Just making sure I get to come along, she winked in return.
"You are coming with us?" Bennet said, frowning. "Hmm... very well. Except, I only brought one blindfold."
"Blindfold?" Cole repeated.
Bennet opened one side of his jacket, and reaching into an inner pocket, pulled out a length of black silk. "I realize this may seem rather overdone to you, Mr. Morgan, but once you see my treasures you'll understand why I keep their location secret. I find it simpler to conceal my collection's location than to post round-the-clock guards."
"I'm afraid I cannot allow Miss Delaney to be blindfolded."
Turning toward Christina, he said, "Perhaps we can arrange another time for you to see Lord Bennet's private collection."
"No need for that," she cheerily replied. "We can use Mr. Morgan's handkerchief for an extra blindfold."
"Very well," said Bennet.
Cole opened his mouth to protest, but recognized he'd be wasting his words. Instead, he said, "I insist you stay close to me, then, Miss Delaney." And to Bennet, he added, "See she doesn't fall or injure herself in any way."
Cole was tense as he assisted Christina up into the buggy for the ride to who-knew-where. He didn't trust Bennet as far as he could throw him, but he couldn't put his finger on just why.
The buggy rattled out of the stable yard and down a gravel road, the crunching of rock beneath the wheels an obvious clue as to their path. Luckily, the morning fog had burned away, so Cole used the warmth of the sunshine on his body to help determine the direction they traveled. He managed to draw a mental map of their route until Bennet headed into the forest and began a series of quick turns.
Having lost the sun, Cole paid close attention to the sounds and scents floating in the air around him. He smelled water, though he couldn't hear it. He tuned out Christina's friendly chatter with the Englishman, and listened to the sounds of horses' hooves and carriage wheels rattling over rock in addition to the quiet thud of travel upon a packed-earth path.
Cole suspected they'd traveled in circles for much of the time that passed before the Englishman pulled the buggy to a halt Cole reached to untie the blindfold, but Bennet stopped him. "Not until we're inside, please."
"Inside what?"
Bennett avoided an answer. Instead, he said, "Watch your step as you leave the carriage, Mr. Morgan. Miss Delaney, allow me to assist you."
"Why, thank you, Lord Bennet," Chrissy said, her voice light and bright. "Isn't this fun. Why, being blindfolded just adds to the excitement, doesn't it?"
Cole seriously considered pulling the silk from around his eyes and tying it around her mouth.
Bennet continued, "You'll want to avoid the briar two steps behind you. Take five steps forward, then climb three steps. Duck your head approximately eighteen inches and take three more steps forward. At that point, I'll escort you the final short distance before removing the blindfold."
Cole did as instructed, using his hands more than necessary to feel his way. Holly, a briar, and a smooth marble column. A folly of some sort, he concluded.
"Ow," he muttered when he failed to stoop low enough during the duck-your-head part. Cool, musty air greeted him inside the structure, but he was unable to distinguish any particular odors, especially since Christina obviously had doused herself with a floral-scented perfume before joining them.
So much for her word not to work her feminine wiles.
"This way," said Bennet. "Fifteen steps down to a landing, around to your left, then twenty-two more. Stop immediately at the bottom or you will run into the door."
With every step they descended, Cole regretted allowing Christina to come along. The sense of foreboding weighted his boots like heels of lead.
"Here we are," said Bennet.
Cole felt a tug at the back of his neck and the blindfold fell free. They stood in a narrow, brick-lined tunnel in front of an arched, carved wooden door that appeared to have been standing for ages. Holding a lamp in one hand, a key in another, Bennet moved forward to unlock the door. Hinges squeaked as the door swung open. Cool, musty air greeted Cole's nostrils as his eyes narrowed.
It was a crypt. A big one. Complete with dusty tombs, spider webs, and, Cole would wager, a rat or two.
"Oh, my," Christina said, the cheer gone from her voice.
Cole took her hand. "If this is a jest, Bennet, it's not funny."
"This way. This way," said the Englishman, leading them forward. "It's a burial place of holy men, Miss Delaney. Nothing to fear, I assure you. We're almost there. Now that you are here, I honestly can't wait to show you my treasures."
Cole really, really wished Christina had stayed behind.
Soon Bennet stopped before another door. "I know you'll be impressed. Wait here until I light the lamps, please." He opened a simple latch and pushed the door open. Moments later a flame flickered and golden light bloomed in the room. Beside him, Christina gasped.
The room before them appeared to be a windowless manor house drawing room, the furnishings, gilt and gilding surpassing even the splendor of Hartsworth. "How beautiful," she said as they walked inside.
Cole was shocked. After viewing Bennet's public Texas Room, he'd expected to find another taxidermist's dream including coyotes or mustangs or at least an armadillo. The only stuffed items in this room were the leather wing-back chairs in front of a fireplace and a trio of settees placed along the walls.
The other similarity between this place and the other Texas room, however, were the display cases. Made of rich mahogany and trimmed in shining brass, these pieces were even fancier than the ones back at Harpur Priory. Cole's heartbeat sped up as he approached the first case. He felt Christina's hand tremble in his.
"The theme of this room is Freedom," Bennet said. "And speaking of that, did you think to bring the Alamo book?"
Cole reached into his pocket, pulled out the booklet, and tossed it to Bennet even as he gazed upon the first case. It was filled with weapons: guns, bows and arrows, knives, bayonets, whips, bludgeons, steel traps, even a slingshot. "Looks to me like 'Death' might be a better choice."
Bennet replied without looking up from the book he was reading. "I have attempted to collect one of every conceivable weapon ever used in Texas. If you are aware of any I am missing, please let me know."
Cole moved to the second case. A collection of men's razors, with placards listing names familiar to all Texans. Jim Bowie, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Randolph Wilcox, Davy Crockett. Cole halted, his gaze shifting backward. Randolph Wilcox? Never heard of the man.
The third case was filled with eyeglasses. Again, mixed among the familiar he found the name R. Wilcox. "Strange," he murmured to Christina. "You ever heard of this Wilcox?"
"No."
Since eyeglasses and razors weren't what they'd traveled these thousands of miles to find, Cole guided them steadily toward the back of the room where a small case stood separate from the others. Walking up to it, his heart stood still. He read:
Unanimous
Declaration of Independence
Made by the Delegates of The People of Texas,
In General Convention,
At the town of Washington
On the second day of March, 1836.
Cole was captured by the words printed on the page, drawn into the story of the birth of a nation written down for all to witness. Silent and unmoving, his heart swelling with a national pride he hadn't known he possessed, he read the entire document. It wasn't until he reached the end and his gaze skimmed back up the page to reread the words "hereby resolve and declare, that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended and that the people of Texas do now constitute a FREE, SOVEREIGN, and INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC," that he realized what was wrong.
The words free, sovereign, and independent republic shot at his brain like a bullet.
They were all set in capital letters. They were typeset. Not handwritten.
He looked at Christina and said, "This is a fake."
Chapter 14
Chrissy's gaze held Cole's as the truth sank in. She couldn't believe this. She simply couldn't believe it.
Bennet rushed up beside them, his eyebrows drawn together in a fierce scowl. "I beg your pardon?"
Cole gestured toward the case. "It's a fake. It's not the real Declaration of Independence."
"It most certainly is. It is one of the two hundred broadsides the editor of the Telegraph and Texas Register printed from an engrossed holograph copy of the Declaration. It has the typesetter's mistake that authenticates it." He pointed to the signatures. "See, he omitted two names."
"It's a copy of a copy," Cole said with a weary laugh.
Chrissy shook her head at Lord Bennet. "You're supposed to have a handwritten copy. That's why we came here."
"That's why you came here?" Bennet repeated, reaching out and grabbing Chrissy's wrist. "What is going on? What is the meaning of this?"
The moment Lord Bennet touched Chrissy, she watched Cole's patience run out. He grabbed Bennet by the lapels and, lifting him off the ground, backed him against a wall. "I'm done with this. To hell with subtlety. To hell with all this sneaking around."
He gave Bennet a shake. "Melton said you have a handwritten copy of the Republic of Texas's Declaration of Independence. Now, first you're going to tell us where it is, then we're going to reach an agreement as to what remuneration you want for it. Miss Delaney and I are taking the document home where it belongs."
Bennet's eyes bugged and went wild looking. "But the copy is all I have."
Cole shifted one hand to grip Bennet around the throat and Chrissy got a bit worried. "Cole, be careful. You probably shouldn't hurt him too badly."
"Please," Bennet begged. "It's true. I had the other for a little while, but she came and took it back. That's why I'm so careful about this room. I don't want to be robbed again."
"Robbed?" Chrissy said.
Cole allowed Bennet to slide slowly down the wall until his feet once again touched the ground. "Are you trying to claim that someone stole the Declaration from you?"
A woman. Chrissy had distinctly heard him say she came and took it.
Bennet nodded. "Well, it was hers to begin with so she claims it wasn't stealing. However, the child did sell it to me so I consider myself the legal possessor. I met the price. It's not my fault the charge was only a bag of candy and a ham."
"Ham?"
"The child loves pork."
Cole closed his eyes and Chrissy watched him count silently to ten. "Lord Bennet, where is the Declaration of Independence?"
The Englishman squeaked out the word. "Scotland."
He might as well have shouted it, so loudly did it seem to resound through the room. Scotland. Chrissy didn't want to go to Scotland. She wanted to go home. "Oh, Cole. What are we going to do?"
"Scotland," he muttered in reply. "Well, don't that just twirl your kilt."
What they did next was follow an irate Lord Bennet back through the crypt. Chrissy worried Cole might hit him when he waved the blindfolds in their faces. The man was beside himself with righteous indignation at their behavior, and Chrissy attempted to soothe his ruffled feathers by appealing to his sense of history and obvious love of Texas. "We had hoped to purchase the document from you, Lord Bennet. We would not have used nefarious means to get it."
Cole's snort didn't help matters at that point. Asking just how the Declaration ended up in Scotland didn't improve Lord Bennet's mood much, either.
"I originally purchased the document from the family of a hero of San Jacinto."
"For a bag of candy and a hunk of ham," Cole clarified.
"It was the asking price," Bennet said, puffing up like a toad. "The Declaration was the centerpiece of my collection. I had owned it for two years the day that woman banged on my door. She wanted it back. I, of course, refused and then two days later, it turned up missing. I knew she had stolen it."
"If it was so important to you, why didn't you attempt to retrieve it?"
"I did, but—" he broke off abruptly and shifted his gaze away. "I failed. Rowanclere Castle is an unconquerable fortress."
Chrissy realized there was more to the story, but by then they had reached the surface, exiting the entrance to the crypt through a door leading into a small building that appeared to be the inside of a... "It's a plunge pool, Cole. We missed this yesterday on our tour of the grounds."
He stopped, glanced around, then fired a grin her way. "We wouldn't have found the room on our own no matter what," he observed. "We'd have never looked farther than the pool."
When they exited the pool house and she spied the manor's roof through the trees, Chrissy realized the buggy ride had been a hoax. The main house was but a short distance from the plunge pool. As he drove the buggy toward the stable yard, the Englishman asked for and received Cole's impatient assurance that he would not reveal the private collection's location to a soul. Somewhat mollified, Bennet asked if they intended to stay for the evening's barbecue.
"If you want us there, we'll stay," Chrissy told him.
"But Christina—" Cole began.
She silenced him with a look.
"Yes, it would be best for you to remain," Bennet said stiffly. "People would wonder, otherwise, and besides, you must oversee the serving of the chili."
"It's settled then," Chrissy said with a nod.
She couldn't have been more wrong. As Bennet pulled the buggy into the stable yard, Michael Kleberg came running up. "Miss Chrissy. Miss Chrissy. We've been looking everywhere for you. The earl wants to speak to you right away."
"Where is he?" she asked, concern sweeping over her.
"Pacing the front hall. You'd better hurry. I think he might leave without you."
Chrissy threw a worried glance Cole's way, then hurried toward the house, Cole right on her heels. Rushing inside the manor, she spied her grandfather speaking to a baggage-toting footman and immediately her apprehension evaporated. The man was beaming, a smile wreathing his face.
"Chrissy. Thank goodness you're back. Hurry, my dear. We're leaving for Hartsworth immediately. Word has arrived. I have the most wonderful news."
"What is it, Grandfather?"
He swept her into a fierce hug, then laughed. "Your mother has finally come home."
Cole thought it fair to say that over the course of their acquaintance, Christina had surprised him literally thousands of times. With that in mind, he shouldn't have been surprised by her reaction to Elizabeth's arrival in England, but he was.
Lady Bug flatly refused to return to Hartsworth.
"Christina, you have to go. She's your mother."
"I'm staying here and serving my chili at the barbecue tonight just as I promised."
Cole raked his fingers through his hair, then looked at Thornbury. "Why don't y'all go on. We'll borrow a horse for Christina and catch up with you."
The earl didn't take much convincing, so anxious was he to see his daughter for the first time in over twenty years. Within moments he had loaded up and departed, leaving Cole facing Christina alone in the entrance hall.
He might as well have been in the stable staring down a mule.
"Excuse me," she said, as if he were no more than a fly buzzing about her face. "I believe I'll join the Anglo-Texan Society for this hour's lecture."
Cole took hold of her arm and pulled her into the closest empty room—the library—and shut the door behind them.
"Don't you grab me like that," she protested, struggling.
He let her go. "I swear, woman, it's a good thing you weren't fighting for Santa Anna. Texas never would have won the war. You're too damned stubborn to quit."
"Don't curse at me, either," she demanded, turning her back on him.
Cole shut his eyes and counted to ten, then did it three more times. The afternoon had been hard on his temper. "Christina," he said when he could speak calmly. "Please explain to me why you don't want to see your mother and brother. They've traveled all t
his way to see you."
"Have they?" she asked, whirling around.
The tears that sparkled in her eyes baffled him and he said, "That's what Jake put in the note he sent with the servant, isn't it?"
"And you believe that?"
He scratched his jaw and made a wry grimace. "Actually, I suspect he's figured out what I've been doing with you, and he's come over here to kill me. Your mama must have come along to see I get a proper burial."
"No, my mama came along to make certain I didn't accidentally end up happy."
The bitterness in her voice stopped him cold. What in the world was she thinking? "I'm lost in the English fog here and you know how thick that is. Can you explain what you mean by that, please?"
"Don't you see?" She crossed to the desk and lifted a crystal paperweight. Staring blindly into it, she said, "She's come to make sure I do her bidding one more time. You thought she was a force to be reckoned with at home, imagine how she'll be here. Lady Elizabeth. An earl's daughter."
Christina set the paperweight down hard. "Well, I'm not going to cooperate. You can go on back to Hartsworth, Cole, and tell her she's wasted the trip. She won't force me to marry you. I'll go sell chili in the village square before she makes me do that. I'll eat a habenero pepper while singing 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' in front of the church on Sunday morning before I'll marry you!"
Cole wanted to throw something, but he settled for a glare. "What is it with you and your mother, and why the hell am I in the middle of it?"
"You've always been in the middle of it."
"Is that part of this?" He lifted his arms and stabbed the air with his hands, palms out. "You resent me? You resent that they brought me into your family?"
She grimaced and shook her head, dismissing the charge. "No, not at all. I've loved you since the day you moved into Delaney House Maybe not the same way I love you now, but love nonetheless. It never occurred to me that my parents or Jake would or could feel any differently."
"Then what is the problem? You tell me you are not going to marry me to spite your mother. Excuse me if that doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
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