His Improper Lady--A Historical Romance

by Candace Camp

  “Ah, I see,” Tom went on as Desiree moved a fraction closer. “You must have disguised yourself in the coachman’s coat and hat so Stella wouldn’t notice anything amiss about the carriage. Clever.”

  “It was easy. The little tart never even glanced at me. Just jumped into the carriage, happy as could be.”

  “And Alistair came down here to save Stella,” Tom said, his guess more a statement than a question.

  “He came to save me!” Tabitha cried out. “He knew what a scandal it would be, how it would hurt my reputation.”

  “Then why did you kill him if all he wanted was to protect you?”

  “He wasn’t thinking! He was hysterical. I had to stop him. I never meant to hurt Alistair. Ever. I loved him. If only he’d been a few minutes later, everything would have been fine. I would have had him here with me all these years. We would have had a beautiful life. But we couldn’t. She took him away from me.”

  Desiree could not hold back a sound at that statement, and Tabitha’s eyes turned back to her, narrowing. “Stop! Don’t come any closer.”

  “But you were cool and calm enough to cover his death up, weren’t you?” Tom said quickly, drawing Tabitha’s attention back to him. “You wrote that note to Mr. Paxton. You were able to copy your husband’s handwriting.”

  “Well enough to fool Lloyd Paxton,” Tabitha snorted. She waggled the gun at Desiree, now a foot closer to her. “Don’t take another step. And no more wasting time. I want that will. If you don’t—”

  She broke off at the sound of a man’s voice, calling, “Mother! Where are you?”

  “Good God. Reinforcements,” Tom muttered.

  Desiree’s heart sank. Disarming Tabitha would be hard enough. She had no chance against two of them. She and Tom were going to die. Right here next to her parents. Well, she wasn’t going down without a fight.

  Surprisingly, Tabitha didn’t answer. A furtive look came over her face, and she whispered, “Hush. Don’t move.”

  Desiree had barely taken in that peculiar statement when Gregory burst into the cave.

  “Mother!” Gregory stopped, staring at his mother. His hair was wildly windblown, his chest heaving. “No! What are you doing?”

  “Go away, Gregory. This isn’t something you should see.” Tabitha raised her weapon, sighting down it.

  “This isn’t something you should do!” Gregory’s shout seemed to stay her hand for the moment. “Mother, you aren’t feeling well. Let me take you home. You need to rest. I’ll send for Dr. McIntyre,” Gregory said in a cajoling voice, moving closer to his mother.

  “Stop! I’ll shoot her,” Tabitha snapped, and her son halted. “Go away, Gregory. Right now.”

  “No. Mother, this is wrong. What does it matter who has the will? We don’t even know what’s in it. It’s not important. Give me that gun. Please. I can’t let you kill two people.” He stretched out his hand to Tabitha, palm up, but she made no move to do as he asked.

  “We aren’t her first victims,” Desiree told him. “She killed our father, too.”

  “What?” Gregory gaped.

  Tabitha started turning to him, then jerked back as Desiree threw herself forward into a roll. Tabitha’s gun roared, but Desiree was beneath her line of fire and the bullet went harmlessly into the depths of the cave. Desiree jumped to her feet, only inches from Tabitha, and slammed into Tabitha’s arm.

  The revolver fired, the noise reverberating around the cave. Tom charged forward as Desiree sprang, and he grabbed Tabitha’s arm, wresting the gun away from her. Gregory moved at the same moment, wrapping his arms around his mother and pinning her arms to her side.

  Tom stepped back, gun still in his hand, eyeing the pair uncertainly.

  “Mother, stop! This is madness,” Gregory exclaimed as Tabitha continued to struggle, twisting and kicking in a vain attempt to get free.

  “No!” Tabitha shrieked like a wounded animal. Then suddenly she sagged against her son, bursting into sobs. “No...” Gregory eased his grip on her as she cried, raising her hands to cover her face.

  Gregory turned to Desiree and Tom as he held his mother. “I, ah, I beg your pardon. I don’t know what came over Mother. Her—her nerves have been unsettled by this whole thing about the will. I hope you will not... I’m sure she...” He ground to a halt, his face sinking into despairing lines. “What you said...”

  “That she killed your father?”

  “That can’t be true.” His words were automatic, without conviction. “She adored him, however little he deserved it. She’s kept his bedroom a veritable shrine. She loves him.”

  Desiree felt a rush of pity for the man. It was clear his world had just fallen apart. In a gentle voice, she said, “It was an unhealthy sort of love. I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

  Tom, less delicately, said, “See for yourself.” He gestured toward the pool beside them.

  Gregory hesitated for an instant, then dropped his arms from his mother and walked with Tom and Desiree over to the pool. Tom struck another match, holding it out over the shallow water.

  “My God,” Gregory whispered, shoving a hand back into his hair and staring as if struck to stone. “That’s him? My father?” He lifted his eyes to Desiree.

  “Yes,” she said gently. “Your mother...um...” She fumbled for words and looked toward Tom in entreaty.

  “She confessed,” Tom finished. “She brought Desiree’s mother here to kill her, but Alistair found out and came after them. So she killed him, too.”

  Gregory’s face was blank with shock as he gazed down at the pool. “I barely remember him,” he murmured. “Just that he was big and smelled of tobacco and—” He stopped, sucking in a harsh breath, and swung back around, saying, “Mother—”

  Tabitha was no longer there. For an instant, all three of them stood frozen. Then Gregory broke and ran from the cave, shouting to his mother. Desiree and Tom ran after him. The beach was deserted. They skirted the huge rock, splashing through the water that now covered the former strip of sand.

  There was no sign of Tabitha on this side, either. They swung around, looking in all directions. Twilight was rapidly deepening, making it difficult to see. In eerie contrast, the moon was rising early, a globe of white on the horizon.

  “There!” Tom pointed to a cluster of rocks several yards out in the ocean.

  The rocks thrust up in a line, like a row of blunt black teeth, tight together. Tabitha, drenched, was clambering up out of the water onto the lowest rock. She climbed up onto to the adjacent rock, then the next, as the ocean crashed and swirled all around her.

  Tabitha reached the last shelf of stone. It was the longest and largest, and the sea foamed around its base, water spraying up with each crashing wave. The small dark figure went up the incline in a sort of running half crawl until she reached the very tip.

  “Mother! No!” Gregory ran toward the ocean, but Tom caught him at the water’s edge.

  “No,” Tom told Gregory, holding him back. “You’d never reach her in time. You’d only kill yourself trying.” Desiree joined them, taking Gregory’s other arm in a firm grip.

  But Gregory was no longer trying to pull out of Tom’s grasp. He simply stood, staring in horror, and whispered, “Mother...”

  Tabitha reached the top of the rock and stood poised there for a moment, arms spread, looking out across the dark gray water. She turned toward them, her arms still out wide, before she fell backward into the sea.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  FOR A LONG MOMENT, they stood, staring out to where Tabitha had disappeared. Desiree turned to Gregory. His face was desolate, and he dropped suddenly to his knees, as if all energy had drained out of him.

  “My God,” he said quietly and rested back on his heels, his hands loosely on his thighs. For a moment, he simply sat, gazing out as darkness gathered around them.

  Des
iree looked from him to Tom, and Tom shrugged, clearly not knowing what to do any more than she did. Desiree knelt beside Gregory, putting her hand on his back. Gregory turned his head toward her, his gaze raw with pain. “She loved him more than anything else in the world. More than anyone.”

  It seemed a very sad statement from a son, but Desiree said only, “I’m sure she did.”

  “I can’t believe she...” He trailed off.

  Tom squatted down on Gregory’s other side. “Come on, mate, we have to go.”

  “Yes, of course.” Gregory drew a deep breath and pulled his face back into an approximation of its usual reserved state. “You’re right. I have to...there are things one must do.”

  Desiree took his arm, and Gregory glanced at her in surprise. She wasn’t sure if he was startled by the gesture of support or had simply forgotten she was there. Or perhaps he was offended by the familiarity. She didn’t know; he was related to her, but she had no idea who he really was. He’d saved them, though, and he was in obvious pain. And he was her brother.

  They took the stairs to the top of the cliff, none of them interested in trying the ancient lift. The stairs were as bad as they appeared, but Gregory, having taken the stairs down to the beach, warned them of this broken step or that loose railing. On firm ground again, they walked to the horses. Gregory had simply dropped the reins when he arrived, but the horse hadn’t wandered off and was grazing beside his mother’s team.

  Gregory picked up the dangling reins and stood looking at the carriage. “I don’t know what to do with that blasted carriage. I’d like to leave it here to rot. She would never hear of getting a different one. Because Alistair bought it in New York City on their honeymoon.”

  In the end, he decided to tie his horse to the back of the carriage, and they drove back to Weymouth in a gloomy procession. It seemed surreal to sign into the hotel room, such a mundane task, after all that had just happened. But Desiree felt too numb and exhausted to do anything else. Obviously, Gregory, signing in after them, felt the same way. The clerk looked askance at their bedraggled appearance and asked for his money up front, but he gave them rooms.

  Gregory gave Tom and Desiree a nod and turned away. He had managed to recapture the controlled face of a proper English gentleman, but Desiree knew that inside him emotions were boiling, and he was simply hoping to get to his room before he broke down.

  “Poor man,” she murmured, watching him walk down the corridor. “His whole life has been turned upside down. His whole world, really.”

  Tom nodded as he opened the door to their room. “I’d not want to be him right now. I’d rather not know who my mother is than learn she was a murderer.”

  As he closed the door behind them, Desiree went into his arms. And here, alone, safe, everything that had happened crashed in on her. She began to cry, suddenly weak and trembling, and unable to stop. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, her hands clenching in his jacket.

  Tom bent his head to hers, his arms curving around her, murmuring soft words of comfort. “It will be all right, love. I promise.”

  Her sobs quieted, but still she clung to him. “I know.” She drew a shaky breath. “It’s silly, really. I never knew them. But to see them lying there like that! I’m not even sure what I feel! All this time that I’ve been looking for them, angry and hurt that they abandoned us, they were dead, hidden in that cave. I’ve found them and lost them all at once. I hardly know whether to be happy or sad.”

  “I’m sure you’re both.” Tom’s lips brushed her hair. “But you found what you needed to.”

  “Yes, that awful feeling is gone.”

  “Good.”

  Desiree continued to lean against him, content in his arms, soothed by his hand as he stroked her back. Sheltered in his love. Now a different emotion rose in her. Softly she asked, “Did you mean it?”

  “Mean what?”

  Desiree leaned back to look into his face. “When you said you loved me.”

  He looked startled. “Of course I meant it.”

  “I—I wasn’t sure. I thought it might have been something you said in the heat of the moment. To make me feel better.”

  “I hope it made you feel better.” Tom’s lips curved up. “But I said it because it was true. I love you. I want to marry you. These days with you have been the happiest moments of my life.”

  “Even though we’ve been running from attackers half the time?” Desiree teased, warmth swelling in her chest.

  “Yes. Even with the mad killers.” Tom caressed her cheek. “I love you. I’ve never said that to anyone in my whole life. Maybe that’s why I tried so hard to keep you away. I knew if I let you in, I wouldn’t ever be able to let you go. That if you left, there’d be this hole inside me that nothing else could fill.”

  “I’m not going to leave.” Desiree stood on tiptoe and kissed him softly. “I love you, and it’s just as deep, just as strong. I know that you are the only man I’ll ever love.”

  He kissed her again, his arms wrapping around her, and Desiree melted into him. The sweet kiss turned into something much hotter, and Desiree pressed up into him, hunger flaring in her. She had thought that she was too tired and drained to do anything but immediately tumble into bed and go to sleep. But now, with Tom’s mouth on hers, her weariness was gone. His love, his passion filled up all the empty spaces inside her, chasing away sorrow.

  They undressed quickly, coming together in a storm of desire. Almost desperately, they kissed and caressed, fierce in their hunger. Desiree’s nails dug into his back, and she whispered, “Now. Take me now.”

  Tom did as she asked, thrusting deep within her, each hard, deep stroke sending Desiree deeper and deeper into passion until the pleasure seemed almost too much to bear. With a cry, she crested, and he came with her, joined in fire.

  Slowly, he relaxed against her, murmuring in her ear. “My love.”

  Desiree slid her hand over the slick skin of his back. The past didn’t matter; she had all she needed here and now. Pressing her lips softly against his shoulder, she answered, “My love.”

  * * *

  TOM AND DESIREE were in the public dining room the next morning, eating breakfast, when Gregory strode into the room. Seeing them, he came to a stop, then walked over to their table. Desiree had the feeling he’d had to force himself to do so.

  Physically, Gregory looked like himself. His expression was cool and calm, with just a hint of hauteur. His cravat was perfectly tied, his black boots polished to a gleam. But up close, his eyes still carried the remains of the lost and grieving man from last night.

  He greeted them politely, and when Desiree invited him to join them, he hesitated only a barely discernible instant before he sat down at their table. “I must beg your pardon again for last night,” he said in a stilted voice. “I wanted as well to assure you that I had no part in it. I didn’t know what Mother was doing. It was reprehensibly careless of me. I should have paid more attention. I... I assume that my father was indeed, um, that is, that we are related.”

  “Yes, I guess we are.” Desiree wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t imagine that this model of an English nobleman across from her wanted to get to know his embarrassing half siblings, but she couldn’t keep from trying to give him some comfort. “You needn’t keep apologizing for Lady Moreland. It is good of you, and I believe you. And, trust me, we are grateful that you came to our rescue.”

  “I’m glad I got there in time,” Gregory responded. “I only wish I’d realized sooner...”

  “How did you know to come here?” Tom asked.

  “I had no idea what she was up to—it’s been that way all my life, apparently. Mother has been acting strangely ever since I told her I was going to have my father declared dead. She was most upset. But I had to, you see. I am engaged now. We couldn’t go on forever in this sort of limbo. But when our attorney told us that his fa
ther had sent off an envelope to the Moreland businessman, Mother became hysterical. I thought it was because of—” He glanced at Desiree. “Well, you know.”

  “Because she told you we were trying to cheat you.”

  Gregory nodded, a little shamefacedly. “That must have been a lie, too—telling me that Alistair wasn’t your father.”

  “Yes. The body lying beside him is my mother.”

  “I...” He lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

  “It’s not your fault. Go on.”

  He nodded gratefully and said, “Last night, Mother received some sort of note. She was furious, absolutely beside herself. I couldn’t get her to tell me why. She went up to her room and refused to talk to me, so I went out. I had a commitment, you see, and I didn’t realize...”

  “You couldn’t have known what would happen,” Desiree said. Tom gave her a sardonic look, but she ignored him. Obviously, Gregory should have paid more attention to what his mother was doing. After all, he’d had to whisk the woman away the afternoon she accosted Desiree. But it must be hard for anyone, let alone a proud aristocrat, to accept that one’s mother was stark staring mad.

  Gregory continued, “This morning, right after I awoke, I looked out the window, and I saw Mother coming into the house. At that hour! So I dressed and went to talk to her, but she wasn’t in her room. Nor was she downstairs. Then the coachman came to me and told me she had taken the carriage and was driving to Sea Gift. By herself. She enjoyed driving and often did so at the country house, but to drive all that way! It alarmed me, and I could see that the coachman was quite worried, so I questioned him further.

  “He confessed everything to me. How she would sit outside your house at night for hours. She even had him follow you one day. Then she’d hired some ruffians to ‘scare you off.’ The man was very loyal to her, you see, came with her when they married, but finally he became so concerned about her he had to tell me. He wasn’t certain what she was about to do, but he knew it involved you and Sea Gift, and he knew she had her father’s revolver with her.” Gregory stopped and shrugged. “I could scarcely believe it. But I realized it was urgent, so I went after her.”