‘Now why should I wish to spread such tales? I’ve nothing to gain from it; my reputation is as besmirched as yours.’
That had a certain logic. Was she, like Jago, being too quick to judge? ‘Then who, Captain Pledger, if it was not you?’
He barred his teeth in a false smile. ‘Lady Oliver, your betrothed’s mistress. It is she who will gain if Tremayne leaves you. He’ll return to her and she wants him back at any price.’ He leaned closer and lowered his voice. ‘She’s a woman who knows how to please a man. She is not a cold bitch like you. Tremayne will return to her warm bed, never doubt it, my lady. Camille Oliver can give him something you are not capable of.’
Allegra, during this shocking speech, had covertly slipped her hand into her reticule and gripped the butt of her pistol. Slowly, not wishing to alarm him, she withdrew her gun and with itconcealed behind her back, took two steps back. With calm deliberation she raised it and watched his expression change from triumph to abject fear. ‘You are a hair’s breadth from eternity, sir. I suggest you leave this house and this vicinity before I change my mind and pull the trigger.’
This scenario was being watched by the housekeeper, the butler, two footmen and a parlour-maid. Pledger did not have to be told twice but turned and fled across the marble floor, his portmanteau swinging wildly in his hand. A footman reacted swiftly and politely bowed him out but, in his astonishment, neglected to close the door.
Allegra replaced the unloaded gun in her bag well satisfied with the outcome of her encounter. She had the information she required; she knew who had been behind the attempted assassination. She could not wait to see the expression on the face of her beloved when she mentioned the name
of his mistress, Lady Camille Oliver, to him.
She smiled sunnily at the housekeeper. ‘Is there a garden room where I can wait?
‘Yes, my lady. I shall conduct you there.’
Allegra turned to the butler. ‘I am expecting Mr Tremayne and Lord Witherton to arrive at any moment. Please inform them of my whereabouts.’
‘Would you like some refreshments sent in, my lady?’ The housekeeper’s voice was a trifle unsteady.
‘No, thank you, not now. Please send in the brandy decanter and glasses when the gentlemen arrive.’
Allegra found herself a comfortable chair close to the French doors and sat down. ‘Abbot, I have an errand for you. I shall be quite safe sitting here so you need not look so disapproving.’
*
The sound of Tremayne’s fall had been clearly audible throughout the adjacent rooms as he took a side table and its ornaments down with him. Richard was the first to arrive but found himself unable to slide through the small gap from which Allegra had exited. The door wouldn’t budge. He put his shoulder to it and pushed.
‘What’s that strange gurgling noise, Richard and why can’t you open the door?’
‘I’ve no idea, Demelza. Are you able to slide through that gap, do you think, without further damaging your shoulder?’
She eyed it dubiously. ‘I shall try. But you must push hard as I do so.’
Richard gripped the door edge and threw his weight forward; the door moved a fraction, giving sufficient space for her to slip into the room. She stared in dismay at her father, sprawled on the floor, clutching his chest.
‘Papa, whatever is wrong? Are you unwell?’ Her immediate consideration was that he was suffering from apoplexy. ‘Richard, my father’s taken very ill, he is behind the door, blocking your entrance.’
Richard renewed his efforts but the door wouldn’t shift. He needed more weight. ‘You two, get over here and assist me,’ he shouted at the watching footmen. Willingly the young men added their bulk and slowly the door began to move. ‘Stop, that’s enough to get through.’
He squeezed through the gap and dropped to his knees beside Demelza, who was holding Tremayne’s hand.
Richard feared the worst. It was tragic to see a man in his prime struck down in this way. He took the other hand. He realized there was little even a physician could do to help Tremayne. They must offer what comfort they could in his final minutes.
‘My darling, you must be brave, I believe he hasn’t long to live.’
She nodded, her tears dripping unheeded onto her father’ s crisp white neck-cloth. ‘Papa, can you speak to me? Is there anything you want to say?’
Tremayne finally recovered his voice and the ability to move. He snatched his hands away and pushed himself up to seated position. ‘For God’s sake, I’m not about to kick the bucket, I was temporarily winded, not dying.’
‘You are not having an apoplexy?’ She sounded almost disappointed. ‘Then why were you gobbling like a turkey and unable to move?’
‘Allegra threw a bronze figure at me and it caught me full in the chest. Here, lad, give me your arm, I don’t wish to languish on the floor a moment longer.’
Richard heaved and Tremayne, his back against the door, slowly shuffled his feet until he was upright. Demelza, dry eyed, faced him.
‘Exactly what did you say to Allegra, Papa?’
Tremayne flushed and couldn’t meet her gaze. ‘I asked her if Pledger had been her lover.’ A shocked silence greeted this statement.
‘How could you say such a dreadful thing? It’s no wonder Allegra threw something at you. You’re a disgrace. I am ashamed to call you my father.’ With those damning words she rushed from the room determined to find, and comfort, her dear friend.
Richard glared at his future father-in-law and his fists bunched. ‘Sir, if Allegra had not already felled you, I would do so myself.’
Tremayne raised his hands, palms upward. ‘Please do so, if it will make you feel any better. I deserve to be horse whipped for saying such a thing.’
Richard lowered his fists. ‘Then why did you say it? What prompted you to accuse her of such base behaviour?’
‘I need to sit down, lad. I still feel a little shaky.’ He raised a warning hand. ‘No, I can manage.’ Once seated he dropped his head into his hands with a groan of despair. ‘I’m famous for my clear thinking; indeed I have built my business around my ability to recognize false dealings, not to be taken in by a dissembler. I cannot imagine what maggot got into my brain today.’ He was silent, his ragged breathing the only sound in the room. ‘I’ve no excuse - none at all. If I have lost Allegra’s love then I’ve only myself to blame.’
‘Tell me, why did you do it? If you can explain your motives satisfactorily to me, then it’s possible Allegra will understand also.’
Tremayne sat up. ‘I went to Whites and found myself greeted by strange looks and sympathetic pats on the back. Eventually I persuaded someone to explain.’
‘Go on, sir.’
‘It’s all over town; everyone’s saying Allegra and Pledger were lovers whilst he lived at the Priory. That he was so overcome by grief when she dismissed him he departed leaving half his belongings behind. That she met with him alone in her parlour at the White Hart to make arrangements to renew the relationship after our marriage.’ He stopped to gauge his listener’s reaction. ‘There’s some truth in this, is there not?’
Richard nodded, his expression grave. ‘Enough to give the story credence. I must hear the rest, pray continue, sir.’
‘The gossip has it she decided she would set her cap at me, having sent Pledger packing before I arrived. It seemed to fit so well. I came round here, not to accuse her, you understand, but to sift the truth from the lies. When I walked in to find Allegra cosying up to the man she had told me she disliked above all others, I was insane with jealousy.’
Richard could see why Tremayne might have reacted as he did. He might have done so himself
in similar circumstances. ‘You were blinded by your suspicion and spoke without thought.’
‘I did. I knew I was making a catastrophic error even as the words were passing my lips. Allegra’s face told me all I needed to know.’ He grinned, his expression rueful. ‘She was not upset, not the slightest bit embar
rassed, but angry. I consider myself lucky she didn’t have a pistol to hand or my injuries could have proved fatal.’
‘Poor Allegra. She is of unassailable purity; she has never flirted, never so much as held the hand of a gentleman, apart from myself and our father. To accuse her of something so base was mistaking her character in such a way it’s hardly surprising she reacted with violence.’
Richard chuckled. ‘It’s extraordinary - my sister has always been the calm, sensible twin. I cannot imagine what has caused her to change so radically.’
‘Love can do strange things to a person unused to the emotion. Good God! Look at me – I’ve become as irrational and muddleheaded as she is.’ He winced when he laughed. ‘I think I might have broken a rib. But I shall not complain. It’s my just desserts. How long you think it will take for her to forgive me?’
Before Richard could answer they heard Demelza returning. ‘Allegra is not in her rooms. Jenny says she ran in and stayed only long enough to put on her spencer, bonnet and gloves, then rushed off again.’
Tremayne pushed himself upright using the arms of the chair as levers. ‘Where will she have gone, Witherton?’
Richard frowned, then his face cleared .’To your house, to find Pledger. This gossip had to emanate from him; no one else could possibly have such precise information. But why he should wish to ruin Allegra’s reputation I’ve no idea.’
Demelza knew, or she thought she did. ‘You told me he offered for her and she turned him down. I imagine, for some gentlemen, being rejected would be an unacceptable dent to their pride.’
‘God in his heaven! Are you saying she’s going to accuse him of ruining her, Witherton?’
‘I am. It’s her way, it always has been. She takes things head on, no prevaricating.’
Tremayne moved with a speed that belied his injury. ‘Come with me, we must find her, if Pledger holds the kind of grudge Demelza is suggesting, she could find herself in serious difficulties.’
With Richard in close pursuit, he took the stairs two at a time. The footman, on guard at the front door, barely had time to throw it open. As they pounded down the pavement, shoulder to shoulder, dodging the pedestrians, and occasioning not a few raised eyebrows, Richard said what they were both thinking.
‘If Allegra has taken a pistol, I don’t think much of Pledger’s chances. Anything could happen.’
Tremayne was having difficulty breathing, and shook his head, his breath whistling strangely in his throat, unable to respond in any other way.
When Richard saw the front door stood open he feared the worst. Tremayne staggered up the
steps and burst into the hall. His butler, Adamson, received the second shock of the morning
The man appeared to be waiting for them, a slightly bemused expression on his normally impassive face. ‘Mr Tremayne, your grace, Lady Allegra is in the garden room.’
‘And Pledger, where is he?’ Tremayne managed to gasp.
‘He has departed, sir, a few minutes ago.’
Richard, realizing Tremayne’s difficulty, stepped in. ‘What has taken place here, tell us quickly?’
‘Lady Allegra and Captain Pledger had words, sir. Lady Allegra threatened to shoot Captain Pledger and he ran away.’ The speech was delivered with a degree of satisfaction.
Tremayne grabbed Richard’s arm for support, his tortured breathing subsiding, finally allowing him to speak. ‘I told you, lad; that sister of yours is fearsome. The sooner I get her back to Essex and safely married the happier I shall be.’
At the rear of the house Jago found his beloved calmly watching the antics of a pair of squirrels on the lawn. In the excitement, and relief, he had temporarily forgotten he was in disgrace. She had not.
The look she gave him would have curdled milk. ‘Mr Tremayne, how good to see you. And Richard, is Demelza to arrive at any moment also?’
Jago cleared his throat, his glance not quite meeting hers. ‘I owe you an apology, are you prepared to accept it?’
‘Please feel free to be seated, sir. Have you nothing else to add?’ He looked warily around the room and she understood his concern. ‘My pistol is not loaded, sir, you are quite safe from harm.’
He snatched a spindle legged, cane seated chair and straddled it. ‘I’m sincerely relieved to hear that, my dear. I don’t wish to add a bullet hole to my broken ribs.’
She snorted inelegantly. ‘It serves you right, Jago. How could you have thought, for a second, that I had shared my bed with that… with that obnoxious coxcomb?’
‘My brain was addled by jealousy. That’s no excuse, I know. I’ll sit here and give you my full permission to throw whatever missiles come to hand, I know I deserve it.’
‘Jago, you are impossible! I have no intention of throwing anything at you ever again. But you must promise never to accuse me of such a terrible things.’
‘Of course I promise. I am becoming concerned you appear to have suddenly developed a penchant for violence, my love. When I proposed to you I believed you to be calm and dignified, a woman to be admired not feared. Shall I be safe in your hands or live in daily fear of execution?’
She laughed out loud at his performance. ‘I can promise you, Jago, if no one else tries to shoot a close member of my family, or accuse me of being impure, then I shall not be tempted to resort to violence.’ Her smile faded and she paled. ‘I didn’t mean to kill that man. That was an instinctive reaction because he had hurt my darling Demelza. I wished merely to retaliate.’
He surged to his feet, his chair falling to the floor, and dropped to his knees beside her. ‘Sweetheart, if you hadn’t killed him I would have done so. It was well done, for I hate a shoddy job. And remember, if he had survived he would have ended his miserable life dangling on the end of a rope. Surely it’s better for his parents to believe him murdered by footpads than to watch him die on the gallows?’
‘But that does not change the fact I am a murderer. I have blood on my hands. How can you bear to touch me after what I have done?’
In answer he drew her down beside him and slid his arms around her. ‘I love you, Allegra. There’s nothing you have done or could ever do that could change that.’
She put one hand around his neck and lifted up her face to receive his kiss. As the blood roared in her ears, her doubts vanished to be replaced by sensations of a different, and delightful, kind.
Jago pulled back before matters got out of hand. Gently he removed her hands from his neck and lifted her back to her seat. Her mouth was swollen from his kisses, her normally pale cheeks hectic with colour. It was only then he noticed the absence of her maid.
‘Allegra, don’t tell me you came here unaccompanied? Where’s your abigail?’
‘I have sent her out on an errand, Jago.’ She giggled. ‘I rather think, in the circumstances, it is a good thing she was not in here.’
Awkwardly, he regained his feet, his right-hand held to his sternum. Instantly her amusement changed to anxiety. ‘Jago, are you in pain? I am so sorry. I did not realize I had thrown that statue with such force. It must be because I have played cricket since I was a girl. My father taught me to throw fast and with accuracy.’
‘This is nothing, forget it, my dear. Now we tell me, where is Abbot?’
‘She has gone to visit a cousin of hers, who is cook at Lady Marshall’s establishment on the other side of the square. I wish to know how far the gossip has spread. If it is already kitchen talk it is too late to put things right. We are both ruined. For myself, I do not care over much, it is you I am concerned for.’
‘I told you yesterday if I have your approval I care naught for anyone else. I rather think both Witherton and Demelza will feel the same.’
‘I hope so. But I forgot, in the excitement, to tell you what I discovered.’ She stared straight at him as she spoke. ‘I believe it is an old friend of yours, one Lady Camille Oliver, who is behind all this. It would seem that she wants you back and is prepared to go to any lengths to achieve her objective
.’
Quite unabashed, he nodded. ‘Your information dovetails with mine. My informants told me she has recently sold an expensive piece of jewellery for cash. That money could have been used to pay the men who tried to kill you.’
Allegra looked perplexed. ‘But how could she have known the lieutenant that I shot? Where could she have made this contact?’
Jago was already on his feet and paced the floor, thinking hard before he answered. ‘God’s teeth! We have missed the obvious.’
‘What, Jago? What have we missed?’
‘How did Pledger know Lady Oliver was the gossipmonger? How could she have had all the details unless he had given them to her?’
She understood his direction and her eyes rounded with horror. ‘Who better to find soldiers to do his dirty work than another soldier?’
‘Exactly. You were right to suspect him all along. It’s Pledger we seek. It has to have been a joint effort. Lady Oliver supplied the funds and he organized the attempt.’
He walked to the door and, opening it, shouted down the corridor, further startling the ever attentive footman waiting outside. ‘Richard, where are you man? We have plans to make.’
Chapter Eighteen
The butler appeared, his brow creased. ‘I’m afraid Lord Witherton is not here, sir. He left a moment ago.’
Jago swore under his breath. ‘Did he say where he was going, Adamson?’
‘I believe he went to fetch Miss Tremayne, sir.’
‘Very well. Have them join us in the garden-room when they arrive.’
Allegra met him at the door. ‘Where is Richard?’
‘Gone to fetch Demelza; God knows what for.’
She slipped her arm through his. ‘Come in and sit down, Jago. We have things to talk about and might not get another opportunity.’ She tugged, insisting he followed her. ‘Scowling down the corridor will not produce them - it will just give you a headache, my dear.’
The green warmth of the garden beckoned and they decided it would be pleasurable to stroll whilst they conversed.
To Marry a Duke Page 18