“Thank you for that, Richard. It does hurt me to know that Desi left behind no one who mourns her, but it confuses me, as well. My sister and I had our differences, but I don’t understand their complete lack of regard for her passing.”
“There have always been dynamics in play at Almenara that only the inhabitants understand. Desdemona simply added another layer of misery to an already unhappy household.”
“Have you known the family long, then?”
“I came here fifteen years ago, fresh out of medical school. I cared for the elder Mr. Scott during the last few years of his life.”
“So you were here when Desdemona arrived? You knew her?” Besides Dennis Ames, he seemed to be the only person with kind feelings toward her.
“I did, although I can’t say I knew her well. Desdemona was quite vehement in her dislike of me. She avoided me at all costs.”
“Why?” I gasped. I could hardly imagine Desdemona disliking such a handsome man, much less one so kind and well-bred.
“Children with Tabitha’s affliction are prone to all number of ailments, so I was here frequently enough that I could see things I would not normally have seen, even as a physician. I suppose my disapproval for your sister’s behavior was obvious and something she didn’t care for.”
“What behavior?” I asked, although I felt certain I already knew. After all, both Calvin and Devlin had alluded to a relationship with her. It seemed even in marriage my sister had been unable to find the satisfaction with life that would keep her from wandering.
“I can see on your face that you’ve heard of some of your sister’s less desirable activities. I never considered those sorts of things any of my business, however, and it was something else entirely that occasioned my lectures.”
I could well imagine the reaction Desi had to being lectured by anyone, especially a man such as Richard. She had never taken discipline well and was used to men falling over themselves to please her. To be lectured by an attractive, articulate gentleman must have left her fuming.
“I felt she was sometimes careless with Tabitha, you see,” Richard continued. “She insisted on taking her up on the roof and out to the lighthouse at all hours of the day and night. She claimed Tabitha loved it, and perhaps she did, but changes in humidity, temperature, or even altitude can contribute to illness in a child. And any illness Tabitha contracts could easily prove fatal.”
I felt myself blanch as he continued.
“I often told her that the child’s wellbeing was at stake, but she simply laughed at what she called my overabundance of caution and went along her way.”
“Perhaps she didn’t comprehend the dangers,” I offered in her defense.
“That was what I told myself when I went to Cade about my concerns. I hoped he could help make her understand, persuade her to be more careful.” He pulled absently at his cravat as he gazed out at the lighthouse. “I have wondered over the last few days if that was the wisest course of action, but hindsight has a way of making us doubt our choices. There is nothing I can do to change it or the outcome.”
“The outcome?”
“They say Cade confronted her that very afternoon, and there was a terrible row between the two of them. The servants swear—”
He broke off midsentence as Cade appeared on the path ahead of us.
My heart picked up its pace, a mixture of fear and attraction making it flutter in my chest. Even now, mere hours after my sister was buried, I longed to touch him. Everything I had heard since my arrival at Almenara pointed to him as her killer, but as he walked toward us, his jaw clenched and his eyes a stormy sea of emotion, all I could think of was the feel of his lips on mine.
“I have just been speaking with Ophelia about Tabitha,” Richard informed him in a clipped voice. “I felt under the circumstances it was appropriate for her to know the facts.”
“Of course,” Cade agreed. “She should be informed of anything pertaining to Tabitha.”
“Are the others gone already?” I asked Cade as the silence thickened between the two of them.
“Reverend Arnold and Nellie left a few moments ago. Dennis and Calvin are in a closed-door meeting. My guess is they’re discussing the particulars of the crime they’re so convinced I committed.”
“Well, then, I suppose I’ve overstayed my welcome, and I should head home as well.” Richard brought my hand to his lips, the soft kiss lingering on my skin a bit longer than necessary. “Should you need anything, Ophelia, please call on me.”
“Should she be in need of medical assistance, Richard, you can rest assured we will contact you right away,” Cade assured him in a tight, cold voice. “I doubt she will need you for anything else.”
“Of course.” Richard smiled at me and, with a very impertinent wink, turned and strode up the walk to the house.
“He seems quite a nice man,” I observed as Cade and I walked side by side toward the house.
“Richard is a good man,” Cade agreed, “but I don’t like you walking out alone with him.”
“Good heavens, why not?”
“He’s an unmarried man and you’re an unmarried woman. You certainly have enough sense to realize it isn’t appropriate.”
I laughed, and he looked at me sharply.
“What’s so funny?”
“I find it rather amusing that you should lecture me on acceptable behavior when your cousins just hosted an afternoon soiree, complete with lively, gay entertainment, on the day of my sister’s funeral.”
“I apologize for their behavior,” he said, appearing to be properly chastised. “I had no idea they intended to sing such joyous, bawdy songs. But I warned you they didn’t mourn her.”
“Why do they dislike her so much?”
“If I had to pinpoint one reason, I’d say it was her ability to ruin everything she touched and then flit away from whatever it was, never to think of it again.”
Although it was a rather cryptic answer that gave me no real details at all, I understood it. After all, it was exactly what she’d done to me.
“Did they dislike her enough to kill her?”
“No.” I’m sure he hoped his curt tone would discourage further questioning, but I was not to be so easily swayed.
“Someone did.”
“So it appears.”
“And it wasn’t you.”
“How can you be so sure?” he growled, leaning closer to me.
“You don’t scare me, Cade,” I said, inhaling his fury and the rich masculine scent of him. “No matter how many people say you killed her or how many times you let them say it, I’m not scared of you.”
“You should be.” His voice was soft, injured, and he turned his face away so that he was staring at the lighthouse instead of me.
“Why?” I cried, grasping his face and forcing him to look at me. “Why should I be frightened of you? And who should they look to if not you?”
“Look to everyone, Fee!” he exclaimed, his eyes wild with pain. “We all hated her with equal measure, and every single person at Almenara, and even some beyond these walls, had a reason to want her dead.”
Had she really hurt so many people? I wanted to scoff in disbelief, to tell him he was wrong, but how could I? How could I say that Desdemona wouldn’t hurt people she barely knew, when she’d broken my heart without remorse?
“Maybe one of them killed her. Calvin or Lorraine or Eleanor even. What about Devlin? He’s obviously unhinged. Couldn’t he have done it?”
He grasped me by the shoulders, hard and quick enough that a gasp escaped me. “Don’t you understand, Ophelia? I have no idea where to look or who to point a finger at.”
“So you’re willing to take the blame and hang for her murder?”
“Desdemona was my wife. Mine. Regardless of what she’d done or how much I disliked her, she was mine to protect, and I failed.”
“But you didn’t kill her,” I insisted.
“Neither you nor I will ever convince anyone otherwise.�
�
“So you won’t fight the charges?”
“I’ll plead not guilty. I’ll give them my testimony,” he said. “That’s all I can do. The rest will be up to the judge and jury.”
Taking my hands in his, he smiled sadly.
“I don’t want to hang, Fee, but I’m fairly certain I will.”
Before I could reply, Calvin called out to him from the doorway. We were silent as we walked back to the house, and I wondered desolately if what he said was true. Would he hang in spite of his innocence?
Chapter Eight
That night, despite the jumble of questions and emotions inside me, I fell into an exhausted slumber as soon as my head hit the pillow. I awoke the next morning feeling as tired as I would have had I not slept at all, with only a vague recollection of the nightmares that had plagued my sleep. The sound of weeping and a woman’s screams still echoed in my head as I made my way down to breakfast. Outside the house, thunder rumbled, and I could hear a steady torrent of rain beating at the roof and windows. Perhaps this time the wailing screams had really only been the wind and rain blowing against the windows.
As I dressed, I silently planned the day ahead of me. Except for a few moments here and there, Cade and I had not had much chance to discuss the particulars of Desi’s death or the reasons he was thought to have murdered her. I assumed he would be with his attorney for most of the day, even though I had heard no mention of an attorney or the date of the trial on the horizon. I wanted to know the evidence they had against him. Was his arrest based solely on what the servants said? Or was there more? I couldn’t fathom him as a murderer, but I had no idea what motives anyone else might have had. I would spend my day asking questions and finding answers regarding my sister’s life at Almenara, as well as her death. Regardless of our differences, I owed her that.
Determined to gain at least some of the answers I sought before nightfall, I marched into the dining room with my head held high.
Lorraine and Calvin were already at the table, and I bid them good morning as I went to the sideboard to retrieve a cup of coffee and a puffed pastry filled with strawberries and cream. The smell of bacon caught my attention, and I placed a few strips on my plate. It would be a busy day, and I needed strength and stamina to carry out my mission.
The couple inquired how I slept as I settled into a chair, and after several minutes of small talk, we were joined by Eleanor and Cade.
“I received word that the judge will be here a week from Monday. We’ll pick a jury and try your case then,” Calvin informed him as Cade took a seat.
I felt the blood drain from my face. Monday was four days away, meaning Cade’s trial would begin in less than two weeks. There was barely enough time for Cade to retain a lawyer, if he hadn’t already done so, much less prepare a defense.
Cade’s face remained impassive, and had it not been for the slight tick in his jaw, I would have wondered if he’d even heard.
“Will your attorney be coming to Almenara?” I asked him.
“No.”
“So you are free to go to him?”
“There won’t be a lawyer, Fee. It won’t do me a bit of good, as there’s little hope of anyone believing I’m innocent, with or without an attorney. I’ll speak for myself.”
“Cade, you can’t. It’s a murder trial. You could hang.” A hint of hysteria edged my voice, and I grasped his hand. “What about Tabitha?”
Pain clouded his eyes as he looked down at me.
“I hoped you would take care of her when I’m gone.”
“That is out of the question,” Lorraine protested. “Calvin and I will care for her.”
I had not seen any prior sign that Lorraine cared about my niece or her wellbeing. Although I had been here only two days, I had not heard Tabitha’s name cross her brightly painted lips. Yet she looked positively panicked by the thought of me caring for the child.
“Why?” The word escaped me before I could stop it, and although I knew it was a rude, inexcusable question, I let it hang there in the air between us.
Lorraine sputtered, shot a look toward Calvin, and gathered a regal attitude about her. “Because we love her, of course, and we can offer her a more stable home than a nearly impoverished spinster aunt.”
“She will need special care her entire life,” I said, ignoring her disparaging characterization of my circumstances. “Are you willing to give her that?”
“Of course,” Calvin answered smoothly. “We will ensure she receives the best of care.”
I wondered where he intended her to receive that care. I sincerely doubted their intention was to keep her here at Almenara. As soon as the ink was dry on the guardianship papers, they would ship her off to live in an institution. Of that, I was certain.
Beneath my hand, Cade’s palm turned up and his fingers wrapped around mine.
“I will give it some thought,” Cade assured them, “and I will make arrangements by the time the trial starts.”
Lorraine looked as if she wanted to protest, but she clamped her mouth shut when Calvin shook his head.
“Of course, you must consider all options, Cade,” Eleanor agreed. “We would expect no less. After all, Tabitha is the very reason we find ourselves in this predicament.”
I looked at her sharply, and she shrugged. “I assumed Dr. Scarborough had already told you about the argument Cade and Desi had.”
“No,” I said, partly because I didn’t want to betray Richard’s trust and partly because I hoped she would enlighten me as he had been about to do.
Ignoring Cade’s glare and Calvin and Lorraine’s amusement, Eleanor leaned toward me, her dark eyes sparkling with excitement.
“What did you think of Devlin? Isn’t he beautiful?”
“Stark raving mad is more like it,” her sister-in-law snapped, going along with the abrupt change in conversation. “Calvin intends to search for him as soon as this rain lets up. Once found, he’ll be transported to the nearest asylum.”
“He is not mad!” Eleanor protested shrilly.
“Do you really think he will love you now that Desdemona is dead, Eleanor?” Lorraine drawled. “Do you think he will forget she existed or that she was his lover? Do you really think he’ll turn to you?”
“Yes!” Eleanor screeched as she leapt from the table. “Yes, that is what I think. He loved me first, and would love me still if she hadn’t stolen him away.”
“He never loved you, Eleanor,” Calvin said quietly. “Now, sit down and finish your meal.”
“He loved me,” she insisted as she settled back into her seat. She looked from her brother to Cade. “Don’t you remember when he visited Almenara during your school recesses? He always noticed me then, didn’t he, Cade?”
Cade paused as he lifted his fork to his mouth, and offered her a gentle, indulgent smile. “Of course I remember. Your mother remarked on the hope she had for your future each time she saw the two of you together.”
“Thank you,” she breathed, and I thought she might burst into tears she appeared so grateful for his agreement.
“Why must you encourage her delusions, Cade?” Lorraine asked him.
“What I said is true. She and Devlin were inseparable when he visited us in our school days. They had much in common, and her mother did look upon them with hope for Eleanor’s future.”
“What happened then?”
“Devlin went mad,” Calvin answered dryly, successfully bringing their conversation back full circle and causing his sister to let lose a howl of outrage before marching from the room.
Chapter Nine
I stood in the nursery door an hour later, watching Cade as he knelt beside the chair where his daughter sat. Reciting a poem about a spider, he walked his fingers up her arm, wiggling them just beneath her chin. Each repetition brought about a smile and a laugh from Tabitha, accompanied by a low chuckle from Cade himself.
Unaware of my presence, Cade let her touch his face, her small stubby hands exploring his features. He
named each one as she touched it, and when she came to his mouth, he puckered his lips and kissed her hands with loud smacking sounds.
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I turned away. Had Desi cared so little for the two of them that she had been unfaithful to Cade and endangered Tabby’s life? Had they belonged to me, I would have treasured them both, and loved them with every fiber of my being. Nothing short of death would have separated me from either of them.
Of course, they weren’t mine. Desi had made sure of that. Like my most well-loved doll, my favorite book, and the blue velvet hair ribbons Mrs. Dupree gave me for my thirteenth birthday, Desdemona had claimed Cade as her own simply because she could. I remembered Devlin’s words at the funeral, when he described her as a little bird that snatched and pecked, took what wasn’t hers and used it as her own. I had always found the things she had taken from me after she was done with them, used and faded, cast aside as if she had never really cared for them at all.
“Fee?” Eleanor called out as I passed her room. She sat on the bed, dressed in a brilliant blue riding habit, pulling boots on her feet. “Would you care to go for a ride this morning? Lorraine usually rides with me, but she has a headache this morning, and I hate to go alone.”
I didn’t ride often, but Mrs. Dupree had allowed Desi and me free use of her stable, and I was a capable equestrienne. A ride through the countryside seemed a good time to learn what I could about Desi’s death from Eleanor.
“I would love to go, but I haven’t brought a riding habit.”
“Your sister had several. Perhaps you could use one of them.”
“Yes, of course. Should I ask Cade first?”
“Heavens, no. I’m sure Cade won’t mind.” She placed a hand through my arm and accompanied me to my room. Dory was there, straightening the counterpane on the newly made bed.
“Dory, fetch Miss Garrett one of her sister’s riding habits.”
“Yes, miss,” she said with a small curtsy.
“A black one,” I added. “Something suitable for mourning.”
“Do you really intend to wear mourning clothes for six months?” Eleanor asked as she wandered around the room, her hand gliding over the bed, the chairs by the window, and each item on the dressing table.
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