‘I wasn’t sure whether to come alone or bring reinforcements with me,’ Paul said, ‘so I’m glad I met you. I mean, if she’s run across Cleethorp there’s no telling how either of them will react. You know how outspoken she can be.’
Luke shuddered. ‘All too well.’
‘Anyway, you can make all the decisions now.’
‘Cleethorp wasn’t at the White Hart. No one knows where he’s gone,’ Luke said, an urgent edge to his voice as he pushed Onyx into a canter.
‘He isn’t stupid enough to try and harm Flora,’ Paul said, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself as much as Luke. ‘It’s more a case of stopping her from laying into him.’
Luke ground his jaw, fury and worry radiating through him in violent waves. ‘He had damned well better not lay a finger on her or I swear I will not be responsible for my actions.’
‘Come on. If we cut through this coppice we’ll save a few minutes.’
‘But if she’s fallen along this path somewhere and is incapacitated, we’ll miss her.’
Luke pushed his hat onto the back of his head, momentarily unsure of himself. Romulus made his mind up for him when he ran on ahead, straight through the trees, nose to the ground. He turned his head, as though telling them to get a move on and trust his instincts. Luke made the decision to do just that.
They emerged from the trees a short time later with no sign of Flora and rejoined the quiet lane that led to Mrs Pearson’s abode. Luke paused to scan the area in all directions, shading his eyes against a weak lowering sun, but nothing moved other than the odd leaf fluttering down. A dog barked in the distance and the sound of the church clock striking the half-hour resonated across the valley. Romulus again ran ahead towards the Pearson residence. Paul and Luke followed but stopped abruptly when they saw a horse tethered outside a dilapidated barn. Luke held up a hand to stop Paul from speaking. Romulus remained alert at Onyx’s side, watching Luke through adoring eyes, waiting for his command. Luke strained his ears, listening for sounds other than the wind, and could just make out two voices.
One of which was endearingly familiar.
‘She’s alive,’ he said, dismounting and tying Onyx’s reins to the nearest tree. Paul did likewise. Luke glanced down and saw a hat he recognised discarded beneath a tree. ‘But if he has harmed her in any way then I swear…’
Paul touched Luke’s arm in a restraining gesture and the two friends, with Romulus slinking along beside them, heading for the entrance to the barn. Luke peered cautiously around the door. It swung in the breeze, its latch long since rotted away along with half its boards. Luke breathed a little more easily when he noticed that Flora appeared to be unharmed. She half-sat and half lay against a pile of old hay, looking disorientated. Cleethorp sat across from her, his features filled with rage as he watched her recover her senses.
‘I cannot abide interfering hussies who fail to understand their place,’ he growled at Flora. Paul went to step forward but Luke caught his arm and held him back.
‘Give it a minute,’ he whispered. He could see that Flora wasn’t harmed, that Cleethorp hadn’t touched her and knew he could intercede before he could get close enough to do so. It would be better to hold back and see if Flora could get him to condemn himself with his own words. It was just the sort of thing that she would attempt to do.
‘Really?’ Flora raised an imperious brow. ‘And I am supposed to learn better manners from a scoundrel and a rapist.’ She turned away from him. ‘You disgust me.’
‘And you, for some obscure and annoying reason, entice me.’ Luke clenched his fists and willed himself to remain where he was. ‘No wonder you warm the earl’s bed.’ She does? Luke glanced at Paul, who simply shrugged but couldn’t conceal a smug grin. ‘I can quite see what the attraction would be for him.’
Flora, instead of denying the conclusion Cleethorp had jumped to, merely gave a disinterested shrug. ‘Don’t judge everyone by your own standards.’
‘You turned Louise against me.’ Cleethorp’s voice had adopted the whine of a petulant child. ‘She was ready to capitulate. She had no choice, and yet you encouraged her to take the moral high ground. I cannot abide double standards. You spread your legs for the earl but pretend to be the epitome of respectability. Well, if you do it for him, you can do it for me.’ A sharp gust of wind suddenly swirled through the barn, knocking Cleethorp’s hat off. ‘Where did that come from?’ he asked, picking up his hat and looking a little bemused as he waved a hand in front of his face, as though warding off a physical attack.
Flora chuckled. ‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.’
Luke decided it was time to intercede but Flora surprised him by laughing in Cleethorp’s face. ‘You are really rather dull-witted, aren’t you,’ she said, sounding bored. ‘We are not ten minutes from Beranger Court. My horse will have run home and the moment he arrives a search party will be sent out for me. The earl cannot be without his paramour. Surely you of all people must realise that. They know where I went and where to look for me, and you can be sure that unlike Louise Pearson I shall not keep quiet for fear of being disgraced.’ She sent him an arch look. ‘What do you suppose the earl will do when he finds out what you’ve presumed to inflict upon his favourite? Short of killing me, there really is no way out for you. We know all about you and Felicity Brigstock, you see.’
‘Oh God!’ Much to Luke’s astonishment, Cleethorp rested his elbows on his splayed thighs and dropped his head into his hands, groaning with despair. ‘I’ve been an idiot.’
‘True, but in your own defence you fell in love and were led astray by a strong and vindictive woman. Love makes people behave in strange ways, so I’m told. I don’t speak from experience, you understand. Even so, that doesn’t justify what you did to Louise and I would strongly advise against compounding your error by attempting anything of a similar nature with me.’
‘I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,’ Cleethorp said, shaking his head from side to side. Luke thought he looked pathetic.
‘But it did, and you must take responsibility if you ever want to be free of Mrs Brigstock.’
‘How did you know about her?’ His head shot up. ‘You didn’t say.’
‘Louise told me.’
He looked astounded. ‘How did she…’
‘She overheard the two of you arguing in your brother’s garden. She went to return something your sister had left behind and heard what you said about her.’
Cleethorp gave a slow nod. ‘Which is when she lost interest in me. Now it makes more sense.’
‘Did you kill Brigstock?’
His eyes bulged, whether with anger or fear Luke was unable to decide. ‘What the devil sort of question is that?’
‘A perfectly reasonable one, given the circumstances, and one you can be sure the local magistrate will ask if the matter comes to his attention.’ Oh Flora, don’t goad an unstable man! ‘Felicity discovered that he intended to leave her destitute so he had to be got rid of before he could put the arrangements in place.’
‘She knew nothing about the distribution of his fortune until after his death.’
Flora flexed a brow. ‘Is that what she told you?’
Luke had the satisfaction of seeing Cleethorp’s expression when he realised he had been hoodwinked. ‘Dear God,’ he muttered.
‘It must have come as a bit of a shock when you discovered what he had done.’
Felicity swore she didn’t know in advance and I believed her. Seems I believed far too many of the things she told me.’
‘Once you fired the shot that caused her husband to fall and break his neck she had you right where she wanted you, albeit without a fortune to live on. So she came up with a madcap scheme for you to marry an heiress.’ Flora sent him a speculative look. ‘Tell me, how long would Louise have survived after you married her? I mean, I cannot imagine Felicity being willing to share your questionable favours for long.’
‘There was never any intention o
f killing Louise. I rather like her, as a matter of fact, and wish I had behaved better. What I did wasn’t gentlemanly, but in fairness she did lead me on, then went cold on me. I felt insulted. I get these terrible rages when I feel slighted, everything goes black and I have to do something extreme in order to be able to think straight again.’
‘If you don’t mind my saying so, that sounds awfully like an excuse.’ Flora shook her head. ‘It’s time to take responsibility for your actions. The only thing you can do to make things right is to leave Louise and her family alone. As you can see, we’ve been one step ahead of you all the way. Felicity Brigstock is poison and has manipulated you into doing her dirty work.’
‘She really loves me, that’s the problem.’
‘I can quite see that it would be,’ Flora replied conversationally, ‘but mark my words, no good can come of it. My advice, for what it’s worth, is that you attempt to mend bridges with your brother, the marquess, before it’s too late. Of course, you might have to work for a living, and I expect that will be a nuisance, but at least you will retain your status as a gentleman, which obviously means a lot to you.’ Flora paused, her expression deadly serious. ‘If you insist upon sticking with Felicity then she will eventually destroy you.’
‘And if she does not then I will,’ Luke said, stepping into the barn with Paul at his shoulder and Romulus growling at his side.
Cleethorp jumped to his feet, fists raised.
‘Luke, how long have you been there?’ Flora asked, standing on legs that didn’t appear to be entirely steady.
‘Do put the fists down, Cleethorp,’ Luke said curtly. ‘Are you harmed?’ he asked, turning to Flora with a soft smile.
‘Other than being pulled from Amethyst’s saddle, no. That was annoying. I should have been more prepared. Apart from that he has not laid a finger on me.’
‘Which is the only reason why he’s still breathing,’ Luke replied, murder in his eyes as he turned to Cleethorp.
‘Lord Darius understands the error of his ways and intends to ask his brother for another opportunity to prove himself.’
‘Is that right, Cleethorp?’ Luke asked.
‘I’ve been a damned fool.’ He shuffled his feet and stared at the barn’s dirt floor. ‘Not behaved well. Regret it. Want to make amends.’
‘It’s a little late for that. Nothing can repair the damage you did to Miss Pearson.’
Cleethorp nodded but didn’t look up. ‘I’m well aware of that. Had no choice. Felicity has…’
‘Has what?’ Luke asked. ‘What hold does she have over you, other than the obvious? Is she threatening to tell the world that you fired the shot that led to her husband’s death?’
‘No, nothing like that. Besides, I’d just deny it if she did. It would be her word against that of a marquess’s brother. But we…well, we exchanged letters. She complained of her husband’s cruelty and speculated about the best way to do away with him without being caught. And I…err, knew he rode the same route every day on a lively horse and might have suggested scaring the horse into throwing him.’ He finally looked up at Luke. ‘I had no idea she intended to go through with it, but once she gets an idea into her head, there’s no changing her mind.’
‘You could have walked away,’ Paul said.
Cleethorp shrugged and had the grace to look ashamed of himself.
‘She didn’t tell you that Brigstock intended to disinherit her,’ Flora said. ‘She painted a picture of the two of you together, surrounded by wealth and comfort. All you had to do was fire a shotgun in the air at the vital moment. It must have come as quite a shock when you discovered that she was actually penniless. Her too, I imagine, because she didn’t believe Brigstock had had sufficient time to act on his intentions. Even so, it didn’t stop Felicity for long. She simply dreamed up the possibility of your marrying an heiress and just happened to find one whose chaperone proved a willing accomplice.’
‘We cannot prove that you killed Brigstock,’ Luke said in an authoritative tone, ‘and will not make public what you did to Miss Pearson in order to protect her reputation. But you will leave Swindon now, immediately, this afternoon, on the next train to London. You will not see or contact Felicity Brigstock again.’
‘That would be a relief, but she will pursue me.’
‘No she will not. My next call will be to her uncle and she will be too busy making amends to spare you a thought.’
‘Go to your brother and ask for another chance,’ Luke continued. ‘But if I hear even a suggestion of any more respectable young women being compromised by you then what you have done to Miss Pearson will reach your brother’s ears; never doubt it.’ Luke had the satisfaction of seeing the colour drain from Cleethorp’s face. ‘Go will him, Paul. Watch him pack and put him on the train yourself.’
Paul nodded, and turned to leave the barn, a chastened Cleethorp on his heels.
‘Still trying to steal other men’s wives?’ Paul said, disgust in his tone. ‘There was an excuse of sorts for your behaviour when we were at Oxford. We were all young, wild and competitive. Clearly you have yet to mature and join the adult world.’
‘Oh, Cleethorp,’ Luke said, ‘just one more thing.’
Cleethorp turned at the sound of Luke’s voice and Luke placed his clenched fist in the middle of the man’s face. Startled, he fell to the ground, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
‘That was for having the temerity to threaten Miss Latimer,’ Luke said, flexing his bruised knuckles.
⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎
Flora watched as Paul pulled a stunned Cleethorp to his feet and stood by him as he mounted his horse. Paul swung into his own saddle and the two men quickly disappeared from view. It seemed very quiet in the rickety barn, but for Romulus’s panting. Flora suddenly felt very nervous, never having been more acutely aware of Luke’s presence.
‘You’ve hurt your hand,’ she said anxiously, glancing at his knuckles. ‘He wasn’t worth the trouble.’
‘I beg to differ. Are you really all right?’
‘Yes.’ She shrugged as she bent to pet Romulus. The dog wagged his tail, then lost interest and curled up on a dry patch of floor. ‘I was never really afraid. I knew that if I could just get him talking, he would see how ridiculous he was being.’
Luke shook his head, perturbed by her irresponsibility. ‘I knew you shouldn’t have ridden out alone.’
‘It worked out for the best.’
‘Flora, he’s twice your size. You had already swooned. I saw how dazed you appeared when we first arrived. You would never have fought off an angry, determined man.’
‘Ah, but I would.’ She withdrew her riding crop from within the folds of her habit and brandished it in the air. ‘I stupidly tried to fight him off with my stick, but he was ready for that, snatched it from me and threw it aside. So I pretended to swoon and when he almost dropped me, I simply picked it up and kept it hidden.’
‘He touched you?’ Thunderclouds gathered behind Luke’s eyes. ‘I cannot bear it. And those things he said about you and me. You didn’t deny them.’
‘If he knew that I was a virgin…Well, he’s already proved that he has a taste for such creatures. I would have whacked him around the head with my crop if he’d tried anything but I have sensed all along that he’s weak and easily manipulated. Besides, I had help.’
Luke shook his head. ‘Flora!’
She decided not to try and convince him otherwise. Even though he must have seen Remus blow Cleethorp’s hat off, he would not have known that Flora’s mischievous spirit guide then floated close to Cleethorp’s face, waving his translucent arms and pulling faces. Cleethorp had sensed his presence and been spooked by it.
‘Is that really the end? He will leave and not bother Louise again?’
‘He will. I think in some respects he’s relieved to get away from Felicity Brigstock. She was the driving force in their relationship and appears to be besotted with him. She wouldn’t have let him go voluntarily.’
/> ‘Then we are safe.’
Flora’s legs buckled. Delayed reaction or relief? Before she could decide, a strong pair of arms caught her waist and she fell against Luke’s chest. The air left her lungs in an extravagant whoosh and her heart galloped at twice its regular pace as she inhaled his familiar masculine scent.
‘Don’t ever do that to do me again,’ he said to the top of her head.
‘I don’t look for trouble, Luke. It just seems to have a habit of finding me.’
His arms closed more tightly around her, making her feel safe and secure in ways she hadn’t realised were possible. She admitted to herself at that moment that she felt a deep, abiding love for her highly intelligent, protective and annoyingly stubborn employer. But her feelings were as inappropriate as they were inadvisable. He didn’t return those feelings and was holding her now, too close and for so long, only because he felt responsible for the situation she found herself in.
‘It isn’t your fault.’
She tried to wriggle out of his arms—someone had to remain in control—but he tightened his hold on her, making it clear that he didn’t have the slightest intention of letting her go.
‘I am quite steady now,’ she said, in a voice that was anything other than steady.
‘If he had harmed so much as a hair on your head, I…’
‘Shush! He didn’t.’ She rested the side of her face against his shoulder, conscious of her hair tumbling all over the place. She must look a fright, but it hardly seemed to matter. Extracting herself from his arms with her dignity intact, and before she said anything that would embarrass them both, seemed more expedient.
He took one arm from around her waist and placed a long finger beneath her chin, tilting her head backwards until she was obliged to meet his gaze. He looked at her through dark, intense eyes and she couldn’t fathom his expression. Remus hovered into view over Luke’s shoulder, his expression smugly satisfied.
Told you so.
A Sense of Injustice (Perceptions Book 4) Page 20