“Betrayal,” he murmured. “It was Neil.”
She stared down at the man in astonishment. “Are you certain?” she asked. Neil? Why would he do such a thing?
“Yes. I do not know…who the other is…but Reginald’s brother…is one.” His words came in short gasps, but they were clear. “Trust no one. Go home with Oliver.”
“Philip?” Her heart raced when he did not respond, but when she placed her hand on his chest and felt him breathing, she relaxed. He had fallen back to sleep.
Frustrated, she wished he was well enough to explain why he suspected Neil. The thought of the man betraying her made her anger grow. She had to do something! They were much too close to where Oliver was being kept, and she could not wait another day to have her son returned to her.
She went downstairs and informed the innkeeper that she and her husband were not to be disturbed, except for the doctor of Mrs. Blithe, of course. Then she returned to the room and went straight for the wardrobe. Donning the shirt, coat, and breeches she had worn when they had left Blackwood Estates, she did not bother to look at her reflection before leaving the room and pulling the door closed behind her.
Once on her horse, she patted the front of her coat where she had hidden the knife once again. Whether the culprit was Neil or some other man, she would find Oliver and his kidnapper today. And whoever it was would pay dearly.
Chapter Nineteen
It did not take long for Caroline to ride to Chudleigh from the inn. She had urged the horse forward, paying little attention to those she passed on the road. Her mind was focused on one thing and one thing alone: recovering Oliver. The bag of money was tied to the saddle behind her and the knife was inside her coat pocket. Despite the fear that nipped at her, her anger was that much greater.
It was one thing to be denied seeing Oliver when she knew he was still in the house, and it was quite another to know he was being held captive by men the likes of Pete. If the other kidnappers were as baneful as that man, Oliver would be in grave danger.
Yet, what if Neil was the culprit in this kidnapping? Philip seemed certain that he had been the one to engineer this atrocity, and if that was so, he would learn soon enough what happened to anyone who threatened her as he had done. Gone was the meek wife of Reginald Hayward, and in her place was the true Duchess of Browning. She had given Neil something she had experienced few times in her life: mercy, twisting it and using it to his own advantage. Well, he would pay dearly for that mistake.
After some insistence on Caroline’s part during the night they had slept in the clearing, Philip had shared with her what Pete had revealed about where Oliver was being kept. Now, ahead of her lay a split in the road, so she pulled the horse to a stop and considered her path. According to the instructions that Pete had given Philip, she was to go to the right and the house would be located not far from here.
She patted the horse on the neck. “Please, guide me safely,” she whispered and then clicked her tongue and kicked her heels to bring the animal to a trot again as they headed to the right. Soon, she came upon a house, but it lacked a fallen tree, so she moved on.
Just as she came to the top of a hill, troubled that she had yet to encounter the house and wondering if she had been misguided, she gazed down upon a small cottage in the middle of a large valley, no other houses nearby. Even from this distance, she could make out the large tree lying on the ground beside the house.
She had to stop herself from galloping onto the property and demanding the return of her son, for she had no idea how many men guarded him, nor how many weapons they might have. If she was shot in her attempt to save her son, the boy would die, as well, and she would not have that happen.
Instead, she approached slowly, and stopped just at the bottom of the hill, still some way away from the house. There, she tied the horse to a tree off the side of the road, removed the bag of money from the saddle, and began to sneak toward the house. She had never been very good at tracking, and the boots where much heavier than the slippers she was used to wearing, but she did what she could to make as little noise as possible.
When she reached the house, she took a moment to look around. No guards had been set and she could not see anyone looking out the single window at the front of the cottage, so she crouched down and ran to the side of the house to listen for any sigh of Oliver being held there. She concentrated to hear anything, but no noise came from inside the house. With as much care as she could muster, she raised herself just enough to peek in through the window.
There, sitting on a chair, was Oliver.
Tears threatened to spill over her lashes as she returned to her squatting position. He was alive! Now, she had to somehow get to him without alerting the kidnappers.
Then a thought struck her, and she raised herself to peek in the window once again. The room was small and was a combination sitting room and kitchen with little furniture. How strange. What was missing was any other person besides Oliver.
She glanced around for any sign of anyone else, but not even horses whinnied in the rundown stables in the back. Had they left her son alone? Why would they do such a thing? Well, she would take advantage of their foolishness.
Remaining in a bent position, she ran under the window and up to the door. Once again, she listened but heard nothing. “Strength,” she whispered as she pressed against the door. It creaked as it opened.
“Mother?” Oliver asked with wide eyes.
“Oh, Oliver!” Caroline cried as she ran toward her son. However, before she could reach him, hands grabbed her and threw her against the wall, the wood scratching at her face. Then the hands let her go.
What she had expected to see when she turned was a ruffian, much like Pete, or even Neil. What she had not expected, however, was the person who stood before her now.
“Miss Mullens?”
***
Anger coursed through Caroline like never before. The redheaded woman grinned as she took Caroline by the throat.
“So, you bested my man and found me?” she said with a sneer. “I knew his tongue was loose. I should have known better than to have entrusted him with such an important task.” She glanced around. “Where’s the money?”
Without thinking, Caroline reached for the knife in her coat pocket, but Miss Mullens was quicker and stronger, catching her by the wrist. “Now, now, you will not do that.”
“Mother!” Oliver shouted as he ran toward them and kicked Miss Mullens in the leg.
The woman released Caroline, turned to Oliver, and struck him in the face, sending the boy flying to the floor.
Seizing the moment, Caroline grasped a handful of the woman’s hair and gave it a good yank. “Oliver!” she screamed. “Run! Run out of here now!”
The boy stood, tears streaming down his face.
“Do as I say and go!”
Oliver did as he was told and ran through the open door and disappeared.
Caroline did not have time to do more than pray he was able to get away to safety. Miss Mullens brought up her fist, and pain shot through Caroline’s jaw, making her legs go weak. Before she knew what had happened, she was on her back with Miss Mullens sitting on top of her.
“Why?” Caroline asked with a sob. “Why would you do this?”
The woman laughed. “You fool!” she said, her breathing heavy from her recent exertion. “A woman like you does not deserve the riches you inherited. I served your husband in so many ways; it should have been left to me!” She wrapped her hands around Caroline’s throat and tightened her grip.
Caroline brought her hands up and grabbed Miss Mullens’s wrists, but to no avail. “He was not your husband!” she managed to say as she continued to struggle to move the body that was on top of her. Although she knew the fight was futile—this woman had won in the end—Caroline prayed that Oliver would find help soon, but she did not have much faith it would happen. They were too far away from anyone else, and she had little fight left in her.
Tiny pinpoints of light twink
led in her vision, and images of Oliver being raised by someone else came to her. Would he remember her once he was grown? She hoped he would. Yet, who would be the one to raise him? Did anyone remain who she could trust? Would she even have a say in who that person might be?
No, she did not. She would die here in a cottage no bigger than the one in which she had been born. Besides Oliver, she would have no legacy, nothing left by which to be remembered. That thought saddened her even further.
Then again, she was not dead yet! Reaching deep down inside, she searched for that strength that Philip said would be there and she clutched at it, bringing a newfound sense of life to her. Raising her hips and twisting to the side, she threw Miss Mullens to the floor, but the woman flung a fist at her jaw.
Caroline saw stars in her vision as she landed on her backside.
“When I finish with you,” Miss Mullens said through clenched teeth and narrowed eyes, “I will take Oliver with me. I will tell everyone that I am his mother and bleed his coffers dry!”
The woman’s grin turned in to shock when a man yelled, “You most certainly will not!” Behind Miss Mullens stood a figure, his features darkened by the light coming through the doorway behind him. The man lifted an iron bar and slammed it across the head of the woman who had once been Reginald’s mistress. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell to the side.
Panicked and confused, Caroline looked up at the outstretched hand. It was then she saw the face of the man who had saved her.
“Neil?” she whispered.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded and allowed him to help her stand. Her jaw ached and her sight had not fully righted itself, but at least she was still alive. She glanced down at the woman who had made her life miserable for so many years before following Neil out the door.
“Oliver!” Neil called out, and the boy peeked out from behind a nearby bush.
Caroline rushed to her son and enclosed him in a tight embrace and rained kisses down on his face until he grimaced. “Oh, Oliver!” She pushed him away and looked over him. “Are you all right? Did she hurt you?”
Oliver shook his head. “No. She was nice to me and fed me whatever I wanted. She even told me stories. I told her I missed you, but she said that she and Philip were my new parents now.”
Caroline thought her heart had stopped. “Philip?” she asked. “That does not make sense.”
“It will soon,” Neil said as he let out a sigh. “I am afraid he has been behind this all along.”
With weak legs, Caroline stood, her heart beating in her chest. “No! He has helped me this entire time. It was he who led me here.”
Neil gave her a conciliatory look and then turned to Oliver. “Would you allow me to speak to your mother alone? Go wait over by that tree.”
Oliver nodded and walked over to the nearby fallen tree, immediately climbing it.
“I must say, I am thankful that you saved me,” Caroline said. Then a thought came to her and she took a step back. “You should be in France. How did you know where to find me?”
“I never made it to France,” he explained. “I was besieged by highwaymen and held for ransom. Once it was paid, I was released, only to go to Blackwood Estates and learn that you had left…with him.” He shook his head in amazement. “Although I thought it was only Mary behind this act, I began to suspect your gardener. Did you know he was caught looking through my ledgers?”
“I did,” she said in a quiet tone as guilt washed over her.
He sighed. “On my journey here, I wondered why Mary informed me of his actions. That is, if they were working together, why would she tell me such a thing? Now I know she never meant to carry on with the man. It is clear she used him just as she had everyone else.”
Caroline could not believe what she heard. Not her Philip. Not the man who had saved her, guided her, and most importantly, loved her.
Neil seemed to sense her thoughts, for he said, “He betrayed us all.”
“I do not know what to believe,” Caroline whispered.
He snorted. “You said he led you to where Oliver was being kept?”
Caroline nodded. “He did.”
“Do you not find it odd that a simple gardener knew so much about this area?”
“I never thought…” Caroline could not stop her mind from reeling. From the beginning, Philip had been there, guiding her, instructing her. He knew information that a gardener should not know. Could it be true? Was he the man who had concocted this entire plot? “I will ask him,” she said firmly.
“I suggest we leave for home immediately. You cannot trust that man.”
“No,” she said. “I must learn the truth.”
She called Oliver over and embraced him once again. Her worst nightmare was over, for her son had returned to her arms. However, a new nightmare loomed before her, and it would be as horrible as the one she had just left behind.
Chapter Twenty
Returning to see Philip had been a difficult decision. She refused to let Oliver out of her sight, so he rode in the saddle in front of her where she could keep a precious hold on him. He was her responsibility, and nothing would keep the boy from her ever again. That promise she made with firmness as they made their journey through Chudleigh and off toward the inn where she had left Philip.
She felt nothing but bewilderment at what she had learned from Neil. Her heart was torn; who did she believe? Philip suspected Neil, and Neil accused Philip. Both could not be right, but who was the man telling her the truth? She had to weigh what she knew to make a decision.
Her first thoughts were of Philip. The man had been there when she needed him, when she was forced to work without food or water, when Neil had tried to take advantage of her. He had been the one at her side when she went to St. Thomas to retrieve the second note. And it was he who had rescued her from that vile man Pete, even receiving a horrible wound for his troubles. She did not wish to think about what Philip had done to that villain.
On the other hand, Neil had not been kind to her when Reginald was alive. Had he not explained his reasons? He had also asked forgiveness for his past actions, something she had never seen the man do. Furthermore, Neil had been taken himself. How could he have been involved with Oliver’s kidnapping if he was being held for ransom? And was it not Neil who had saved her when Miss Mullens had attacked her? Why would a man who was in league with the woman have done what he had done?
Her thoughts returned to Philip. He held so many secrets, and every time she pressed him about his past, he made promises that the day he could reveal all to him was closer. Had those promises been only a means in which to lead her astray so he could take her money and then leave with Miss Mullens? The last was the most uncomfortable, for that would have meant that he had taken up with the woman long before he had convinced Reginald to employ him.
By the time she reached the inn, her head was aching. So much stacked up against Philip. Was going to see him the best idea? However, she had to see him one last time, to see if she could get the truth from him, or she would wonder for the remainder of her life.
She left Oliver in the common room of the inn, a bowl of stew in front of him.
“You see he is still here when I return,” she told the innkeeper with a stern glare.
The man wrung his apron. “He’ll be in my personal care, Your Grace.”
Satisfied the man would do his duty, she went upstairs and took a deep breath before opening the door to the room. A fresh bowl of water lay on the nightstand as well as a fresh washcloth. Mrs. Blither must have come by to check on him while Caroline was away, for the bed appeared to have fresh sheets. Caroline could not help but feel guilty; what had that woman thought when she arrived to find Caroline gone and her supposed husband left alone in his condition?
Well, what the healer thought should not matter to Caroline. The woman had no idea what she had been through in the past twenty-four hours, so who was she to judge?
Caroline laughed.
She was defending herself when no one was about to cast judgment on her. Such thoughts were a waste of precious time, for Oliver had to be the most important person in her life at the moment.
She sat upon the edge of the bed and dipped the cloth in the water. The fever still raged in Philip, and Caroline wondered if she should simply stay and care for him. However, if he was the culprit behind Oliver’s kidnapping, did she truly wish to be in his presence?
As she placed the cool rag on his forehead, he groaned but did not awaken. “I found Oliver,” she whispered as she dabbed at his face. “He is safe.”
Philip did not respond in any way, so she continued to talk, hoping he would hear and let her know the truth.
“It was Miss Mullens.”
With a moan, Philip moved his head but then went silent again.
“Neil saved us,” she continued, hoping the news would incite more of a reaction. “He believes you were working with her all along.” She rinsed the cloth, wrung out the excess water, and returned to bathing his face. “I saw you kiss her. Was I a fool to believe you, that it was for her silence as you said?”
Still no response.
“I do not wish to believe that you were involved, but I must admit that my confusion makes it difficult to believe otherwise. I love you, but I need to know why you have hidden so much from me.”
A small moan escaped his lips, and she hoped he was waking. However, no words followed, and his eyes remained closed.
She gave a heavy sigh as she took his hand and kissed it. “I must return home with my son,” she whispered, her heart heavy. “We will be traveling with Neil, for it is unsafe to stay a moment longer. I pray that when you are well, you will come to me and tell me everything.” Leaning over, she placed a kiss on his lips. “I refuse to believe you would harm me or Oliver, but it is hard to look past that which I have seen with my own eyes. Goodbye, Philip.”
“Betrayed you…”
Caroline’s heart jumped into her throat, and she stood as still as a statue waiting for him to say more. However, he did not.
Regency Hearts Boxed Set Page 56