by Peg Herring
Chapter Thirty-One
As they traveled, Tessa considered her options. She could try to slide off the horse, but with her arms tied to her sides she would probably be hurt, and Aidan had only to turn around and come after her. If he removed the gag she could try to talk to him. Was he beyond reason? If he had killed Cedric and blamed his own brother, what else was he capable of? In the end, she rode on passively, hoping for a chance to escape at some point.
After a long and uncomfortable ride, Aidan allowed the horse to slow to a walk as he looked for a turning. When he found it, they made their way down a descending path little used and uneven, with washouts making it obvious that rainwater followed the same course to a large river. Knowing vaguely that both the Ballards and the Hopes lived along the lane, Tessa judged they were approaching the River Thames, which flowed through Oxford and on to London. A light showed in front of them after some moments, and Aidan called softly, “It’s I.”
“Come on, then,” replied a voice, and Aidan made his way onto a sandy bank where the sound of flowing water could be heard. A small boat was tied to an ancient dock, and beside the boat squatted Hawick, warming himself over a small fire.
“So she didn’t believe your story,” he commented when he saw Tessa. His foreknowledge of the night’s events revealed that Aidan had cold-bloodedly planned the murder of Cedric. It had been no sudden crime of rage.
“It was worth a try,” Aidan replied, “but your sister will see to it my brother takes the blame.”
“Right. It would have been nice if she had come willingly, but a woman is a woman anyway, say I. Once you are lord of Brixton, she’ll come along right enough.”
Tessa’s mind screamed “Never,” but she told herself to concentrate on taking in her surroundings in case a chance came to free herself.
“I must return as soon as the messenger arrives, so I can add my sad tale to Mairie’s.” Aidan spoke to Tessa for the first time. “We had hoped for your help, unwitting though it might be. If you had believed in Jeffrey’s guilt, it would have added to the evidence I have been heaping up against him over time. Now I must add a bit to my part.” Aidan couldn’t resist explaining. “Everyone will be shocked to learn my poor deranged brother tried to kill even me. He’s a madman.” He rolled his eyes in pretended horror. “Being no match for a professional killer, I ran away, but I shall return and reluctantly tell the truth of the matter, matching Mairie’s story in every detail, which of course I could not have heard. In fact, I’ve never met the woman before in my life, as far as anyone knows.”
Hawick confirmed what Tessa had guessed. “I may have mentioned in your presence a certain Englishman with whom I have had some business. That gentleman stands before you, Mistress.”
Aidan continued the story. “As William’s agent, I had access to information and networks that allowed me to supply Hawick with specifics that have been profitable for us both. Since I had intimate knowledge of the crimes, it was easy to blame them on my brother when the necessity arose. With poor William dead—and poison will do that to a man—and Jeffrey imprisoned, I will finally be what I have worked all my life to become.” His voice was triumphant, and he turned with fervor to Tessa. “And tonight you is your last chance to share it with me.” Aidan untied the sash that acted as a gag. “Leave me alone with the lady for a moment, Hawick.”
The outlaw moved off with a leer, joining one of his men who had come from the boat and squatted by the fire. Aidan gently removed the rope that tied her arms. Tessa spoke in an agitated whisper. “Aidan, Hawick is not to be trusted. He forced me into a marriage with him—”
Aidan put a finger to her lips, smiling patronizingly. “I know all about Hawick’s mistakes. First, he was supposed to assure my brother Jeffrey never returned to England, since it was obvious you were—are infatuated with him. He failed in that because Mairie took an interest in Jeffrey, and Hawick can deny his sister nothing.
“Secondly, he took an interest in you, not knowing of my affection. Since things worked out as they did, there is no harm done. The marriage is invalid. You were married to Cedric at the time, and now Cedric is no more, so you are, as they say, an eligible candidate. Hawick is not perfect, but he suits my needs at the moment.”
Aidan took Tessa’s arm and walked her to the bank of the river. “Now, when we were last together, I proposed to make you Lady Brixton. I was, of course, premature in that pronouncement, not knowing you had found Jeffrey. Why ever did you do such a thing?”
“Eleanor asked me to give him some letters.”
Aidan reacted with a spate of anger. “Yes, that is how he knew of my affairs. The bitch was spying on me. Still, he has no proof. I found the box in his room and burned it.” Aidan turned to look at her, his face quite clear in the moonlight. “Oh, Tessa, I have planned this for so long. Playing the faithful lackey to William, the charming nobody to the rest of the family. And then you came along, and I knew I had found someone who would make it worth the chances I had taken, and others I must take, to make my plan work. It helped that you thought Eleanor and Jeffrey were lovers. It kept you from him just long enough for me to arrange his accident.”
“But—” Tessa began, and then stopped herself. When she had mentioned Jeffrey’s love for Eleanor to Aidan, he’d at first seemed surprised. She’d taken it for shock that she knew of the affair, but now she realized it was surprise at the thought itself. Cleverly Aidan had played along, pretending he knew of the affair and making her doubt her feelings for Jeffrey.
He laughed aloud now at the stunned look on her face, his character quite different now from the self-controlled man she had known. “The pious Eleanor and the noble Jeffrey—that’s a humorous picture! No, my dear, they were never lovers. Jeffrey felt sorry for Eleanor, and rightly so, for the way William treated her, but there was only affection between them. William kept spies in his household at all times, so jealous was he of his wife. She was the saint she appeared to be.”
His face showed contempt. “I understood Eleanor’s decision to play William’s docile servant, her desire to have a place in society, and her acceptance of his wealth and security, because I had those same needs. Yet nothing I did honestly brought me what I wanted. I had little chance of becoming Lord Brixton, I didn’t have two coins to rub together, and I didn’t win your love. So I have turned to other means, which worked out well.”
Tessa made no answer and Aidan went on, intoxicated with the sound of his own voice. “I wish you had not been so diligent about Eleanor’s wishes. The letters she sent to Jeffrey alerted him to my plans, so he was able to escape arrest when he found the box was gone. If he had been surprised and taken prisoner, he would have been unable to stop me. I have been very careful to impress the right people with my earnestness and diligence, all the while working secretly with those who can assist me to get the things I’ve always wanted.” He turned away, looking at the darkly moving stream before them, invisible except for the occasional shimmer of light over the changing surface.
Aidan’s voice became dreamy, almost wistful, revealing the boy inside the man who felt cheated by the accident of his birth. “You truly cannot know what it’s like to be the bastard brother. Oh, they were all very correct and never mentioned it, but people talk. Servants, neighbors, even the tutor Father hired to teach us our letters made it clear I was the least of the sons.” His shoulders shrunk together at the memory.
“And of course, I couldn’t inherit unless everyone else in the family had his chance first. William used me as a clerk who came cheaply, since he didn’t have to pay a salary. Still, over time he did begin to trust me and left things in my care, which was an advantage. I began casting about for ways to make money, and I met certain men like myself, who make money as they can.”
“Men like Ian Hawick,” Tessa supplied scornfully.
Aidan sent a glance over to where Hawick and his man stood warming themselves by a small fire in the sandy bank. “Yes, men like Ian. When Hawick sent a messenger to
demand ransom for Jeffrey, I knew he was one such as I. You see, Jeffrey did not go overboard by accident, but he has the most damnable luck. He was rescued by some fishermen and came into Ian’s hands. A word with Dougal after he left Brixton Manor gave me the story. My brother didn’t know his own name. In the end, for certain exchanges of information, Hawick agreed to see he didn’t return to England. Quite by accident in the meantime, Eleanor found out about my dealings with…” He paused to think of an acceptable term.
“Criminals,” Tessa put in.
“As you say.” Aiden bowed ironically. “She wrote to Jeffrey, informing him of her suspicions. Because of the family tie, she didn’t expose me publicly, and because she knew what William would do if he found out, she didn’t give the information to him. Eleanor trusted Jeffrey. She wasn’t to know he would not return from that last trip.” His teeth showed white in the moonlight as he smiled knowingly. “I, of course, congratulated William on not wasting his money to ransom a brother those terrible outlaws had probably already killed.”
“So you plotted to cheat one brother and kill the other?”
“The idea first came to me when Ethelbert took the holy orders. I realized I was one step closer to the title, and one step is a beginning. For three years I have been preparing my way, investing the profits from my business dealings where it will do me good at Court. I could have been happy, with Brixton and with you.”
“But when Jeffrey returned—”
Aidan nodded as if she were a pupil who had learned her lessons well. “He had to be dealt with. To free you from your ridiculous marriage and get rid of him at the same time, what could be better than to arrange his apparent guilt in Cedric’s murder?”
They had walked in a circle as Aidan explained all this and were back where they’d started, with the horse standing patiently by. At that moment, Tessa, who hoped Hawick had moved far enough away to be no immediate threat, brought her knee up sharply to Aidan’s groin, as she’d seen a boy do in a fight once years ago, causing him to double over with a yelp of pain. She grabbed the horse’s bridle and swung herself into the saddle, at the same time turning the animal’s head and kicking it fiercely in the side. The horse bolted up the bank clumsily, with Tessa still trying to get a good seat in the saddle. She never saw the arm that swept her from atop the horse. There was the sensation of flying through the air, and then she landed on the sand and knew nothing.
Aidan, still crouched over in pain, looked up the riverbank to see Dougal pick up the small, limp frame and heave it over his shoulder. “Put her in the boat,” he gasped through tight lips. “She shall pay for that.” The man turned away to hide the smile that crossed his face. She had humiliated them all, but she was theirs now.
Tessa awoke to the sound of lapping water and a bumping of wood on wood. She was in the boat, she discovered, and the boat was still tied to the decaying pier. Every few seconds the movement of the water caused it to hit the mooring post with a soft clunk. She opened her eyes just enough to see her surroundings dimly. A few yards downriver was a large tree whose roots extended into the river, creating the small cove of still, shallow water where the old dock sat.
In the relative protection from wind and current provided by the tree sat Aidan, talking softly to Dougal and warming himself by the fire. Dougal must have been standing guard at the top of the bank earlier, unnoticed until she tried to escape. A second man stood on the bank at the prow of the boat, waiting patiently. The boat, a mid-sized vessel commonly used to move goods up and down the Thames, was loaded with several wooden boxes, a dozen small barrels, and some bundles wrapped in waxed cloth, ready for departure. What was her destination? The question was answered when Aidan, noticing she was awake, approached.
“Tessa, my love, are you well?” He said it as if it were not he who had caused her situation. “We have not much time, so here is what I have in mind. You have said you do not want me. I accept that, but I want you. I believe you could learn to love me, especially when I am Lord Brixton and you are my lady.
“Here, then, is the choice left to you. You may accept my proposal, and we shall be married tomorrow. There may be some scandal, with your husband newly dead, but many will find it romantic that we could not wait to be together. You will be Lady Brixton and have everything my wealth can provide.”
Aidan stopped here to let his words sink in, but Tessa gave him no reply, so he went on. “Or, if you prefer, you may sail to Scotland with Hawick and his men. If you choose this option, of course, I have no further business with you, and Hawick, I fear, may treat you rather badly. Perhaps his men will, too. I couldn’t say. A fate worse than death, I believe it’s called, though death will probably come eventually.” The man beside him guffawed but thought better of it when Aidan shot him a look.
“I might add that nothing you can do will save your precious Jeffrey. If you leave with Hawick, your death at my brother’s hand will be assumed by all, once I tell my story. However, if you become my wife, I will do my best to help him escape England. He will do well in Normandy or some such place where men of military experience are prized. Word from Mairie should arrive within the hour. You have that long to consider, then stay or sail away, as you choose.”
Tessa fought back despair and fear. How could she choose? Aidan was mad, driven by his lust for her and his hatred for the Brixtons. How he must have despised them all! Still, he’d been clever, appearing to be meek and helpful. It was only when he drank too much that he’d showed his true, bitter self. She remembered both Mary and Eleanor commenting on it, but they’d dismissed it as the effects of wine, not realizing it was when his inhibitions were removed that Aidan showed his depravity.
Could she live with a madman? The alternative was so frightening as to make her blood run cold, but at least Hawick would probably kill her in a few days, once they tired of her. With Aidan she would have years of torture, might even bear his children. Her mind could not accept all that had happened, and she feared she would go mad herself. Curled up on the deck of the small ship, she lay shivering and fighting back tears. Aidan returned to chatting calmly with the outlaws, ignoring her.
Suddenly Tessa felt something tug at her dress. Startled, she gasped and looked down toward her feet. Rivulets of water ran from behind a stack of crates on the deck. Someone had come swimming through the frigid water and climbed aboard. Glancing at the four men, Tessa assured herself they had noticed nothing, paid no attention to her. “Please help me,” she whispered.
“Are you hurt?” came a whispered reply.
“No.”
“Can you swim?”
“Y-yes.”
“When I tell you, jump overboard and let the current take you downstream. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” She was more confident now. Better to drown in the river than deal with two equally appalling choices.
“When the water slows, you will be at Oxford. Someone there will help you. I will come for you when I can.”
“Jeffrey?”
“Yes.”
She almost sobbed aloud. “Jeffrey—”
“There’s no time, for we must act quickly. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She pulled her legs beneath her, ready to spring.
“Now!”
With all of her strength, Tessa pushed herself up and with the same motion dived into the river. She heard the cries of surprise and anger from the men on shore, but she was too busy fighting the current, the cold water, and her own skirts to pay much attention. When she’d affirmed she could swim, she’d been thinking of days in Scotland, cooling herself in the shallow burns in only her shift. It was quite another matter to stay afloat fully clothed in the mighty Thames. Kicking off her slippers, she concentrated on keeping her head above the water, trusting the river to carry her away without further effort on her part.