His Scandalous Kiss: Secrets at Thorncliff Manor: 6

by Sophie Barnes

  “Of all the men in England,” he said as he rose to greet her.

  Stiffly, she came to a halt before him, anger swiftly taking hold in response to his flippancy. “I would caution you to think twice before mocking me.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “It was not my intention to do so. You know how grateful I am to you for your support.”

  “Do I?” When he gave her a curious look she said, “Upon reflection, it has become increasingly clear to me that you have been taking advantage of me for some time now.”

  Knitting his brow, he crossed his arms. “We are family, Mary. It is our duty to help and protect each other. Especially with Mama and Papa so far away.”

  “That is what I told myself as well, Andrew, which is why I wanted to help you invest when your own funds were depleted. But the truth of the matter is that you have squandered away your fortune, along with all the money I have given you, in the most irresponsible way imaginable.” Studying him, she went on to say, “If I were to hazard a guess, you did not even discover the information for which you have been rewarded. Heartly did that before he was captured, didn’t he?”

  “Of course not. I overheard the conversation that those French soldiers were having just as well as he did.” He looked away a moment before once again meeting her eye. “But they discovered our presence there and rather than try to silence them, I ran.”

  With slow and measured breaths, Mary walked toward her brother. Her hands curled tightly into fists at her sides. “Would you and Richard have been able to overwhelm them if you had not done so?”

  A second passed between them until he finally dropped his gaze and nodded. “I believe so. Yes.”

  Pausing her progress, Mary swayed slightly on her feet, disgusted by her brother’s actions. “You left him to die, Andrew! Dear God, how could you?”

  His eyes filled with angst as he came toward her. “You were not there, Mary. You cannot possibly imagine what it was like, fighting for survival.”

  She shook her head, deaf to his excuses. “He was captured because of you, tortured even, yet you do not appear to be the least bit sorry for it.”

  “You are wrong about that. I feel terribly about what happened, but I am also angry at Heartly for what he has done to me. He has taken everything from me, Mary, and—”

  “Stop,” she said, unwilling to let him continue. “He has every right to seek satisfaction. If you do not see that, then you are a far greater fool than I would ever have imagined. Indeed, I am beginning to wonder if I know you at all, Andrew, for in my mind, my brother would never have done something this callous.” She hesitated a moment before saying, “You could at least have gone to fetch help, but you made no attempt at that either, did you?”

  He shook his head. “I was frightened.”

  “Frightened.” The word whispered across her lips. “You were weak and unworthy of the uniform you wore.”

  For a second, he looked as though she’d just struck him, but then his eyes darkened and he said, “You have grown bolder since I saw you last. I find that I do not care for it.”

  “And I find that I do not care for a brother who would happily trade a man’s life for a title and fortune!”

  “Not happily,” he clipped.

  “Really?”

  “What do you want me to say? To my knowledge Heartly was dead, so why shouldn’t I have taken the reward when it was offered to me?”

  “Because it was wrong!” The words whipped across the room leaving Mary’s throat feeling sore. Tempering her voice, she met her brother’s resentful glare. “What happened to you?” She could scarcely believe that the man before her had once been the boy with whom she’d played so well as a child. “You were always so kind and considerate toward others.”

  “I have made mistakes. I cannot deny that.”

  She gaped at him. “Is that supposed to make it better?”

  “What can I say, Mary? Heartly suffered for what I did and I am sorry for that, truly I am, but I have suffered too. The humiliation he has forced upon me . . . You ought to know that I have challenged him to a duel. We meet tomorrow at dawn.”

  Staggering back, Mary steadied herself against the back of a chair while her hand covered her mouth. “You must be mad.”

  “Of course not,” Andrew bit out, “but if you think that I will allow that man to methodically plan my ruination without demanding satisfaction for it, then you clearly do not know me at all.”

  “Indeed, I am beginning to see that I do not.” She shook her head. “They burned his face, Andrew, broke his leg and his arm. The fact that he was able to escape at all is a miracle in itself and yet you have the audacity to feel as though you have been wronged when you are no worse off now than before you went to war. All he has taken from you are the things that should have been his, and only because you were foolish enough to gamble them away.”

  “You cannot marry him, Mary. Not after what he has done to me. Promise me that you will not do so.”

  Pain tore through her heart. “I do not think I need to make such a promise. It is unlikely that he will still want to marry me now that he knows that I am related to you.”

  Andrew nodded. “You are probably correct.” He tried to smile. “On a positive note, Heartly has assured me that he will return all my funds to me along with the estate if I win against him tomorrow. Wish me well and hopefully I will soon be able to repay some of the money that you have given me these past two years.”

  “No,” Mary said as she took a step back. “I will not wish you well, Andrew. Not after all that has been revealed today.”

  “You would rather that Heartly wins?” he asked with dismay.

  In spite of how hurt she was by Richard’s words, she knew he deserved to have her on his side. “He is ten times the man that you will ever be. The fact that you may be my brother is insignificant in this instance.”

  “Your mind is clouded by your love for him, Mary. Clearly he has managed to influence your way of thinking, but you cannot ignore the fact that you and I have history. We have known each other for twenty years, grown up together, spent Christmases together . . .”

  “And that might have meant something if you had been more honorable . . . more deserving of my high regard and admiration. As it turns out, you deserve neither. My support lies with Heartly.”

  “But I am your brother.” The words were desperately spoken as she went to the door.

  Looking over her shoulder at him, Mary shook her head with sadness. “Not anymore.”

  Forcing back the tears that threatened in response to the familial tie she’d just broken, Mary hurried down the hallway with only one goal in mind: to return upstairs to her bedchamber where she could be alone with her thoughts. But as she turned a corner, she found her aunt exiting one of the salons alongside Lady Duncaster, her eyes filling with concern the moment she spotted Mary. “Is everything all right?” Lady Foxworth asked. “You look a little out of sorts.”

  Nodding, Mary glanced toward the salon which appeared vacant. “May I have a private word with you?”

  “Of course,” Lady Foxworth said.

  “You are welcome to join us, Lady Duncaster,” Mary said as she looked to the countess. It was time she found out about the Roman villa and the cave. Mary and Richard had kept it from her long enough and with what had just happened and what might yet come, Mary didn’t want to risk leaving Thorncliff without Lady Duncaster knowing about its existence.

  Lady Duncaster looked a little uncertain, but rather than excusing herself, she said, “If that is what you would like.”

  As soon as they were all inside the salon, Mary closed the door. “Andrew is here,” she said without preamble while Lady Foxworth and Lady Duncaster each claimed a seat. “Lord Carthright, that is. My brother.”

  “But that is excellent news,” Lady Foxworth said. “It’s about time that he offers you his support, and by coming here as you have asked him to do, he has clearly . . .” Her words trailed off the moment she m
et Mary’s eyes. “What is it, my dear?”

  Lowering herself into a vacant armchair, Mary took a deep breath before saying, “As it turns out, he is already acquainted with Mr. Heartly, though not in a good way.”

  Lady Foxworth’s expression grew wary. She leaned back slowly in her seat and cast a fleeting look in Lady Duncaster’s direction before asking, “What exactly do you mean?”

  “It was Carthright’s fault that Mr. Heartly was captured by the French and tortured.” She then went on to relate what had happened since Andrew’s arrival, including the conversation she’d just had with him. “I feel terrible about all of it but I cannot possibly take my brother’s side in this. It simply is not right.”

  “Especially not when one considers how grievously he has treated you these past couple of years,” Lady Foxworth muttered. She did not elaborate, aware that Mary would know what she was referring to and unwilling to let Lady Duncaster in on that little secret. Her expression was set in hard lines as she added, “Unfortunately, I can think of only one solution as far as Carthright is concerned.”

  “And what is that?” Mary asked.

  “That depends on what Mr. Heartly plans to tell the public. If the truth is revealed, Carthright’s punishment will likely be severe. After all, he lied to the king, receiving a title, land and a rather large fortune as a result.”

  “Do you suppose he might hang for what he has done?” As angry as Mary was with her brother, she did not like the thought of such a thing in the least.

  “I do not know,” Lady Foxworth confessed.

  “You must also consider the shame that he has brought upon your family due to his misguided actions,” Lady Duncaster said sympathetically.

  “Rest assured,” Lady Foxworth said, “I am aware of it. No matter the outcome of the duel tomorrow, I will deal with Carthright, though my plan will require the assurance that Mr. Heartly will be willing to refrain from mentioning this matter again.”

  “I cannot promise that,” Mary said. “Mr. Heartly and I did not part on the best of terms. Frankly, the thought of having to face him again is not one that I relish.”

  Lady Foxworth opened her mouth as if to speak, but Mary turned her attention on Lady Duncaster instead and quickly said, “There is something that Mr. Heartly and I have been meaning to tell you for some time now, but one thing or another kept stopping us from doing so.”

  “And what is that?” Lady Duncaster asked. Tilting her head, she studied Mary with some degree of curiosity.

  Knowing how mad her story would sound, Mary hesitated a moment before saying, “Are you aware that there is a cave on your property?”

  Surprise filled Lady Duncaster’s eyes. She shook her head. “Where?”

  “To the right, beyond the far lawn. There is a slope there on the opposite side of the hedge. The entrance to the cave is right below that, partially hidden from view by some rocks.”

  “And you have been inside?” This question was asked by Lady Foxworth.

  Mary nodded. “I have explored it quite extensively together with Mr. Heartly.”

  Lady Foxworth frowned. “You are aware of how scandalous that sounds?”

  Mary felt her cheeks grow warm. More so when she recalled the time she’d spent there in Richard’s company. The thought that she would never feel his touch again was too unbearable to contemplate. “Which is part of the reason why we have not mentioned it until now. But, I do think that you ought to be made aware of what we have found. You see it is not just a cave.”

  “Then what is it?” Lady Duncaster asked, her expression increasingly curious.

  “You may find this hard to believe, but there is a river inside the cave. There is even a boat.”

  Lady Foxworth looked incredulous. “A boat?”

  “Yes,” Mary said with a confident nod. “Mr. Heartly and I believe it may have provided Thorncliff with convenient and secret access to the sea.” She allowed this piece of information to be absorbed before saying, “But that is not all either, for there is also a tunnel.”

  “A tunnel?” Lady Duncaster echoed.

  “It leads to something quite splendid actually,” Mary told her. “To what appears to have once been a Roman villa.”

  Lady Duncaster’s jaw dropped. “Surely not.”

  “It looks as though it was buried with the intention of preserving the interior because the windows have been carefully sealed. Furthermore, it is furnished in a more recent style and seems to have been used by your late husband’s father.”

  Wide-eyed, Lady Duncaster stared at Mary in dismay. “You must have found something to convince you of this.”

  “A notebook,” Mary said, “which according to Mr. Heartly, was written by his late grandfather.”

  “Dear God!” Steadying herself against the chair on which she was seated, Lady Duncaster’s hand flew to her mouth. She held herself completely still for a moment. Slowly, she lowered her hand to her lap. “This may be what my husband was looking for. Have you had a chance to study the notebook?”

  “To some degree,” Mary admitted. “It refers, in particular, to a great deal of effort made by the third Earl of Duncaster, Mr. Heartly’s grandfather, the Duchess of Marveille, and one other person, to help French aristocrats during the time of the revolution.”

  “Astounding.” Shifting in her seat, Lady Duncaster looked toward the door. “Can you show me?”

  “Of course,” Mary said. “There is an entrance to the villa via the tunnels that run beneath Thorncliff.”

  Lady Foxworth stared at Mary. “I daresay you are turning out to be quite the adventurous sort.”

  “I did not plan to be, I can assure you,” Mary told her aunt.

  “Though it is tremendously fortunate that you are,” Lady Duncaster said, “or I might never have found out about my late father-in-law’s covert operation. My husband always suspected that his father was up to something and spent the last years of his life trying to uncover what it was. He never found any evidence though and I began to doubt that there was anything to it. Uncovering this villa you speak of would certainly be a wonderful feat, though I would like to ask that you tell no one. The rumor that there is treasure to be found at Thorncliff has existed for many years and . . . I do not like the idea of all my guests beginning to hunt for it, as some would likely do if they were to hear about the villa.”

  “Your secret is safe with me, Lady Duncaster.”

  “And if you and Mr. Heartly manage to resolve your differences, perhaps the two of you can show me the villa together?”

  “Perhaps,” Mary said even though she doubted such a thing would come to pass. It would all depend on how willing he was to try and make things right between them. One thing was certain—even though he’d lashed out at her in anger, she still loved him and could no longer think of any other man by her side. Perhaps the most important question then was whether or not she could forgive him and whether or not he could accept her for being the sister of the man who’d once betrayed him.

  Pacing the length of his bedchamber, Richard tried to forget the fact that the man he’d sworn to destroy was not only sharing the same house as him, but that he was also the brother of the woman he’d fallen in love with. Damnation! He clenched his fists, ignoring whatever his brother was saying—something about finding a way in which to work it all out . . . that everything would be all right eventually . . . not bloody likely!

  “I have taken everything from Carthright,” Richard clipped. “Ironically, a lot of the money he allegedly owned had been gifted to him by Lady Mary. She helped her brother thwart me while I continued to try and ruin him. How can you possibly suppose that such a thing will be resolved in a favorable way?”

  “What I do not understand is that you never mentioned Carthright to me or to Papa.” Spencer shrugged slightly. “I feel as though I ought to take issue with that.”

  Halting, Richard glared at him. “Don’t you dare.” Spencer responded by taking a sip of the brandy he’d been nursing
as Richard continued, “I have enough to deal with at the moment without worrying about you as well.”

  “Fair enough,” Spencer agreed. He kept silent a moment before saying, “I am a little surprised that Carthright would choose to challenge you though.”

  “He feels the need to punish me for what I did to him.”

  Spencer snorted. “As if you have not been punished enough already. In my opinion, he has turned the entire matter on its head.”

  “I appreciate your support,” Richard said. Approaching the vacant armchair, he dropped onto the seat and leaned back with a sigh. “And I am sorry that I did not mention any of this to you earlier, but I was worried that you might try and stop me from doing what I felt was not only necessary, but well deserved.”

  “You may be right.” Setting his glass aside, Spencer glanced over at Richard. “That said, I think I would have done something similar, had I been in your shoes. Carthright does not deserve to be rewarded for his betrayal. Quite the contrary.”

  Silence followed for a number of seconds while Richard gazed up at the ceiling. “The trouble is that I don’t quite know where to go from here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I am thinking of Lady Mary,” Richard confessed. Indeed, he’d been sorely pressed to think of anything else. “I have effectively taken vengeance upon her brother. Even before I discovered their relationship I feared telling her about this because I worried that she would judge me harshly for it. Now . . .” He shook his head. A strong feeling of hopelessness was beginning to wear him down.

  “You think she will be unable to forgive you?”

  Tilting his head forward again, Richard looked at his brother. “Yes, Spencer. That is precisely what I think.”