The befuddled woman followed him and sat down on the other end. “Why do you keep saying ‘truth’ as if it has a special meaning?” she questioned. “What is it you want from me? I’ve already told you I don’t know what goes on inside Chad’s head. Revenge has you both suspicious of everyone. I tried to keep myself from getting entangled, but I obviously failed. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? Somehow you think losing me will hurt Chad. Just when he gets used to the idea of having the firm, you want to release me to snatch it away. Do you ever think of anything except your next plot?”
“The only thing I want to get Chad for is framing me and my father, for murdering my father,” Jace informed her. “I want my father exonerated. I want my family name cleared. I want Chadwick Hamilton punished. I know he’s guilty; I just can’t prove it yet.” Jace fused their probing gazes. “You asked what Chad did after your death. At first he didn’t believe my ruse. He was so distraught at losing the path to his dream that he said he would confess to those crimes if I returned you alive. Reid stepped in and made him hush, made him think I was using your death to evoke a confession. Then Louisa jumped in and claimed you and I were lovers, and we’d been duping Chad all along. I denied it of course and, for some reason, Chad believed me. He honestly thought you were going to marry him. We argued for a while, but I convinced him you were dead.”
“How did Louisa know about us? We were very careful.”
“I followed her and Chad into the jungle after she nearly shot you. I overheard them arguing. Louisa accused Chad of trying to kill her. She thought he had rigged her gun to explode. She accused him of trying to frame me for her death, thereby getting rid of two obstacles at once, then marrying you to get your money. He denied it, and he asked her to marry him when they returned to London. He claimed he was only being good to you to entice you to sell him the firm, or to prevent you from firing him. He told her you hated her and didn’t want her around, so he had to pretend to push her away until he got the company. She also mentioned that she’d been helping him by trying to distract me. That’s why she took that new room at the hotel and tried to lure me into her clutches. She planted lots of rotten seeds in his mind. Then I heard gunfire and rushed back to camp. It was that jackel stealing food, remember? I didn’t hear what else they said. It’s my guess she knew about the wager between us and told Chad. If you’ll recall, he asked to see me privately that day.”
“What did he want?”
“He came right to the point and asked if we were lovers. He also asked if I was behind those accidents. I told him there wasn’t anything but friendship between us, but not because of lack of trying. I accused him of those incidents, of trying to get you away from me. I knew about that powder and the canteen. I believed what you told me about him being unable to inherit, so I thought he needed to marry you to get control. We both know he didn’t. He taunted me about following you back to London and getting arrested. I told him you always defended him, and he loved that news. That’s when I learned you weren’t engaged to Tyler Clark. When Chad discovered Louisa was lying to us, he was furious. He suggested we both safe guard you and keep an eye on his mistress.”
“I know Chad didn’t trust her fully,” Leigh told him. “After you left the garden that night, I overheard a talk between them. He accused her of the waterfront attack, but she denied it, even blamed me. She’s hated me since my arrival in England. I’ve never liked or trusted her. I told her about Tyler to settle her down about us being rivals for Chad. I only pretended to make friends to avoid trouble.”
Jace was happy to find her cooperating. “Louise tried to cause trouble with Chad and with me. She hinted that you had tampered with the gun, said how much you western women know about them. She constantly tried to place suspicion on you and me to hide her guilt. She wanted to kill you, Leigh. She tried in London and she tried in Mombasa. But I don’t believe she rigged her own gun.”
“Then who did?” Leigh asked, expecting him to say Chad.
“Reid Adams.” When Leigh stared at him, he said, “That’s right, Reid Adams. I’m sure he’s the one who tampered with Louisa’s gun. He’s probably the one who unloaded yours before the rhino hunt, and he’s probably the one who lured you into that quicksand. I think he sneaked from camp, concealed the trail, stole your derringer, then returned things to normal while you were fighting for your life. I’m going to London when it’s safe and kill the bastard.”
This revelation was unexpected and shocking. “Why would Reid want to harm me? Are you saying he worked for Chad?”
“Part of the time. The rest, for himself and Fiona Webster. I didn’t tell you all Johi overheard the night of your ‘death.’ Their original plot was to lure you here, kill you, frame me, have Fiona get your holdings, and Chad control them until he inherited. When you arrived in London, Chad actually fell in love with you, and changed plans on Reid. Chad decided to marry you and get everything. He was going to forget revenge on me because he didn’t want to take a risk of losing you and your inheritance. Chad mentioned the drugged canteens, but also that he didn’t pull any of those other stunts. I have to admit, I believe him. Reid reminded him that he had changed his mind again after the buffalo hunt and was planning to kill you in our last camp because of what Louisa told him that day, something vital that I missed after the gunfire. I think it was about our secret wager, and it made him go wild with jealousy and hatred.”
“This is crazy and complicated, Jace.”
“I know,” he concurred, “that’s why I had trouble figuring out what was going on. After I was cleverly led to doubt Chad was trying to murder you, I knew it had to be one of the others. I was afraid to give the culprit another chance to succeed. I was afraid you’d never be allowed to get out of the jungle alive. I couldn’t guard you every moment. That’s why I faked your death, Leigh. But it wasn’t the only reason.”
Jace explained his meaning. “Even if I guarded you successfully during the safari, I couldn’t let you leave Africa with Reid and Louisa determined to kill you, and I couldn’t trail you to London to keep foiling their efforts. I couldn’t even be sure they wouldn’t find a way to murder you while you were in my protection. You had become angry and distant, and you refused to confide in me, especially that last night. I sneaked to see you hoping you would open up to me. When you didn’t, I doubted you would believe me and agree to this plan. I was even afraid you would sneak out of Africa with the culprits endangering you. You seemed as if you were telling me good-bye. I was worried and suspicious, and I couldn’t allow you to make a fatal mistake. It seemed best to act then and explain later. Whatever you said to Chad that day you two took that long walk, it changed his mind about returning to his original plot. You told him something to make him doubt Louisa’s accusations and Reid’s urgings. You convinced him he had a real chance to win you. I think Louisa had him fooled by the wager between us. Yet you persuaded him it was meaningless. How?”
Leigh deliberated his words. “You’re telling me that Chad, Louisa, and Reid were all trying to kill me?”
“For different reasons. Chad waxed back and forth. Louisa wanted Chad, enough to kill to get him. Cynthia was aiding Louisa. Reid wanted you dead so Fiona could inherit everything. They’re lovers. I’m certain Chad doesn’t know about them, or he would have grasped why Reid was so eager to assist his original plot and why Reid kept stirring him up against us. You see, woman, Reid was the one using Chad, not the other way around.”
“Reid and Grandfather’s widow? Where did you get such ideas?”
Jace pulled the paper from his pocket and said, “Reid sent this message to Fiona before he sailed. He was gone before I could steal it. If I had read it first, he would never have gotten on that ship alive. All the time I was watching Chad and Louisa, Reid was fast at work. I just didn’t grasp how involved and how determined he was. Chad finally convinced me he loved you and wanted to marry you, so I was baffled. Johi and I started spying on the others. I suspected Reid of mischief, but I didn’t
have any proof or a motive. But now, we do.”
Leigh took the page and read it. The message was from Reid Adams in Mombasa to Fiona Hamilton Webster in Bombay. Those words clarified the mystery, and corroborated Jace’s accusations:
Business complete. Big success. Work over. L dead. J gone. You get all. May have C problem. Will handle. Leaving Africa June eleven. Leave India today. Meet in London. Come fast. Marry me. Love you. Miss you.
R.A.
Leigh was staggered by the multiple plots to … murder her. She recalled that night when she and Reid had talked about Fiona. She closed her eyes and mentally returned to that scene. Leigh knew the woman was beautiful, beautiful enough to be desired and loved by a younger man. There was fourteen years between them, but Fiona looked Reid’s age. The man had tensed while discussing the widow. Leigh asked herself why she hadn’t caught clues in his eyes, voice, or words.
“What are you thinking?” Jace inquired.
Leigh related her thoughts about Reid. “Why aren’t you on your way to London to keep them from getting all the money?” she asked.
“I’m sorry they’ll waste some, but that can’t be helped. Your survival is worth a small loss, and you can recover the balances soon. When I thought two friends were joint heirs, I knew Lord Salisbury could use his power and position to prevent execution of the will until we straightened out this mess. I dismissed my suspicions because you lied about the will. You did it to silence me, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she admitted. Her head was spinning. What she was hearing was painful and alarming. She had underestimated Louisa Jennings. She had been fooled by Chadwick Hamilton. She had never suspected Reid Adams. Her ingrained nature had resisted accepting such evil. So many pieces to the puzzle fell into place, but others were still missing.
“I saw Jim Hanes in Mombasa.” Jace revealed more shocking news. “Right now, Chad thinks we’re both dead, so you’re safe here. Once you’re in control after your birthday and make a new will, none of them will have reason to kill you for profit. But that might not stop one or all of them from trying again for revenge. Frankly, I hate for you to ever return to London, but that’s your choice. I wish my evidence could imprison them, but my word isn’t worth much these days. And I can’t protect you from here. If I trail you there, I would be risking my life and freedom. I hate feeling helpless and defeated. I’ll have to think of something.”
Those discoveries convinced Leigh he was telling the truth. “Chad was fooled because I told him our wager was a trick. He implied you were a threat to me. He said he loved me and he proposed. He offered to sign a legal document giving up any claim to my holdings. He sounded sincere, almost desperate to convince me of his love. I said a lot of things to fool him. I used my feminine charms, and I said bad things about you. I didn’t trust either of you, and I was stalling you both until I could leave for America. He didn’t get me on his side, Jace, but he did turn me against you, with good reason. He told me about the wager between you two. He made me read the contract, including the extra five thousand for each night you spent with me. He burned his copy to prove he wouldn’t try to claim any winnings from you. Did you collect the twenty thousand pounds for your four nights with me as you wagered with Chad? Twenty-five, if you count that first time. in Mombasa.”
“What are you talking about? That wasn’t part of our deal. I would never agree to such a wicked term.”
Leigh related what she had read in Chad’s contract. Jace fetched his copy, and the truth came to light. Both were shocked and pleased.
“So, that’s how he made me a bastard in your eyes. I’m sorry you learned about the wager from him. That clarifies a few things.”
Needing an explanation, Leigh accused, “You lied to me. You duped me, used me, and betrayed me. I … trusted you. I gave everything to you. Why, Jace? Why wasn’t it enough? Why did revenge on Chad mean more to you than I did?”
He gazed at her and said, “You were enough, Leigh. I was willing to forget the past just to have you. Until I discovered you were lying to me. That day you and Chad had that long talk, I was spying on you two, but I couldn’t hear what was being said. After you left Chad in the clearing, he raced after you, and the two of you halted near my hiding place. He swore his love and offered to do anything to prove himself to you. You agreed to consider his proposal. I heard you tell him to remember his promise to keep the truth from me, as you had. You said it had been difficult at times not to tell me everything and get the past cleared up, as you didn’t know how I would deal with such facts. You said: ‘We came here to study him, and we have. He doesn’t know anything, so we’re safe.’ Chad replied: ‘I’m relieved that you’ve kept what your grandfather did a secret. If he knew, Jace would kill us both.’ You told him I trusted you and desired you, that ‘Mr. Jace Elliott isn’t hard to fool.’ Those words were burned into my memory, Leigh. When we talked in Mombasa, and other times, you claimed you had no knowledge of why Chad came here, but your own words exposed you. Isn’t it time for the truth between us? Was William Webster involved in those charges against me? Is that what you’re hiding from me? You’re condemning me to a life of exile and dishonor to protect a dead man’s name and your inheritance?”
Leigh was astonished and dismayed to learn that Jace had heard those incriminating words, words used only to fool Chad. She had to make him understand and believe her. “If Grandfather and Chad were responsible for those crimes, I know nothing about it. We came here to enjoy a safari. At least I was led to believe so. But we did want to learn something from you. It’s the same reason Chad wants you killed. Obviously there was a deadly plot against both of us, and I was too naive and distracted to see it or to believe your charges. Now I understand why you changed and acted so oddly toward me. I’ll tell you the whole story. What I wanted to glean from you during the safari and our talk at the hotel was why Grandfather left half of his estate to Jace Elliott in case of my death. I wanted to know if you knew about such a strange codicil. Since my inheritance includes money and possessions taken from your family, I wanted to know if you would kill me to collect it.”
She paused before stressing, “You see, Fiona gets half and you get half, and Chad doesn’t inherit. At least, not until his mother dies. I didn’t exactly lie to you about that part. That’s why I was so shocked at Mr. Johnson’s party to discover the man I had been dallying with was the Jace Elliott in Grandfather’s will. That’s why I wondered if you had been trailing me in London for criminal reasons. After I got to know you, I trusted you. By then, I was afraid to tell you. Every time I was going to be honest, something happened to silence me. I’m sorry, Jace. It was so confusing. What do you mean to my grandfather? What debt does he owe you? What was your connection to him? Did you know about the will? Are you planning to collect your half before I’m proven alive?”
Jace jumped up and stalked the room, clearly shocked by all she’d revealed. “You’re serious?” he halted and asked. When she nodded, he declared, “This is crazy! What’s going on?”
“As of my death, which you’ve already cleverly arranged and pulled off, Jace Elliott owns one half of my worth: the estate, the companies, the money, everything. So, you see, I’m very valuable to you dead. You don’t even have to risk your life by going to England to claim your half. You can contact the law firm from Mombasa. Chad will be shocked to discover you’re alive and demanding payment of your share. That’s why he hired Jim Hanes to kill you.”
“You can’t let them get everything by allowing them to think you’re dead, too,” Leigh entreated. “Fiona goes through money faster than a bullet leaving a pistol. You must cable them you’re alive.”
Leigh had to settle another deception. She provoked the truth by hinting, “You have quite a decision to make. Do you truly get rid of me, claim half my wealth, and go after your true love? Or do you let me live and pay off my wager, then release me? Joanna Harris still haunts you, doesn’t she? If you can forgive her for yielding to Chad, you might be able to win he
r back and live happily ever after.”
Jace reacted by ceasing all movement and staring into her misty eyes. “Are you surprised I know about your lost love?” Leigh asked. “Louisa told me how Chad took Joanna Harris away from you. She said you bought this home for her, but she betrayed you and didn’t marry you. She became one of Chad’s conquests. He hates you for that trouble in South Africa, and you hate him for stealing your love. What a misguided and wicked pair you make. Louisa said you wanted to punish Chad for stealing Joanna by stealing me from him. Is it true?”
“When did Louisa tell you about Joanna?”
“That last day, during our little confrontation.” Leigh repeated their entire conversation.
Jace was furious. “That bitch! She told us part of your talk, but she left out plenty. Lordy, what you must have been thinking and feeling all these weeks. I’m sorry, Leigh. I should have told you everything long ago. Yes, I loved Joanna Harris; I still do.” Jace witnessed the anguish in Leigh’s eyes. He went to sit beside her and held her hands in his.
“Joanna Harris is my stepsister. My father married Catharine Harris when Joanna was six and I was fifteen. She was a little sister to me. While I was working here on the plantation, Joanna’s fiancé dropped her for another woman. She was crushed and humiliated. While she was in that vulnerable condition, the charming Chad seduced her. She moved in with him and became his mistress. She believed he loved her and was going to marry her. When I went to London to bring her here to recover, I found her living with that bastard. We fought, and I was jailed for almost beating him to death. He paid guards and prisoners to harass me every day and night. Joanna refused to see me. She disappeared right after Father’s death. I think she knows Chad was involved. He’s looked for her and I’ve looked for her. Catharine lives in Scotland now, but she doesn’t know Joanna’s whereabouts. I visited Catharine before I met you in London. If Joanna knows what Chad did, she’s in danger, and she could help exonerate me.”
Whispered Kisses Page 40