“Well,” Crutchley said with a laugh, “we decided the best place to hide a thing was in plain sight, and for a thing dug up from the earth, that would be back in the same place where you’d found it.”
* * *
At Lord Crutchley’s confirmation that Gemma’s fossil and the Beauchamp Lizard were one and the same, Cam saw Gemma’s eyes light with triumph for a split second before she shuttered her gaze.
“Of course,” Crutchley continued, “I would have no way of knowing if Celeste followed through on the scheme. For all I know, she locked the Beauchamp Lizard away in a safe place. But I must admit when Paley told me about the fossil you’d found, Lady Cameron, I did wonder.”
“The business with Sir Everard does make it seem even more likely that the fossil is one and the same,” Lord Paley added with a shrewd look. “Though I do wonder how he could possibly have known where to search for it. I only found out about my godfather’s involvement with Lady Celeste last evening, so it wasn’t me.”
“And you’ve never met Sir Everard yourself, Lord Crutchley?” Gemma asked, frowning. Cam could all but hear the theories spinning through her head.
Then, another possibility occurred to him.
“Was there anyone else who might have heard your discussion with Lady Celeste about possible hiding places, Crutchley?” Cam asked. While he thought it was more likely Sir Everard had merely stumbled upon Gemma’s work, there was something a bit too coincidental about the blackguard’s boasts that it might be the famed Beauchamp Lizard.
“Or,” Gemma added, “someone she might have confided in?”
Crutchley’s lined face twisted into an expression of distaste. “There was one person who spent a great deal of time around her that year, but I never thought she trusted him enough to confide something like that in him. And if she had told him, he’d have stolen it long ago.”
“Who was it, Lord Crutchley?” Gemma’s impatience was beginning to show, Cam thought, noting her white knuckles on the arms of her chair.
“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you,” the old man said with a frown. “Though I know she was dreadfully embarrassed about the whole matter at the time.”
Cam was beginning to understand Gemma’s impatience.
Finally, though, Crutchley continued.
“I always understood that Celeste had decided at a certain point that she would never marry,” he explained. “Especially as by that time she’d built up the estate at Beauchamp House on her own and was known as a scholar in her own right on many subjects including fossils. But there was a man who wanted desperately to marry her. I always suspected it was more because he wanted to own her, like a specimen in his collection.”
Cam saw Gemma shiver at the description. He’d certainly known men like that—who saw women not as their own persons but instead as objects to possess. He was glad, suddenly, that Lady Celeste, who by all accounts was an independent and strong woman, had managed to evade this scoundrel.
“You may be wondering why I am so slow to reveal who this man was,” Crutchley said with a rueful shake of his head. “But it’s because in the years since Lady Celeste discovered the Beauchamp Lizard, he’s come to be well known in the world of fossil collecting, though he himself has never once been the one to dig up his own specimens.”
Something about the description made the hair on the back of Cam’s neck stand on end.
It couldn’t be.
But Crutchley’s next words confirmed it.
“I believe you both are well acquainted with him,” he said, with a nod to both Cam and Paley. “I’m speaking, of course, of Maximillian Pearson.”
“Pearson?” Gemma asked, her shock evident. “But how is that possible? He cannot be old enough to have courted Lady Celeste twenty years ago, for one thing.”
“Oh he was a stripling at the time,” Crutchley assured her. “Barely twenty years old and yet he thought himself cock of the walk. He didn’t care if Celeste wanted him or not. He wanted her and that was what mattered.”
“But surely his parents,” Gemma protested. “I cannot imagine any young heir’s father being sanguine about his son marrying a lady so many years his senior.”
“His father died when young Max was barely fifteen,” Crutchley explained. “And his mother was no match for his strong will. Though Celeste did try to speak to her about the way he wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was no help, obviously.”
“Since she didn’t marry Pearson,” Cam said, “then I can only assume something managed to convince him to let her be.”
“I’m afraid, Lady Cameron, that it might be a tale too delicate for your ears.”
Cam almost laughed when Gemma tried to control her impulse to scoff at the notion.
Instead, however, she said simply, “I am a married lady, Lord Crutchley. I’m sure it will not scandalize me overmuch.”
When the elderly gentleman turned his beseeching gaze to Cam, he shrugged. “I will not make up my wife’s mind for her,” he said. Though it did amuse him to note how quickly he’d come to think of her as his wife in the twelve hours or so since their pretend marriage.
“If you insist, Lady Cameron,” said the elderly lord. “One afternoon, not long after Celeste found the lizard skull, we were … ah … behaving amorously on the shore below Beauchamp House when Pearson came looking for her. He had become suspicious of the amount of time we spent together, and made it his practice to simply show up without invitation at odd hours, in an effort to ensure that he had no serious rivals.”
Gemma’s cheeks turned a bit pink, but other than that, she remained unfazed by the confession. “And what did he do?” she asked, frowning. “I cannot imagine how dreadful it must have been for Lady Celeste to be spied on in such a manner.”
“Oh, she was furious,” Crutchley confirmed. “As was I. I wanted to call him out but she wouldn’t let me. Pearson himself was more shocked than angry. He was, after all, little more than a lad. He’d put her on a pedestal and hadn’t considered that she might be, as a woman some two decades older, someone with desires that he knew nothing about.”
“And that ended things for him?” Cam asked. It was a bit difficult to believe that a man who was so covetous would simply give up at the first sign of difficulty.
“It was the beginning of the end,” Crutchley said. “He called on her the next day and informed her that he was disappointed, but would forgive her if she promised she would agree never to see me again. Of course she refused.”
“Of course she did,” Gemma said with a scowl. “The nerve of the man.”
“He took that badly, but he spent a few more weeks trying to bully her into accepting him. But gradually, he became more and more withdrawn. By the time she and I parted ways, he no longer left his estate. And, I’m quite sure it was the beginning of his hatred of all women. It wasn’t until his mother’s death some ten years later that he was able to eradicate all women from his life—even the servants. From what Paley has told me, he’s become a total recluse now.”
“You mentioned, Lord Crutchley,” Gemma said, bringing the conversation back to their reasons for being here, “that you thought Pearson might have known Lady Celeste had hidden the lizard skull where she found it. Why is that?”
“That day he spied on us,” Crutchley explained, “was the same day we discussed her fears that someone would steal the fossil. It was also not long afterward that Pearson became a fossil collector himself.”
That was a bit of news Cam hadn’t expected. “You mean to say Pearson had no interest in stones and fossils until Lady Celeste rejected him?”
“I think at first,” Crutchley said, “the boy considered it was a way to take something from her. She wanted to add to her collection, so he wanted to ensure that the fossils she most coveted she didn’t get.”
“That’s certainly mean-spirited,” said Lord Paley with a frown. “I must admit, I had no notion that Pearson knew Lady Celeste at all, much less that he’d once been fixated on
her. He must be livid that Lady Celeste left her collection to you.”
It was news to Cam as well, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Pearson’s vendetta against Lady Celeste went beyond the lady’s death.
“But if he knew that she planned to rebury it,” Gemma asked, brows furrowed, “then why did he not go dig it up himself ages ago?”
“Perhaps he didn’t put two and two together,” Cam offered. “He was likely far more focused on the—happenings—on the beach. Remember it was Celeste he wanted then, not her fossils. It was only later that he decided to compete with her in that arena. And by then, the lizard had become an unseen legend. No one knew where it was. And after a time, it was forgotten.”
“For all that he began to fancy himself an expert,” Lord Crutchley offered, “it was always quite clear to me that Pearson wasn’t particularly gifted in the brain box. He was far more about spending his coin to acquire things than in learning about why they mattered.”
The visit had been even more illuminating than Cam could have imagined. He was about to rise and usher Gemma back out to his curricle when they all heard a disturbance downstairs.
“So many visitors,” said Lord Crutchley with ill-disguised excitement. It made Cam feel a pang of pity for the old gentleman, who clearly craved company.
But when the butler appeared at the door to the drawing room, his words made him switch his pity from Crutchley to himself.
“The Reverend Lord Benedick Lisle and Lady Benedick Lisle,” the servant said as Ben and Sophia entered looking travel-worn and somewhat harassed.
Well, perhaps only Ben. Sophia looked happy enough.
“What a relief it is to find you are both safe,” Sophia said with a smile. “You must forgive us, gentlemen. We were expecting them back—”
“Dear Sophia,” Gemma interrupted her, and Cam noticed that she was trying to communicate something to her sister with her eyes, “we did tell you that we would be paying a call at Lord Crutchley’s estate after our wedding night in Lyme.”
At the words “wedding night” Cam noticed a muscle in his brother’s jaw jump.
Still, to his relief, Benedick smiled indulgently and said, “You know how your sister worries about you, Gemma. I fear she is having a difficult time—and I admit, I am as well—believing that you and my brother have married. It seems only yesterday we were discussing the surprise of your betrothal.”
Cam was grateful for his brother’s going along with their ruse, but he knew with the surety of a lifetime as Ben’s younger brother that he would pay dearly for it later.
Chapter 24
Gemma watched the interplay between the Lisle brothers as Viscount Paley introduced Sophia and Ben to his godfather.
Benedick, it turned out, was a far better actor than she’d supposed because it was obvious to her, at least, that he wanted nothing more than to drag his brother out of the drawing room by the ear.
For his part, Lord Crutchley just seemed delighted to have more visitors.
“It’s delightful to see you both again so soon,” said Lord Paley as he rang for refreshments. It was clear to Gemma, at least, that he spent a great deal of time in Crutchley’s house, which made her feel somewhat better for the elderly man’s situation. It had bothered her once she learned of his connection with Lady Celeste that he seemed to be lonely for company.
“It’s certainly a surprise,” Benedick agreed as he moved to stand with his back to the fire. “Though you mustn’t allow us to burden you with unexpected visitors. We merely wished to assuage my wife’s worry for her sister’s welfare. Now that we’ve done that, we will all leave you to your peace and quiet, of course.”
“But that’s absurd,” Lord Crutchley protested. “You cannot mean to make the drive back to Little Seaford without a meal at the very least.”
And that was how the party from Beauchamp House ended up partaking of the midday meal at the home of Lord Crutchley.
It felt somewhat absurd, Gemma thought, considering that she and Cam were pretending to be married, while her sister and brother-in-law pretended to believe it. And Lord Crutchley and Lord Paley believed the pretense to be the truth.
Sheridan couldn’t have written a more absurd farce.
The delay of their departure, however, allowed her and Cam to explain what they’d learned from Lord Crutchley about his time spent with Lady Celeste and just how much they’d not known about Maximillian Pearson’s history with her.
“What a dreadful time Lady Celeste must have had with him watching her all the time,” Sophia said with a frown. “I am no longer surprised that she chose not to marry. I wonder that she ever entertained the prospect at all.”
“Oh, she was made of stern stuff,” Lord Crutchley assured her. “Your benefactress was one of the most intelligent and strong-minded ladies I ever had the pleasure to meet.”
He gave a wink in Gemma’s direction. “Though I believe your sister may be the first I’ve met in years to hold a candle to Celeste. If I were twenty years younger, and I’d met her first, I’d have given Lord Cameron a run for his money.”
Gemma blushed at the elderly gentleman’s blandishments. “I’m quite sure I don’t deserve such praise, my lord.”
But Cam surprised her by agreeing with their host. “Gemma is the cleverest lady of my acquaintance, Crutchley. But I must admit to a bit a relief at having won her before she made your acquaintance, for I feel quite sure I’d have had a time convincing her I was worthy.”
“If you would believe it, Crutchley,” said Ben drolly, “these two were at loggerheads with one another only a week ago. I still can’t quite believe they’re wed.”
Gemma suppressed her desire to kick her brother-in-law in the shin. But Sophia must have done it for her if his sudden yelp were anything to go by.
The meal passed without further incident, and soon enough, the sisters and brothers were taking their leave of Crutchley and his godson.
“Thank you all for giving an old man a chance to relive happy memories,” their host said as he took Gemma’s hands in his. “I know without a doubt that Celeste would have been pleased as punch to know she’d left her collection in the hands of such a special lady.”
“Thank you for sharing your stories,” she told him, then kissing him on the cheek. “I feel as if I know Lady Celeste even better now. And I hope we’ll be able to find her Beauchamp Lizard and put it back in her collection where it belongs.”
When Lord Paley took his leave of them, Gemma noticed that he pulled Cam to the side and they talked quietly for a few minutes while the carriages were brought around. She filed that bit of information away to query him about later.
It was decided that since Benedick and Sophia had brought the brougham from Beauchamp House, Gemma and Cam would ride in the more comfortable closed carriage with them while one of the grooms drove Cam’s curricle back to Little Seaford. She couldn’t have imagined a less congenial prospect than a four-hour drive with her angry sister and brother-in-law—because she was under no illusion that their sunny conversation at Lord Crutchley’s had been anything but a polite fiction for the sake of their host—seated across from them.
And once the carriage pulled away from Crutchley’s house, the fireworks began.
“Of all the mutton-headed, arrogant, reckless things you have ever done, Cameron,” Ben said, his voice eerily calm despite the tenor of his words, “this is by far the worst.”
Something about the way he immediately blamed their situation on Cam made Gemma’s hackles rise. “I am not a young innocent being led into misbehavior, Benedick,” she argued. “It was my idea for us to travel to meet Crutchley in the first place. And we couldn’t have accounted for what would happen with the weather. So, you may keep your sharp words to yourself.”
“Do you know what could happen to you if word gets out that the two of you spent the night together in an inn, Gemma?” Benedick asked, not backing down from his position one bit. “If you thought the risk from what happened i
n Pearson Close was great, then this escapade is far worse. You were even seen by Paley, for heaven’s sake.”
“But Paley thinks we’re wed,” Cam said, squeezing Gemma’s hand as she slipped it into his. “And we will be as soon as I can procure a special license.”
She felt a pang of conscience over the rift she’d caused between the brothers. She’d never considered that Benedick would take his role as her pseudo-guardian so seriously. A glance at Sophia revealed her sister was concerned about his anger over the situation as well.
“That’s not the point,” Ben was saying in response to Cam. “And lying about your marital status is hardly the way to begin your life together.”
“Dearest,” Sophia said, placing a hand on her husband’s arm. “You must remember that none of us at Beauchamp House has precisely followed the usual order of things when it comes to marriage. Even you and I didn’t wait until we—”
“But that was different,” Benedick said with a frown. “We didn’t go about telling people we were wed when we were not. And I dashed well knew I intended to make good on my promise to marry you.”
As soon as he spoke the words, Gemma felt Cam stiffen beside her. A glance in her sister’s direction told her that she’d also realized just how far over the line Benedick’s words had been.
“What. Did. You. Say?” Cam asked, his tone as deadly quiet as his brother’s had been.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it like it came out, did you, Benedick?” Gemma clung to Cam’s arm as if she feared he would launch himself across the carriage at the vicar.
To his credit, Ben sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know, damn it. I don’t know anything anymore.”
“You just suggested that I seduced and intend to abandon your sister-in-law,” Cam said coldly, “so I think if you didn’t believe it, you were being just as reckless as you accused me of being.”
One for the Rogue (Studies in Scandal) Page 23