Heath caught Adrian by the shoulder before he could fly into the insolent squire with both fists. “He’s not worth it. A judge will decide his fate, if any have proof.” He turned back to Sotheby. “Sir, Eversly cannot have killed Louise. This much, I know. Do you have evidence of the other charges?”
“Don’t tell me what he did or didn’t do,” the older man grumbled. “You’ve paid for your neglect, but this bounder has escaped scot-free until now because I could not put a name to him. He had not a man’s voice when last I heard him, but I should have known. I forbid Louise to see the cad when he paid her court. I married her off to you thinking that would put an end to it. But no, you had to go bounding off over the seas instead of taking her away from here. I could hear them in the garden when you were gone. The servants protected her, damn their black hearts. He kept coming back. They thought I would not know because I was old and blind, but I heard them. They laughed at first, like young lovers. And then they fought, as only Louise knew how to fight. That girl could have cut a sword to ribbons with her tongue.”
Heath shifted uneasily, not wanting to hear more but unable to silence a man he held in respect. He pulled the brandy bottle off the shelf behind his desk and poured himself a glass, nodding toward the tray of glasses sitting on the table to indicate others help themselves.
Harley was the one who approached his father. “Father, we cannot relive the past. Louise is dead. There is no need to resurrect her faults.”
“I’m only telling you so you know I’m no crazy old man. I knew my daughter, I knew her faults. She was a good lass, too wild and high-spirited, mayhap, but a good lass. But I’m telling you that man over there led her astray. I cannot tell you how long it went on, if it started before or after she married Heath, but that is the man who killed her.”
“A man can’t be hanged for adultery,” the sheriff interrupted. “It’s no proof he killed her.” He gave Heath a look as if to say it would be reason enough for the husband.
Heath felt no emotion at learning the name of the man who had cuckolded him. He had suspected as much for a long time, and he could answer Sotheby’s question as to when the affair began. Louise had been no virgin when she came to his bed, but it had not mattered then and it meant less now. What mattered was whether Eversly had set his stables afire and nearly killed Aubree in the process. That he would give up all his worldly possessions to know.
“Let Mr. Sotheby speak,” he commanded, sitting in the desk chair with his brandy and waiting.
Sotheby gave the floor another rap in satisfaction. “I hold you guilty of neglect, Heath. She was no more than a child, you should have kept tight reins on her. I cursed your name every time I heard those two together. I tried to warn you, but you would have none of it. Young and stubborn as a damned stone wall. Then when I heard the whispers about the beatings, I thought you had finally found her out and gone too far. I was livid with rage, but I held my tongue. She was your responsibility, and I knew you to be fair, if a trifle hotheaded. I thought that would be the end of it. But it wasn’t.”
The fight seemed to have gone out of him, and he stared sadly into the flickering light of the fire, his voice growing weaker. “When you took that last trip, I didn’t hear them so much. I thought she had cast him off, and I was relieved. But I heard her scream one day. The sound died quickly, as if someone had slapped her, but I knew then. And I could do nothing. I tried to persuade her to stay with us while you were gone, but she enjoyed her freedom too well. She only used the garden to escape the abbey’s servants.
“I cannot know for certain what happened. Mayhap you can persuade the brute to it. I heard them fighting one day, and he hit her. The sound was unmistakable. I think she hid from all of us after that. I heard you had returned, Heath, and I waited for your visit. I wanted to tell you I would pay for a house in London if it would take Louise away from that obsession of hers. But the next I heard, she was dead, and it was too late.”
Harley put a hand on his father’s shoulder and threw Heath a pleading look. The story had thrown their audience into respectful silence—all but the accused, who looked bored and cut at his fingernails with a pen knife.
Austin took a brandy to Mr. Sotheby. “Perhaps we all failed her, George, but in the end, she failed herself. You know I would have raised the child as my own. She had no need to do what she did.” It was as close as he had ever come to admitting the truth of Louise’s death to her family.
Sotheby nodded understanding, but surprisingly, Eversly growled in anger.
“Now that’s a damned lie if I ever heard one. The mighty Earl of Heathmont raising another man’s bastard. Don’t make me laugh. You killed her and you’ll never prove otherwise.”
Geoffrey sat beside his cousin, frowning. “You told me Heath seduced your lover, then beat her,” he said accusingly.
Heath ignored the interruption. “You have proved Eversly’s a coward and a rutting bounder, but there is nothing to show he is responsible for tonight.”
Adrian took the floor. “Your wife and I and this dandy might help along those lines, Heath.”
At the mention of Aubree, Heath swung around to confront his friend. “How?”
He pointed at Geoffrey. “Your dandy here tried to persuade our wives to go with him this evening, gave them some trumped-up invitation. After talking with Harley, Aubree became suspicious, but since you hadn’t seen fit to inform her of your opinion of Eversly, she did not know the danger. Harley told me of her suspicions, and I took the liberty of disposing your men and Harley’s about the estate as a precaution.”
Heath sensed Adrian held something back and understood it was not yet time to reveal it. He turned his controlled fury to Geoffrey.
“I have borne your impudence out of respect for Aubree’s attachment to you, but I will not tolerate it any longer. What explanation have you for your behavior?”
Geoffrey seemed to melt beneath his accusations.
Eversly was the one who answered. “The pup is guilty of nothing more than advancing his cause. You have nothing to hold us on, and I resent the treatment we have received at the hands of your oafish accomplices. I would demand satisfaction, but I hold the line at cripples and wife-beaters.”
Heath grew very still, hardening his face into a cold mask but not concealing his temper. “Sheriff, if that man opens his insolent mouth again, I intend to take that horsewhip over in the corner to him. I would suggest you find some means to shut him up before that occurs.”
The horsewhip alluded to was a particularly nasty specimen he had ripped from a man’s hand one day after catching him using it on an unbroken yearling. It remained there as a souvenir—and a threat. He ached to put it to good use now.
“I will remind you that the method gentry uses to exterminate one another is illegal,” the sheriff told Heath, before turning to Eversley. “Squire, I have to ask you to hold your tongue unless spoken to, else the matter will come before the judge. This here be his lordship’s land and you be trespassin’ to be found on it.”
“Thank you.” Coldly formal now, Heath returned to questioning Geoffrey. “Why did you wish to take Aubree away from here this evening?”
Cornered, Geoffrey glanced for help from his cousin, who gave him a look of disgust. Uneasily, he asked, “What did you mean when you said someone sent Aubree in that stable?”
“Just as I said. Someone caged that damned bird of hers, and when its cries weren’t sufficient to draw her back, they told her I had gone in to fetch it. The bird had been hung in the rear, where the fire started. I would never have found her had the bird not stayed with her when she freed it.”
Heath watched with stony gaze as Geoffrey absorbed this information. The young dandy grew pale above his high white cravat, but he avoided looking at his cousin. “I cannot believe that,” he whispered. “There is no reason. . .”
“Except to a man who wishes to murder his wife for her wealth,” Eversly agreed coolly. “Sheriff, I prefer to be heard by the judg
e than a murderer. May we go now?”
“One moment.” Adrian stepped in front of Heath before he could reach for the whip. “Can you explain your presence there tonight? I understand your land lies some distance away.”
Eversly gazed at him with contempt. “There is a public thoroughfare at the end of the drive. Will you pardon my traversing it and hearing the alarm? Half the bloody county must have heard it.”
“At what time was this?” Adrian asked without hesitation.
“How in the devil do I know?” the squire exclaimed with irritation. “What time was it when the old curmudgeon tried to bash my brains out? I had only just arrived.”
Satisfied, Adrian turned with a smile toward the officer of the law. “Sheriff, the man lies. It was nigh on to ten of the clock before we hauled him in here. The alarm sounded two hours earlier. It could not possibly have been heard two hours’ ride from here, but I have men outside who are prepared to swear they saw this man passing the main drive shortly after seven in company with his cousin, and another who swears Eversly never passed the far gate. The first two men will also swear that Sir Geoffrey here never left the grounds after he was turned away at the door. He turned his curricle down the south road and stayed there. When the alarm sounded, he tried to spring his horses but the wheels had become bemired. It was some while before he could reach the drive again.”
Heath squeezed his friend’s shoulder in gratitude, then nodded in the direction of his sullen prisoner. “If that is not enough, Sheriff, I recommend you save his trousers for the judge. They reek of coal oil. Now take him out of here before I lose my temper and do something we shall all regret later. Leave the other here. I would have a word with him.”
Geoffrey buried his face in his hands as the sheriff led his cousin away.
“Sit up like a man and tell me why the bloody hell you went along with him,” Heath roared as the door closed.
Geoffrey shook his head. “Harry’s a bit of a bounder when he’s in his cups, but he’s my only kin. I had no reason to believe he lied to me. I believed him when he said you stole his intended like you stole Aubree from me. I could have made her happy. All she wanted was a place in the country with her animals. Her dowry would have bought that and enough for me to get by on. I’m not a greedy man.”
“Enough!” Heath would have liked to shake the pup, but he refrained. “What has that to do with destroying me? It would not win Aubree back.”
“Harry said it would,” he replied defensively. “He said you would beat her and I had to get her away from here, but she wouldn’t come with me. So he said if you lost the abbey, you would take to the sea again and Aubree would be safe. I knew I’d lost her, but I had no reason to doubt Harry. It was common knowledge you killed your first wife, and he was right about your smuggling, although with a duke for a father-in-law, they’ll never arrest you.”
Adrian and Austin exchanged looks, but both held their tongues.
Geoffrey continued without urging. “But when Harry said he meant to fire the stables, I worried. Aubree’s peculiar about animals. I didn’t want her to see it. I didn’t think she’d come to dinner with me, but I thought if I asked her sister-in-law, too, she might agree. And it would have worked, too”—he glared at Adrian—”if you had not kept me away.”
Heath raised an eyebrow to his accomplished brother-in-law. “How did you manage that?”
Adrian shrugged. “I borrowed John. Told him you had given express orders not to allow the ladies out with this man. Poor fellow never got past the gate. Damned fine groom you have there. Ought to employ him more frequently.”
“If Aubree found out, he’d be a dead groom,” Heath replied impassively.
Harley intruded. “Geoff’s never been terribly bright, Heath, but I don’t think he ever meant any harm. Eversly’s the one who put me on to you, too. He had me believing you were out to debauch Geoff’s fiancée like you destroyed Louise. He knew how I felt about you. Geoff was only looking for a diversion so he could play hero. I doubt if he even knew Eversly had brought me to London.”
Heath ran his hand through his hair and gave a ragged sigh. “At this moment, I am prepared to hang just about anyone who looks at me crooked. I think, perhaps, you had better get out of my sight and stay there until my solicitors send for you. Then you had best bear witness against your cousin or leave the country. I’ll not stand for any less.”
Geoffrey looked miserable as glanced at the implacable faces around the room. With only a nod for answer, he gathered what pride remained to him and walked out.
When the door closed behind him, the voice at the fire inquired querulously, “Smuggling, Heath?”
Chapter 30
The stench of burned wood and leather hung in the moisture-laden air as Heath inspected the damage the next morning. Wearing only shirtsleeves and waistcoat against the chill wind, he picked his way through the ruins. A small group of men gathered in the stable yard as he tested the stone walls and burned-out timbers.
He had no choice but to rebuild if he were to house the animals this winter. The high-strung thoroughbreds had already been taken to a neighboring farm, except for Heath’s stallion, which watched the proceedings with a baleful eye from the paddock. A temporary shelter would have to be erected if he were to ride anywhere this winter. The splendid new carriage in the adjoining coach house had received extensive damage and would not be usable without repairs. All this would cost more than he possessed, until his ship returned.
Hiding his apprehension about the whereabouts of his ship, Heath strode out to the yard to interview the men waiting for him. With the price of wool declining while costs soared, small sheep farmers were being driven out of the market. A year ago, they would have turned their backs on him. But today, they had hungry mouths to feed. Most were not carpenters by trade, but they were here, willing and able.
As he talked to the men, he noticed a rider ambling up the drive on a superannuated gelding. Sheriff Fletcher was a slow man and a poor one. He did not take well to horses. But he was basically an honest, dutiful fellow, and Heath wished to hear what he had to say of their prisoner.
Setting John in charge of his newly hired helpers, Heath strode across the muddy lawn to where the sheriff waited. The muscles in his leg had not yet returned to normal, and the wound had partially reopened during the night, but he could walk without the aid of a stick and made a practice of doing so. He refused to be deterred by a game leg.
“Sheriff,” Heath greeted the man.
The look on the sheriff’s face was glum. “’Mornin’, your lordship. Thought I’d best bring you the news before some other did.”
Biting his tongue, Heath nodded permission for him to continue.
“The magistrate let Eversly go free without bail this morning. Said ’twasn’t enough evidence to hold him, and he would bind the case over to the next session. Sir George warn’t too happy that I didn’t bring you afore him. He’s a hard man when crossed.”
“My God.” Heath felt his shoulders sag and automatically straightened them. They were none of them safe if Eversly was out free. Sir George had a maggot between his ears.
The sheriff waited for better instruction than a plea to the Almighty.
The only thing left for Eversly to harm was the house and its occupants. Heath could not tell the sheriff he intended to kill Eversly the moment the man set foot on his land again. He could not imagine the man mad enough to return, but he could afford to take no chances.
“There’s a chance he will seek retaliation for last night, Fletcher. I’ll need a man to keep an eye on the place at all hours. If you know of anyone, send him my way. I would appreciate it if you would keep me posted as to Eversly’s whereabouts. If he retains any sense at all, he will be halfway to the coast by now, but I cannot rely on that.”
A carriage turned into the drive at a breakneck pace, spattering mud on the elegant livery of its footmen. Eyeing the equipage with a dubious expression, the sheriff muttered words of farew
ell and turned his nag back down the drive.
Heath knew his visitor before the carriage reached the house, and his heart sank. From the pace at which it arrived, he judged the duke had been traveling the better part of the night. That did not bode well in the least. He glanced up at the window where Aubree still slept, and his heartstrings tightened a notch. He had not wanted to let her go so soon, but the news about Eversly made it imperative that she do so.
He waited in exhaustion as the footmen fixed the stairs and opened the door for their noble employer. The duke appeared thinner, his face more drawn than when Heath had last seen him, but there was nothing weak about his snapping gaze.
“Where’s my daughter?” he demanded, not offering his hand to Heath but striding across the yard to the front entrance.
“Sleeping.” Heath did not attempt to keep up with him, forcing his father-in-law to swing around and wait.
“What in hell is she doing in bed at this hour? She never sleeps late. What’s been going on here?” he added, apparently just now noticing the burned-out stable.
“A small accident,” Heath replied sarcastically, leading the way up the front stairs. “We were up late, and I told the maids not to disturb her.”
He threw open the wide oak door and gestured for the duke to enter.
“Well, tell them to bring her down here immediately with her bags packed. She’s going with me.” The duke stalked past him and into the towering great hall. Ignoring the soaring Gothic architecture, he glanced around, and spying a fire burning in a room off to one side, he headed toward it.
A wide-eyed Mattie stood on the lower steps and Heath gave her a curt nod. “Wake Lady Aubree and bring her down when she is dressed.” He followed his father-in-law into the study and closed the door behind him.
“You will give me some explanation of this visit?” Heath inquired, avoiding the brandy bottle left from the prior night. A good gulp might be beneficial, but it was morning yet and such an act would not impress Aubree’s father.
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