Amanda Quick - Mischief.txt

by Mischief (lit)

  slightly in gruff reassurance." His lordship will be feeling quite fit

  in a day or two."

  That is wonderful news. I am so relieved." Imogen jumped to

  her feet and threw her arms around Ufton." How can I ever thank

  you for saving Colchester's life?"

  Ufton froze, an expression of acute horror on his face." Uh,

  madam. If madam pleases, this is most . most unusual." He broke

  off to turn desperate, pleading eyes toward Matthias.

  I think you had better release him, Imogen." Matthias

  suppressed a grin with effort." Ufton is not accustomed to such

  displays of gratitude. I have always rewarded him with money, you

  see. I believe he prefers that arrangement."

  Oh, yes. Of course." Imogen released Ufton and quickly

  stepped back." I beg your pardon, Ufton. I did not mean to embarrass you." She gave him a brilliant smile." But I want you to know

  that I am in your debt for what you have done here tonight. If

  there is ever anything I can do, you must tell me."

  Ufton turned a strange shade of red and swallowed heavily.

  Thank you, madam, but I assure you, my long-standing association with his lordship makes such an offer entirely unnecessary.

  He would do the same for me were the situation reversed, as

  indeed it was on one or two occasions."

  Imogen was clearly intrigued." He sewed up a wound for you?"

  It was a number of years ago. Unfortunate incident in a tomb."

  Ufton backed hastily toward the door." Well then, I'd best be off

  now. I'm sure that you and his lordship have matters to discuss."

  Ufton turned and fled.

  Imogen waited until the door had closed behind him and then

  she sank down on the sofa next to Matthias. Tell me everything.

  Were you attacked by a footpad?"

  I do not believe footpad is the correct term."

  Imogen's eyes widened with sudden horror." Never say that

  young Mister Bagshaw lost his temper and assaulted you?"

  No."

  Thank heavens. For a moment there I wondered if perhaps he

  had gone quite mad when you spoke to him."

  Bagshaw is reasonably sane so far as I know. He was not at all

  interested in what I had to say, however."

  Oh, dear." Imogen sighed." I had so hoped that he would come

  to understand . Well, never mind. That is another problem. Tell

  me the whole tale, Matthias."

  It's a long story." He shifted slightly and winced as his wounded

  arm protested.

  Imogen's eyes were eloquent." Is the pain very bad?"

  I believe I could use another dose of brandy. For my nerves,

  you know. Would you mind fetching me a glass?"

  Yes, of course." Imogen sprang from the sofa and hurried to the

  brandy table. She seized the decanter with such force that the

  elegantly cut crystal stopper flew off and bounced on the carpet.

  She ignored it to pour not one but two hefty measures.

  She brought the glasses back to the sofa, handed one to

  Matthias, and sat down beside him." I vow, this whole thing has

  been somewhat unsettling." She took a large swallow of her

  brandy and promptly began to cough.

  There, there, my dear." Matthias slapped her lightly between

  her shoulders." The brandy will soothe your overwrought nerves."

  She glared at him over the rim of the glass." My nerves are not

  overwrought. I have exceedingly strong nerves. I have explained

  that to you on several occasions."

  Well, then perhaps it will do something for mine." Matthias

  took a fortifying swallow." Where to begin? Ah, yes. I had my little

  chat with Bagshaw, as I told you. When it was finished I got out of

  the carriage and, to my surprise, found myself on the street in

  front of Vanneck's residence. Former residence, I suppose I should

  say."

  You just happened to alight in that neighborhood? How very

  odd."

  I was certainly astonished. At any rate, I decided that as long

  as I was in the vicinity, I would have a look around his study."

  Imogen nearly dropped her glass." You did what?"

  There is no reason to shout at me in that manner, my dear.

  Surely you realize that I am in a very delicate state due to my

  recent unnerving experiences."

  I did not mean to raise my voice. It was just that I was quite

  startled. Matthias, perhaps you should not be sitting up in that

  fashion. It will no doubt make you feel faint. Why don't you rest

  your head on my lap?"

  Excellent notion."

  Imogen put her arm around his shoulder and eased his head

  down onto her leg." There. That's better."

  Infinitely." Matthias closed his eyes and savored the warm,

  lushly rounded shape of her thigh beneath his head.

  Surreptitiously he inhaled her scent. His body tightened in

  response." Where was I?"

  Vanneck's study." Imogen scowled down at him." Why on earth

  did you go there?"

  I simply wanted to have a look around. The circumstances of

  his death have been worrying me a bit. You know how I fret about

  things."

  Imogen gently massaged his brow." You should have talked to

  me about your concerns before you did anything rash."

  I did not know if there was anything to be concerned about.

  Which, as I said, was why I let myself into Vanneck's study."

  Did you find anything unusual?"

  Bloodstains."

  Imogen's hand paused on his forehead." Bloodstains? Are you

  certain?"

  Quite certain. A fair amount of blood was spilled in Vanneck's

  study recently. There was a large patch on the carpet. No one had

  bothered to clean it up, which indicates that it happened shortly

  before his death." Matthias paused." And probably after he

  dismissed his servants."

  He dismissed his servants? When?"

  Yesterday afternoon, I'm told."

  But, Matthias, that means that he no doubt intended to leave

  Town rather than face you."

  Yes. But to continue, one of the papers on his desk was stained

  with several drops of blood. As it happens, the page was dated. It

  looked as though Vanneck had just begun to write a letter, when

  he was interrupted."

  What was the date on the paper?"

  Yesterday, the day before the duel."

  Amazing." Imogen sat very still and stared into the fire." Do you

  think he was shot right there in his own study last night before he

  was to meet you at Cabot's Farm?"

  I'd say that's a likely possibility." Matthias followed her gaze.

  He wondered absently if Vanneck's ghost would appear in the

  flames, and then concluded that it would not. That particular

  specter would not haunt him, he thought.

  But that would mean that he was not killed by a footpad or a

  highwayman. A housebreaker, perhaps?"

  Surely no casual thief or robber would bother to drag his

  victim to the site of the duel," Matthias said." He would not even

  know about Vanneck's dawn appointment."

  Very true." Imogen frowned intently." But that would imply"

  Precisely." Matthias adjusted his position on her thigh, hoping

  to attract her attention back to his brow." I think it's safe to

  concl
ude that Vanneck was killed by someone who knew him well

  enough to know about the duel. The murderer probably sought to

  shift the blame in my direction by carting Vanneck's body out to

  Cabot's Farm."

  Imogen tapped one finger against Matthias's uninjured shoulder." But that means someone in Vanneck's circle of acquaintances

  must be the killer."

  Matthias hesitated." I believe that there were two people

  involved."

  Two? But how do you know that?"

  Because when I went into Vanneck's house tonight," Matthias

  said," I interrupted two people in the act of searching the premises.

  They had gotten there ahead of me and they did not appreciate

  my arrival on the scene."

  Imogen's fingers suddenly clamped around his injured arm.

  That is how you were hurt? One of those two people stabbed

  you?"

  Matthias sucked in his breath." I appreciate your concern, my

  sweet, but that's my damaged arm."

  Oh, my God." She released him instantly, her eyes widening in

  anguished apology." I forgot. I was carried away by your news."

  I understand. A case of rattled nerves will do that to a person."

  There is nothing wrong with my nerves. Now, go on with your

  tale."

  Suffice it to say that there was an extremely undignified scuffle during which one of the two other people in the house used a

  knife on me. I could not identify either villain because they both

  wore cloaks and had scarves wrapped around their faces. I regret

  to say that they both escaped."

  Matthias, you could have been killed."

  I wasn't. Now then, that is the boring part of the story. The

  more interesting bit has to do with what I discovered after my two

  companions fled into the night."

  He had not required the brandy for the pain of his wound,

  Matthias thought. He had needed it to give him the strength to

  risk his future on the throw of the dice. He knew himself for a fool.

  It was as if he were some brainless moth that could not resist the

  flame.

  You stayed to search the house after you had been injured?

  Colchester, how could you do something so stupid? You should

  have come straight home."

  Searching the study was not the stupid part, Matthias thought.

  The stupid part comes now.

  I did not hang around Vanneck's study for more than a few

  minutes," he said." Just long enough to find that journal."

  Imogen's brows drew together in a severe line." What journal?"

  That one there on the table beside you."

  Imogen glanced at the thin leather-bound volume." Is it

  Vanneck's?"

  No. It belonged to your friend Lucy."

  Lucy?" Imogen studied the journal with a perplexed gaze." I

  don't understand."

  Vanneck had it cleverly hidden in a secret compartment of his

  desk."

  But (why would he bother to conceal it?"

  I have no notion." Matthias gave her a considering glance." But

  it did occur to me that the two people I surprised in Vanneck's

  house may have been searching for it."

  Why?"

  We will not know the answer to that question until one of us

  reads it." Matthias set his back teeth." As Lucy was your friend, I

  suggest that you do the honors."

  Imogen looked troubled." Do you think it is right to read her

  journal?"

  She is gone, Imogen. How can it hurt her?"

  Wel"

  You and I have made a career out of studying the messages left

  by those long since dead and in their graves."

  You speak of the records left by the ancient Zamarians. Lucy

  was not from Zamar."

  What is the difference? The dead are dead. It does not matter

  how long they have been in that condition." Their ghosts can linger

  for a lifetime.

  Imogen reached out to touch the volume." It seems as though

  we would somehow intrude on Lucy's privacy if we were to read

  her journal."

  We will most certainly intrude upon it. But I want to know why

  Vanneck thought the thing important enough to conceal and why

  two other people may have searched his house for it tonight."

  But, Matthias

  Let me be blunt, Imogen. If you do not want to read your

  friend's journal, I will read it for you."

  The library door opened again before Imogen could respond.

  Matthias turned his head and saw Patricia standing in the open

  ing. She stared at him with a stricken expression.

  And then she screamed. A shrill, high, bloodcurdling screech

  that Matthias suspected reached the rafters. He winced and

  covered his ears with his hands.

  It's all right, Patricia," Imogen said crisply." Matthias will

  recover quite nicely."

  It is the curse." Patricia put her hand to her throat." Blood has

  been spilled. Just as the curse predicted?

  She turned and fled across the hall. Through the open door

  Matthias watched as she raced up the stairs as though all the

  demons of Zamar pursued her.

  It has occurred to me that my sister was destined for a career

  on the stage," Matthias muttered." What the devil was she on

  about? What was that rubbish concerning a curse?"

  She said something about it earlier this evening." Imogen

  frowned." Apparently she and the other young ladies who attend

  Lady Lyndhurst's salon have been studying the Rutledge Curse."

  Hell's teeth. I thought Selena had more sense."

  I doubt that Lady Lyndhurst believes in it herself," Imogen

  said." I'm sure that to her it's just an amusing game. But young

  ladies of Patricia's age and delicate sensibilities sometimes take

  that sort of thing too seriously."

  Those damnable delicate sensibilities," Matthias said with a

  sigh." Always causing problems for those of us who are plagued

  with them."

  Imogen lay awake long after Matthias fell asleep. She turned rest

  lessly, seeking a more comfortable position in the massive bed.

  Minutes became eons. The shaft of icy moonlight that streamed

  through the window shifted slowly across the carpet. She was

  intensely aware of Matthias slumbering beside her, but she felt

  very much alone as she pondered the prospect of reading Lucy's

  journal. For some reason that went beyond the question of

  privacy, she was reluctant to open it.

  But she also knew that she would not get any sleep at all if she

  did not confront the journal. Matthias would read the thing if she

  did not do so. There was no point trying to avoid the inevitable.

  Imogen slipped out of the warm bed. She pulled on her wrapper, stepped into her slippers, and turned to look down at

  Matthias. He was sprawled on his stomach, his face turned away

  from her. His bare shoulders looked sleek and powerful against

  the white sheets. The moonlight gleamed on the silver fire in his

  black hair. It occurred to Imogen that there was something about

  Matthias that seemed well suited to the night.

  A chill of premonition went through her. She recalled the dark

  figure of her dreams, he who was both Matthias and Zamaris. A

  man trapped in the shadows.

  She turned qui
ckly away from the bed and walked through the

  cold moonlight into her own bedchamber. She closed the connect

  ing door behind her.

  Lucy's journal lay on the table near the window. Imogen picked

  it up and pondered it for a long while. Her reluctance to open it

  seemed to intensify even as she held the slim volume. It was as

  though some unseen force attempted to restrain her.

  Annoyed by her own dark imaginings, she sat down in the reading chair and lit the lamp.

  Matthias waited until he heard the connecting door close softly.

  Then he turned onto his back, folded his uninjured arm behind his

  head, and gazed up at the shadowed ceiling.

  He knew that Imogen had gone into her own bedchamber to

  read Lucy's journal. If there were answers to be found in the

  volume, she would discover them.

  From what Horatia had said, Matthias gathered that Lucy had

  not been such a fine friend. It was obvious that Lady Vanneck's

  kindness to Imogen had had a dark side. He told himself that the

  worst that could happen was that Imogen would be obliged to face

  some unpleasant truths about Lucy.

  But he knew that he lied to himself. Learning the truth about

  Lucy was not the worst that could come of this.

  The worst that could happen was that Imogen would learn the

  truth about him.

  Matthias hesitated until he could wait no longer. The dreadful

  silence from the adjoining room threatened to drive him mad. He

  shoved aside the quilt and got out of bed. A powerful sense of

  urgency hit him with the force of a blow. He had been a fool.

  Perhaps it was not too late to save himself.

  He found his black robe, struggled briefly to get his injured arm

  into the sleeve, and then abandoned the attempt. Flinging the

  robe around his shoulders as though it were a cape, he went to the

  connecting door.

  He paused, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

  A chill of intense regret swept through him at the sight of

  Imogen seated in the chair near the window. Lucy's journal lay

  facedown in her lap. Matthias knew without being told that his

  suspicions about the contents of the wretched volume had been

  accurate. He stood gripping the doorknob, bleakly aware of a

  terrible sense of doom.

  Imogen?"

  She turned to look at him. Her cheeks were wet with tears.

  What is it?" he whispered.

  Lucy was having an affair." Imogen's voice broke on a sob." I