by Joan Wolf
My cheek was against his shoulder and I inhaled the clean, male smell of him. I felt very happy. “Look at me, Isabel,” he commanded. I lifted my face and his lips met mine. I slid my arms around him so that my body was pressed along the length of his. I loved being in his arms. I could stay like this forever, I thought, as delicious tremors began to make themselves felt in many different parts of my body.
Leo clearly didn’t feel the same way because he grabbed my shoulders and lifted me away from him. I looked up to protest, but the expression in his eyes stopped me.
“I love kissing you,” I said.
“I love kissing you too, Isabel. But what I really want is to get you in bed.” His eyes were narrowed and dark. His voice was hoarse.
“I want that too,” I said. “Do we really have to wait until we are married? What can a few weeks matter?”
He shut his eyes. “Dear God, Isabel, do not tempt me like this!” He opened his eyes. “Yes, we have to wait until we’re married. I do not want to get you with child before, and we might have to wait before this situation with Mansfield is resolved.”
“We won’t have to wait if I give the money to him.”
“No. That money is yours and you shall have it if I have to murder him to get it.”
“I want that money, yes. But I want to marry you more! I know you will take care of Papa. He would never take money from you gratuitously, but he will accept your offer to establish a stud and a riding school here at Camden. He is thrilled by it, in fact. He will never admit it, but I suspect he was getting tired of the circus. He was reluctant to leave home this year when the season opened. A few years ago, he couldn’t wait to get back to circus life, but now I think he finds the constant traveling a hardship.”
He smiled at me and touched my cheek with his forefinger. “While it’s nice to hear that I’m more important to you than the money, I am not ready yet to give it up. That’s why I want to talk to some people about the situation, to see if they might have some suggestions.”
I was hoping he would kiss me again, but he just told me to go to bed then he stood at the bottom of the stairs watching me until I was out of sight.
*
Leo had said he would be away for a few days, but the few days turned into a week. I didn’t hear from him and I couldn’t help but think of that mistress. I trusted Leo. Of course I trusted Leo. But I wished he would come home.
Leo was still away on the day I received a shocking visit. I was riding Alonzo in the ring for Papa when Lawrence, the youngest footman, appeared. Footmen rarely came to the stable area, and I brought Alonzo down to a walk and looked over the fence at Lawrence, who was uncomfortably out of place in his white wig and buckled shoes. “Do you have a message for me?” I asked.
“Yes, Lady Isabel. Lady Hepburn asked that you return to the house as soon as possible.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. “Has something happened to his lordship?”
“I don’t know, my lady. I was just sent to deliver the message.”
I dismounted. Papa had come over to stand beside me and I asked him to take Alonzo back to the stable before he returned to the house. He patted me on the shoulder and told me to go.
My mind was churning. My mother would not have interrupted my ride if it weren’t something important. Perhaps Leo had returned!
“Lady Hepburn is in the blue salon,” Hobbs said as I entered the hallway.
I went down the hall, my boots clicking on the marble tile, and walked into the salon. Sir John and a man I didn’t know stood as I approached them. My mother and Aunt Jane were seated on the sofa. Mother reached out her hand. “Come and sit here, my love. This is Sir William Wolcott, our local magistrate. He has some sad news for us.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “Is it Leo? Has something happened to Leo?”
“No darling. Leo is fine. Come and sit; you look as if you might faint.”
Sir John had a supporting hand under my elbow. “I never faint,” I said, and allowed Sir John to guide me to the sofa.
When I was seated, and Mother had patted my hand, Sir John said, “Isabel, Sir William Wolcott has some news to impart.”
Sir William was the local squire, a robust man with a broad weathered face. He said, “I am sorry to have to tell you that your brother was shot to death early this morning, Lady Isabel.
It happened while Lord Mansfield was taking his usual morning ride through the estate woods. He was riding with a friend who was staying with him and the friend states he saw someone afoot in the woods right before he heard the shot. Mr. Forsythe—the friend—couldn’t give chase because he had to help his lordship.”
My first reaction was shock. Then the happy thought came. Henry’s death means he can’t claim to be my guardian.
“How awful,” I said weakly.
The squire continued, “Considering the circumstances, Mr. Forsythe rightly sent for the magistrate. I came immediately and observed that his lordship had been shot in the head.”
That information truly shocked me. I don’t know why, but the image of someone shot in the head is horrific.
“I gave orders for the body to be taken to the estate icehouse,” the squire said. “I will inform the coroner. There will have to be an inquest.”
“It was obviously a poacher,” Sir John said.
“From what Mr. Forsythe has told me, I have ruled that possibility out. No poacher deliberately takes aim at a human person. Also, it was too late in the morning for poachers to be out.”
Aunt Jane said in a bewildered voice, “Who on earth would be such a fool as to shoot an earl? I can’t imagine that Mansfield could have made himself that hated.”
It hit me like an arrow to the heart. Leo had a motive. But no one else knew about the guardianship issue except Mr. Sinclair! I relaxed infinitesimally. Leo was safe.
The squire said, “Is his lordship at home, my lady?”
My heart jumped. “His lordship is in London. We expect him home any time now.”
“Are you certain he is still in London?” The squire wore an expression I did not like. He looked…eager.
“Yes.” Then I added in Aunt Augusta’s haughtiest tone, “What can his lordship have to do with this shooting?”
“I asked because Lord Camden is the only person I know who has a reason to see Lord Mansfield dead.”
“What!” Sir John leaped to his feet. “How dare you make such an accusation, sir? I must ask you to leave this house immediately.”
“Wait,” I said in a constricted voice. “I would like to hear what kind of motive Sir William thinks Leo has.”
“Lord Mansfield was blocking your marriage to Lord Camden, Lady Isabel. He was going to assert his rights as your legal guardian and forbid you to marry his lordship. I would call that a motive.”
I stared at him in shock. Leo and I had told no one, not even my mother. “Where did you get such an absurd idea?” I tried for outraged indignation.
“You didn’t quite close the door when you were speaking to Mr. Sinclair and one of the people in the waiting room has very keen ears. He will be willing to swear to what he heard.” The squire stood up and stared directly into my eyes. “Tell his lordship when he arrives home that I would like to speak with him”
Sir John said grimly, “I will show you out,” and the two men left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Everyone left in the room looked at me. “Is this true, Isabel?” My mother was clearly upset. I didn’t know if it was because of the squire’s news or because I hadn’t told her. It was probably both.
“Yes, it’s true.” I inhaled deeply, looked steadily at the riding skirt that covered my lap and related the gist of our visit to Mr. Sinclair. “That’s why Leo went to London,” I concluded. “He wanted to consult with some solicitors there to see if we could overturn this hideous guardianship rule.”
What I didn’t do was repeat Leo’s words to me when we learned about the guardianship: That mone
y is yours and you shall have it even if I have to murder him.
I didn’t say the words, but they reverberated loudly in the back of my mind.
“I don’t like this.” It was Sir John who had come back into the room. “I don’t like the way that man went after Leo. A man of Wolcott’s status doesn’t challenge an earl the way this man did Leo.”
Aunt Jane agreed. “It’s almost as if there was something personal involved.”
“Leo is safely in London,” my mother said stoutly. “Any suspicion of him must be put to rest when it becomes obvious he was miles away.”
Mother was right. I had been wishing Leo at home but now I wished the opposite. Please God, I prayed, let Leo stay in London for at least another day!
*
That very afternoon, as the family was gathered in the drawing room for tea, Leo arrived home.
Oh no, I thought, as I stared at my golden-haired beloved in the doorframe. Not today, Leo. Why did you come home today?
The entire family was staring at him too, probably thinking the same thing. I stood, went up to him, tipped my head, smiled and said, “Welcome home.”
“It’s about time.” Aunt Augusta hadn’t been told about the squire’s visit and she sounded perfectly normal. “What have you been doing all this time, Leo? We have a wedding to think of. Did you at least send notice of the marriage to the newspaper?”
While Aunt Augusta was speaking Leo was kissing me. I wanted so much to throw my arms around him, to hold him close, to feel his warm strength next to me. But I couldn’t do that in front of the entire family. I forced myself to step away and say, “There’s room for you on the tapestry sofa.”
He came with me to the sofa and sat between me and Robert. Susan said, “I’ll bring you a cup of tea, Leo. Would you like a scone?”
He looked at the uneaten scone on my plate. Then he looked at me. He raised one golden eyebrow. His blue eyes looked right into mine. “You haven’t eaten your scone, Isabel.”
He knew how hungry I always was at teatime.
“I am planning to,” I said.
The blue eyes narrowed. I knew he wouldn’t ask me anything personal in front of the family, so I smiled brightly, took a bite and forced myself to chew. Susan arrived with tea and a scone for Leo. He looked at all the gazes fixed on him and said. “All right. Something has happened while I was away. You had better tell me about it. I promise not to faint.”
We all looked at Robert. He knew his duty and said, “Mansfield was murdered this morning. He was shot from his horse while he was riding through his own woods. The friend who was with him, a fellow called Forsythe, said he saw a man in the woods running away. He couldn’t go after him since he had to attend to Mansfield, who had been shot in the head.”
“Good God.” I was watching Leo and he looked genuinely stunned. “Had he been having problems with poachers?”
Robert shook his head. “We all have to deal with poachers on occasion, but I simply cannot imagine a poacher having the nerve to kill an earl. And a shot to the head? It doesn’t make sense.”
Leo agreed.
“The squire was called in as magistrate,” Robert continued, “and he had the nerve to come here to Camden to ask some damn fool questions about you. Tell him, Isabel. You were in the room.”
I tried to speak calmly as I explained the situation. “Sir William was interested in your whereabouts, Leo. Too interested. He sounded suspicious. It was very strange. I assured him that you were still in London and we didn’t know when you would return.”
Leo frowned deeply but remained quiet.
Aunt Augusta said, “Why wasn’t I informed of this? The nerve of that man, coming here and accusing the Earl of Camden of shooting a man! Who does the squire think he is, behaving in such an outrageous fashion?”
“It is very strange,” my mother said.
“Who was in the room with him beside you?” Leo asked me.
“Mother. Sir John. Aunt Jane.”
“What did you think, Sir John?” Leo asked my mother’s husband.
“I thought it was damn offensive. The man clearly intimated that you were a suspect. He offered no reason for his suspicion, but he was too certain for my comfort.”
“Wolcott doesn’t like me,” Leo said. “If he could do me a mischief he would.”
“Doesn’t like you?” I echoed. “How can anyone not like you?”
His eyes softened as he looked down at me. “Not everyone thinks I am as wonderful as you do, sweetheart.”
“Are you talking about that business when you first came into the title?” Robert asked.
“What business?” Aunt Augusta demanded.
Leo’s answer was directed to me. “The Earls of Camden have long held the responsibility of Lord Lieutenant of the County, Isabel, and in England that role holds a certain judicial power. When my father died, I was appointed Lord Lieutenant by the King.” I nodded my understanding. “My father had appointed Wolcott to be the local magistrate, a post the local squire often holds. Shortly after I came into the title, a breech of justice by the magistrate was brought to my attention. I’m not going to go into the particulars, but I ruled that Wolcott had acted irresponsibly in charging a fifteen-year-old tenant of mine of poaching. He wanted to have the boy sent to Australia as punishment. I thought the punishment was extreme and when I learned that the boy had got into a round of fisticuffs with Wolcott’s son and Wolcott’s son had got the worst of it, I gave the boy a good talking to and let him go. Wolcott has neither forgot nor forgiven me for it.”
My mother said staunchly, “I agree with Isabel, Leo. I cannot imagine anyone would believe you capable of murder.”
Leo said, “Thank you, Aunt Maria. I had better send word to Wolcott that I have returned. I will be interested to learn the reason why he holds me in suspicion.”
I braced myself to tell him that the squire knew about our session with Mr. Sinclair, but Robert spoke first. “What time did you leave London this morning? If you were in London, you could not have been here shooting Mansfield.”
Leo let out a long breath. “Well I wasn’t in London this morning, Rob. I stopped over at Harry Dean’s for the night.”
“Who is this Harry Dean person?” Aunt Augusta demanded.
“An old school friend. We ran into each other in London and he invited me to stop at his house for some shooting before I came home.”
“Well then, Dean can vouch for you being at his house this morning,” Robert said.
Leo let out another long breath. “I left Harry’s early because I wanted to get home. What time did this shooting take place?”
“About ten o’clock in the morning, I believe.”
Leo held Robert’s eyes. He looked very somber. “I could have made it back in time to shoot Mansfield, Rob.”
“But you just got here!” I protested. “Where does this Harry Dean live that it took you so long?”
“Dean’s home is just outside of Newbury. I left at seven in the morning. I could easily have made it back here by ten o’clock. I was late because Walter threw a shoe. I had to walk for an hour before I found a blacksmith, and when I did find a forge the blacksmith wasn’t there. He was out shoeing horses at a local farm so I had to wait for him to return. Then I was held up again when Walter decided the shoe wasn’t fitting his hoof properly and went lame. So I had to find another blacksmith and have the shoe redone. It was not a pleasant journey.”
“You must be starved, poor boy,” Aunt Augusta said. “Susan, bring Leo some more scones.”
Leo’s hunger is the least of our problems, I thought with alarm. If I didn’t know him, I’d think his story of the troublesome horseshoe sounded questionable.
Rob said, “If necessary, the two blacksmiths could vouch for you, could they not?”
“I suppose so,” Leo said. “If it becomes necessary.”
Robert put a hand on his brother’s arm. “If we can discover who actually did murder Mansfield, you wouldn’t need witne
sses at all.” Robert’s hand tightened on Leo’s sleeve. “Who profits most from Mansfield’s death?”
Leo shrugged.
Robert said firmly, “His heir profits. Whoever is Mansfield’s heir inherits an earldom.”
“An earldom on the edge of bankruptcy I should think,” Leo returned.
“He wouldn’t know about Mansfield’s financial state. Do we know who the heir is?”
We all looked at Aunt Augusta. She said promptly, “The heir is a first cousin of Mansfield’s—his father’s brother’s son. All I know about him is that his father—Mansfield’s uncle—married a woman his father disapproved of. They have been cut off from the family ever since.”
“He’ll be at the funeral,” Robert said. “Once we find out who he is we can look into his financial affairs. The man might have been short of money himself and thought to inherit a fortune if Mansfield died.”
I thought this was an excellent idea and congratulated Robert for thinking of it.
*
Before dinner Leo and I managed to snatch a few minutes alone in my sitting room. We sat side by side on the comfortable old sofa and I turned to ask him a question. “No talking,” he said, and his mouth came down on mine. His kiss was more intoxicating than any wine could be. As he felt me respond he deepened the kiss. My lips parted and his tongue came between them. He leaned me back against the soft pillow on the end of the sofa and I lifted my hand to run my hand through the golden thickness of his hair. It felt so crisp and strong. Everything about Leo was strong.
His hand moved to my breast and I was shocked by the spasm of pleasure that ran through my body at that touch. I gasped, and Leo moved away.
I sat up and put the tips of my fingers on my lips. Leo was sitting at the far end of the sofa, his hands on his knees and his head bent. I could see the movement of his chest.
I waited for him to compose himself. Finally he looked up, gave me a crooked smile and said, “Will you please plan this wedding?”
I smiled back and said, “I’ll speak to Mother.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I went down to breakfast early and was shocked to find Aunt Augusta there before me. I said her name in surprise as I went to the table where the muffins were laid out. “Why are you up so early?”