Lord of Fortune

by Darcy Burke

  “And I’m the poorer for it. Ah well, it’s not too late, and you are still my wife.”

  Revulsion slithered through her. “In name only.” What did he mean to do? “Show me the book. Let us complete this transaction and go our separate ways.”

  “I don’t know,” he drawled slowly. “The law says you are my property. I think perhaps I’d like to have the heart and you.” He took a few more steps, until he could almost reach out and touch her. At this distance, she could see the familiar cleft in his chin, the dark sweep of his lashes, the arrogance in his stare.

  Amelia flinched, and Kersey touched her arm reassuringly. “Show me the book.” The words came out as a near growl through her clenched teeth.

  Thaddeus expelled a tired breath. “I didn’t actually bring it with me, silly. What I do have are two friends who will ensure you—and the heart—accompany me. Come along, then.” He pivoted slightly as if he simply expected her to join him.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  Kersey leaned down and spoke close to her ear. “Pretend to go. I need the distraction.”

  When she hesitated, he whispered urgently, “Trust me.”

  She had no other choice. The other two men had also advanced, and they each carried a pistol. Wait, she had a pistol too! She brought her hand up and lightly grazed the section of her coat that covered the weapon hidden in her waistband.

  “Where would you take me?” she asked.

  “To my house.” He chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m not destitute as I had you believe. The debt was simply a sound reason for leaving. I live just west of Glastonbury. It’s two days’ ride, I’m afraid. But you look well accustomed to riding.” His gaze dropped to her breeches, and his mouth twisted into an appreciative smirk. “We’ll need your horse, however. Groom, fetch her horse.”

  Amelia turned her head as Kersey trudged back to the horses. He limped, and his fake hunch was quite pronounced. She wouldn’t have guessed he was a man in his prime.

  The horses! More accurately, the sword! Her heart began to beat faster again, but this time with excitement. She needed to give Kersey the distraction he needed.

  She closed the gap between herself and her husband. Her stomach turned, but she ignored the reaction. “You have a house?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Is it large? I had to move in with my grandfather after you left, and that’s where I currently reside. It’s rather dreary.”

  A light of anticipation glowed in his eyes, and again, her insides roiled in disgust. “It’s larger and better appointed than the one we shared. There are sheep grazing nearby and a tall, stately oak that provides the best shade on a summer day.” Was he actually gloating about leaving her and finding a better situation? His smugness was intolerable, but she would go along to meet her own ends. “You’ll be quite comfortable there. With me.”

  “And the book is there?” she asked sweetly, offering him a smile laced with acid if he cared to look closely enough. Thankfully, the darkness was coming fast.

  “Yes.”

  “Where’s the heart, love?” he asked, curling his hand around her waist.

  She struggled not to pull away. “In my coat.” She slipped her hand inside the new pocket and withdrew the stone.

  Kersey walked her horse toward the brigands. Where was the sword? Had he transferred it to her saddle? Amelia wondered what he planned to do. If he could take on the two brigands, Amelia could use her pistol to drive Thaddeus away.

  Just as she’d used it against Penn and Egg. She knew she could shoot if necessary, but could she injure Thaddeus…or worse? More importantly, would she? She’d missed Egg, but she’d realized she’d done so on purpose—she didn’t really want to harm anyone. She wasn’t sure she could. But this was a different matter entirely. There was no way she would accompany Thaddeus anywhere.

  She uncurled her fingers to reveal the stone filling her palm. Thaddeus sucked in a breath. “That’s it.” He picked it up, and again, she had to fight to keep herself still. Every instinct she possessed screamed for her to clutch her hand around the heart and train her pistol on her villainous husband.

  At that moment, light flooded the area. Kersey had taken the sword from its scabbard, and it glowed with an eerie blue flame. The shouts of the brigands filled the air, and Thaddeus swore.

  Amelia lunged for the heart but knocked it from Thaddeus’s hand. She heard a loud clack and looked to the ground. The heart had fallen against another rock and split in two.

  “The key!” Thaddeus cried out, dropping to his knees.

  Amelia pulled the pistol from her belt and cocked the hammer, aiming the barrel straight at Thaddeus. “Move away from it.”

  He turned his head to look up at her. “Bloody hell, Amelia, you aren’t going to shoot me.”

  “You don’t know that. Don’t try me.” She curled her lip as power surged through her. “Get away from the heart.” Wait, he’d called it a key? Why?

  A loud shriek drew them both to look toward where Kersey fought the two henchmen. One writhed on the ground and the other ran away. Instead of following him, Kersey stalked back toward Amelia. “Does he really not have the book?” he called out.

  Amelia looked down at Thaddeus. “If you have the book, give it to me, and we’ll let you go.”

  Fear glazed his dark eyes as he looked up at her. “I don’t have it. Let me go, and I’ll get it for you.”

  “You think I would trust you?” Amelia sneered.

  “I never would’ve taken you for such a heartless bitch.” He reached for the heart then, his fingers scrabbling over the earth.

  Apprehension buzzed over her, and she squeezed the trigger. Thaddeus’s sharp cry rent the air. “You shot me!”

  Kersey was upon them now, the flaming sword still lighting the way. He scooped up the two halves of the heart and thrust them at Amelia. “Come on!” He ran for her horse, and she followed, the heart clutched in one hand and her spent pistol in the other.

  At her horse, she tucked the pieces of the heart back into her coat.

  “I’ll take that.” Kersey took her pistol and thrust it into his pocket. Then he boosted her up and took off toward his own horse. “Ride for Hollyhaven as fast as you can!”

  Thaddeus had stood and now staggered toward his fallen man.

  Amelia guided her horse back the way they’d come. Her mind churned with everything that had just happened. Thaddeus was alive and well and apparently part of the Camelot group. What did that mean? Had he always been a member? Was that why he’d married her? Or had he somehow fallen into that group after meeting her grandfather? Wait, did she think her grandfather was somehow attached to them?

  She felt sick. And disappointed. And utterly foolish.

  It was several minutes before Kersey rode up alongside her. “I think we can slow down a bit,” he called out.

  Amelia eased her mount to a trot and glanced over at him. “They aren’t following us?”

  “No. I’m sure they’ve gone to lick their wounds.”

  Oh God, she’d shot Thaddeus. She’d all but pushed that from her mind. Now his yelp of pain slammed into her brain, and she saw him recoil and grab his right arm. “I shot him,” she whispered. “Do you think he’s all right?” she asked more loudly.

  Kersey shot her a quick look. “Your… Thaddeus or the other fellow?”

  “Thaddeus, and I hope he’s suffering. He deserves to.”

  “He’s your husband?” At her curt nod, he added, “I take it you’re quite shocked to see him?”

  “He abandoned me five years ago.”

  “He’s clearly an imbecile.”

  “And a member of the Camelot group.” She looked over at him again as they turned onto the road that would take them to Hollyhaven. “Do you know him?”

  “I recognized him, but we’d never been introduced. I can tell you he’s one of Foliot’s inner circle,” he said grimly.

  The questions crowding her mind grew louder. Had Thaddeus
been part of that inner circle when he’d married her? Had her entire marriage been a farce?

  She began to understand how Penn might have felt yesterday upon hearing about his father. The feeling that her marriage had been a lie blossomed in her chest and grew outward until she felt as though she might suffocate. To think she’d been used… Well, it didn’t bear thinking.

  And yet she couldn’t wipe it from her mind.

  * * *

  Frustration pitched through Penn as he stalked through the near darkness toward the house from the stable. They hadn’t been able to find the vicar. He’d left the village for some unknown “errand.” It might’ve been unknown to the man’s wife and rector, but it wasn’t to Penn.

  Egg had gone off in pursuit while Penn had returned to Hollyhaven. He’d been incredibly torn. While it was vital he stop this vicar from proving Penn’s birthright, it was also imperative he continue his quest with Amelia.

  He entered the house through the back and headed straight for the stairs. As soon as he walked into the hall, his parents came from his father’s study.

  “We saw you ride to the stable,” his father said cautiously. “I was hoping you would look more at ease.”

  “I was hoping I’d feel more at ease. Pardon me, I need to speak with Amelia.”

  He started up the stairs and heard his mother say, “She’s already retired for the evening.”

  Penn wasn’t about to let that stop him, and right now, he didn’t give a damn if his parents knew it. He needed to see her, to bury his hurt and disappointment in her embrace.

  He arrived at her chamber and rapped on the door. When no answer was forthcoming, he knocked a bit harder. Still nothing. Was she really asleep?

  He’d just take a peek… Easing the door open, he stepped inside. Light from behind him splashed into the chamber, and he could see the bed was devoid of her presence. As was the rest of the room. What the hell was going on?

  He closed the door and ran back downstairs. His parents were no longer in the hall, but the door to Father’s study was open. Penn crossed to it with long strides and went inside. His father stood near the table, his mother caressing his arm. They both looked at him at the same time, and both immediately registered his annoyance.

  “Where is she?”

  Mother stopped stroking his father’s arm. “What do you mean?”

  “Amelia is not in her chamber. You said she retired early.”

  “That’s what her maid reported,” Mother said, her voice edged with concern. She looked up at Father, who shook his head.

  “I don’t know where she could be, Penn.”

  Penn swore under his breath. Why would she leave? And if she hadn’t left, where was she?

  “Should we search the house?” Mother asked.

  “Yes, let’s.” Father took charge, leaving the study.

  Penn overheard him giving instructions to Thomas. Weariness stole over Penn, along with a stinging sensation of defeat. Where was she?

  A moment later, voices in the hall shook him from his stupor.

  “She’s here,” Father called just before Amelia stepped into the study. Her cheeks were dark pink, her hair mussed as she removed her men’s hat with its wide brim. She wore the costume he’d met her in. Why?

  Gideon came in behind her. He was also garbed strangely. His clothing was old and too large. And he carried Dyrnwyn.

  “How the hell did you get that?” Penn demanded.

  “I gave it to him,” Amelia said. “We needed it.”

  “Why?” Penn’s gaze strayed to Gideon, anxiety tumbling through him. Why were they together?

  “I think I’ll let her tell the story.” Gideon set the sword atop the long worktable, then shrugged out of his oversized coat and draped it across the back of a chair. He sat down and looked from Penn to Amelia and back again, his demeanor reflecting none of the tension Penn felt.

  Penn turned his gaze to Amelia and registered the apprehension he’d missed a moment ago. He was a self-involved ass. In two steps, he was in front of her, taking her hands in his. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I received a…note this morning with my breakfast. A boy delivered it to the kitchen and asked that it be given to me.”

  Penn didn’t like the sound of this, particularly knowing the end result of this note somehow involved Amelia looking upset and Gideon wielding the flaming sword.

  Amelia’s gaze softened as she looked at him. “You’d already left; otherwise, I would’ve told you about it. Despite the note warning me not to.”

  Anger—directed at himself—rose in his throat. He should’ve been here with her. “Where is this bloody note?”

  She let go of his hand and pulled a small piece of parchment from her coat. He took it and quickly read the lines.

  When he looked back at her, he couldn’t keep the incredulity from his tone. “You went to meet this blackguard?”

  “Not alone,” she said with a defensive edge. “Kersey came with me.”

  Penn’s father broke in, looking toward Gideon, “When did you arrive?”

  “This morning. I met Mrs. Forrest outside, and she shared the note with me.” He turned his head to Penn. “She would have shared it with you, I assure you.”

  Penn reined in his temper—he wasn’t typically an angry sort. He was levelheaded and composed. It took quite a bit to ruffle him. Apparently, this was precisely that. He took a deep breath and looked intently at Amelia. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you get the book?” A bead of anticipation worked its way up Penn’s spine. To have the book…

  Her brow creased. “No.”

  His anticipation crumbled away like a dried-up biscuit. “The heart?”

  “I still have it.” She pulled it from her coat and winced as she transferred it to his palm. “We dropped it.”

  He looked at the two pieces and felt only a mild disappointment. “Good thing it’s not the real one.”

  Her lips curled into a faint smile. “I thought you might say that.”

  “Who wrote the note?” Penn asked, already thinking how he might find the villain and ensure he never bothered Amelia again. In fact, why had this person sent her the note? They’d clearly known she—along with him—was in possession of the heart, which meant they’d been followed from Oxford.

  Amelia exchanged a quick look with Gideon. Something was off…

  Gideon stood and stepped toward Penn. “Real heart or not, that stone is more than what you thought.”

  Penn looked down at the two pieces and moved his fingers, turning the stone in his palm. He lifted his gaze to Gideon and then Amelia. “What do you mean?”

  It was Amelia who answered. “Apparently, it’s a key.”

  Chapter 14

  Relief surged through Amelia. She sent a brief, grateful look toward Kersey. He gave her an infinitesimal nod.

  “A key?” Penn turned to the table and set the two pieces of the heart down on the wood.

  Rhys went to the hearth and picked up the flint to light a lantern, which he set down near the stone. “A key to what?”

  Everyone huddled around the table. Rhys next to Penn and Amelia on Penn’s other side. Margery sidled up beside her husband, and Kersey stood near Amelia’s elbow.

  Penn leaned over and picked up a piece, holding it to the light as he turned it over in his fingers. He narrowed his eyes and used his other hands to pick at the paint that had chipped from where the stone had split. “I can’t tell, but there may be something etched here.”

  Using his thumbnail, he pushed a bit of paint away. It flaked off and floated to the table. He continued until he’d exposed a small area. Holding the rock to the lantern, he sucked in a breath. “It looks like a coded message.”

  Rhys pitched forward and studied the piece. “Indeed it does. There has to be a cipher.”

  “I think I know where it is,” Kersey said, and all eyes turned to him. “The White Book of Hergest.�
�

  Rhys turned toward him, his gaze intense and almost…hungry. “How do you know that?”

  “I saw it a few times at Foliot’s. I suspected it may be a palimpsest.”

  “You know how to recognize that?” Rhys’s question was tinged with admiration.

  Kersey squared his shoulders. “I paid attention when I spent time with you in my youth. I didn’t share my suspicions with Foliot or anyone else, and I don’t think they realize what it is.”

  Amelia had no idea what they were talking about. “What is a palimpsest?”

  Penn turned to her. “The easiest way to explain it is to show you. Father?”

  Rhys left the table and went to one of his bookshelves. He selected a volume bound in dark brown leather and brought it to the table. He opened it in front of Amelia, but it was Penn who spoke.

  His long fingers traced over the text. “You can see what’s written here, but if you look beyond the words, you’ll see that something else was on this paper before. The paper was reused. In most cases, it’s simply a matter of needing parchment and using what’s available. However, sometimes the palimpsest hides secret information. Do you see the traces of what was there before?” He scooted the lantern closer to the book.

  She bent down and blinked, clearing her sight to peer past the writing. “Yes!” She looked over at Kersey. “You detected this in the White Book?”

  “I did.”

  Amelia studied the book again before straightening. “Remarkable.”

  “I don’t suppose you recall what the palimpsest said?” Penn asked Kersey.

  Kersey shook his head. “I wasn’t able to study it. As I said, I only suspected it was there, but it was behind the story of Ranulf and Hilaria, so that seems to fit.”

  Excitement curled through Amelia, and when she looked at Penn, she saw the same anticipation reflected in his eyes. “We need that book,” Penn said determinedly.

  Something tickled the back of Amelia’s mind. “When my grandfather was ill, he mentioned something that I attributed to the ramblings of a dying man. He spoke of a hidden text. When I asked him if I should find a book for him, he said no it was hidden text. I didn’t understand what he meant.”