A Forgotten Murder

by Jude Deveraux

  There was a woman cleaning the hallway and Jack lifted the two suitcases in question. She smiled warmly at him and said, “Josephine.”

  He’d seen the sign on the door and knew it was at the top of the house. It was the only one of the former servants’ quarters that had been renovated.

  When he knocked, there was no answer. He set the cases down and was about to leave when he heard a sob. Then another. There was no way he could walk away from that. As Kate would say, “Leaving a sobbing woman would make you lose your hero badge.”

  The door opened easily. It was a small room, the walls painted with murals of a summer’s day. The big, canopied bed took up most of the space. Sprawled across it was Nadine’s daughter, her face buried in a pillow as she hid the tears that were making her body shake.

  He sat down on the edge of the bed.

  She felt the motion. “Whoever you are, go away!”

  “I’m a good listener,” Jack said softly.

  She turned just enough to peek at him. “Who are you? You work here?”

  “No. I’m a guest.”

  “I’m...” She put her face back into the pillow. “I don’t know who I am. My father isn’t really... I mean, my mother jilted my—” She cried harder.

  “She seems to love you a lot.” There wasn’t any sympathy in Jack’s voice.

  “How could you understand? You’re... You’re an American!”

  “True,” he said mildly. “Any problems we have, we shoot it out. But then, we don’t have disagreements with each other or our parents. And nobody jumps into bed with anybody else. You English have the market cornered on passion. No, wait! You are a bunch of coldhearted, unfeeling—”

  She turned on her back. “You are reinforcing all we think of Americans.”

  “That we care?”

  “That you have no sense of boundaries. You tell your life stories as soon as you meet.”

  “Better than crying into a pillow in secret,” Jack said. “So what did your mother actually do?”

  “I... She...”

  Jack pulled half a dozen tissues out of the box on the side table and handed them to her.

  She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I must look awful.”

  “A real troll.”

  She sort of smiled.

  “My father—my beloved father who I adored...”

  “Yes?”

  “He...” She sniffed. “He isn’t my father. I’m not related to him.” Her voice was rising. “Granny isn’t mine. None of his family belongs to me.” Tears were beginning to flow again.

  Jack couldn’t bear it. She needed all the comfort he could give. He leaned back against the headboard and extended an arm in invitation.

  “I don’t know you and I shouldn’t...” She went to him, put her head on his chest, and he held her with both arms. She cried some more, wetting his shirt, and his hold on her was snug.

  “So who is your father?” he asked softly.

  “A nobody. He cleaned the stables. He left my mother as soon as she told him she was expecting me. He didn’t want me. He ran away with some dreadful woman. They—”

  Jack had to work to keep calm. “Are you saying your father is Sean Thorpe?”

  “Yes, that’s the name.”

  “But he and your mother greatly disliked each other.”

  “Grow up!”

  “Right.” Jack glanced at the door. He wanted to run to tell Kate and Sara. “Tell me everything.”

  Teddy moved away and blew her nose again. “I don’t want to know all of it. Mother tried to tell me but I couldn’t bear to listen.”

  “Are you upset because you don’t think you still have the right to be called a ‘lady’?”

  “What a snob thing to say! I’m angry because I’ve been lied to for my entire life. She could have told my real father her situation. He would have saved her. He would have rescued us from a life of poverty. He was a man of honor and—”

  “I don’t think Nadine’s father would have allowed you to live in poverty.”

  Teddy waved her hand. “That’s beside the point. That man left her! Abandoned her. If she’d told me that long ago, I would have understood. Can you imagine what it’s like to know your own father didn’t want you?”

  “Yes,” Jack said. “Vividly. Did Nadine tell you when she and Sean first got together?”

  “She tried.” Teddy held out her hand and he gave her more tissues. “She said it was love at first sight. No! It was passion at first sight. But she said she couldn’t tell anyone. I don’t know why.”

  “They would have ripped her apart,” Jack said. “Like they did to Willa over her lawyer.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing. Did she mention riding lessons?”

  “I don’t remember. Oh yes. She said it took months to make Gramps come up with the idea of giving her riding lessons.”

  Jack remembered Nadine saying about Puck, She believed she knew everything but she knew less than half of it. Looked like that was true! “Can your mother ride a horse?”

  “Absolutely not! Horses terrify her.”

  “And you?”

  “Won gymkhanas and trials. I was thinking of trying out for the Olympics, but—” She frowned at him. “Why are you asking me all these questions?”

  “Just curious. Bet you can drive cars too.”

  “I’ve won a few rallies.” She glared at him. “Who are you and why are you here?”

  For a moment, Jack drew a blank. He couldn’t think of a single thing that he could tell her. His mind was full of visions of the skeleton. He couldn’t very well say If your father did try to run away, it’s quite possible that your mother murdered him.

  “Well?” she said. “I’ve just confided in you, so tell me what you’re trying hard not to say.”

  Perceptive little beauty, aren’t you? he thought. He needed to change the subject. “What’s wrong with your grandfather?”

  “Early stages of dementia. He’ll be fine for an hour, then suddenly start demanding that his secretary give him reports on the day’s orders. He—” Her eyes widened. “We left him alone.” She scurried off the bed and grabbed the doorknob. “Come on, let’s find him.” She looked him up and down. “And don’t hurt him if he gets nasty.”

  “Had to leave my six-shooter at home. Airport security greatly hinders us Americans.”

  With a look of disgust, she flung the door open and nearly tripped over her suitcases. “And put these inside!” she ordered. He heard her run down the hall, then the stairs.

  Jack got off the bed. “Might have done you good to have a stableman as your father,” he mumbled, then put the suitcases inside the room. He paused in the hallway. If Nadine’s father knew the house, he might go upstairs. Especially if he used to “break the glass elephant” with someone who wasn’t part of the family. A pretty maid, maybe?

  He headed up to the top of the house.

  * * *

  When Jack saw that the upstairs was empty, he went down and met Sara coming out of her room. She had on one of her simple dresses that probably cost what he paid his workmen for a week. “Have you seen Nadine’s father?”

  “He’s with her. We’re meeting downstairs for cocktails, and you need to change. I’m pretty sure Byon wants you to sing for him.”

  “Teddy’s father is Sean.”

  Sara gasped. “Oh. Right. The man Nadine hated. Makes sense. She sure was good at keeping it a secret.” Sara’s head came up. “Think she told him the night of the party?”

  “Then when he said, ‘You’re on your own, baby,’ she bashed him over the head with a rock?”

  “Something like that. Have you been with her daughter all this time?”

  “Most of the time. She was a mess.”

  “And you healed her?”

&
nbsp; Jack’s lips tightened. “I listened to her. You two do the same with the old man?”

  “We couldn’t catch him. He wanted to see the changes in the house and gave us the slip.”

  “Where’s Kate?”

  “Getting dressed. You brought your tux, didn’t you?”

  “Of course,” Jack said. “When do you think Meena will show up?”

  “Remember that the name’s back to Willa,” Sara reminded him. “I imagine her hair will take some time. And makeup removal will take hours.”

  “She had on makeup today?”

  “Aren’t you funny,” Sara said. “Go change into your tux.” She smoothed his shirt collar. “Drive Byon crazy with the beauty of you.”

  Laughing, Jack kissed her cheek. “I’ll be down as soon as I can.”

  “I forgot to ask what you thought of Nadine’s daughter.”

  “Gorgeous. She rides horses like her father and drives cars like her mother.”

  “Oh.” Sara’s face fell. “She is quite pretty.”

  “And spoiled and demanding and doesn’t appreciate what she has.”

  Sara cheered up. “Ah, too bad.”

  Jack shook his head, then started down the hall. “But exciting,” he said over his shoulder. “She could give a man a good run. While it lasted. Short-term heaven.”

  Grimacing, Sara went down to the drawing room. Nadine and Byon were sitting together on the couch, their heads close, and talking privately. Wonder if I could have the room bugged? she thought. I’d like to hear what they’re saying. They nodded to Sara but didn’t stop their conversation.

  Like Byon, Clive was wearing a tuxedo. He was at the drinks table and she went to him.

  “Nothing has changed,” Clive said. “The top echelon is together and I’m the butler. What would you like to have?”

  “Gin and tonic,” she said.

  “How English. Sure you don’t want an appletini?”

  “Don’t make me gag.” She was looking at Nadine and Byon. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

  “Money, probably.”

  “Then they should include you, the banker,” Sara said.

  Clive smiled. “Thank you.” He handed her a drink. “It feels odd after all these years of working with people to suddenly be excluded. And worse, it’s making anger and resentment rise up inside me. I want to pour bourbon over Byon’s head.”

  “And light it on fire?”

  “Of course not,” Clive said, but he was laughing.

  “Have you met Nadine’s daughter or seen her father?”

  “No.” They were at the far side of the room, their voices quiet. “Mr. Howland! He was sanity in the midst of chaos. The earl was spending madly, and Nicky was brooding over the futility of his life, then here came Mr. Howland, loud and giving orders.”

  “Did you know that he paid Bertie’s bills?”

  Clive nearly choked on his drink. “I knew money came from somewhere but...” He paused. “Mr. Howland wanted to buy Oxley for Nadine. He probably thought Nicky and his title came with it.”

  “Spot on!” Sara said.

  “Didn’t get it, did he? So what’s he trying to rule now?”

  “Nothing,” she said. “He’s as daffy as a drunken bullfrog.”

  “Odd phrase but descriptive. Probably wore his mind out with his schemes. Back then, there were whole minutes when I felt sorry for Nadine. What’s her daughter like?”

  “Jack spent time with her, says she rides as well as her father.”

  “Must have come from the viscount as Nadine hated horses. I still remember her complaints about Thorpe. She despised him! At the time, I thought her treatment of him was part of why he ran away. If he did. Maybe she...”

  “Murdered him?” Sara finished for him. He didn’t answer as his eyes went to the doorway. Young Teddy, her arm looped through her grandfather’s, was there. She had on a slinky red dress with nothing on under it. You could see the indentation of her navel.

  Clive gave a low whistle. “How old is she?”

  “She was born six months after the party when her father disappeared.” Quickly, Sara turned away. She wouldn’t have dropped such news on Clive if there wasn’t a mirror over the fireplace. If she’d been looking at him, he might have controlled his expression, but with her back to him, he didn’t need to. Sara saw his look of shock—and it appeared to be genuine.

  Cautiously, she greeted Mr. Howland, and he seemed to be back in the present.

  “Lovely what they’ve done to the place, isn’t it?” he said as they stepped to one side of the room.

  Sara was facing him so she could see the others interact. Teddy seemed to be sulking, with her lower lip stuck out. She wasn’t looking directly at her mother, but Sara felt that she wanted to speak to her. Whatever Jack had done, he seemed to have calmed the girl down somewhat.

  Mr. Howland was waiting for an answer.

  “Sorry. I missed that.”

  “I was saying what a splendid job this woman, Isabella, has done. Wish I could meet her. It’s hard to believe that at one time I wanted to own this monstrosity.”

  “And Nicky,” she said.

  Mr. Howland looked startled, then laughed. “Poor Nicky. Nadine would have made mincemeat out of him.”

  “He was more suited to Diana?”

  “She was the boss he needed. She ordered him about like the do-nothing he was.” He looked around the room. “Diana would have done this—if she’d had the money.”

  “Where was she going to get financing?” Sara asked.

  “She was planning to go into breeding horses.”

  “Not racing?”

  “No. Too much expense. It was a secret, but one of the mares was pregnant by North Star. Ever hear of him?”

  “No. ’Fraid not.”

  “It was kind of like crossing a Lamborghini with a Ferrari. I don’t know how she managed it.”

  “What happened to the mare?”

  Mr. Howland shrugged. “No idea. After Thorpe and Diana ran away together, everything stopped.”

  “What about Nadine?” she asked softly. “And the baby?”

  Pain distorted Mr. Howland’s face. It was like watching a play as Sara saw him change from rational to something feral. He turned toward the others. “Where’s Bertie?” he bellowed. “I want one of his cigars. And I need to tell Nicky I have a car for him. He’ll like it. It’s fast.” He stepped away from Sara.

  “Damn!” she muttered. She’d missed the little window of opportunity to find out more of what he knew. Was he there the night Sean and Diana disappeared? What was his opinion of what had happened? Did he—?

  She was glad when Jack and Kate appeared in the doorway. They were laughing, probably at one of the many jokes they shared.

  “There he is!” came a woman’s voice.

  Sara turned to see pretty Teddy looking at Jack. It didn’t take a psychic to see that she was trying to annoy her mother. The sprayed-on dress, the blond hair caressing her face. She was what all mothers told their daughters not to be.

  “He’s the man who saved me.” Teddy’s voice filled the big room.

  Everyone was mesmerized by her as she slunk across the room, the fabric of her dress clinging indecently.

  “My darling hero.” When she reached Jack, she slipped an arm around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth.

  Jack didn’t pull away, but Kate did.

  Sara got in one step before all hell broke loose.

  Like the bulldog he resembled, Mr. Howland went charging. “You bloody bastard,” he yelled. “She’s your daughter.”

  In one moment, he swept Teddy aside and went after Jack, head down, charging like an enraged bull.

  Jack was fast and sidestepped the charge—which meant that Mr. Howland was going toward the w
all. If he hit it, his head would be broken like a pumpkin.

  Sara, Jack and Kate had spent a lot of time boxing, and they were used to punches and jabs that they had to duck.

  Sara dropped her drink to the carpet and made three leaps to reach the man to grab him from behind. Kate was at his right side and she threw herself onto him, pinning his arm down. Jack put himself in front of the man.

  They managed to stop him just as he was mere inches from ramming into Jack. But saving him didn’t stop his rage. “I’ll kill you,” he yelled, and went after Jack.

  Sara was behind him, her arms around his waist, her head on his back, but her light weight wasn’t hindering him. Kate had his arm locked down, but he still went after Jack.

  It was Nadine who stopped him. She got through the melee to stand in front of him. “He’s not Sean,” she yelled. “He’s Jack. You don’t know him. Not. Sean.” She had to repeat it three times before it registered.

  Yet again, he switched. The energy left him. He stood upright. In the present again.

  Sara and Kate stepped away, but Jack stayed where he was, ready to take the man down if necessary.

  Mr. Howland looked at Jack. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m—” The man looked like he might die of embarrassment.

  “How about if I take you to your room?” Jack’s voice was kind and Mr. Howland nodded.

  “I’m sorry,” the older man said as they went up the stairs. His face was still red. “My mind comes and goes. I try to control it, but...”

  “It’s all right,” Jack said. “We all have problems.”

  “A big, good-looking young man like you?”

  “Me most of all,” Jack said. “I look like a man your daughter hated.”

  Mr. Howland gave a snort of laughter. “Far from it. She...” He took a breath. “I thought she was going to kill herself after he left. I would have lost her and my beautiful granddaughter both. Here. I’m in this room.”

  It was the Napoleon Room.

  “They see me as a failed ruler,” he said as he fumbled to find the key. “I lock it because I don’t trust any of them. They’re all liars and thieves.”