Blood Lust

by Jamie Salsibury

  The man could be wrong, of course. But something told Benjamin he wasn’t. Turning, he stared once more at the painting, and suddenly he knew without the slightest doubt that the man he would confront in the warehouse was his supposedly long-dead brother.

  After a few seconds, he smiled. “It’s got to be him. It all fits together. The abduction, Katherine’s hasty marriage. The bastard’s come back from the dead but he won’t stay alive much longer. He thinks he’s got me, but the truth is I’ve got him. I was always smarter than he was.” He chuckled. “I guess some things never change.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The sound of water soaked planks slapped by a brackish sea cut through the moonless evening. It was a quiet night on the docks. The smell of dead fish and mildew rose into William’s nostrils as he rode in the carriage with his tow body guards as they made their way toward Damien’s vacant warehouse.

  Damien would be arriving with the magistrate. He had planned to take him directly to the empty office at the rear of the building without ever seeing the others. Damien wasn’t taking any chances the magistrate might recognize the man who was once the young duke of Sussex, even though he had carried the title for only a few days before his supposed murder in prison.

  William moved across the room and lit a half-burned white candle that sat atop a crate. He pulled his watch from his pocket and checked the time. Damien was due to arrive in fifteen minutes. Everything was set. Success or failure loomed just around the corner.

  Katherine glanced up at the grandfather clock in the drawing room. Only five minutes had passed since the last time she looked. This was turning into the longest night of her life.

  “I should have gone,” she muttered, setting her embroidery aside with a sigh, then picking it back up and stabbing the needle into the fabric. “I should have made them take me with them.”

  Katherine heard a insistent knock at the door. The butler appeared at the entry. With a hand held up to her throat, where a rapid pulse pounded. Katherine walked to the entry as she watched the butler check the peephole then draw back the bolt and open the door.

  Cloaked from head to toe, Elizabeth Spencer, reigning duchess of Sussex, stood in the opening. “I’m sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but I. . . May I come in?”

  With William gone to meet Benjamin, Katherine’s worry soured to gigantic proportions. “Of course, your grace.” She forced herself to stay calm. The butler removed the lady’s hooded cloak, and in the light from the candles, Elizabeth’s pale face and trembling lips did nothing to check Katherine’s fears.

  “Lady Habersham, may we be private? The matter I wish to speak of is urgent.”

  “Follow me. We can speak in the drawing room.” Katherine turned to her as soon as the door was closed. “Tell me what has happened.”

  “Your husband is in danger. I overheard them speaking in the picture gallery yesterday afternoon, Benjamin and one of the men who works for him. At the time, I didn’t understand enough to sort the matter out, not until I saw the two of them tonight, preparing to leave for some sort of meeting.”

  The fear in Katherine ran through her like a knife. “Tell me what happened.”

  Elizabeth clenched her hands. “Not enough, I’m afraid. Apparently the duke has discovered some sort of secret about your husband. I believe Benjamin is going to confront him and that Lord Habersham is in danger.”

  The fear tightened now, clenched into an icy knot. Benjamin knew William was alive. Who knew what he had planned. “I have to warn them.” She glanced at the clock. “Oh dear, there isn’t enough time!”

  “Perhaps there will be, if I go with you. My carriage is just outside.”

  Katherine paused only a moment. If Elizabeth was discovered helping William, who knew what price the duke might extract. But time was running out. Readying her carriage would take precious moments Katherine did not have.

  “All right. Let’s go. Pray we get there before it’s too late.”

  The single white candle flickered on the empty crate it sat on. William flipped open the lid to his pocket watch and tried to read the dial in the wavering yellow light. “He’s late.”

  “Patience, my impatient friend,” Damien said from the shadows beside him. “Benjamin is playing cat and mouse with us. He intends to be the cat in this game and not the other way around. He is making certain the meeting place is safe.”

  William thought of their men posted in the darkness across the street. If Benjamin spotted them, he wouldn’t some inside and the game would be over before it got started.

  A shuffling sound drew his attention. Damien stepped further back into the shadows as the sagging warehouse door swung open and Benjamin walked into the eerie circle of light thrown by the candle.

  For a moment he just stood thee, an elegant slender figure, cloaked in black. “All right, you bloody scum. I’m here just as you asked. Now it’s your turn. You’ll have to show yourself, if you expect me to give you the money.”

  William stepped out of the shadows. The fear and shock he had hoped to witness on Benjamin’s face never appeared, only a smug, satisfied smile.

  “Ah, so it is you. I though so, but of course I couldn’t be sure.”

  William tensed. Damn. Benjamin had known all along. “You don’t seem the least bit surprised. Considering the lengths you went to to be certain I was dead. I find that rather amazing. Then again, most of your brutal tactics have amazed me.”

  “Brutal tactics? What brutal tactics? As I recall, you are the murderer in the family. You are the one who was sentenced to hang.”

  “But you are the one who is guilty of the murder. Both of us know that. And now I have the evidence to prove it.”

  “Do you?” Benjamin’s laugh rang with menace in the empty room. “I don’t think you have the least chance of proving me guilty of a crime you committed.”

  William’s muscles tightened even more. The surprise they had hoped for had failed them. Benjamin had guessed he was the man behind the note. William had known it could happen. They were praying it would not.

  Damien stepped out of the shadows. “There was a witness, Benjamin. You may have known William was alive, but I’m sure you weren’t counting on that.”

  Unease shifted across his features then it was gone. “If there is a witness, it is someone you have bribed to lie in William’s defense.” He smiled with malice. “If you had any real evidence you wouldn’t have set up this meeting. You would have gone straight to the authorities.”

  William said nothing.

  “Now that I think of it,” Benjamin continued, “your witness magically appears, and my witness has convenient- ally been murdered.”

  “Oh really, murdered?” Damien countered. “Are you really so sure of that Benjamin?” William looked at his friend, not knowing what game he was playing.

  Damien motioned toward the shadows. A petite, cloaked figure appeared. Stepping into the candle light, the mystery figure threw back the hood of the cloak. “But yet, here she is, Benjamin. Alive and well.” William and Benjamin gasp as Jane’s face appeared.

  “I don’t believe it.” Benjamin bellowed. “This is impossible.”

  William said nothing, just stared at them in disbelief.

  A noise sounded outside, a rumble of voices. “William!” At the side of the building stood Katherine and Elizabeth. The two women stepped forward.

  As the group descended toward Benjamin, he started to turn and weigh his options.

  “Stay right where you are!” a voice of authority shouted from behind them.

  Benjamin froze in his steps. “Ah, sir. You surely aren’t going to believe this lot. It is all nonsense I assure you. Be sure that they have all been paid well to alter their stories.”

  “Take him away,” he ordered. “You will have the chance to tell your story in the morning, my lord. At that time you may address your claim to the Crown court justices. In the meantime, you will remain in custody.”

  Katherine, Eliza
beth and Jane stood and watched while the men started to drag Benjamin away.

  “It isn’t over yet.” Benjamin hissed at the women. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill all of you!”

  The group turned away from him and stood with William and Damien who were talking with the magistrate.

  Benjamin somehow twisted away from his captors. Reaching into his coat, he pulled something from the inside pocket, and a pistol appeared in his hand.

  “I’ve always said, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself.” He cocked the hammer.

  William knew he stood too close for Benjamin to miss. Christ, he couldn’t let the bastard win again. Diving to the side, his body tensed against the impact of the ball.

  William hit the dirt floor and rolled. A thunderous shot resounded, then another. It took several seconds to realize the first shot had come from behind him, taking Benjamin square in the chest. The second was the sound of Benjamin’s weapon, discharging harmlessly into the air.

  Katherine casually dropped the spent pistol to the ground. “Good riddance,” she said without the least amount of pity.

  William’s gaze swung back to the man on the dirt floor just a few feet away. Benjamin’s sightless eyes stared upward.

  “Is he dead?” Damien asked when he reached him.

  “Yes.”

  Damien gripped William’s shoulder. “Then it’s over.”

  William nodded, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. As Damien had said, at last it was over.

  Justice had finally been served. The waters muddled from Benjamin’s greed at last ran clear.

  “Your husband’s a very lucky man,” the magistrate said. “I am pleased to see that justice has been so well served.” He turned his attention to William. “I believe, your grace, it is time you took your lovely wife home.”

  As the two started to walk out of the warehouse, they stopped next to Damien, who was standing with Elizabeth and Jane.

  “Just how did you manage this Damien?” William asked, eyeing Jane. “Katherine saw her, she was sure she was dead.”

  Damien smiled at his old friend. “That is something best shared at a later time.” The tall man chuckled at William and Katherine.

  Katherine bit her lip and looked at the two men. Then putting her arm through the crook of William’s arm, she asked. “Are we for home, your grace?”

  “Yes, duchess, home to Sussex Manor. I meant what I said. I love you and I’m not leaving. You’re stuck with me for as long as I live.”

  He smiled down at her. “And thanks to you and some very good friends, that looks to be quite a long time.”

  Thank you for interest in my books. I hope you enjoyed Blood Lust. If you are interested in keeping abreast of my upcoming works, etc. please visit the sites below.

  Email: TudorRose829@gmail.com

  Twitter: @JamieRSalisbury

  Blog: http://jamiesalisburyauthor.blogspot.com

  Other Titles By Jamie Salisbury:

  Perpetual Love (book 1 of the ‘Albert & Anne’ series)

  Tudor Rose (book 1 of the ‘Tudor Dynasty’ series)

  All are available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords.