Amanda Quick - Mischief.txt

by Mischief (lit)

  Another staircase." Matthias held the lamp higher, but the light

  could not penetrate the darkness at the bottom of the steps. It was

  as though the staircase plunged down into hell itself." It looks

  treacherous. We'll need ropes to descend."

  Go on," Rutledge ordered." We don't need the ropes."

  It's not safe. I cannot even make out the bottom of the

  passage."

  It was the sound of Rutledge sucking in his rasping breath that

  alerted Matthias. He turned to see what was wrong. Rutledge was

  rushing toward him, a spade raised to strike.

  Rutledge, no!"

  I said you don't need the bloody ropes." Rutledge's face was

  contorted with fury. He swung the spade downward.

  Matthias moved, but there was very little room to maneuver in

  the narrow passageway. He took the blow on his shoulder rather

  than on his skull. It stunned him and sent him staggering back to

  the top step. For an instant he teetered on the brink of eternity.

  Then he dropped the lamp, caught his balance, and threw himself

  forward toward the man who had once been his closest friend.

  Die, damn you," Rutledge screamed." I don't need you any

  longer. You have served your purpose."

  The spade came up again. Matthias seized the wooden handle.

  He yanked it out of Rutledge's hands.

  You have to die." Rutledge charged him, blinded by rage.

  Matthias flattened himself against one stone wall. Rutledge

  groped for him and missed. His own momentum carried him to

  the top of the staircase.

  For a few seconds Rutledge seemed to hover there, scrabbling

  futilely for purchase. Matthias started toward him, intending to

  catch hold of him and drag him back into the safety of the corridor.

  But, he was too late. Rutledge plummeted over the edge and fell

  into the endless darkness at the bottom of the stone steps. His

  scream echoed off the corridor walls for a very long time.

  But why would he do such a thing?" Imogen asked softly, bring

  ing Matthias back to the present.

  Matthias studied a leering day mask that was propped against

  the side of the sarcophagus." He had been acting oddly ever since

  I had made a rather valuable discovery two days earlier."

  The library?"

  No. Something else. It doesn't matter now. We had formed an

  agreement. When it came to the individual artifacts, we would

  each keep whatever we uncovered. But Rutledge was obsessed

  with the item I had found. He was willing to kill to possess it."

  Matthias raised his eyes to meet Imogen's." The thing is, I would

  have given it to him if he had simply asked for it."

  Imogen fitted her hands to her hips and began to tap the toe of

  her little half-boot." Do you think, perhaps, that Rutledge went

  mad, as poor Lucy did?"

  No," Matthias said evenly." I think he used me from the very

  beginning. He realized even sooner than I did that I might have

  actually located the clues that would lead me to Zamar. He made

  himself my friend. Gave me access to his library. Accompanied me

  on the journey. And then he tried to kill me when he had no

  further use for me."

  But he was your friend."

  I choose my friends more carefully these days." Matthias

  grimaced at his own youthful naivete." Fool that I was, I was actually honored that Rutledge had such faith in my researches. For

  some reason that I have never been able to comprehend, I wanted

  his approval."

  A gentle understanding appeared in Imogen's eyes." Perhaps he

  gave you what your father An ominous scrape of stone on

  stone interrupted her. She whirled to stare at the looming artifacts

  around her." What on earth was that?"

  Matthias put down the notebook and got slowly to his feet." I

  believe we have company."

  Alastair Drake rose from the depths of a half-covered sarcoph

  agus on the opposite side of the room." I have always wondered

  what happened to Rutledge."

  Drake." Matthias watched Alastair step from the coffin.

  So you pushed him down a flight of stairs, eh, Colchester? Very

  clever." Alastair smiled the smile that had made him so popular in

  the best drawing rooms and aimed the pistol in his hand at

  Matthias." Pity you will never be able to tell the tale yourself."

  Alastair." Imogen stared at him with open mouthed shock.

  What are you doing here?"

  I should think that was obvious," Alastair said.

  Indeed." Matthias glanced regretfully at his greatcoat, which

  was hanging well out of reach. He cursed himself silently for

  having left the pistol in the pocket." Where is your charming

  sister?"

  Right here, Colchester." Selena stepped gracefully from behind

  a sheet of canvas that had concealed several statues. She had a

  small, elegant pistol clasped in her gloved hand." We have been

  waiting for the two of you to join us. We have been watching your

  town house for several days, knowing sooner or later an opportunity would present itself."

  Alastair smiled at Imogen. I'm sure you will be pleased to learn

  that you and your husband will end your studies of ancient Zamar

  in a suitable fashion. You will be hailed by one and all as the latest

  victims of the Rutledge Curse."

  Chapter 2O

  Imogen's chest felt very tight. She realized that she had stopped

  breathing. She glanced anxiously at Matthias. He still lounged

  against the edge of the sarcophagus as though nothing out of the

  ordinary had occurred. His face was a cold, enigmatic mask. This

  was the man who had earned the epithet Cold-blooded

  Colchester, she thought. Now she knew why.

  She wondered how she could ever have concluded that

  Matthias suffered from a weakness of the nerves.

  His ghost-gray eyes briefly met hers. The icy resolve in him

  raised the hair on the nape of her neck. She knew that if it were

  possible to escape this situation, Matthias would arrange for them

  to do so.

  This was Colchester of Zamar. Imogen felt a certain sense of

  vindication. She had not been mistaken. She had always known

  that he was a man of action.

  Imogen started to breathe again. They were comrades, compaions, partners. She must be ready to do her part in whatever plan

  Matthias was formulating.

  I suppose it was too much to hope that the pair of you would

  take yourselves off to the Continent," she said with what she

  prayed was a tone of disgust.

  And abandon everything that we have worked so hard to

  achieve?" Selena's smile was very thin." Don't be a complete fool.

  My brother and I have gone through far too much to gain our

  present positions in Society. We do not intend to lose our new

  roles because of a silly bluestocking eccentric such as yourself,

  Lady Colchester." She looked at Matthias." Or because of your

  rather more dangerous husband."

  Imogen nodded seriously, as though Selena's words had been

  enlightening." I see. Colchester said something along those lines,

  but I told him that you were far too clever to hang about after all

  that has occurred."

>   Obviously, you overestimated their intelligence, my dear,"

  Matthias said softly.

  Anger blazed in Alastair's gaze. He raised the barrel of the

  pistol with a short, jerky movement that betrayed his agitated

  state." Silence, you arrogant, interfering bastard. In a short while

  you and your lady will be occupying one of these very convenient

  Zamarian coffins. I think that with a bit of squeezing we can just

  manage to fit you both into the same sarcophagus. A romantic

  notion, is it not?"

  That's your plan?" Matthias's mouth twisted with sardonic

  amusement." You intend to stuff us into one of these things?" He

  patted the edge of the stone sarcophagus.

  Alastair frowned at the small movement. His expression eased

  when Matthias's hand stilled." It will work."

  You're more of an idiot than I thought, Drake," Matthias said.

  I do have one or two friends in London, you know. They will soon

  reason out what happened and they will know who is responsible."

  Not bloody likely." Alastair narrowed his eyes." Even if some

  one, say your good friend Felix Glaston, deduces what happened,

  he will not be able to prove a damn thing. He won't even be able

  to find your bodies."

  Imogen stared at him." What do you mean?"

  Alastair smiled. The sarcophagus containing you and

  Colchester will be carted out of this chamber late tonight in a

  nightman's wagon. You will journey out into the country together

  with the contents of several cesspits. I have hired a group of stout

  villeins from the stews to handle the matter. They are not the sort

  to ask questions. And they certainly will not raise the lid of a

  sealed coffin to peer inside."

  You will both disappear into an unmarked grave in some

  farmer's field," Selena said." Very simple. Very tidy."

  It will not be that easy," Imogen said fiercely." Our coachman

  will return for us within two hours. When he does not find us, he

  will have the entire Zamarian Institution searched."

  A message has already been sent to your residence stating that

  you will not be needing the carriage again this afternoon."

  Alastair's eyes were bright with a feverish excitement." Your

  butler has been informed that as it is such a fine day, you have

  decided to walk home."

  Matthias looked briefly interested." What makes you think

  anyone will believe that?"

  Selena gave him a satisfied smile." Two people will be seen leav

  ing the Zamarian Institution this afternoon. The gentleman will be

  wearing your black greatcoat, hat, and boots, my lord. The woman

  will be dressed in Lady Colchester's distinctive Zamarian-green

  gown and her very unfashionable bonnet."

  Imogen scowled." You're going to leave here wearing our

  clothes?"

  And disappear into the London crowds, never to be seen

  again." Selena made a negligent movement with her free hand.

  More victims of the Rutledge Curse."

  There will be talk," Imogen insisted." Colchester is right. His

  friends will ask questions."

  Questions that will never be answered," Selena assured her.

  Society will thrive on speculation and gossip for a time and then

  the entire affair will fade away. Alastair and I will return to Town

  in a few months and resume our usual routine. No one will link us

  to your disappearance."

  Or to the death of Lady Vanneck?" Matthias stirred slightly, as

  though he needed to stretch a bit. His boot brushed the clay mask

  that rested against the side of the coffin.

  Alastair started at the small movement. His eyes went to

  Matthias's boot. Then he relaxed." So you reasoned that out, did

  you? Very clever."

  It was not difficult after I read Lucy's journal," Imogen said.

  You killed her because she was trying to blackmail you into

  running off with her to Italy."

  Alastair grimaced." Lucy had ceased to be amusing. I tried to

  end the affair in the usual fashion, but she would not leave me

  alone. She became obsessed with the notion of going off to Italy,

  although why the devil she thought I would want to accompany

  her is beyond me."

  Lucy would not leave Alastair alone." Selena's hand tightened

  on the handle of the pistol." And then she tried to blackmail him.

  We had to do something."

  Fortunately, she did not discover that Selena and I were

  related, but she managed to learn something of what had

  happened in the north." Alastair shrugged." Too much."

  There was nothing for it but to get rid of her," Selena

  explained." And the runner she hired to investigate."

  Imogen looked at Alastair." You, I presume, were the highway

  man who killed that poor Bow Street runner?"

  I made a rather dashing sight wearing a cape and a brace of

  pistols, if I do say so myself," Alastair drawled." But Lucy was more

  of a problem. The stage had to be properly set for her death so

  that neither Selena nor I would be implicated. You may be certain

  that we wrote that scene with great care."

  And you cast me in the leading role," Imogen said bitterly.

  Matthias folded his arms across his chest." It is just as we had

  concluded, my dear. They arranged the thing so that the gossips

  would hold you and Vanneck responsible for Lucy's so-called

  suicide."

  If it's any consolation, Vanneck was just as much an unwitting

  player as yourself, Lady Colchester," Selena said." He went to that

  bedchamber with the expectation of meeting his current para

  mour."

  Would that have been you, by any chance?" Imogen asked.

  Indeed." Selena smiled again." By a stroke of luck, Lucy never

  uncovered my connection to Alastair nor my part in what had

  happened in the north. It's obvious that she made no mention of

  me in her journal, because after Vanneck found it a few months

  ago, he attempted to blackmail only Alastair."

  Imogen thought she heard the merest hint of a question in

  Selena's tone, as though she expected confirmation. Selena was

  not entirely certain that the journal did not mention her, Imogen

  realized.

  Imogen glanced at Matthias out of the corner of her eye. He

  moved his head once in a slight negative motion. He did not want

  her to reassure Selena. As though she could read his mind, Imogen

  suddenly comprehended that he intended to use the journal to

  bargain for their lives.

  The night that you and Vanneck met in that bedchamber,"

  Selena continued," Alastair arranged to pass by in the hall with a

  companion. My brother was, as everyone knows, suitably shocked

  and horrified to discover you in such a compromising position."

  Imogen whirled to confront Alastair." You and your companion

  immediately put about the rumor that Vanneck had seduced his

  wife's closest friend. Then you somehow convinced Lucy to take

  too much laudanum."

  It was not difficult," Alastair assured her." I told Lucy that the

  glass contained a new tonic for her nerves. She had grown

  extremely anxious and fearful. She took the stuff without question."
>
  And everyone called it suicide," Imogen whispered.

  Congratulations." Alastair executed a small, mocking bow." You

  have finally got it right."

  A pair of bloody actors," Matthias said softly.

  As it happens, that is correct." Selena laughed." How did you

  guess? Alastair and I both trod the boards in the north. But three

  years ago we determined to write our own parts and play them

  here in London. We have performed brilliantly, if I do say so

  myself."

  Matthias uncrossed his arms and gripped the edge of the

  sarcophagus on either side of his thighs. The new shift in his position caused Alastair to stiffen again.

  Matthias regarded him with amused contempt." When you

  staged your second murderous little play, you again attempted to

  cast Imogen and Vanneck in leading roles, did you not? You also

  added me to your company of players. I was to be Vanneck's

  executioner."

  That was how the scene was written," Selena said." But Vanneck

  refused to act his part."

  If one of you had thought to consult with me," Matthias said," I

  could have told you that Vanneck was not the type to show up on

  time for a duel."

  Fury flashed in Selena's celestial-blue eyes." I knew that he was

  weak, but I did not realize that he was such a complete coward

  until it was too late. I went to see him the night before the duel to

  act the part of the tearful, distraught former lover."

  You wished to assure yourself that everything was going

  according to plan," Matthias said." I can imagine your chagrin

  when you saw that he was preparing to leave Town rather than

  face me."

  It was worse than you know," Selena retorted." When I arrived,

  I saw that he had just sat down to write a letter to Imogen. He had

  learned that she blamed him for Lucy's death. He intended to tell

  her that he suspected that Alastair had murdered Lucy. He

  thought that information might convince Imogen to restrain you,

  Colchester. I still shudder to think of what might have happened

  if I had not visited him that evening."

  You shot him yourself, did you not?" Matthias said easily.

  Right there in his study."

  I had no choice," Selena said." He was about to escape to the

  country."

  Imogen was outraged." After you killed Vanneck, you

  summoned Alastair and together the two of you managed to get

  the body into the curricle. You left him at the scene of the duel,