She had been to see her father earlier. He was resting comfortably and in good spirits, and it eased her to know this. She didn’t tell him about Kimberly, or about Adam’s arrest. Kissing him on his cheek, rough and unfamiliarly stubbled, she had told him she loved him and begged him to get well soon. She needed him, she had added silently. She was very afraid.
Sleep seemed impossible, but drowsiness crept upon her steadily until she doused the light. She lay stiffly on her back, not at all certain she could give up her vigilance enough to close her eyes. Surprisingly, she succumbed, slipping into dreamless slumber just as the clock out in the hall tolled one o’clock.
When a noise awoke her, she thought at first the shutter on her window had come undone. In the groggy state of half sleep, she sat up. She froze, listening as another sound came. This time, being awake, she could tell quite distinctly that it was outside the door. A tide of numbing terror took hold of her and for a moment she didn’t know what to do.
Then she remembered the flintlocks. Fumbling under the pillow, she had them in her hand when the bedroom door opened. The room was dark, but for a lamp turned down low, which the intruder carried.
In one move, she brought up both her hands and aimed at the man who had come into her bedroom.
“Helena!”
The face, the voice—she saw it was Adam! Here! She leaped out of bed and went straight into his arms.
Wet and chilled from the storm, he nevertheless felt wonderful—solid, large. She laid her cheek against the damp fabric of his coat. He held her tight with his free arm and set the lamp down on the bedside table. “What are you holding? Dear Lord, pistols. Good girl!”
She drew back and stared at the two weapons she held. “I almost forgot.” He placed his hands over the muzzles, taking them from her. Helena said, “They are primed. Take care.”
He placed them on the floor gently, then tucked her under his arm once again. “Thank God you are safe. I was near frantic with worry.”
“What has happened, Adam? Why did they release you?”
By the dim light, she saw that familiar, beloved grin. “Well, they didn’t. I rather took unfair advantage of the constable. To my credit, I tried to reason with him. He left me with no choice. It was easy to catch him unawares. The fellow is in the wrong line of work. Far too trusting.”
“You didn’t.”
“If you are meaning to scold me, I should tell you that you don’t sound horrified at all. In fact, you sound rather pleased.”
“Oh, I am. I’m so glad to have you here. Adam, I was terrified.”
“And I for you. I just thank the Lord you had the presence of mind to protect yourself. Come over to the bed. You’re shivering.”
“It’s from excitement, not cold.” She paused. “You know, they will come here when they discover what you’ve done.”
“Maybe. I was hoping you and I could apply ourselves to something avoiding that circumstance.”
“How?”
He gave a low chuckle. “I hadn’t come up with anything just yet. You?”
“The only thing I can think of is for us to give them the real killer.”
He gave her a penetrating look. “And just who do you think that is?”
“I haven’t figured it all out yet. I do know one thing—it has to be someone close. Whoever it is knew us well enough to feed our worst fears in order to separate us from one another.”
“Yes.” He sounded as if he were pleased with this reasoning. “For example, your father’s fear that you would exhibit the madness that had infected your mother. Once Rathford was convinced, he confided in me, lending credence to the suspicions your behavior had already roused.” Adam touched her hair, his eyes soft and radiating some blend of emotion that drew her to him. “And then when you heard I had tried to gain control of your trusts, you believed it because of the circumstances of our betrothal, known only to those very close to you.”
“I am sorry I didn’t have more faith in you,” she murmured. “But then, when I thought about it, I knew you wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t believe the worst. I’ve given you little enough reason to think well of me.”
“It’s not true,” she declared. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me from the first.” He raised his brows and she amended with a smile, “Well, maybe not the first. But Adam…can it be you don’t realize all you’ve done for me?”
“Done for you? Forced you into marriage, a marriage you hated, all for the sake of money—that’s what I did.”
“You sound regretful,” she observed ruefully.
“Of the circumstances, but certainly not the outcome.”
“Oh, Adam—do you mean that?”
“Of course I do. How could you not know how I felt? Lord, Helena, have we been that bad to each other that we are doomed to misunderstanding?” He pushed his hand into his thick dark hair with impatience. “God knows what you think of me, what ideas you must have of why I needed that money. I never explained all of that, did I?”
“You never told me much of anything about your past.”
“It’s rather embarrassing, that is why. My father left me with a very small inheritance and a great deal of debt. I know many members of the ton don’t feel it necessary to make good on certain bills, especially to tradesmen, whom they consider beneath them, but I couldn’t condone that. I took the little bit of money I received, doled it out carefully to the most pressing creditors, and then I did a very foolish thing.” He drew in a long, deep breath. “With the arrogance of youth, I thought I could turn to gaming to get myself out of trouble. It was a crazy plan, but it worked for a while. Luck is fickle, however, and my losses mounted. I had to admit that I was not very good at being a profligate and wastrel.”
His voice was gentle, as was the hand that smoothed her hair. “I came here to use you, and you had every right to hate me for it. I’m ashamed to admit that I was that callow. I was ashamed even at the time, but too arrogant to show it. That shame made me determined not to depend on Rathford money any longer. I began to participate in a far more sophisticated game of chance—an investment pool formed of London investors. I’ve always had an interest in business, you see, and it seems that I might have a talent for the game of commerce. My initial investments have paid off. I was hoping I could surprise you very soon with the news that I wouldn’t be taking my portion any longer. I believe by Christmas next I shall be independent of Rathford money, and will pay back everything, with interest.”
“You don’t have to. That’s my dowry. Every man expects to receive a gift from his marriage.”
“But I have received a gift.” He paused meaningfully, and she flushed with pleasure. “I am sorry, you know, for how we started. I thought about those regrets in that room tonight. That is, when I wasn’t worried half to death for your safety. If the constable hadn’t come in, I think I could have torn the place apart, mortar and stone.”
“Oh, Adam, I was worried about you! I can’t lose you,” she cried, pressing her body up against his, burying her face in the curve of his neck. She could smell him, the stirring aroma of man and sweat and rain all mingled together, and she felt as if she was going to weep.
He jerked her chin up and kissed her, and she hung on, opening to him, offering everything. It was as if he, too, laid bare a part of himself in that kiss, pouring out passion and tenderness and desperate need all in one.
Breaking away, he touched her reverently, fingertips tracing her features, his eyes sweeping lovingly over her face. “Nor could I ever bear to lose you. I love you, Helena. I love you very much.”
Helena closed her eyes, savored those words. “I love you,” she answered. “I won’t let them take you away from me.”
His expression changed. “Listen to me, Helena. I believe I know who killed Kimberly. The key was in something you said to me when we argued last. Just now, you said that the person would have to be someone who knew us quite well.”
“True. I would suspect Kimberly, naturally, or perhaps she was a part of it.”
“My thoughts exactly. Oh, my love, I am afraid it may come as a shock to you, but it is your cousin, Howard, whom I suspect.”
“Howard? Why, how could it be him? He was not even here. He stays in London.”
“Curious, but when I traveled to London, I saw nothing of him. Do you recall how he made such a point of dropping all the names of premier personages of the beau monde? One would think he existed at the pinnacle of the ton, don’t you agree? And yet I never saw him once at the gentlemen’s clubs, or any other place of fashion.”
“But I know he does father’s business transactions. He must go to London.”
“Yes, but not as frequently or for as long as he has you think. I have a notion he stays close by, and has been keeping an eye on things here. Besides, he would know the layout of the house well, wouldn’t he?”
“He used to come frequently as a boy. His father and mine were close before Uncle Randolf died. That was his father. It was that fondness between the brothers that fostered the close relationship between Howard and my father.” She shook her head, confused. “But what was it I said to make you think of him?”
“He was the one who wrote your father of the supposed rumors about me. When I realized that the men he claimed were speaking ill of me were many of those I was involved in with my business dealings, I knew this gossip could not possibly exist. Therefore, the rumors had to originate with Howard. From there, the rest of it made sense.”
“Yes. He knows the family well, knows the secret about my mother’s death. And my father’s fears for me.”
“Don’t forget that he knew the tension between us was about your inheritance. That makes it easy to prey upon that sore subject, to turn you against me. It also is significant that he seems to be the only one to benefit. He is, after all, your father’s heir.”
“But then how was Kimberly involved with his plan?” Helena frowned. “She must have been, but why would he kill her?”
“Because she was in the way, dear coz, just as you are.” Helena and Adam turned in unison and faced the man who had entered the room. It was Howard.
And he was pointing a pair of pistols at them.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Your deductions are astonishing, Mannion. I applaud your powers of reason. They do not surprise me, however. You struck me from the first as a bit too clever for your own good. Of course, that was part of the problem.” As Howard stepped farther into the room, his grim face came into view. “If only you’d been the conscienceless gambler you seemed to be at the first. It needn’t have got so damned serious if you hadn’t had such a keen mind.”
Adam stood, gently setting Helena away from him. “I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Very sharp at the repartee, you are.”
“Howard, why are you doing this?” Helena asked in a dismayed voice.
“Why, the oldest reason in the world, coz, all that wonderful Rathford money. You never needed it, not before Prince Charming here showed up. After that business with Aunt Althea, you went into hiding. Wonderful circumstance for me, especially when Uncle George became a recluse as well, and it all fell on me to handle the family business. But then you had to go and get married.” He looked to Adam, and said with a heavy dose of resentment, “I didn’t begrudge you your slice at first—at least not too much. After all, the Rathford fortune is deep. I mean, a bad gambler might even be an asset, if certain…inconsistencies in the books ever came to light.”
“How flattering. You saw me as a scapegoat.” Adam’s voice was droll.
“Not after I met you, I didn’t, and then heard the talk around the Town that you were making quite a go of it on the ’Change. I mean, really! You were a no-luck fortune hunter, for God’s sake, and then suddenly you were having all this success. That was when I realized you were shrewd. Uncle George was dying—he had told me that—and I ran the risk of exposure after he passed on, should you get involved with the family finances. With you in the picture, I began to realize I might be in a bit of a jam.”
“Howard, you are my father’s heir,” Helena protested in confusion.
“I inherit only that which must be passed on through the laws of entailment,” he said sharply, his tone full of vinegar. “Your father’s estates, the heraldic arms, the incomes tied to the lands he owns—all of this comes to me. But it all requires a great deal of management for relatively little income compared to the great pots of money coming to you, little coz, without any effort needed at all.”
Adam said, “The madness was just a game, wasn’t it, Howard? It was supposed to make Helena look unbalanced, but you weren’t after her. The plan was always to murder me. Then blame Helena.”
“Oh, I see I was right about you.” Howard smiled coldly. “Far, far too clever. Well, it was a good plan. After all, she’d murdered before. With a little help making her look all scrambled up, who wouldn’t believe she’d kill again? And she’d be so potted at the time, she’d not know any different herself. A little laudanum, a few other things mixed in to keep it interesting. It was ridiculously easy. When you eventually showed up dead, Adam, we wanted it to be very clear who the main suspect should be.”
“Helena would take the blame, especially with the handy little motive you supplied, putting it out that I’d been trying to pry into her trusts.”
“We didn’t fall for that trick, Howard.” Helena lifted her chin and bestowed an arrogant look on him. “You aren’t as great as you think. I suppose Kimberly found you out somehow. That’s why you had to kill her.”
“She saw me one time, the time I came in to have fun in Aunt Althea’s rooms. She wasn’t certain if she wanted to help me or turn me in, no doubt weighing which course of action would bring the best advantage to herself.” He snorted. It was an ugly sound. “You have already deduced how little I like to share. Altogether, I couldn’t see any reason to keep her around. As for Helena being the one to take the blame for it, it was merely an insurance measure. If or when the body was found, all that evidence pointing to Helena would simply strengthen the suspicion of her when Adam showed up dead.”
Howard shook his head, as if he disapproved of them. “Then, when the knife was taken out and returned to its proper place—your doing, I’m guessing, Mannion—I could no longer proceed with that tack. However, I got a better idea. Adam hangs for Kimberly’s murder and you, coz, take your own life in your grief.”
Helena gasped. “How can you be so cold?”
“Cold? That’s rich, coming from you. You, who had everything so perfect all your life. You were always safe and secure in your fabulous wealth, never having to worry about paying off the tailor or the shoemaker because they refused to advance you any more credit and the new styles from France were in and your old clothes were absolutely passé.”
Helena was breathless with rage. “You were going to take away my life, my love, steal every bit of happiness I’ve ever had in my life…just so you could more easily afford an extravagant way of life?”
Howard looked at her blandly. “You’ve put it quite succinctly. And don’t bother insulting me over it. I assure you I am quite immune.” He waved his pistol. “Now, I want the both of you over by the bed.”
Adam stepped in front of Helena, slipping her protectively behind his back. “There’s no way for you to get away with this now.”
“Don’t be silly, of course I will. Your being here doesn’t change much. Let’s see, all I have to do is put my mind to it and I shall think of a way to turn this to my advantage—wait! I have it. Oh, this is grand, this is just grand.” He waved the pistols happily. “Oh, wonderful. You see, it will seem as if you were, indeed, Kimberly’s murderer, and because you had gotten caught and your life was, for all intents and purposes, going to be over, you came back home because you couldn’t bear to leave your beloved. You kill Helena so that she and you can be together in the afterlife, then take your own life. Oh, it
is too good!”
Helena grew chilled. It was frightening to think how well it all might work. She was suddenly infused with a raging determination that Howard would not get away with this. After fighting all her life for a chance to live—really live—she would not let this greedy worm take it from her. Not now, not ever.
Then suddenly Adam made a strange movement, drawing her interest. His foot grazed one of the flintlocks. Very steadily, he maneuvered it with his heel until it was directly behind him, and right in front of her. Shielded from Howard’s view, it lay within her reach, if she could only find some way to bend down to retrieve it.
Inspiration hit her, and without stopping to consider the wisdom of such a move, she sank to her knees. “Adam, Adam!” she said in a faltering voice. “I am afraid I feel quite faint.”
In the billowing cloud of her lawn night rail, she moved her hand swiftly, grasped the flintlock and secreted it in the folds of the full skirt. She wanted to give it to Adam, but Howard barked at him to step away from her, and Adam complied swiftly.
Catching his eye, she saw a grim expression on his handsome face. He slid his gaze to Howard and gave a quick nod. He made no move to come close to her. He didn’t seem to want to take the weapon from her.
No. Oh, God no.
“Get up. No tricks, do you hear me?” Howard was shouting, his face red with anger. Helena saw immediately that her cousin wasn’t going to tolerate any disobedience. That was why Adam had backed off immediately. He knew the man’s nerves were nearly at their limit.
Narrowing his eyes, Howard jerked the weapons to indicate she was to move. “Over there. Face each other, and keep on opposite sides of the bed.”
Helena looked at Adam. He gave another nod—quick, nearly imperceptible. She wanted desperately to slip him the loaded flintlock—thank God she had primed the pistol earlier!—but he was moving farther and farther away from her.
He swung on her cousin and said in a loud voice, “Just how do you propose to get away with this? The staff will hear the shots, you know. They’ll be in here in moments.”
The Sleeping Beauty Page 24