by Sahara Kelly
She turned once again to her companion. “Should we join Kerala, Professor?”
“What? Oh…” He pulled something from his pocket. “Perhaps in a moment, my dear. Would you be so kind as to just stand here with me for a moment?” He was fussing with what looked like a small box. “Seven and…three…and lastly …” He glanced up and met her eyes with a big smile. “I’m about to do us both a very big favor, you know. I hope you’ll be suitably grateful.” He held the device aloft and pressed another tiny button.
She looked at him in surprise, not sure what he meant.
“Never mind. Here we go.” He smiled and took her arm.
Then froze. “That brooch…
“Yes?
“Oh my God…”
Chapter 14
“Nooooo…” Del screamed.
His voice echoed from the forest to Harbury Hall, an animalistic sound of agony that made the few who heard it stop dead in their tracks.
He was running before he knew he’d moved, his heart pounding, his mind refusing to accept what he believed he’d just seen.
It was a goodly distance to where Vivienne had been standing with Ringwood, but Del covered it in what seemed like seconds. He was vaguely aware of footsteps and shouts from behind him, but he wasn’t about to wait for Burke to catch up.
He reached the spot where she’d been.
She’d been standing there. Moments ago. Bright and glowing in the sunshine, her dress a happy flower against the green of the grass beneath her feet. The wind had blown the curls at the side of her face as she’d turned to the Professor.
And then…and then…
Everything had blurred, turned hazy through the lenses of the small glasses Del was using to watch her.
She’d turned to Ringwood with a curious smile and…
He couldn’t describe it until, a fraction of a second later, the shockwave hit him and he realized there had been a devastating explosion. His instincts leaped to the fore and he was immediately on autopilot, running and aware of everything happening around him as much as he could.
The trees were swaying, leaf bits snowed here and there, and birds chittered frantically as they swarmed away from the area. Del knew all of this as he ran, and yet his focus was on Vivienne.
Where was she? Had she survived? Was it an in-ground device? A cannon? His mind was as shattered as the branches littering the lawn. And still he ran until his feet skidded and he staggered to keep his balance.
Where? Where was she?
He couldn’t find her, couldn’t see her…there was nothing there at all. He looked down and saw a piece of leather boot. It was pink.
He picked it up, still trying to understand, still thinking she was there somewhere, sheltering, protected, behind one of the topiaries perhaps.
“Vivienne.” His voice cracked and he tried again. “Vivienne, where are you?”
Burke came up beside him, panting. “Captain. Del.” He grabbed the other man’s arm. “Del, they’re gone.”
“No.” Del stared at the leather in his hand. “No she’s here. She’s here somewhere.”
Gently, Burke removed the leather. “Look. Look, man. I’m sorry. Just look.”
Unwillingly, Del looked.
Burke ran his finger over the leather and left a line of clean ivory leather behind. He hissed as he did so. “God above. It is blood, Del. Not sure whose, but I believe it’s all that’s left.” He looked around. “Of both of them.”
“Oh my God.”
Silent now, still stunned, in shock, Del looked around. He and Burke were standing in the middle of something resembling a crater. And yet the ground was intact. The grass was flattened, but intact. The shrubberies either side were pushed inward, as if by a great hand, and the trees above were leafless now. But there were no scorch marks. No burns. Every atom of humanity had been… vaporized.
Del slowly looked up and along the swath of green to where Thakur Sahib stood, arms folded, face implacable.
Their gazes clashed.
“You.” Del’s throat almost closed on the word. “You…bastard. You did this…”
He walked forward, unaware of Burke’s hand on his arm, or the other man’s caution. All Del knew was that somehow, in some way, Sahib had done this. Had killed the only woman Del ever loved and in doing so had destroyed any hope of his future happiness.
Thakur Sahib did the unthinkable. He shrugged. “A terrible accident, I’m sure you’ll agree, Captain.”
Del was on him, the fury burning inside overwhelming any sense of caution. It was all instinct, all savage anger, exploding with as much emotional violence as the device that had robbed him of Vivienne moments before.
“You did it, you fucking savage…”
Sahib moved quickly, dodging, managing to avoid most of Del’s punishing blows. He laughed, almost as if he was enjoying the encounter. “She was nothing, Captain. An expensive whore, no more than that. Not worth the attention of a man like yourself.”
“She was more human than you’ll ever be.” Del landed a solid blow on the Indian’s chin and was pleased to see his turban fly off his head.
“Captain. Del, stop this…there’s no proof, Del.” Burke’s voice sounded, somewhere behind him, but it didn’t stop him. He had one goal now, one purpose. Vivienne was gone and this bastard was the one who had managed it.
There would be a price to pay for that, a debt owed to justice, and Del wanted to be the one to collect. It would be a fight to the death.
Now, after what he’d seen, Del didn’t care if it was his death—as long as he took Sahib with him.
*~~*~~*
Portia had stumbled when she heard the loud sound coming from the depths of the gardens. She happened to be outside at the time, emptying yet another load of rubbish and also taking some combustibles out to the bonfire area where the gardener would set a cheerful blaze every Thursday.
Her cart had saved her, but within seconds she was running headlong down the pathway toward the topiaries.
As she ran her mind clicked over the information she had and the fact that Ringwood was supposed to be in that area.
And…oh God… James.
She’d hoped to find him when she went outside, since she was in possession of some interesting facts about the Fleet Captain, compiled from an older newspaper she’d found in one of the laboratory dustbins.
Grabbing a few minutes out of sight of everyone, she’d read about the Man Who Burned Inside, read the descriptions of the man and his wounds, and put two and two together. The resultant four pointed directly at the warrior she’d met and she was anxious to relate the facts to James and get his thoughts on the matter.
She was fascinated at the idea that humans didn’t actually need all their internal body parts to survive, and that this man was a classic example of someone living an apparently healthy life while missing one of two functional organs.
If it was indeed her Fleet Captain, he was hale and hearty on the outside, and certainly walking was no hardship.
But all of this flew out of her head as her feet carried her at a gallop through brush and shrubbery to end up slowing and stopping at the broad swath of grass that cut through the odd boxwood animals.
A brawl seemed to be in progress, and there was James. Oh God, thankyou. She sent up the tiny prayer as she hurried to his side. “What on earth is happening? I heard a terrible sound.”
The Inspector turned, a look of utter horror on his face. “God, Portia. You shouldn’t be here. It’s…it’s terrible, child. Just terrible.”
“What, a fight? I’ve seen fights before.”
“No.” His chest heaved. “What came before. Ringwood and Mrs. Stanton-Foley.”
“Who? Where are they?” She turned her head and stared around her.
“Gone. Completely gone. Vaporized in an explosion the likes of which I’ve never seen.” His hand shook as he wiped it over his face.
Portia’s heart thudded to a stop, then re-started at twice the spee
d. “What?”
“It was awful, Portia. Just awful. One moment Ringwood and the lady were there, laughing together and then the next…”
“Dear God.” She heard a grunt. “And the Captain is taking it out on Sahib?”
“He thinks the man is responsible somehow. But I can’t see any way that’s true. He was a good twenty yards away when the thing blew up. Whatever it was.”
The fight was fierce now, both men bleeding, Sahib’s clothes clearly taking a lot of damage as was his face, and the Captain had a deep cut over his ear.
“Can’t we stop this, James?” Portia gasped as Sahib kicked out and caught Del in the hip making him stumble. “Do you not have a weapon on you?”
Burke shook his head. “No, I’ve nothing. And the way they’re fighting now, they’d kill me if I tried to intervene.”
Portia gasped again as Sahib swerved, avoided a vicious left hook and swung the Captain around by the neck.
Suddenly the game changed.
Sahib’s shining dagger was at Del’s throat, and clearly the Indian had him at his mercy.
Staring over his captive’s shoulder, he called to Burke. “Let me pass. I have him now. I’ll slit his throat if you don’t let us by.”
“I cannot stop you. I’m unarmed.” Burke spread his hands, staring at the two men, Del white and blood-spattered, his eyes glazed with shock, pain and anger. Behind him, barely visible, was Sahib, his clothing torn, one muscled arm securing Del and the other holding a sharp blade against Del’s neck. Blood was already dripping.
“You did it, didn’t you? Somehow you did it.” Del spat the words.
“It wasn’t me, but soon it will be. I ordered Ringwood to develop a device. Your foolish government never saw the potential, of course. Inbred fools kicked him out. But I saw. I watched and I saw.” The Indian actually laughed. “I paid him a fortune and he accomplished what I told him to do. Even now, Abu is collecting his notes. We don’t need him anymore. We have everything. The thonirium, the formula, the detonator and the specifications.”
He moved a little as Del struggled. “Easy, there, you fool. You want to join that whore so quickly? It can be arranged.”
Del froze as the knife bit more deeply and the blood fell copiously over his shirt.
“Don’t do this, Sahib. Don’t kill him. Not in front of me.”
“He’ll kill you too, Burke, don’t doubt it. He can’t leave any witnesses or he’d never get out of England. We both know that.” Del croaked out the words.
“I can’t…I don’t..” Burke’s voice was agonized. “I have nothing…” Again he spread his hands, this time in helplessness.
Portia stepped out from his shadow and faced the two men.
“I have something. Please stay still, Fleet Captain Moreton.” Her voice was calm as she raised her arm, loosened her sleeve and flexed muscles.
Everyone was silent, either stunned by her appearance or wondering what the hell was going on.
Into the silence came a shrill high-pitched whine and suddenly a slim bolt of light shot out from her wrist and into the Fleet Captain.
Burke gasped, then cried out as the light went through Del and into Sahib.
The Indian crumpled to the grass behind his captive, the knife falling harmlessly off to one side.
Del looked at the hole in his chest and then at Portia. “Good girl. You worked it out…”
He fell to his knees, then crumpled on top of Sahib’s body.
And Portia’s knees gave way as well. Only Burke’s strong arms kept her from measuring her length on the lawn. Her vision blurred, her fingers grew cold and tingly and her entire body suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
“Easy, dear.” Burke held her close, picking her up and cradling her like a child. Others were coming now and he strode away with his light burden, knowing he would take her to his little cottage. She could no longer go back to being the maid Mary Jones of Harbury Hall.
Her welfare was his first concern. Del…well, he looked like he was done for. And Sahib was clearly dead. They were no longer his business.
Portia was.
Chapter 15
Lady Alwynne blessed her regeneration vapor. It helped her deal with the fact that yet another explosion had occurred at Harbury Hall and two more people had apparently been killed, although this time one of her guests was at the core of the horror.
The tale related to her by Inspector Burke chilled her skin, even though she’d used the vapor not half an hour prior to his visit. The sound of something not unlike a large cannon being fired had sent her hurrying to her study and her source.
Thank God it had, because she certainly needed it now. “You mean those poor people are gone?”
“Completely, my lady. Ringwood and Mrs. Stanton-Foley never stood a chance. Apparently Thakur Sahib planted some sort of explosive device on one of them, probably Mrs. Stanton-Foley. He detonated it when they were within range. It vaporized them. There was nothing left.” His voice shook a little, but he continued. “Fleet Captain Moreton and I rushed to the scene, of course, only to be confronted by a manic outburst of violence during which Captain Moreton sustained some injuries.”
“How is he?”
“Amazingly enough, he is doing quite well. Thanks to your physician, and those who removed his lung a while ago, the bullet went clean through. Other than the nasty effects of being shot, he will make a full recovery. Sahib, on the other hand, had all his innards. He took a fatal blow.”
“Well.” She leaned back and fanned herself. “My goodness.” She shook her head. “Terrible happenings, Inspector. Just terrible. The things we humans wreak upon ourselves. It defies belief sometimes.”
“Indeed it does.”
“You were armed, I take it. Most fortunate, although I have to ask if you usually carry a weapon with you when you walk in the gardens?”
Burke looked away from her, whether in embarrassment or avoidance, she couldn’t tell.
“I don’t usually carry my pistol, Ma’am. But I’d a fancy to see if I could bag a rabbit or two for my evening meal. I spoke with your gamekeeper the other day and he said I’d be more than welcome to thin out the little nuisances. I was heading to the meadow next to the forest when all this occurred.”
She shrugged. “Well, I will say that it was a very fortunate circumstance, although not one either of us could have anticipated.”
“Of course not.” His tone was reassuring. “I shall have to report this incident, but neither you nor Lord Harbury could possibly have known about Sahib’s plot. You are both completely absolved of any involvement. I shall make sure that is crystal clear.”
Alwynne rose and held out her hand. “You are very kind, Inspector Burke. Thank you for everything, for helping with this abominable mess.”
He took her hand and she was pleased to feel the light touch of his mouth on her knuckles. “An honor to be of service, my lady. I have a small residence in the area. Should you need any assistance, please know I will always be available for you.” His gaze lingered most satisfyingly on her décolletage.
“Thank you. A true gentleman indeed.” She retrieved her hand.
“I should like to see the Fleet Captain for a moment or two before I take my leave, if that would be acceptable?”
“Of course.” She walked him to the door of her study which opened promptly, revealing Malcolm the butler. “Escort Inspector Burke to Fleet Captain Moreton’s suite, would you, Malcolm?”
“If you wish, my lady.”
“I do wish.”
“Very good my lady.” He turned, the ice of disapproval all but dripping from his eyebrows. “This way. Sir.”
Watching the two men head down the main hall toward the private guest wing where Del Moreton was currently resting, Alwynne wondered at the odd kinks in the coils of Fate.
She’d always believed that her husband’s growing insanity would be the source of trouble, and she took measures to try and anticipate his next outrageous action. Thus far
, she’d succeeded, but now…now she was becoming quite concerned that the reputation of Harbury might suffer after the second “accident” had claimed lives.
Pacing her priceless Aubusson carpet, she tried to formulate a plan to deal with any unwanted gossip. Various ideas presented themselves, only to be discarded.
Abu, the servant, was long gone, thank goodness. He would be foolish to even mention Harbury Hall, since there were many things he could be blamed for, including the theft of every piece of his late master’s jewelry. No, he wouldn’t be a problem.
She would have to wait and see what Fleet Captain Moreton was going to say or do about the episode though. Not being blind or an idiot, Alwynne had seen which way the wind blew, and the Captain had just lost a woman he was a great deal more than just “fond” of. He was the loose cannon, but until he recovered she could do nothing.
Frustrated, she walked to her shelves and moved several books, opening her secret compartment and revealing a piece of tubing and a valve. Turning the valve open, she placed the tube in her mouth and breathed in the invigorating vapors created especially for her.
It was an additional dose, and she was becoming more and more fond of the sensations trickling through her as she filled her lungs with the sweet stuff. Her body heated, her skin almost glowed and she knew her body would attract the attention of every man in any room she chose to enter. She could pick and choose.
Somewhere low in her belly, things quickened. Her corseted bodice felt unusually constrictive against her breasts and as she finally turned off the valve and shut her little cupboard, her nipples abraded the lining and sent delightful tremors through her.
Glancing at the clock, she noticed the time. Almost seven. Dinner would be at eight, but she doubted anyone would appear. So if she were a little late, it would be no problem.
And Randall would be asleep now, having consumed his evening meal and the drugged liquor she insisted be served with it.
Which meant that charming manservant Stephen Waring would be free. He gave the most delicious massages, and was so talented with his hands…