by Laura Landon
“Yes.” Penderly nodded to the doorman. “Allow me to introduce you to the Penderly heir. Jonathan Dunstan, Viscount Fledgemont.”
Everyone turned when the door opened but Sarah kept her gaze focused on the guests seated around the table.
Jasper Dunstan’s gaze focused on the open doorway. He wore a broad smile as he eagerly awaited the new Viscount’s arrival.
His wife’s reaction was the opposite. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed tightly as she waited. Her displeasure was obvious. Sarah had seen a portrait of Viscount Fledgemont as a babe and wondered if Mrs. Dunstan would admit to the resemblance, or if she’d continue to issue doubts.
Next, Sarah’s gaze shifted to Wesley Dunstan. His shock was obvious, his disbelief evident. Sarah didn’t want to think that he didn’t know about Jonathan, but his expression seemed genuine. But how was that possible if he was the one who’d tried to kill Jonathan?
Sarah quickly glanced at Stewart Dunstan to see his reaction. His features didn’t change, except perhaps he looked even more bored than before. His eyes didn’t focus on the open doorway, but he sat as he had all night, still drinking the fine wine Lord Penderly served. Making a fuss over a baby seemed beyond his endurance. He seemed just that type—spoiled to the point of rudeness.
Sarah pulled her gaze to where the nurse stood with Jonathan.
Lady Penderly rushed to her grandson and took him in her arms. She looked at him and her face warmed with the love a mother feels for her child. The love Sarah felt when she looked at Jonathan. Lady Penderly turned, and stepped into the room with Jonathan in her arms. She stopped in front of her sister-in-law, Leonora Dunstan.
Mrs. Dunstan rose from her chair and her expression softened. She looked closer at Jonathan, then dabbed at her watery eyes. “Oh, Estelle. He’s the picture of Gregory.”
“Yes, he is.”
Everyone rose from their seats. Lydia joined the two women and Sarah did too.
“However did you manage with him?” Mrs. Dunstan asked when Sarah arrived. “With no one to help you?”
“Jonathan is a very good baby. We managed quite well actually.”
The conversation was lively, the mood quite celebratory. Major Talbot and the Earl of Etherington circulated through the room, each making a point to converse with Wesley and Stewart Dunstan. Austin stayed near Sarah, near Jonathan. Sarah knew his mission was to intercept any danger if someone made a move to harm him.
Sarah let her gaze rest on Austin as he studied each person in the room. The longer she watched him the faster her heart raced. Then, as if some instinct told him she was watching him, he turned his head and focused on her.
For several moments their gazes locked and she couldn’t breathe. He held her captive with an emotion so intense it shattered every nerve in her body. His chest rose with increased frequency, and the color of his eyes darkened. And still he watched her.
Sarah pressed her palm to her breast and felt her heart thunder louder. If she didn’t move her gaze from his she was afraid her heart might leap from her chest. But she couldn’t turn away from him. Austin controlled her in his grasp and he wouldn’t let go.
A thousand small entreaties passed between them. With just one look he told her how he felt about her. Told her he understood how difficult her decision was, but implored her to consider all her options, implored her to consider a life with him.
Her heart stumbled between beats and a heavy lump formed in her throat. With a painful tug, she pulled her gaze away from him and shifted her attention to Jonathan. Small tears formed in her eyes and she blinked several times to keep them from spilling down her cheeks.
How could she leave Jonathan? She’d promised Lady Fledgemont she’d always take care of him.
She reached out her hand and lifted the babe’s small hand in hers. He wrapped his pudgy fingers around one of her fingers and held it firmly—as if to show her how hard he intended to hold on to her. She leaned over and brushed the soft skin of his hands down her cheek. What choice was there to make?
Sarah lifted her gaze and looked at Austin. There was a hollow look in his eyes, a rigid pull to the muscles and flesh across his cheeks, a firm determination to his expression. He’d read her answer to his entreaty and was resolved to accept her decision. He wouldn’t ask her to come with him again.
As if he’d spoken his answer out loud, she knew he was gone to her.
Sarah swiped at another tear, but this time the tears weren’t for Jonathan. They were for Austin and the ache in her heart his absence would leave behind.
…
Austin refused to lift his gaze from where Lady Penderly stood with Jonathan in her arms. Sarah stood close enough to the babe he could see her every feature, read her every expression. He refused to give in to the pain her wordless answer caused him.
She’d chosen Jonathan. She’d considered his suit and had rejected his offer. She’d made a deathbed promise and wouldn’t go back on her word.
He wanted to laugh. He’d fight for her if his competition was another suitor, but how could he fight an infant? What battle plan was there to defeat a babe?
The ache in his chest intensified. He’d asked her to love him, asked her to marry him, and she’d refused. There was nothing more he could do except find the killer and keep Jonathan safe until Penderly took him to the country. Nothing more except make sure she understood he would always be here for her if she changed her mind.
Austin let his gaze circle the room, first to Jasper and Leonora Dunstan, then to their two sons, Wesley and Stewart. Nothing seemed amiss, but that wasn’t conclusive of anything. One of them was responsible for the attempts on Jonathan’s life.
When his gaze caught Penderly’s, the earl nodded that he was about to put the second part of their plan into motion. Austin nodded, then stepped to the door.
“I think we’ve kept my grandson up long enough,” Penderly announced. “And since we’ll be leaving for the country first thing in the morning, Jonathan will need his rest.”
Leonora Dunstan’s brows shot upward. “You’re leaving already? Tomorrow?”
“Yes. London is no place for a babe. I want to take my grandson to the country. I want him to become familiar with everything that will one day be his.” Penderly turned to Sarah. “Miss Bentley, would you return Jonathan to the nursery?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Sarah took Jonathan from Lady Penderly’s arms and walked toward the door.
Austin made sure all the suspects were still in the room where Gabe and Harrison could watch them, then followed Sarah.
“In celebration of the gift of a grandson,” Penderly announced, “everyone, please, join me in the drawing room for a special toast. I have opened a bottle of my best champagne for the occasion.”
Austin escorted Sarah and Jonathan toward the stairs while the Earl of Penderly led his guests in the opposite direction. When they reached the top of the stairs, he placed his hand at Sarah’s back and walked her to the nursery.
“Do you think it’s Wesley Dunstan?” she asked when they reached the room.
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
He secured the room then checked to make sure all the guards were in place. In the meantime, Sarah changed Jonathan and prepared him for bed. When Austin was satisfied that every precaution had been taken, he walked back into the room and turned down the lamps.
Sarah fed Jonathan then rocked him until his eyes grew heavy. When he was asleep she put him to bed with his favorite rag toy. She and Austin stood beside the small bed until his breathing slowed and he was deep in slumber.
“He’ll sleep now,” she whispered.
Austin scanned the room. It wasn’t dark, but cast in shadows. An intruder wouldn’t be able to see right away, but someone whose eyes were accustomed to the darkness would. This would give him an advantage over anyone who entered the room.
“Wait a few more minutes,” he said, “then go back down and announce that Jonathan is asleep. Stay
with Liddy and Lady Penderly. I don’t want you to come back until everything’s over.”
Austin saw the worry in her eyes, saw the deep frown lines on her forehead and knew she was frightened. He couldn’t bear to see her so afraid.
He gathered her in his arms and brought her next to him. She fit perfectly against him, molding to the form of his body. It was as if she were a smaller twin to his larger frame.
Her head came just below his chin and when he wrapped his arms around her she came to him without hesitation.
“This will be over soon. If our murderer doesn’t take advantage of his opportunity tonight, Penderly will make an excuse as to why he can’t leave tomorrow and you’ll stay one more day. Eventually, he’ll tire of waiting and come.”
She tightened her grasp around his waist and leaned closer. “Why does this have to be so difficult?” she whispered. She clung to him as if she wasn’t sure she could let go.
He held her close and prayed he’d hear her say there was a chance they could be together.
Her next words dashed any possibility of a happy ending for either of them.
“I can’t leave Jonathan. I promised Lady Fledgemont I would take care of him, that I would never leave him.”
“I need you, Sarah. I’m not sure I can live my life without you.”
He couldn’t stand to be separated from her, couldn’t stand for this to be the last time he would hold her, the last time he…
Austin tilted her face upward, then lowered his mouth until he was near enough to her lips he felt the warmth of her sighs when she breathed. “I love you, Sarah. I—”
He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her with all the passion he felt for her, with all the love he’d tried to deny he was capable of feeling for anyone. He loved her. He deepened his kiss and offered her every part of him, body and soul.
She returned his kiss with a passion as desperate as his own, as if she knew they were two halves of the same being, that their hearts belonged to the other. He prayed she was brave enough to say the words that would tell him that. Instead, her answer told him the opposite.
“I wish I could,” she whispered on a sob. “I wish it with all my heart.”
She pressed her palms to his chest and pushed away from him.
A cold void settled inside his chest. The chamber that used to house his heart now only knew torment and despair. His heart still beat inside his chest, but the heavy weight pressed against it would soon crush it.
Sarah stood with her back to him. Her soft sobs echoed his misery. Her suffering seemed as debilitating as his, but he doubted her hurt could be as all-consuming. She still had Jonathan, would always have Jonathan. He would have—
He reached out and grasped the corner of Jonathan’s bed. A sense of hopeless anguish washed over him, the same as when he’d held the hand of a dying soldier. Except this time the death was his own.
“Go down now and tell Penderly his grandson is sleeping peacefully. Join the celebration and don’t come up until it’s safe for you to be here.”
She didn’t move, but stood with her hands clutched around her middle as if she was in pain.
“Go, Sarah. It’s time.”
The tone of his voice was harsher than he’d intended, but nothing about his life from now on would be as he intended it to be.
She turned, and without looking back, rushed from the room. When the door closed behind her, Austin walked to a corner secluded enough that he could hide from any intruder, yet near enough that he could reach the bastard before he harmed the babe.
He pressed his back into the darkness and waited for this night to be over. More than just a killer’s life would end tonight.
Chapter 23
The minutes crept by with agonizing slowness and Austin didn’t move from his position in the corner of the room. Loud voices and laughter drifted up from the celebration still going on below, but so far no one had ventured up the stairs. The only sound he heard was Jonathan’s soft snoring.
Sarah’s words played over and over in his mind. He’d lost her. When this night was over, she would go with Jonathan to Penderly Manor and he would probably never see her again. Memories of her body pressed to his, her lips touching his, and the dark ebony of her gaze would be all that remained of the woman who’d stolen his heart.
He let the back of his head rest against the wall and planned what he would do next. There would always be work for him in St. Giles and the slums of London. Violent crimes never ceased to take place there. He could bury himself in solving the cases no one else would touch. He would take risks no one else would take because he didn’t care about the danger. A life or death outcome wasn’t important.
Austin stood straight and listened again. This time he thought he heard something. He held his breath and listened again.
A muffled sound came from somewhere beyond the door. A second later the knob turned and the door slowly opened.
The intruder crept into the room as if he knew he’d find Jonathan alone and sleeping. He closed the door with a soft click then stood without moving for several long seconds.
He was intelligent and crafty, not careless like Austin hoped he’d be. Instead of rushing in to make his move, he stood in the dark for several minutes, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. When he could see, he looked around the room, then stepped forward.
He walked softly as he crossed the room. His intent was clearly the small bed where Jonathan slept.
Austin tightened his grip around the pistol in his hands and waited. Timing was everything now. Surprise him too soon and he’d deny he intended to harm Jonathan. Wait too long and Jonathan could be in danger.
The intruder lifted his arms and placed his hands on the railing that surrounded Jonathan’s bed. Austin waited for his next move. When he lowered one hand into the bed, Austin stepped out from his hiding place and lifted his pistol.
“Pull your hands away from the baby and don’t move.”
The intruder bolted in surprise, then lifted his hands and held them in the air. Austin lit the nearest lamp and let the light spread through the room. The soft glow illuminated Wesley Dunstan’s shocked expression. “Now, step away from the crib.”
“What’s the meaning of this?” Wesley asked, staring at the gun in Austin’s hand in wide-eyed disbelief. “I simply came to take a look at the child.”
“Move!” When Dunstan moved away from where Jonathan slept Austin walked across the room and opened the door. That was the sign he’d arranged to tell Gabe he’d caught the assassin. It wasn’t long before an army of guards were in the room and a thunder of footsteps rushed up the stairs.
“You caught him,” Gabe said, clasping Dunstan’s arms behind his back.
Sarah was the next person to rush into the room. She ran to Jonathan’s bed and gathered the sleeping babe into her arms.
“You were supposed to stay away until everything was over,” he said.
“Everything is over. You’ve caught him.”
He wasn’t surprised to see her. When had she ever run from danger? She was always in the middle of it.
“Very well,” he said, knowing that arguing would do no good. “Take Jonathan to your room and keep him there.”
Sarah stepped through the crowd and was gone.
“What’s the meaning of this, Penderly?” Jasper Dunstan asked his brother. “What are you accusing Wesley of doing?”
“Attempted murder, Jasper. I’m accusing your son of trying to kill my grandson.”
“What?” Leonora Dunstan cried out, rushing to her son’s side. “Have you lost your mind?”
Jasper Dunstan stepped forward. “Surely you can’t believe Wesley would try to harm a babe?” He looked from his brother to his son. With each passing glance his face lost more of its color.
“You don’t know how I wish I didn’t, Jasper. But he did. Twice.”
“Twice? How? When?”
“The first time, shortly after Jonathan was born. Miss Bent
ley fought off the assassin he hired. The second time, just a few weeks ago. Miss Bentley stepped in front of my grandson and took the bullet that was intended for him.”
Leonora Dunstan staggered and Harrison moved a chair close so she could sit.
Jasper Dunstan anchored his hand against the nearest piece of furniture and looked at his son. “Say something, Wesley. Tell them you didn’t try to harm the babe.”
Austin kept his gaze focused on Wesley Dunstan. Something about his expression confused him. Something about the look of incredulity didn’t fit. Austin expected to see guilt, or at least contempt at being discovered. Instead, Wesley Dunstan’s face paled with shock, his mouth agape in disbelief.
“Tell them, Wesley,” Jasper Dunstan demanded again. When his son said nothing in his defense, Dunstan turned to face his brother. “Why would you suspect Wesley? He didn’t even know about Jonathan. None of us did.”
“Unfortunately, he did, Jasper. He’s the only person other than Miss Bentley who knew Jonathan existed. When Gregory died, I sent Wesley to Wakemoor to discover what he could about the accident. He came back and reported his findings to me. He would have known then that there was a babe. But he said nothing. He didn’t tell me I had a grandson because the babe would replace him as the next earl.”
“No!” Leonora Dunstan cried out. “Tell them, Wesley. Tell them you would never kill a babe!”
Her pain-filled voice echoed in the crowded room and Jasper Dunstan rushed to his wife to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. The gentle gesture caused Wesley Dunstan to flinch. The emotion wasn’t something Austin expected from a killer.
He studied Wesley’s features closer, searching to find a hint of arrogance or an admission of guilt. He scrutinized the glint in Wesley’s eyes for any sign of bitterness or jealousy great enough that he’d resort to murder. Those emotions were absent. What he saw was sorrow, regret, and an emotion much deeper than Austin could read.
He turned his gaze to Gabe and saw his friend felt the same. Something wasn’t what it seemed.