“The gardens?” Gabe interrupted.
“They are being searched now. We should know in a few minutes.” Derek stood and walked to the window looking out. He saw no sign of his auburn haired wife. More clomping signaled a footman entering the library. He approached the butler when Derek’s voice halted him.
“Well?
“Nothing, my lord.”
“Bloody hell.” Derek stomped over to the desk, his limp almost non-existent. He unlocked a lower drawer in the desk and removed two pistols. “Here,” he passed one to Gabe. “They’re loaded. The sun is setting. Have some lanterns readied,” he turned to the footman. “You gather all available men to join in the search. See that everyone is armed.”
“Aye, sir,” the man quickly left the room to carry out his orders.
Derek and Gabe met up with the men gathering in the gardens, paired them off and assigned each group an area to search. Derek walked around the gardens peering at the ground.
“Find anything?”
“No. Whatever footprints might have been here were destroyed when the men searched.” Derek and Gabe set off with a lantern in the opposite direction of the others.
“Any idea as to where they might have gone?”
“No.”
“Where are we headed then, if you don’t know where to look?”
“We go to the most vulnerable place.”
“And that is?”
“The folly. It’s about a mile cross-country from here on a hill overlooking the pond. It happens to be Kala’s favorite place on the estate, and I’m just praying they are there.” Derek practically ran in his need to find his wife and sister.
“Derek, slow your pace,” Gabe commanded. “I’m as anxious as you, but don’t strain your leg. Remember we have no mounts with us.” Derek slowed his stride and took more caution in his steps. His leg already began to ache from walking over the uneven landscape. It took the two men approximately fifteen minutes to reach the pond. They took a circuitous route around it looking for footprints or signs of a struggle, but saw nothing but deer tracks.
“Check the folly,” Derek ordered. They started up the hill and Derek quickly noticed two things--all the shades were pulled down and there were rust-colored stains on the grass. Derek made several signals to Gabe that the man easily understood, and both readied their pistols. They made a complete circle around the folly coming from opposite directions, but found no one lurking about. Derek lifted one of the shades and checked under the daybed from outside. Clear.
They entered the front, where the steps were located, and saw Tessa and Kala slumped on each end of the daybed. A thin rope hung from a hook in the painted ceiling and that rope held the source of the blood, a young, mutilated fawn. A note lay tucked between the rope and its lifeless neck. Derek sat down the lantern and turned up the light. Gabe quickly pocketed the note and began to work on removing the dead fawn when a scream echoed through the countryside.
“Tessa?” Kala questioned and then let out a yelp when she saw what had disturbed the other woman.
Derek pointed his gun upward and out the opening then pulled the trigger. Gabe reached down into his boot retrieving a knife and made quick work of cutting down the dead fawn. Lights could be seen moving towards them in the night. Gabe carried the fawn outside, but blood still stained the center of the folly. They could hear the rumble of low voices outside then Gabe returned, thankfully empty-handed.
“What’re you doing out here?” Kala asked, having regained herself. Tessa still looked to be somewhat in shock.
“That’s what we want to know.” Gabe stood towering above Kala, his arms crossed. Anger radiated off him.
“Tessa, what are you two doing out here? Do you have any idea what time it is? Where are the footmen who were to escort you?” Derek took over the questioning.
“We left the house at about two in the afternoon when we came out here,” she replied attempting to pull herself together and ignoring the question about the footmen.
“It’s now close to dark.”
Tessa looked around her startled. “Kala, did you pull the shades down? I expected the sun setting to wake us.”
“I’m sure we can thank whoever left the gift,” Hawkescliffe interjected. “Why did you two come out here?”
“I talked Tessa into coming out here with me.”
“Can you see how utterly foolish that idea was?”
“We need to head back to the house,” Derek cut in. He gave Tessa his hand and helped her off the couch, feeling the tremor that ran through her.
“You do know we have had people searching for the two of you, don’t you?” Gabe directed the question to Kala, grabbing her elbow and jerking her out of the folly and down the steps.
“Hawke, that is enough,” Derek interrupted, using Gabe’s last name, something he hardly ever did. “I think they now understand the danger they were in.”
“Evidently not, or Kala would not have behaved so stupidly after the incident traveling here. How can you be so negligent with not only your person, but also someone else?” Gabe’s voice raised, his anger overpowered his relief now that he knew Kala was safe.
“Gabe, calm down,” Derek desperately tried to defuse the situation, but knew Gabe had gone too far.
Kala jerked her arm out of Gabe’s grip and turned her full fury on him. “I apologize, Your Grace, for being stupid. You have cleared up many matters for me. I will seek to stay out of your way for the remainder of your visit. And please do me the courtesy of staying out of my life!” Kala scurried down the hill almost falling down.
“I should go with her. We truly did not mean to worry anyone. I am so terribly sorry. I thought we were safe here,” Tessa gave Derek a beseeching look that asked him to talk to Gabriel. Halfway to the house she finally caught up with Kala and witnessed her shoulders begin to shake and heard the first sob. She wrapped a comforting arm around her.
“I hate him.”
“I know.”
“I am stupid? How dare he!”
“I know.”
“I never want to see him again.”
“You made that more than clear,” Tessa murmured softly. She hoped Derek could bring Gabriel around, but feared too much damage had been done. They entered the house and Tessa passed Kala off to a very relieved Sarah.
“I’m sorry my lady, I didn’t mean to cause anyone any grief,” she explained upon seeing Kala’s red eyes. “I was worried after what happened when we traveled here.”
“I understand, and would have done the same thing,” Tessa lied. “Please see to Kala now.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Tessa returned outside the door and paced the terrace waiting for the two men to return to the house. She saw them walking across the gardens, both with morose looks upon their faces. Good, she thought. They stopped and talked to a passing footman. Tessa strained to hear what they said, but their words were carried away on the light breeze. She waited until the footman left and then marched right past her husband and up to the duke.
“I know that you do not particularly care for me at this moment, nor have you ever, and that is fine. You may be my husband’s best friend, but you do not have to be mine. I will tell you one thing though, there is a young woman in that house who has successfully had her very soul ripped from her this evening.”
“Tessa, calm down and go inside,” Derek interrupted grabbing her by the upper arm. She swung an equally venomous gaze toward him. “Now, Tessa.”
She spun around to go into the house, pausing at the door looking at him over her shoulder.
“I think she made her wishes clear this evening. Leave her alone, Your Grace. You have done enough, and perhaps have lost the best thing to ever enter your sorry life.”
“Tessa, that’s enough.”
“I’m finished,” she spun around and left the men, her skirts trailing behind her.
“My, she is quite protective,” Gabe stated sarcastically.
“Gabe you’re my
best friend, but I must agree with her. You apparently have made your decision, so leave Kala alone, and you’re damn lucky I didn’t knock your teeth out of your head back there.”
“What are you going to do about this little incident?”
“My gosh Gabe, Kala is twenty-four and Tessa a year older. I’m not going to punish them as if they were still children in leading strings. They know they did wrong. I think the message left hanging in the folly got the message across better than anything I could say to them. Kala is going to Elizabeth’s and will meet mother there. Perhaps next year she will give the season another try.”
A long silence stood between them as they walked into the library. Derek poured them each a brandy.
“I found this,” Gabriel handed him a folded piece of paper. Derek opened it and scanned the contents, a muscle twitched along his cheek, then he passed it back to Gabriel. “Damn,” Gabe replied after reading it.
“Why didn’t he do something while he had his chance?”
“He has given his warning and now is most likely waiting to see how much you know. Why risk his life unnecessarily if you do not know anything? He’s a smart, sick bastard, but he is holding his cards close. Is there anything you can do to help her regain her memory?”
“No. She is so damn close, to remembering,” Derek bit out.
The men were lost in their own thoughts for several minutes. “You need to tighten security.”
“You’re right.”
“I will instruct some of my men to come out. They can pose as gardeners and footmen. I will send enough to accompany Kala to Elizabeth’s house.”
“Thank you,” he looked wryly at his friend. “Kala and Tessa gave you a pretty good brushing down. I should apologize for their behavior, but I can only think somehow you deserved it.” When Derek knew he would not be getting a reply, he clapped Gabriel on the shoulder. “It is too late for you to journey home and you are too stubborn to ask. Stay for supper and I’ll have a room prepared for you.” He nodded his agreement. “You know, perhaps this is the best thing to happen to Kala. I had one man offer for her, but rejected him on her behalf. Perhaps this will open her eyes to other options.” He felt his friend stiffen under his hand and smiled slyly as he drank the rest of his brandy.
Chapter 18
Tessa ate a solitary meal in the countess’ chambers. Sarah had informed them that the Duke of Hawkescliffe would be staying overnight, and that meant he would sup with them. She thought it best that she stay far away from that man. After eating she went to check on Kala who had cried herself to sleep.
“She’s heartbroken,” Sarah whispered.
“Yes. Do I need to watch her for a while?”
“Oh no, my lady. Someone will bring me a meal. We’ll be fine.”
“Good night then,” and she left the room closing the door softly behind her. Tessa returned to her room.
She had never before run a large household, but truly began to feel like the lady of the house. Well, all but dressing down a duke. Somehow she thought she had committed a major faux pas by doing that. She leaned against the door, deflated. Placing her palms against her flushed cheeks, she questioned herself. What had she been thinking, talking down to a duke like that? She must be losing her mind, even if the man had deserved it.
Tessa started unbuttoning her dress, which buttoned up the back. She could reach the top few and the bottom few, but there were a large portion in the middle she found unreachable. She had no maid of her own, and did not want to bother Sarah this late. Tessa attempted to pull her left arm out of the sleeve and did, but managed to get it wedged between the material of her dress and her chemise. Tessa could not work it out of the large, open neck without jarring her stiff shoulder. She wriggled, trying to release the other arm but couldn’t. She found herself well and truly stuck.
A mummy trapped in burial wrappings would have had more room to maneuver. She stomped her foot in frustration and let out a growl. Tessa kicked off her shoes and paced the large room. The longer she found herself trapped in her dress the more it sparked her anger at her husband and his friend. Oh, Derek tried to intercede, but he didn’t try overly hard. He probably agreed with the duke and felt the same way about her at the moment that other man felt about Kala. He probably thought her silly and stupid for not thinking through the situation more clearly.
“Well, I’ll show him,” she muttered. Tessa stomped to the hall door and turned the lock, then repeated the move with the connecting door. As she did so, she realized this would be the first night since coming to Blackburn Hall that they would not sleep in the same bed. She stiffened her resolve and walked towards the bed. Tessa attempted once more to free herself and felt a loosening followed by the ping of a button hitting the floor. Hoping to have done little damage to the dress, she continued until she freed herself.
She rubbed the arm that had been trapped and quickly prepared for bed. It felt strange crawling into the countess’s bed. Tessa lay there, staring up at the ceiling, listening for Derek’s return. A storm brewed off in the distance and the sky would light occasionally with lightning followed by the low rumble of thunder. At some point she fell asleep, never hearing Derek come upstairs.
Derek came into his room very late and well into his cups. He and Gabe passed the time discussing Tessa’s case as well as several others. When they kept reaching dead-ends, they turned to brandy to help them think more clearly. Of course just the opposite happened and before they knew it, they were both well and truly drunk and nothing had been solved on any of the cases. Derek looked at the bed expecting to see his lovely wife asleep, instead it stood empty and untouched. He turned and stumbled to the connecting door, reached out, grabbed the doorknob and found it refused to turn.
“What the hell?” he asked the door, his question punctuated by a loud clap of thunder. He made his way back to the hall door and exited the room. Derek walked down to the door for the countess’s chambers and again the knob remained still. “Tessa, open this damn door,” he slurred as he slammed his hand against the door. A bolt of lightning from the impending storm briefly lit the hallway. “Tessa!”
Suddenly the door opened and he stumbled drunkenly into the room.
“What are you trying to do, wake the dead?” she hissed.
“Why are your doors locked?”
“Are you drunk?”
“Answer my question, and I’ll answer yours,” he slurred with a crooked grin.
“I don’t think so, my lord. You just hie yourself back to your room,” Tessa said, turning him and pushing him towards the door. He grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her along with him. “No,” she jerked her wrist from his grip. “Tonight I will stay in my room and you stay in yours.”
“That isn’t what you proposed a few nights ago,” he slurred.
“Aye,” she said, her Scottish heritage coming through a bit in her anger, “but a few nights ago you didn’t act like an arse.”
“What’re you talking about?” He squinted against the lightning. The boom of thunder that quickly followed vibrated the window panes.
“First of all, I know your sister and I did wrong by leaving the house, especially unaccompanied, but you didn’t stand up for her very well when the Duke berated her. And then you come up here, staggering drunk, and expect me to want to lie in your arms all night? I don’t think so. You’ve put paid to that. Now go to bed and sleep it off.”
She pushed him forcefully out the door and when he turned to say something, she slammed it shut in his face. He heard the familiar click of the lock being put into place. He stared dumbly at the door, not quite sure what had just happened. A little further down the hall, he heard a drunken laugh.
“Well, Blackburn, you’re quite the ladies’ man,” Hawkescliffe slurred teasingly.
“Go to the devil,” Derek muttered and lurched towards his room, slamming the door shut. He shuffled to the bed and sprawled across it on his stomach still wearing his clothes and boots. The storm of emotions within
him became mixed up with the storm outside and before long he passed out.
* * *
Tessa tossed and turned and muttered under her breath about stupid men until she finally fell into a fitful sleep. When she woke with the dawn, she found she missed Derek’s warmth and comfort through the night, but felt justified in keeping out of his bed. She knew she should not blame him for his allegiance to Hawkeslciffe, but it hurt all the same. And then to have him come upstairs, drunk and expecting her to warm his bed, had been the ultimate insult.
She walked across the room to her armoire and pulled out clothes for the day. Her writing desk reflected in the mirror. Fresh flowers stood gaily in the vase and a note stood propped against it. She walked warily across the room, not sure she wanted to know what Derek had to say. How dare he let himself into her room? What if he asked her to leave with Kala? What if he left himself? She wanted him to think and be slightly miserable last night, not push her away. She reached the writing desk, took a deep breath, and grabbed the note.
Tessa, I am just a lowly man who does not always make the right decisions. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I do hope you will sup with me this evening.
Yours, Blackburn
Tessa grinned and slid the note in her escritoire. She readied herself quickly for the day and went to Kala’s room where she halted in the doorway. There were clothes on every surface and all of her trunks were open as well. Tessa caught Kala’s reflection in the mirror, her skin looked blotchy from having been crying and her eyes were swollen. She had caught her sable hair back in a ribbon to keep it out of the way, which only drew more attention to her face.
“It looks as if I were not the only one to get very little sleep last night. When are you leaving?”
“This afternoon.”
“Where to?”
“Elizabeth’s. Mother is there and I want to be there for the baby’s birth.”
“You do not. You are running away,” Tessa accused.
“I don’t want to talk about it. If you’re only going to lecture me, you may leave. I’ve made up my mind.” Tessa lifted an eyebrow and gave Kala a speaking glance. “I’m sorry. I just need to get away from him, and as long as he and Derek remain best friends, he will be around.”
A Traitorous Heart Page 16