by Anne Herries
‘Good grief!’ Harry cried, shocked. ‘I had no idea…My dear fellow. I am so sorry.’
Gerard shrugged off his sympathy. ‘I told no one until recently. Miss Royston knows some of it, but not all—and I ask you both to keep my secret. I believe Lisette took her own life because I did not love her.’
‘He blames you for her death,’ Northaven said grimly. ‘It is as plain as the nose on your face! This Lieutenant Gordon—whoever he is—he blames you for the death of the woman he loves.’
‘In a way I am guilty, though I never meant to hurt her. I thought Lisette understood that I had married her simply to offer my protection, but she wanted me to love her. I failed her…and her death has haunted me ever since.’
‘I believe you have established a motive, Ravens-head—now you need to know who he really is. She did not give you the name of her lover?’
‘No. I never asked; I believed him dead and it did not matter.’
‘Does he know the child is his?’ Harry asked. ‘If so, he may feel that you have stolen her as well.’
‘I doubt he knows it,’ Gerard said. ‘She had not seen him since he rode away to battle some weeks earlier—one of his friends told her he had been killed. She was trying to discover more when she was set upon by those rogues who raped her and left her for dead.’
‘Then it is best that Gordon never knows the truth,’ Harry said. ‘Until you can discover the identity of your enemy, Gerard, you must be very careful.’
‘Yes, you are right,’ Gerard agreed. He looked at Northaven. ‘Are you willing to help us?’
‘Of course. You had only to ask.’ Northaven’s eyes gleamed. ‘Tell me what I may do for you and I shall do my best to oblige.’
Amelia sat with Emily until she drifted off into sleep. After some tears and a fit of the shudders, she had finally settled. Leaving her to rest, Amelia decided to change for the evening. She was thoughtful as she sat for her maid to dress her hair into the new softer style, caught up in an intricate swirl at the nape of her neck. During one of her crying bouts, Emily’s deep sadness at the loss of her child had come tumbling out.
Amelia had comforted her as best she could. She had made up her mind that she would definitely speak to someone soon about employing an agent to make inquiries. It might not be possible to trace the child, and even if Emily’s child could be found they might not be able to recover her. She would have a family, perhaps a mother and father who loved her—but perhaps it would be enough for Emily to have news of her daughter.
Amelia would do what she could to find the child, but she would say nothing until she knew whether or not it was possible. Having settled that much in her mind, she went down to the parlour where guests had begun to gather for drinks before dinner. She saw Susannah and several of the other guests but there was no sign of Gerard or Harry.
‘They went out earlier and have not yet come in,’ Susannah said when Amelia asked. ‘Harry told me what Northaven had done. I could hardly believe that he had acted so heroically. He was not always courteous to me in the past—and yet I am not sure that he is black as he is often painted.’
‘I owe the marquis a debt of deep gratitude,’ Amelia said. ‘I do not forget that he once fought a duel with Harry and that you were wounded, my love. However, I do not believe he meant to injure you—and perhaps he has gone some way to redeeming himself by bringing Emily back to us.’
‘Oh, I forgave him for that long ago.’ Susannah smiled. ‘He watched us when we walked from church after our wedding, you know. There was something in his eyes…I think he meant me to know that Harry was safe from him, as he has been.’ Susannah looked thoughtful. ‘He is undoubtedly a rake and has almost certainly done things that would shock us if we knew the whole—but everyone is entitled to a second chance.’
‘Yes, I am sure you are right.’ Amelia frowned. ‘I wanted to speak to Harry, but it will keep.’
‘Is there something I can help you with, Amelia?’
‘No, Susannah. I need a man’s advice about something, my dear. I had thought to ask Harry, for I believe that Gerard has enough on his mind at the moment—but another day will do.’
‘Well, I dare say they will not be long, though Harry told me not to hold dinner.’
‘I expect they have some business.’
‘I dare say they do. It seems very odd that the Marquis of Northaven is involved; Harry was much against him at one time.’
‘Gentlemen are contrary creatures,’ Amelia teased. ‘They can be at odds one minute and the best of friends another.’
‘Do you think we can trust him?’ Harry asked as they entered the house, shaking a light dusting of snow from their coats. ‘I must admit I should not have given him a chance to speak had he not brought Miss Barton back to us. I should probably have told the footmen to throw him out.’
He went over to the magnificent mahogany sideboard in his library and poured brandy for them both, giving one to Gerard and holding the other to warm it in his hands before sipping.
‘At the moment I do not have much choice,’ Gerard confessed. ‘His tale of a Lieutenant Gordon might be a falsehood, but I am inclined to believe him. Lisette had a lover. She believed he had been killed, but it is possible that he still lives. Men fall in battle and are reported dead and then turn up somewhere…’ He sighed with frustration. ‘If he went looking for her and heard tales of her death, it would explain why he hates me. He probably thinks I am a monster and that I treated her ill. I gave her everything I could, but she needed so much more.’
‘If you could speak to him, tell him what happened…’
Gerard shook his head, dismissing the idea. ‘I doubt he would listen. In his place I would want revenge.’ He groaned his frustration. ‘What am I to do, Harry? How can I marry Amelia, knowing that by doing so I am endangering her life? When I thought she was in danger from her brother it was one thing, but now…’
‘You cannot be sure of anything. This tale of Northaven’s may be a ruse. He could still be in league with the rogues. Besides, you cannot wish to withdraw? You do not wish to jilt Amelia Royston? Think how it would look? Susannah would never speak to you again.’
‘Of course I do not wish to jilt her! Good God! It is the last thing I want—but if the marriage is rendering her the target of a madman…’
‘I can only advise you to wait. We shall see that she is protected,of course. Northaven says that he will try to discover the true identity of thi sman…getasclose to him as he can and then bring you news of his whereabouts. We must hope that he will keep his word.’
‘Yes, though, if he drugged the rogues who snatched Miss Barton, Northaven’s life could be at risk. Lieutenant Gordon will have him shot on sight.’
‘He knew that was possible when he agreed. This may be his way of atoning, Gerard. Even if he did not betray us that time in Spain, it was his loose talk while drunk that led to the deaths of several men. The French knew we were coming. Our mission was secret. Only the four of us knew, for we did not tell the troopers where we were going. They followed us blindly to their deaths—and Northaven did not turn up that morning. He says that he woke too late after a night of heavy drinking and gambling, but I am still not certain I believe him.’
‘We sent him to Coventry and branded him a coward and a traitor,’ Gerard observed grimly. ‘He always swore that he was innocent, but in his heart he knew that his loose tongue was to blame. He provoked you into a duel and would have killed any of us in anger—but I believe he has changed, though I have no idea why.’
‘He said it was a woman.’
‘If rumour does not lie, he has ruined more than one in his time. She must be remarkable if she has reformed him. I am not certain that his story is the true one, but I have no other clues. So far this Lieutenant Gordon has managed to cover his tracks. I have set my agents to looking for him, and I am having Northaven watched too. I do not trust him entirely even yet.’
‘Then you must carry on as if nothing has happ
ened. If you change your plans, Gordon will become suspicious. There is no guarantee that he will leave Miss Royston in peace, even if you give her up. If I were in your shoes, I would double the number of men watching over her and Miss Barton and go ahead with your plans.’
‘I must make Amelia aware of the danger—but I think you are right. We did not tell many people, but these things get out.To draw back now would lookas if we had quarrelled. I shall just have to be vigilant.’
‘It is all you can do for the moment. I shall come to Coleridge a few days after you, Gerard. In the meantime I will send some of my grooms with you. I know you have your own men, but they will do better in the shadows. My grooms will be armed and ride with you.’
‘Thank you, but I hardly like to involve you in this business, Harry. You have a wife and child to think of and this may be a nasty affair before it is ended.’
‘We swore to help each other that day in Spain,’ Harry reminded him grimly. ‘We survived that day because the three of us defended each other’s backs. You were there for me when I needed you—I shall not desert you in your time of need.’
‘You believe that all this may be because of Lisette’s lover?Someone she knew before you married her?’ Amelia stared at Gerard in the moonlight.Hehad come to her as she was about to go up to bed, requesting that she stroll with him in the gallery. The candles had burned low in their sockets, but the moonlight filtered through the long windows, giving them light enough to see each other’s faces. Had it not been for the subject under discussion, it might have been romantic. She did not think that he had mentioned that Lisette had had a lover before this,though perhaps she had not perfectly heard him. ‘Gerard—how can that be? I am at a loss to understand. Why should this man blame you for what happened?’
‘I do not know. Northaven said that Gordon hates me and I can only think he must be bitter because Lisette died. I told you that she took her own life some months after the birth of her child. If he went looking for her in the Spanish village where we lived and was told that she slashed her wrists, he would be horrified, angry. In his shoes I might want revenge.’
‘Why did she marry you if she had a lover?’
‘She believed he was dead. She was alone and in desperate need.’
‘Lisette died four years ago, Gerard. Why has this man never tried to kill you in all those years? Why now?’
‘I have no idea. I cannot even be sure that Northaven is telling me the truth. He could have planned the whole thing to gain some advantage for himself.’
‘Surely he would not?’ Amelia looked thoughtful. ‘There must be some other reason that has kept this man from moving against you, Gerard. Something must have changed. Perhaps he did not know how Lisette died and then discovered it.’
‘I wish I knew…’Gerard hesitated. ‘You know in what danger you stand. Would you prefer it if I went away? I should still try to discover my enemy, but you would be safer. And in time I could return. It would be merely a postponement.’
‘You know my answer. I refuse to hide in the shadows. Besides, he would not be fooled. If this man knows so much about us, he would soon learn the truth. If we let him part us, it would be for ever. Do you want that?’
‘No! Damn it, no.’
‘Then we have no alternative but to go ahead with our plans.’
‘It is odd that he knows where we are. I told only a few people I was coming here this Christmas.’
‘Most of my acquaintances knew I would be here,’ Amelia said. ‘However, I told no one that I expected to see you for I did not know if I should.’
‘It is a mystery,’ Gerard said. ‘I may have been followed, of course. I feel like a blind man stumbling about in the dark.As Harry says,we cannot be certain even now for it is all merely theory.’
‘I believe the only way is to carry on as normal and hope that he will make a mistake.’
‘You are very brave.’Gerard looked at her gravely. ‘I would rather give you up than have your death on my conscience, Amelia—but, as you say, if we give way now it does not follow that you will be safe. I think it is better than we go ahead with the wedding as soon as possible so that I am in a position to take care of you.’
Amelia felt as if her heart had been squeezed. Gerard would rather give her up than have her death on his conscience. How could he say such a thing to her? She would rather die than give him up, but it seemed he did not feel the same way.
Lisette had been desperately unhappy because he did not love her. Amelia could not help but wonder if she were laying up pain for herself in the future. She loved him so very much. Would she one day feel desperate because Gerard was unable to love her? Would she ever feel so alone that she would be driven to take her own life?
No, she had known heartbreak and lived through it. She was stronger than Lisette.
‘I am certain there is more to this mystery than you yet realise,’ she told him. ‘Your enemy knows where we are and what we are doing. He knows all about me. How can that be? We must have a mutual acquaintance. Someone close to us who knows where we intend to be.’
‘Yes, that would seem to be the case. I am damned if I know who it is, though!’
‘We must both think hard. Since I was the target, you cannot be certain that he is your enemy, Gerard. He might very well be mine.’
‘You are sure she means to go to Coleridge?’Lieutenant Gordon asked of the woman he had met late at night in the shadows of a summerhouse. ‘If I have men waiting on the road and she goes to another location, I may miss my last chance of surprising them.’
The woman’s mouth curled in a sneer. ‘Your fools bungled it once. Do you imagine that you still have the element of surprise? No, you lost that when you involved Northaven in your plans. Why did you not ask me? I should have told you that he would not do it. I know he spoke of hating them, but he hated only that they distrusted him—thought him a traitor. He is no angel, but neither is he a murderer. I could have told you had you asked my advice.’
‘How do you know so much about him?’ Gordon asked, looking at her jealously. She was his second cousin. When they were children they had played together in the meadows. She had given herself to him when she was thirteen. Wild and enchanting, she had had the power to command him, making him her slave, but when he joined the army as a young man he had broken free of her. He had fallen in love, but Lisette had betrayed him. He had searched for her when his wounds healed, and when he discovered the truth of her death he had been devastated. On his return to England some months ago, he had sought his childhood love out, discovering that her power to enslave him had become stronger. ‘Is Northaven your lover?’
She laughed mockingly. ‘I may once have indulged myself with the gentleman for an hour or so one summer, but I never loved him. You have no need to be jealous.’ She laid her hand on his arm, giving him a seductive smile. ‘Have I not helped you by telling you where you could find Miss Royston? Have I not helped you to plan your revenge on the man who stole your lover?’
‘Lisette was a silly little fool. I was angry when I discovered that he had married her and made her unhappy—but I never loved her in the way I love you. I have always adored you. You are the one who hates him. Or is it Miss Royston you hate?’
‘She is nothing to me. I care not whether she lives or dies, but he loves her and so her fate is sealed. You want Gerard Ravenshead dead and so do I—we are agreed on this, are we not?’ He nodded, though it was she who had demanded Ravenshead’s death as her price—the price he must pay to have her. ‘Then there is nothing else you need to know.’
He moved towards her, reaching out to pull her hard against him. His mouth was demanding on hers, bruising and possessive. ‘You know I love you. I have hated him for what he did to Lisette, but—’
‘You would have let him live?’ Her eyes snapped with scorn. ‘She cut her wrists…bled to death…and you would let him live? You snivelling coward! I thought you had more courage. Perhaps I should find another to help me.’
>
‘No!’ Gordon caught her wrist as she would have turned away from him. ‘I will see her dead and he shall witness her death, as I promised you.’
‘She must be ravished and he must see it! I want him to suffer. His death is not punishment enough.’
‘Why do you hate him so much? What did he do to you?’
‘That is my affair,’ she told him and her eyes blazed with bitter anger. ‘I want revenge and I know how to get it. Forget your ideas of ambushing them on the road. They will have outriders and grooms and all will be armed. The rogues you employ will turn tail and flee at the first shot fired at them. No, I have a much better idea. Listen well, because this is what we shall do…’
‘I wish that we were coming with you.’ Susannah hugged Amelia as they parted. Christmas was over and the snow had cleared, but the overnight frost had turned the ground hard. ‘I know that we shall see you at Coleridge, but I am concerned for you on the journey.’
‘You must not be, dearest.’ Amelia kissed her cheek. ‘Thank you for giving us such a wonderful Christmas. Perhaps another year you may come to us.’
‘I doubt if the relatives would give up the Christmas visit. It is tradition, you know—but I shall be very glad to stay with you at other times. The Old Crusties, as Toby Sinclair calls them, enjoy their stay. I shall be fortunate to get to Coleridge before the day of the ball.’
‘You make them too comfortable.’ Amelia laughed. ‘Well, I must not keep Gerard waiting; I know he is anxious that we should make good time.’
‘I shall see you soon. You must write to me as soon as you arrive.’
Amelia laughed. ‘You sound like Marguerite. She is always anxious to hear my news. I must write to her again soon.’
Susannah frowned. ‘Marguerite? I do not think I know her.’
‘No, perhaps I did not mention her to you. We did not communicate for some years following a family tragedy, but then she wrote to me and I learned how miserable her life has become. Since then I have written to her at least twice a month and sometimes more.’
