Leigh came to full alert. “Who is Joanna Harris?”
The redhead glared at Leigh. “I see; neither of them told you about her. I’m not surprised; it would spoil their wicked sport. She’s more beautiful and desirable than both of us put together, but she was gullible and weak. She’s what happened between two good friends. She’s the reason they hate each other. After that trouble in South Africa, Jace and Chad were at each other’s throats and doing all they could to spite each other. Joanna Harris was supposed to move to Africa with Jace as soon as everything was prepared here. While Jace was gone, Chad charmed and seduced Joanna. The bitch moved in with Chad. When Jace returned to London, he was furious. They got into a fight. Jace was jailed for a month for nearly killing Chad. On Chad’s orders Miss Joanna refused to visit Jace in prison and explain. When Jace was released, Joanna still refused to see him or to leave Chad. Jace left London swearing revenge on Chad. That’s what this little wager is about, you blind girl, another woman! Jace wants to take Joanna’s replacement and all she owns away from Chad. And Chad, he’s flaunting you in Jace’s face because he thinks he has you hooked and turned against Jace. Chad didn’t consider Joanna’s conquest and ruin enough punishment for what Jace had done to him.”
Leigh was stunned. “You’re full of lies and hatred, Louisa.”
The redhead laughed. “You know I’m telling the truth.”
Leigh knew such words could be checked out too easily for her to he. She wondered if that woman was the missing clue to the mystery, as Louisa alleged. “Where is this Joanna Harris?”
“After Chad was finished with her, he discarded her, just like he’ll do with you after you’ve served your purpose. Joanna was very special to Jace Elliott. It was quite a scandal. Jace wouldn’t forgive her or take her back, so Joanna was forced to leave town. Jace hates Chad for destroying her. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chad is responsible for those London crimes as Jace suspects. Frankly I don’t care. I think William Webster either discovered or realized the truth, and it caused his heart to fail. Chad and Jace despise each other. This wager and safari were for revenge. That’s all you mean to either of them. Oh, I know he’s discarding me for you. I know Chad craves your wealth and the firm, but those are merely added benefits. What he’s truly after is destroying Jace Elliott for trying to kill him in South Africa and for stealing his diamonds,” Louisa charged, having learned that fact from Cynthia, who had gleaned it from a drunken Reid.
“You’ve never seen Chad without his shirt. Have you wondered why? I’ll tell you. He and Jace hired out as guards for a peace mission to warring Mata-beles. On a dare from one of the men, Chad stole a sacred knife from their leader. The natives tracked him and abducted him. Every morning and night, they used the ritual knife to carve one of their pagan symbols on his back and chest. They poured a stinging liquid over the cuts to make him scream and beg. When his torso was fully marked, they were going to sacrifice him to their god. Every night he was kept suspended from a tree. I’m surprised the insects eating on those wounds didn’t give him a disease and kill him. Luckily those savages didn’t harm his handsome face. Chad used it to charm one of the native girls into freeing him, the chiefs daughter. She led him to safety, then he killed her to punish her father. You know the other details of that misadventure, or what each man claims is the truth.”
“If Lord Chadwick Hamilton is so terrible, Lady Louisa,” Leigh scoffed, “why are you trying to kill me to get him? What do you want with a wicked earl, and at such a risk and price?”
“Are you crazy?” Louisa retorted. “Don’t you realize Chad and Jace are behind those incidents just to turn you in their favor? Don’t be so blind and naive. What good would it do me to risk prison to kill you? Chad would only find another woman to conquer. Why don’t you confront them when they return to camp? I dare you. If you don’t, I will. I swear it. I’m ready for this game to end. Chad has used me and humiliated me for the last time. They should return at sunset. We’ll both be ready to greet them. Chad told me he was going to marry me when we returned to London. He said I was a problem between you and him, that you would fire him to get rid of me. I moved out of his tent to appease you. After thinking it over and watching you two lately, I know he lied.”
“Yes, he did lie to you. He asked me to marry him. I said yes.”
“You what?”
Leigh enjoyed the look of shock, then fury on the woman’s face. “I also told Jace I would marry him. I’m not as stupid as you all think, Louisa. It was only a trick until I returned home and got rid of both of them. You can have Chad or Jace, or both. I’m only playing with them to keep the peace, nothing more, you bitch.”
“Are you telling the truth? I don’t trust you.”
“No more than I trust you,” Leigh scoffed. “But it’s the truth.”
“Why did you lie to me about your sweetheart in Texas?”
“To shut you up and to halt your petty jealousy. You were so damned worried about me stealing Chad that you never realized I didn’t want him. I never have, and I never will. There is one thing you should know, Louisa. This may have begun as a plot for revenge, but Chad is really in love with me. So is Jace. It seems both got snared in their traps for me. That’s a real shame.”
“Love doesn’t change your mind about them?” she hinted.
“No,” Leigh replied in a cold tone. “I could never desire or trust either of them. As with you, I don’t like being used, duped, or entrapped. I’m selling the firm—but not to Chad—and I’m going home to America after the safari. Both men can simmer and suffer for all I care. As for you, you deserve a snake like Lord Chadwick Hamilton, and he deserves a bitch like Lady Louisa Jennings.”
The redhead glared at the blonde, mentally vowing she’d be dead soon and trouble her no more, and left the tent unseen.
As Leigh lay on her cot with her eyes closed, she waxed between alarm, anguish, and anger. Another woman was not the missing clue she had expected to find. Her treacherous lover had duped her for the last time, and so had her devious guardian. She yearned to get far away from all of these hateful scavengers.
Leigh looked up as one of the men from the safari sneaked into her tent. She was seized, disabled, and forced to drink a bitter drug. As blackness engulfed her, she knew the ruse was over…
Chapter Seventeen
Later, Jace entered camp and greeted Mkwawa. Louisa and Cynthia left their tent to join him. “Where’s Leigh?” Jace inquired.
“In her tent, reading, as usual. Where are the others?”
“Reid nicked a lion,” Jace responded. “Wounded predators are dangerous to the natives, so the law says a guide must trail an injured beast and slay it to prevent trouble. We’re supposed to meet back here. I guess they’re still hunting with Johi and the men. I’ll fetch Leigh for a nice walk before Chad returns. This is a lucky break for me. If you ladies will excuse me …”
Louisa followed the whistling male to Leigh’s tent. Through the mosquito netting, she and Jace saw the blonde lying on the ground, with a decapitated reptile nearby. She grinned maliciously.
Jace yanked the thin flap aside and dropped to his knees. He examined Leigh and said, “Bush snake. They’re deadly. It’s been some time since she was bitten. See how the area’s discolored. Damn! Hardly anybody survives such a bite.”
“He’s so big.” Louisa stated the obvious. “Is she …”
Jace listened to Leigh’s heart. “Not good. It’s too late to cut the wound and suck out the venom. There’s a Kikuyu village a few hours away. If anybody can save her, it’s the witch doctor there. It’s probably a waste of time,” he mumbled. As he worked, he fumed aloud, “How the hell did he get in here and why did she challenge him? Bush snakes normally avoid clearings, and they’ll crawl out of your path if you give ’em time. She should have screamed and run, or stayed on the cot. Hell, at least she got him, too. I’ll return or send word as soon as possible. Don’t tell Chad but I doubt she’ll make it. Let me handle him when I get ba
ck.” He lifted Leigh, tossed her over his shoulder, and rushed from camp.
The servants, other bearers, and the brunette gathered around the clearing. “What happened?” Cynthia asked.
“Little Leigh was bitten by a deadly snake. Jace thinks she’s too far gone to save. He’s rushing her to a local witch doctor. I wonder how Chad will take this news.”
Mkwawa shook his head and murmured, “Bwana Jace waste time. Bush snake fatal. See faces of men. They know she dead, too.”
Louisa watched the natives toss the snake into the campfire and begin to sing with lowered heads. “What are they doing?”
“They destroy enemy. They pray for her spirit to find peace. She dead by now. Bwana Jace be sad. She good woman.”
Hours later, the hunting party returned to camp with a large lion Reid had shot. The men were laughing and talking as they entered the clearing. The singing bearers carried the trophy suspended from a heavy pole by bound legs. Its tawny-and-black mane swayed with their movements, and water dripped from his ears and tail. A heavy rain was falling, but the soaked and jubilant men did not care. The lion was to be prepared and transported after the rain ceased.
Unmindful she was getting drenched, Louisa hurried to meet them. “There’s been a terrible accident, Chad. Leigh is-”
Chad slapped the redhead and shouted, “What did you do to her this time, you jealous bitch?”
Louisa rubbed her stinging cheek and glared at the man. “Nothing, you bastard! She was bitten by a snake.”
Chad pushed his ex-mistress aside and rushed toward Leigh’s tent. It was dark and empty. “Where is she?” he asked.
“Dead,” Louisa informed him. “But I’m not to blame.”
“Where is she?” Chad yelled again at the belligerent woman.
“Jace returned and took her to a witch doctor to see if the man could save her. Mkwawa and the others said such a bite was always fatal.”
Mkwawa explained to the startled men what had happened.
“Where is this village? Take me there immediately!”
“Which one, Mkwawa?” Johi asked.
“I know not, Wanjohi. Three are near.”
“We’ll track him,” Chad suggested.
“How can we? The rain leaves no trail.”
“It’s a trick,” Chad shouted. “He’s stolen my love!”
“No, it isn’t,” Louisa argued. “We all saw her. She had two bleeding holes on her leg. The area was yellow and green and reddish-blue. She was unconscious, hardly breathing. The snake was killed and burned. The bearers said—”
“I don’t give a damn what they said! I want to see her.”
The rainfall was hard and heavy. It pelted noisily on the large leaves and tents. It beat upon the people grouped together. The campfire was extinguished. The clearing was saturated, making the ground soft and mushy. Mud splattered on everyone’s boots. Daylight was vanishing in the almost blinding rain and impending dusk.
As water poured over him, Chad murmured, “She can’t be dead.”
“Why, because you think she was going to marry you?” Louisa scoffed, her curry-colored locks flattened against her pale skin. Water streamed off her hair and over her sullen face. She kept blinking her narrowed eyes to clear them. Her shirt and skirt clung to her body. “Or did you realize you’d lost her to Jace and had her killed? I know how desperately you craved her.”
“You whore! Get out of my sight! You’re nothing compared to her. If Jace has stolen her, I’ll kill him. By damn, I’ll kill him!”
“I’ll get you a strong drink, Chad,” Reid said, and fetched it.
Chad downed the Scotch with one gulp. “I don’t believe this.”
“They can’t all be lying, Chad,” the other man reasoned.
“They were fooled,” Chad argued before the crowd of men.
“You’re pathetic,” Louisa sneered and ran inside.
Cynthia glanced from Reid to Chad, then followed Louisa.
“Let’s get out of this downpour,” Reid advised.
Drenched, Jace stalked from the jungle. He went straight to Chad and slugged the man across the jaw. The blow sent Chad to the muddy ground. “What did you do this time, old friend,” Jace shouted. “Have a deadly snake put in her tent? I let both of you convince me you weren’t a threat to her. I thought you had changed; you seemed to be returning to your old self. I should have known that was impossible. You sorry bastard, you didn’t have to kill her to punish me again!”
“Where is Leigh?” Chad asked, looking behind Jace.
Fury and coldness exuded Jace. “Right where you sent her, to her grave. If you wanted her money this badly, she would have given it to you. Hell, I would have helped you get it so she could live.” Jace’s expression and tone altered to sadness, then bitterness. “You didn’t have to kill her, Chad. She lied, didn’t she? You do inherit, don’t you?”
Chad did not get up, as if the grim news made him weak. Mud oozed between his spread fingers, and water pooled around them. Rain flowed in rivulets over his black hair and pale face. He lowered his head to protect his eyes and nose from filling. “No, my mother does. But I didn’t harm Leigh. She can’t be dead. What did you do with her? I’ll have the authorities on your back tomorrow.”
Jace looked surprised, then angry. “So that’s why you came here! That’s your plot, isn’t it? Kill Leigh and frame me. Why, because your first frame didn’t get me killed? How can you hate me this much and for so long? Dammit, man, I didn’t betray you. I don’t deserve all this torment. It has to end, Chad. Why don’t we have a duel here and now to settle this destructive war for good?”
“This isn’t a game, Jace. I love her. I want to marry her. Bring her back and I’ll do anything you say. I’ll give you all the money, and I’ll confess to the crimes. I just want Leigh.”
Reid pulled Chad to his feet. “Can’t you see he’s tricking you into confessing to anything? It’s your grief talking, Chad. She’s dead. Nothing you say or do can bring her back. Stop this nonsense.”
Chad looked at Jace and glared. “She’s dead, and you’re using that to get revenge on me. You’re the one trying to frame me. You killed her and I know why!”
“If this wasn’t a setup to look like another accident,” Jace reasoned in a tight voice, “why did she have a bush knife in her hand? Did you hire some of Jim’s men to do your dirty work for you?”
A servant shook Jace’s arm and said, “I give her the knife. She asked. Little gun gone. She was afraid. It was kindness.”
Louisa returned. “You’re both fools. After you left camp this morning, Leigh said she wanted to ‘clear the air between us.’ She didn’t trust either one of you …” she began. Then, without revealing her side of the conversation, she told them what Leigh had related. “You’re both fools. She was duping both of you.”
Chad asked Jace, “She agreed to marry you, too?”
Jace gaped at Louisa. “No, she didn’t. I never proposed. I don’t know why she would tell Louisa such a tale. Maybe for the same reason she lied about that beau in America. That doesn’t change anything, Chad. You’re to blame for this. I would have persuaded her to marry me. Everything was going fine until recently. You did or said something to turn her against me. What was it? Did you tell her about Joanna, tell her I was after her for revenge?”
“I never mentioned Joanna to Leigh,” Chad yelled over the loud rain. “You’re up to something. If Leigh’s dead, I want to see her body.”
Jace’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. “What do you think I did with her? Left her bound to a tree in the jungle?”
“I think you left her in that village, sick or captive.”
“If it’s proof you want, you’ll get it at first light.”
“How do I know you’ll take me to the right village?”
Jace looked ready to strangle the man. “You’ll know when we dig up her grave and you see her body. It won’t be a pretty sight. You know what happens after a tropical snakebite.”
“Why didn’t you bring her back to camp?”
“And fight off hyenas and vultures all the way. You know what they do when they smell dead flesh. They would have attacked and devoured her. You couldn’t want such a fate for her. In the morning, I’ll take you to the Kikuyu village and you can dig her up.”
“That’s morbid, Chad,” Reid said. “You know what condition she’ll be in. Don’t look at her like that. Jace is in too much trouble to fake her death. Besides, he wouldn’t want you and your mother claiming her inheritance. She’s dead. Accept it.”
“Let him come with me, Reid,” Jace almost demanded, “that’s the only way he’ll believe me. I tried to save her, so don’t you try to pin another crime on me. I dare you to check her grave and body!”
In his emotional state, Chad concluded that Jace was too willing and eager to show him Leigh’s bloated and discolored body for her death not to be real. Chad wiped the rain from his smarting eyes, but they filled again in the deluge. “Get me out of this damn jungle in the morning. Rain or not, we’re heading for home.”
“Can’t wait to get back to spend her money?” Jace taunted.
“No, I can’t wait to be rid of you for good. I’ll pay you the twenty-five thousand pounds in Mombasa. Neither of us wins the bet.”
“Losing yours doesn’t matter. Losing hers does. I know the snake killed her, but I’m not convinced it wasn’t slipped into her tent.”
“Neither am I,” Chad vowed, hatred gnawing at him. Distress filled the man’s gaze. “Surely you didn’t kill her because of my mistake with Joanna and your other crazy suspicions. How could you?”
Whispered Kisses Page 35