that a woman so clearly beautiful and intelligent as you are wouldn't need to be fawned over."
"There, you see? You have a streak of unkindness in you, Mr. Essex." Adrienne turned to stare out the window, her eyes sad. "All women need to receive kind words and compliments. I begin to think that you were right about... the other night. The situation between us has resolved itself for the best."
Nathan seemed to be running into a wall at every conversational turn. Perhaps it was time for simple honesty. He took a step toward her and dropped to one knee. "Adrienne, I'm sorry."
"That's good, but I'd really rather that you just leave me in peace. In fact, now that Walter is dead, you can go back to London—or wherever you come from...."
"You don't mean that." He took her hands in his and tried to capture her eyes as well. "Look at me. Please. I'm sorry if I've been too hard on your... friend Huntsford. Perhaps I'm jealous—"
"I wish you would just let it go and be glad that I'm no longer in danger." Adrienne tried to keep her hands from shaking, and her cheeks from turning pink. "Oh, Nathan, why must you make everything so difficult?"
"Because that's what life is with you, my dear. Don't you know that yet?"
She couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Well, maybe I've grown up a bit in the last day. If you are going to stay here, you'll have to make peace with Huntsford. However... you still haven't given me a reason why I need your protection."
"The reason is that I am not satisfied that you are out of danger."
"What on earth does that mean?"
"Did you hear any of the questions I asked Huntsford last night? Much of what happened is quite murky, to put it kindly—"
"Walter Frakes-Hogg was a murky person! What else could you mean?"
As Nathan rose to his feet, he considered his next words carefully. "I am in complete agreement with you about Frakes-Hogg. He was an evil man. However, I don't understand how he gained access to the house and found his way to your room. Furthermore, why was Huntsford Harms passing down our corridor at an hour when he knew that all of us were asleep? I can't recall seeing him in this part of the house once before, but he was here twice last night."
"What difference does any of this make? Why should I care what he was doing there, as long as his presence guaranteed my rescue?"
"Didn't the explanation he gave for having the dagger ring a bit... false?"
Mounting confusion wore down Adrienne's nerves. "Where is Hortie? I don't understand why this should take so long! Perhaps she's waiting for me to come after my own bath." Adrienne jumped to her feet and tried to pass by Nathan, but he caught her wrist. Their bodies were mere inches apart as she demanded, "Why are you saying those things? I don't understand. If you have any regard for me at all, you would try to soothe me this morning, not increase my torment!"
Something seemed to give way inside of Nathan. Admitting that he cared felt rather like weakness, but her pain pushed him beyond that. "This may be hard to understand, but I'm saying these things because I am... fond of you—"
"Oh! You have a very odd way of showing it!" Still, it was wrenching to recognize the openness in his eyes and to feel her own heart leap in response. His fingers were warm against her wrist. "Look—Nathan, I simply—"
"Miss Beau? So, here you me, you minx!" It was Lady Thomasina, swathed in old velvets and brocaded silks.
Adrienne quickly backed away from Nathan, and he released her arm. "Your ladyship! I hope you don't mind that I claimed this room for myself. Nathan said it seemed to be unused."
"Mind? Nonsense." All benevolence, the old woman entered, panting a bit. "I am rather surprised to find you here alone with Miss Beau, Nathan dear. I'm not certain that it is entirely seemly, in view of all that's happened. However," she pressed on, waving off his protests, "be that as it may, I have come to give you important news. I was so distraught last night after seeing that gruesome corpse that I didn't speak up when Nathan quizzed poor Hunty about his movements leading up to the heroic rescue of Miss Beau."
Thoroughly suspicious, Nathan waited. "And what was it you 'forgot' to tell me?"
"Why, that Hunty was with me, of course! He had come to my rooms for a sweet mother-son chat, and he had just bade me good night when he passed Miss Beau's room." She met his eyes. "It was just as he said."
Adrienne was flooded with relief. "There, you see?" She whirled on Nathan. "Are you satisfied?"
"For the moment, perhaps." It was pointless for him to argue. The only chance he had to sway Adrienne would be the existence of proof that Huntsford Harms was not all he appeared to be. "I imagine that the constable will be arriving at any moment. I believe I'll go downstairs and wait for him."
"Look for Hortie, will you?" Even as Adrienne spoke, the peevish abigail came through the doorway carrying a hipbath. She was trailed by footmen with containers of hot water. "At last! I have been yearning for a bath ever since..." Her voice trailed off.
Seeing the flashes of pain in her eyes, Nathan wavered. Before he could reach her, however, the already crowded room had another visitor. Huntsford Harms squeezed past his mother and went straight to Adrienne.
"My dear, I have been so worried about you." He had toned down his garb, leaving out the elabora
te cravat, the fobs and seals at his waist, the chin-scraping shirtpoints, and the polished Hessians. Instead, Harms wore simple riding clothes and his hair was brushed casually. "How are you feeling this morning? Are you bearing up?"
Lady Thomasina joined the pair, and she and her son exuded caring concern toward Adrienne. Watching them, Nathan burned with renewed frustration as he realized that there was no easy solution.
But he couldn't give up either—for more reasons than he could admit, even to himself. "Adrienne?" He looked forbidding as he spoke her name from the doorway. "I'm going down to wait for the constable."
Huntsford interjected, "No need for that, old chap. I knew that it would be difficult for Adrienne to speak about last night, so I went down early and met the constable when he arrived. He understands that our situation was unique, and the outcome was unavoidable."
Stunned, Nathan said, "Harms, you knew that I wanted to speak to the constable. You had no right to interfere."
"Once again we differ in our important choices. You insist upon searching for crimes where there are none. I, on the other hand, am concerned only for the welfare of this fair flower. As long as you harp on this subject, her torment will continue." He warmed to his speech and pointed an accusing finger. "I insist that you stop inflicting pain upon dear Adrienne!"
Nathan took a step toward Huntsford, eyes glittering with rage. "You are nothing but a self-serving, devious—"
"No!" Adrienne stepped between them. Tears filled her voice and spilled onto her cheeks. "Nathan, just go away! I don't need or want you near me!"
Chapter 13
"I wonder if that fellow is not unbalanced," Huntsford Harms remarked, poking his head around the doorframe to make certain Nathan was not in the corridor. "I mean, really!" He grimaced at the two women and rolled his eyes. "Can you believe that anyone could behave so abominably?"
"I—I think he means well—about me, that is," Adrienne said.
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