by Lucy Monroe
Jared spun around and grabbing her arm, pulled her away from Ashton and out of the building. The sunlight blinded her eyes as they emerged outside and she blinked several times to try to adjust. He lifted her into the carriage and jumped up to join her. Ashton and Drake followed after a few words with the magistrate.
Jared’s silence grated against her taught nerves.
"He’s mistaken," she said, not holding out much hope that her husband or his brothers by marriage would believe her.
The evidence was strongly against her.
Jared glared at Ashton. "I think you’re right. The man’s telling the truth. He thinks Cali hired him."
Calantha could not believe that Jared had spoken the words. It was her worst nightmare come to life. He believed that awful little man over her. The awful distrust and accusations were all beginning again and she couldn’t stop it.
"So, who do you think hired him?" Drake asked.
She stared at him in confusion. Hadn’t Jared just said he believed she had hired Willem?
"I don’t know, but when I find out, there’s going to be hell to pay."
"I don’t understand," she whispered, but Jared heard her.
"Someone posed as you and hired that bastard to kidnap Hannah." He turned to Ashton. "Where did he say he met her?"
"At the Blue Goose, a tavern in a village a few miles north of here. It was late at night."
Drake added, "He’d been known to frequent the tavern and take on less than honest jobs if the pay was right."
Jared nodded once. "We’ll need to question the tavern-keeper and the locals. Maybe they saw her carriage, or horse. That would be more helpful than trying to identify a woman dressed in black, her face covered by a veil."
Calantha slipped her hand into Jared’s. Unbelievable as it might seem, he trusted her. Her gratitude brought the sting of tears to her eyes, but she blinked them away.
From the look of doubt on Ashton’s face, he wasn’t so certain of her innocence. "When I worked in espionage, I found that the simplest solution was usually the right one. Before you develop some complicated conspiracy theory, why don’t you make sure your wife is innocent?"
Jared’s fury still made her nervous, but she didn’t pull her hand from his.
Her husband believed her and his anger was directed at Ashton. "I already know she’s innocent. You’ve seen her with Hannah. She’d never hurt her."
"Although Willem did not act until later, he was hired before your wife met Hannah, before she grew close to the child." Ashton focused his attention on her. "Did you resent Hannah at first? Did it make you angry that another woman had given birth to your husband’s child?"
Shame at the memory of her thoughts upon discovering Hannah’s existence stained her cheeks. She had resented Mary’s giving birth, but not for the reasons Ashton supposed. "Yes."
Jared withdrew his hand and stared down at her. "What the hell do you mean?"
"Don’t swear at me." Somehow, on top of everything else, that was too much.
"Excuse me, duchess. I forgot your regal background."
She felt bile rise in her throat and swallowed it down, forcing herself to answer Jared’s question. "I resented that I never had the chance to be a mother."
Jared now knew for certain that she had never had the opportunity to become pregnant, that Deveril had been unable to work up sufficient enthusiasm to touch her. After last night, there could be no doubt.
"You wanted that monster’s baby?" Jared’s enraged question sounded like an accusation.
And it made her mad. She glared at him, surprised at her own daring in doing so. "No. I wanted a baby, period." Her anger drained away as she admitted the truth about her marriage, "Once I knew... Once I realized what life with Deveril would be like, I was grateful not to bring a child into it, but part of me always grieved the loss of motherhood. I thought I would never marry again."
Please let him understand, she prayed silently.
Jared turned away from her, his silence testifying to the fact that her prayer had gone unanswered.
"I didn’t hire that man." Her almost whispered words went unanswered by the other occupants of the carriage.
They reached her home a few minutes later. The oppressive silence continued as they made their way into the parlor.
***
Jared didn’t notice his sister when he first entered the parlor. His mind was still grappling with the ramifications of Cali’s confession. She claimed she hadn’t hired Willem to kidnap their daughter, but she admitted she had resented Hannah.
Bloody hell, what a mess.
"How could you do it?" Thea demanded in a near shrieking tone, bringing Jared’s whirling thoughts to a halt.
He had never seen his sister lose her composure like this. She was glaring at Cali as if she wanted to kill her with her bare hands. Jared couldn’t believe she was that upset over the would-be kidnapping. He also wondered at the fact that Thea believed his wife to be guilty.
Even with the evidence and her own confession of bitterness, he was hard pressed to believe his sweet wife capable of such an act.
Drake took three large steps and reached Thea. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he asked, "What happened?"
Thea shook him off and pointed an accusing finger at Cali. "That monstrous woman almost killed our children."
"Darling, you aren’t making any sense. Tell me what happened." Drake’s voice was calm, but commanding.
Jared envied him his control.
"The puppy. It’s dead." Thea started to cry. "David found him. It was awful. And it could have been my babies."
Cali stood frozen by the door, her expression blank except her eyes, which were almost white with terror. Damn it. What had she done?
Drake pulled his wife into his arms and spoke to her in a low comforting tone until she calmed down. "How did it happen?"
"He ate the candied rose petals Cali sent for Hannah on Saturday. I had nurse put them away because Hannah had already had cake that day and the children don’t sleep well when they have too many sweets. With plans for the wedding, we all forgot about them. But the puppy found them. You know how he could nose out food if it was wrapped in ten layers of cheesecloth." Thea started to cry again. "He ate them and then died. He threw up all over the floor, first though. Drake, it was terrible. Our children and Hannah could have eaten them. They could all be dead."
Drake pulled Thea against him again, wrapping his arms tightly around her. He looked at Cali over his wife’s shoulder, and the look he gave her was lethal.
Cali flinched and backed toward the door.
Jared stormed toward her, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. The passionate and gentle woman he had taken to his bed last night could not try to kill a child. He grabbed Cali’s arm and halted her retreat. She was shaking.
Part of him wanted to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be fine, that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. But a bigger part needed the truth...now.
"Did you send the candy to Hannah?"
"No."
"Who did?"
Cali’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Jared turned to his sister, keeping a firm grip on Cali’s arm. "How was the candy delivered?"
"Her stableboy." Thea hadn’t raised her head from Drake’s chest, but Jared heard her answer without problem.
"Bloody hell." Ashton’s voice held disgust and disappointment.
Cali’s head was shaking from side to side. "I didn’t do it. C-call the stableboy. There must be a mistake."
Jared bellowed Thomas’s name and the butler came rushing into the parlor, his usual dignity conspicuously absent.
"Yes, milord?"
"Get the stableboy."
"Yes, milord."
Thomas left. No one spoke while they waited for the young servant to arrive.
When the boy entered the room, he looked nervous and Jared decided to let Ashton deal with him. In his present mood, he’d probably
terrorize the lad beyond speech. He nodded toward his brother-in-law and Ashton nodded back.
He motioned the stableboy closer. "You delivered a package for your mistress on Saturday. Do you remember?"
"Yes, milord."
"Do you know what was in it?"
"Candy for the little tyke, Thomas said."
Ashton turned to Thomas. "Who instructed you to have the candied rose petals delivered to Hannah?"
"Her ladyship." Thomas turned toward Cali, his expression showing concern. "Is anything amiss?"
Cali’s voice came out in a dry whisper. "Thomas, I didn’t give you any package to deliver to Hannah."
"You left it with my usual list of instructions, your ladyship, don’t you remember?"
"No. Please, Thomas. I didn’t leave it."
"But the last item on your list was to have it delivered."
"What list?" Jared demanded.
"Her ladyship leaves a list of instructions for me weekly, your lordship."
"And the package was with this list of instructions?"
"Yes, your lordship."
"Bring me this list."
Thomas’s face registered worry. "I will try, your lordship, but the house is at sixes and sevens with the packing. I am afraid it may have been lost."
Jared swore.
Cali flinched and pulled on her arm. "Please, let me go."
Jared released her, moved in spite of himself by the plea in her voice. She looked ready to faint from fear and no matter what she had done, he couldn’t stand to see that expression on her face.
"I need to get back to my children," Thea said from the circle of Drake’s arms.
Jared nodded. "Ashton, you will want to check on Irisa. She’s bound to be upset by this turn of events."
He wasn’t surprised Thea had been the one to come to confront Cali. She had acted in her anger, so like his own, and then come to regret the impulse to leave her children with Irisa once she’d had time to think.
Ashton looked at Cali and then shrugged. "There’s nothing more to do here for the moment."
"Jared, you had better come and comfort Hannah. She was terribly upset by the puppy’s death. None of the children realize yet that he was poisoned," Thea said.
Jared looked at Cali before nodding his agreement. Her look of frozen fragility reached out to him, but he had to take care of Hannah. He also needed to think, away from the influence of his wife’s tormented blue eyes.
"I’ll ride over on Caesar."
"May I come with you? I should like to see Hannah." Cali’s voice held none of its usual assurance and Jared hated to deny her the request.
Thea saved him the task. "I’m sorry, Cali, but until this is all sorted out, I wouldn’t be comfortable having you around my children."
He could hear the regret in his sister’s voice and wondered if Cali did as well. Now that Thea had calmed down, she doubted Cali’s guilt just like he did. If only Thomas could find the list of instructions from Cali. There were ways of determining if the last item were written in her hand-writing. Perhaps the ink would be a slightly different pigment. Something would surely indicate her innocence in the matter.
Cali stepped back another step, widening the gap between her and the rest of his family. "Yes, of course. I’ll stay here. Did you want to assign a servant to watch me?" she asked Jared, her voice, flat and lifeless.
He wanted to say no, to tell her that he trusted her and they would get to the bottom of this mess soon. He couldn’t, though. Not and keep his commitment to protecting Hannah.
Cali’s feelings would be hurt, but she would get past that once her name had been cleared. She would understand his need to find the truth for Hannah’s sake. Cali herself would undoubtedly respond just as he would in a similar set of circumstances. After all, the safety of a child must come before an adult’s feelings.
Besides, in her current dazed state, it would be best to have someone watch over her. "Jenny can keep you company while I am gone."
Something flickered in Cali’s eyes, but she said nothing.
***
Later, at Ashton Manor, Jared reflected on the fact that his wife had not broken her silence even after his sister and the other gentlemen had left. She had gone quietly to her room, in Jenny’s company, avoiding Jared’s gaze all the while.
Unlike his sister, Irisa.
She had disappeared while he checked on Hannah, only to reappear later in the library with the rest of his family once the children had been seen to, her expression murderous. She’d opened her mouth to harangue them all and hadn’t closed it since.
"I can’t believe you accused Calantha of trying to murder her daughter," she glared at Thea. "You’ve seen her with Hannah. She loves her. Even if she didn’t, Calantha is not capable of that sort of base behavior."
"But she left the note, Irisa. I know she’s your friend and it’s difficult for all of us to believe she’s responsible, but someone tried to poison Hannah and all the evidence points to her."
"What difference does that make?" Irisa demanded, her eyes shooting brown fire. "If I caught you standing over a dead body with a bloody knife in your hand, I wouldn’t believe you capable of the crime."
Thea was momentarily silenced by that and Irisa turned her ire on Ashton. "I still cannot fathom what made you believe that nasty little man when he said that Calantha hired him. He’s obviously lying. She would never stoop to kidnapping a child."
"He identified her when we took her to meet him—" Ashton started to say, only to be interrupted by his irate wife.
"What were you thinking taking Calantha to see a man like that? What if he had hurt her? Would you have taken me to see him? I suppose you would if you thought the evidence was strong enough."
Ashton flinched under Irisa’s scathing tone and Jared felt compelled to defend him. "It was my decision to take my wife to see him. I thought we could get to the truth that way."
"Instead you allowed him to defame her in your presence. If your wife forgives you before you’re old enough to be a grandfather, you’ll be a lucky man, Jared Selwyn!"
Ashton laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder. "Calm down, sweeting. This kind of excitement isn’t good for the baby."
"I get excited when we make love too. I suppose you’re going to say you want to give that up for the rest of my confinement," Irisa stormed.
Ashton’s face actually lost a little color at that comment and Jared was hard pressed not to laugh, regardless of how bad his mood from the current situation.
"Irrational behavior seems to go hand in hand with pregnancy," Drake said in an obvious attempt to comfort his brother-in-law.
Thea glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Irisa gave everyone in the room the meanest look Jared had ever seen on his sweet sister’s face. "I’m not the irrational one around here. I haven’t accused a compassionate and kind woman of kidnapping her own child and then trying to kill her."
"She didn’t even know Hannah when Willem was approached," Ashton said in exasperation.
"Are you saying that just because she didn’t know her, Calantha would have plotted to do her harm? Are you forgetting how diligently she cares for the ailments of the local village children, or the way she’s so gentle with them? You’ve lived in this district longer than I have. Even when she was married to the duke, she didn’t have a reputation for snobbery or cruelty."
"Then who’s behind the attacks on Hannah?"
"I don’t know. What about the new duke? I’ve never liked him. His brother is Hannah's real father. Maybe he's trying to get rid of a potential embarrassment."
"He doesn’t know about Hannah being Deveril's child," Jared felt the need to point out.
His sister snorted. "And you know this how? You’re omniscient? And here I believed that particular trait was reserved for the Almighty. For all you know his brother told him about Mary. The monster probably bragged about raping her."
Jared hadn’t considered that possi
bility.
"The person who hired the blackmailer was a woman and if she wasn’t Calantha, she bore a striking resemblance to her," Drake had the courage to point out.
Irisa wasn’t swayed in the least. "So, he hired someone to do it. Maybe his current paramour. His infidelities are legendary in the district, even if he does try to be discreet."
Maybe there was someone besides Cali that had a reason for wanting to do Hannah harm. Cali had admitted to an initial bitterness. There had been no evidence of it remaining.
The pain in Jared’s chest lessened a little at the thought.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Calantha couldn’t think. Someone was trying to hurt, maybe even kill, Hannah and they wanted her to be blamed for it. And Jared did blame her.
She looked over at Jenny, industriously packing her clothes while Calantha paced the room. She wanted to tell the maid to stop, but she couldn’t make herself speak. Not even to Jenny.
Jared had refused to let her see Hannah. Thea thought she was a threat to her children. None of Clairborne’s punishments had come close to hurting like this.
Who was behind it? Who? And why would anyone want to hurt the child?
She paced back over to the window.
She couldn’t think. She just didn’t know. Her mind kept dwelling on the look of infuriated shock in Jared’s eyes when Thea told him about the puppy. That sweet little animal, dead. It was too horrible to contemplate. Jared had started off believing her. She had been surprised and then so relieved, she’d almost cried when she realized he wanted to believe her.
Yet as the evidence mounted, his trust dried up like a potted rose she had forgotten to water.
She knew she should not blame him, but she couldn’t help feeling betrayed. If the situation were reversed, she would have believed his innocence. She would have believed in him. Because she loved him.
But Jared didn’t love her. He’d married her to keep Hannah. He wanted her, but clearly that was no more than physical lust. Any tender feelings he had towards her were as shallow as a puddle after a spring rain.
The pain of his distrust would destroy her if she let it. She could not let it. She had survived so much worse, she told herself, but deep in her heart she wasn’t sure that was true.