Iantha wiped her eyes. “I am quite well, dear. I am just so happy to see all of you.”
A moment of silence settled over the group. Well, no wonder in that. How long had it been since they had seen her weep? For that matter, how long had it been since she had cried from happiness? Iantha could not remember. Perhaps she had never done so. The swelling emotion in her heart did not even feel familiar. Perhaps one must suffer unhappiness before happiness could be fully appreciated. She sniffed and reached for her handkerchief. Suddenly she felt Rob’s sturdy arm around her waist.
“Welcome, Lady Rosley…my lord.” He bowed to the one and shook hands with the other.
“Thank you, Duncan.” Lord Rosley indicated his tall companion. “Allow me to present my son, Major John Kethley.”
“How do you do, Major. Welcome to the Eyrie.” Rob clasped her brother’s hand warmly.
John bowed. “Thank you, my lord. I have been eager to meet you since my sister wrote to me of her marriage.”
Iantha thought an assessing glance passed between the two men. But then her attention was taken up by her two younger brothers, who were clamoring for her attention.
“Hello, Thomas! Nat, do give me a hug. I believe the two of you have grown by inches since I last saw you.” Both boys hugged her at once.
“I have grown, Annie.” Nathaniel stuck out one leg. “See, all my britches have become too short. I’ll soon be as tall as Tom.”
“No, you won’t, sprout.” Thomas rested his elbow on his brother’s head. “I am growing faster than you are.”
Some good-natured pushing and shoving immediately ensued.
“Ahem. Gentlemen!” The indulgent smile on Lord Rosley’s face belied the sternness of his voice, but the rebuke served to restore order.
“Alas, they are both growing before my very eyes.” Lady Rosley sighed. “I cannot keep them in clothes.”
Rob laughed. “I seem to remember that Sam and I did the same thing.” He gestured toward stairs leading to the drawing room. “But come, everyone. Let us make ourselves more comfortable.”
As he led his guests up the steps, Rob marveled at the change in his wife. Weeping with joy! A thrill of happiness shot through his own heart. And embracing her father and brothers… The changes in her had penetrated deep, not only with respect to him, but to her family as well. His new goddess—his silver goddess—shone more brightly every day.
After a convivial dinner, they gathered in the drawing room. Iantha played Fox and Geese with first Nathaniel and then Valeria. Then she listened to the men discuss the Bonaparte situation while the two children played with one another. Nat’s crow of victory put an end to these festivities, Lady Rosley declaring it to be bedtime for the youngsters. They departed, with only minor protests, under the escort of Valeria’s governess.
When they had gone, Lord Rosley turned to Rob. “Have you discovered who perpetrated this latest outrage on my daughter?”
Rob shook his head. “I regret to say that I have not. Thank you for sending me Daniel. He has proved a very dependable lookout.”
“Aye, he is a steady fellow. I have brought you Harry as well this trip. He should also prove useful. And I have brought you John.”
“Oh, John, can you stay for a while?” Iantha’s heart leapt at the thought of having her big brother, always her protector, with her.
He nodded. “Yes, I have requested an extended furlough.” He turned to Rob. “If you think I may be of service, Lord Duncan, I would be honored to help you fight these bastards…uh, I beg pardon, Mama…these scoundrels who persist in tormenting Iantha.”
“Thank you, Major. I would be extremely pleased to have your help.” Rob nodded. “I seem to be making no headway at all in identifying them—except for Wycomb, of course. But the very fact that he is dead demonstrates that there are more of them.”
“Has to be.” Sam spoke up. “If he was into espionage, then he must have confederates—confederates who apparently no longer trusted him—unless, of course, he was found out.”
“But what does his treason have to do with what happened to me six years ago?” Iantha searched the faces of the men. “Why were they wearing those masks?” No one produced an answer, but her mother shifted uncomfortably.
“I believe I will retire. I find I am more tired than I realized.” She rose, and the men did likewise.
Poor Mama. Iantha knew she still could not bear to talk about the assault. “Of course, Mama. I’ll walk you to your room.”
“I’ll join you, my dear.” Lord Rosley took his wife’s arm.
John nodded to Rob, Sam and Vijaya. “If you gentlemen will excuse me, I had little sleep last night. I arrived late at Hill House, and Tom had me out at the crack of dawn. Come, Thomas, you have been yawning, too, any time this past hour.”
The major offered Iantha his arm. A murmur of good-nights followed them out of the room, Thomas on their heels. They climbed the stairs together, Iantha feeling closer to her family than she had in many years. She was so thrilled to have them in her home. She was so grateful to have a home of her own. A few months ago she would never have considered it possible.
As they strolled down the corridor toward their respective rooms, Camille stepped out of Iantha’s bedchamber, nodded to Daniel on duty by the door and turned to close the door behind her.
As she looked up and saw the group approaching, she froze.
John also stopped in his tracks, bringing Iantha to a halt beside him. Thomas stepped back hastily to avoid treading on their heels.
For one short moment Iantha thought she saw a look of pure shock on her maid’s face. Then Camille opened the door and retreated the way she had come.
Iantha opened her eyes and yawned. Rob had already risen. Even though she knew he would be within earshot, she missed his solid presence beside her. Near him she always felt safe. She stifled the small twinge of anxiety and buried her face in his pillow. It smelled like him—of smoke and soap and leather and—well, just Rob.
How important to her he had become! And not just because of the safety he represented. The physical closeness she had once so feared had now become, indeed, life’s greatest adventure. But more than that she had come to value the touch of his hand, the shape of his shoulders, the thickness of his hair. The sound of his deep voice created a little tremor in her heart.
These reflections brought her up short for a moment. They sounded very much like symptoms of love! Could she, Iantha Elizabeth Kethley Armstrong, Lady Duncan, victim of rape and prisoner of her own fears, at last be falling in love?
Another of life’s great adventures within her grasp.
If they could continue to preserve her life.
She shoved the thought aside and rolled over and tugged the bell pull, then relaxed against her pillow, for the moment warm and contented. What a joy to have her husband and her family around her. Even the threat hanging over her head could not dim her pleasure. Why had she shut herself away from them for so long? Never would she allow herself to do so again, no matter what happened.
To her surprise the door was opened not by Camille, but by the upstairs chambermaid bearing a tray with hot chocolate. “Good morning, my lady.”
“Why, good morning, Ellen. Where is Camille?”
The girl flushed as she set her tray down and turned to help Iantha arrange her pillows. “I…we are not certain, my lady.”
Iantha frowned. “What do you mean, Ellen? Is she not in her room?”
“No, ma’am, nor in the kitchen. Mrs. Lamonby sent Thursby to look for her, but he ain’t found her. So I was asked to bring up your chocolate.”
Iantha took the cup, but did not lean back into the pillows. She sat up straight, her brow puckered in thought. “She must be here somewhere. Did you check the sewing room?”
“Thursby says he did, my lady. Should I help you dress?”
“Yes, thank you.” Iantha set the drink on her bed table and swung her feet to the floor. “I must discover what is afoot. It is
not like her to be unavailable. The gray twill morning gown, I think, Ellen. Yes, that is the one.”
While Ellen laid out her underclothes, Iantha gulped down the chocolate as rapidly as she could without burning her tongue, and looked in her bed table drawer for the pistol she always wore under her skirts.
It was not there.
Climbing out of bed, she checked thoroughly in the wardrobe, but the gun was not to be found there, either. How disturbing! She needed the sense of security that wearing it gave her. Without it she felt naked and vulnerable.
She dressed hurriedly and sat at the vanity long enough for Ellen to brush her hair back from face and secure it with silver combs. No sooner had that been accomplished than a light tap sounded on the door connecting her bedchamber to her sitting room. She heard Rob’s voice on the other side of the panel. “Iantha, are you dressed?”
“Yes, just a moment.” Sending Ellen for coffee and scones, Iantha opened the door. “Rob, the strangest thing has happened. No one can find Camille… Oh, good morning, John. I did not know you were here.”
“That is what we wish to discuss with you.” Rob stepped back so that she could enter the sitting room. “John has brought me some interesting information.”
“Oh?” Iantha seated herself on the sofa, and Rob took a chair near the hearth, where John stood warming himself. “What might that be?”
“John has encountered Camille before.”
“Ah! I thought last night that there was something strange…”
“Yes, I recognized her in the hallway yesterday evening—and evidently she also recognized me. I imagine that is why she cannot be found this morning.”
Iantha’s eyes narrowed. “But why… What does that have to do with anything?”
“John met her in the company of Horace Raunds.”
“Raunds? The younger diplomat—Lord Alton’s son, who was here at Christmas? Now how would they know one another? I don’t understand.” Iantha watched her brother’s face turn red and grimaced. “Oh, come now, John. I am no longer a schoolroom miss.”
He smiled. “No, but I did not expect my very proper sister to be served by a member of the muslin company.”
“The muslin… Oh, the demimonde.” In spite of herself Iantha flushed. “I see.”
“I doubt it. At least, I hope not.” John laughed, then sobered. “But I am concerned. It was at a rather rowdy party I attended in London with some lads from my regiment about a year ago—mostly a soldiers’ gathering, but there were a few people from the Home Office. Even though Camille arrived with Raunds, she spent a great deal of time flirting with the senior officers. In fact, she went aside with… Well, enough said about that.”
“This sounds like quite an affair.” Rob grinned at his brother-in-law.
John winked at him. “I came away immediately, of course.”
Iantha leaned back against the sofa and pondered this revelation. She had never seen this side of her adored older brother. Did all men live lives separate and secret from their womenfolk? Her brow puckered in disapproval.
“Now, Annie. Come out of your high ropes.” John became serious once more. “I really do not care much for that kind of carouse, and that one definitely did not keep the line. There was much drinking of absinthe and smoking…I don’t know just what. Some intoxicant. I did gather up everyone I could command, and took us all away. Too much opportunity there for trouble—and far too much loose talk.”
Ellen arrived with the coffee tray, and conversation ceased while Iantha poured for the three of them and John took a chair and a scone.
When they were all served, Rob nodded thoughtfully. “Did you know Stephen Wycomb?”
“Sharp-faced, dark-haired fellow? Sly looking?” John spoke around a mouthful of scone. “I met him. Didn’t like him above half. If he was one of the devils who hurt Iantha, good riddance, I say!”
“No doubt about that.” Rob sipped his coffee. “I was wondering—was he at that party?”
“I don’t remember. Why? Oh, I see—the espionage.” John rubbed his chin. “He may have been there. It would have been an excellent opportunity to glean some military intelligence.”
“So it seems my new, skilled French maid may be a spy?” Iantha grimaced.
“I think that may be only one of many skills your former French maid can boast.” John held out his cup for more coffee, his expression sardonic.
“I am inclined to agree with you about that.” Rob held out his own cup in turn, and Iantha refilled it.
“But why was she here? And where is she now?” Iantha looked searchingly at her husband and her brother. “It is snowing a little, and it is very cold. Where could she go?”
“Where indeed?” Rob emptied his cup. “Does she have someone in the area who will take her in? I believe I shall send Feller out immediately. Perhaps she left tracks.”
Iantha raised one eyebrow and the corner of her mouth quirked. “Tell him to be careful. She has my pistol.”
In the end, Camille proved surprisingly easy to find. Feller appeared in the drawing room shortly after Iantha’s parents and the younger contingent had left for Hill House. Another brewing storm had convinced Lord Rosley to take advantage of the lull to get his family home before it broke in earnest.
“Uh, me lord, could I have a word with you in private?” The groom cast an uncomfortable glance at Iantha.
Foreboding in his heart, Rob rose and walked into the corridor with his henchman. “What is it, Feller?”
“I found her, all right and tight, but I think you better come and see—and maybe Mr. Broughton or the major, too.”
“She’s dead?” Apparently his premonition of trouble was going to prove true.
“Aye, and not just dead.” The expression on Feller’s face told Rob more than he wished to know.
“Murdered?”
The groom nodded glumly. “Aye. You need to come look.”
Rob returned to the drawing room. “Sam, you and I must go on an errand. John, would you stay with Iantha?”
“Of course.” Her brother stretched long legs out in front of him. “We have to make up for a long absence.”
“Vijaya, you’ll be nearby?” Rob hardly awaited the nod he knew he would get before he turned to the door.
“Wait!” Iantha held up a hand. “Where are you going?”
“I’ll tell you later.” He threw the words over his shoulder.
He and Sam followed Feller down the stairs and through the old castle to the stable. The groom already had ordered their horses saddled, and they left the Eyrie at a fast trot, snow sprinkling around them.
When they had been on the road for a few minutes, Feller guided his mount up beside Rob’s. “I just be-thought meself of something, me lord.”
Rob sent him a questioning glance.
“It’s about the maid. I seen her a time or two in the stable at night, back in the stalls. I didn’t think much of it—thought she was meeting one of the lads. She did have a bold eye.”
She certainly did that. Rob nodded in agreement.
“I thought it might be Thursby, but then I seen him in the house one of those nights. Now I’m wondering if it was someone from outside.”
Rob thought about that. He had no doubt that an outside force had been directing events in his home. He gritted his teeth. “I’m afraid you may be right. At least that will not happen again.”
Half an hour’s ride brought them to a hidden fold in the hills. The road wound through it in a series of turns. They had just come to the center of the dale when Rob saw one of his own horses tied to a tree, the saddle showing copious blood.
Feller gestured. “She took the horse last night.”
Rob drew rein and looked down. A few feet off the road in the banked snow lay the remains of a woman. He dismounted and moved nearer. The shock of his first good look at her almost brought his luncheon back into his mouth.
“Bloody…!” He turned away to recover himself.
“What?�
� Sam swung down from his horse. “What is the—Great God!”
Camille, bloody from head to toe, legs spread wide, lay on her back in the snow. Clearly the knife slash across her throat had been a mercy. The only part of her that the killer had not mutilated was her face.
“He wanted us to recognize her.” Rob made himself glance at the corpse again. “The bloody bastard!”
“Aye.” Sam, his face pale, gave the body another quick look, then turned away. “Why did he do that to her?”
“To frighten us.” Rob’s eyes narrowed in fury, and his hands shook. “This is another threat against Iantha.”
“You’re not going to tell her, are you?” Sam gazed closely at his cousin.
“What kind of idiot do you think I am?” Rob spat the words savagely. “And no one else will tell her, either.” He glared at Sam and Feller.
“Nay, me lord.” The groom held up a pacifying hand and shook his head. “I couldn’t bring myself to tell you, much less Lady Duncan.”
Sam shrugged. “I am not such an idiot, either.”
“Sorry,” Rob growled. No reason to take his rage out on them. After drawing several breaths to calm himself, he gazed around the clearing. “I don’t think she was killed here. He brought her to this spot on our horse. I suppose he didn’t want it traced to him.” Rob turned to Feller. “Did you look for tracks?”
His henchman nodded. “Aye, that I did. He brought her down the road, I think, but it’s too churned up to see nothing. And there’s been some snow.”
“Come. Help me with this.” A feeling of urgency was growing in Rob’s gut. This gory show definitely had a purpose. He pulled off his greatcoat and, with some help from the others, wrapped the stiff body in it. The struggle to get it tied onto the horse took all three of them.
When they were back on the homeward road, Rob glanced back at the pitiful bundle, his eyes narrowed in speculation. “Now who did she run to?”
Feller shook his head. “Don’t know that, but whoever it was, she shouldn’ta done it.”
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