A Clandestine Courtship Part 9

"M'sister," he mumbled, freeing an arm to strike James anew. Brown jumped in to pin him down.

"Who is your sister?" demanded James.

"Betty. You smashed her jaw so she can't eat good."

"No."

"What is he talking about?" she asked Brown.

He shrugged. "He's one of Farmer's lads," he said, naming one of Sir Richard's tenants. "Whole family's a bit simple- though the boys make good enough stable hands-but the girl can't do nothin' for herself."

"When was Betty hurt?" James asked, gentling his voice.

"Couple of years ago."

"Did she claim I did it?"

"I doubt she'd recognize her own father," muttered Brown.

"One o' the twins," Will quoted.

"John, then. I've not been here in years."

Will glared suspiciously.

"It's true, Will," Mary said. "This is James, the new earl. The man who was here two years ago was his twin brother John. I know, because he traveled from London with my husband, Lord Northrup."

Will's sullen face flushed.

Mary turned to Brown. "I will leave him in your charge for now. You will make him understand that the twins are two different men and that neither is responsible for the deeds of the other. Northrup will discuss the situation when he returns."

Brown jerked Will toward the stable. She was confident that the boy would a.s.sault no one again.

"My profound apologies, my lord," she said, leading the way to the house. She knew why he had called alone, though she had not expected him for another day or two. He would have questions about the accident, and this incident would not make answering them any easier.

"It wasn't your fault." He gingerly fingered his bandage. His coat sleeve had a new hole where Will had caught him with a tine. "It would seem that John was even less popular than I thought. Why would he attack the Farmer girl?"

"I am only guessing, but he probably ordered her out of his way. When she responded slower than he liked, he struck her down. Do you wish to speak with Northrup about this?"

"No. I doubt an officer needs help disciplining his staff. But I have several questions for you."

"I will answer what I can, but first, you need to clean up." Summoning Justin's valet, she sent him upstairs. After apprising Trimble of the scuffle, she left him to deal with the errant footmen, then paced the study while she reviewed recent events.

James's arrival was disrupting the neighborhood. She had been right to fear his appearance. It was opening old wounds, reviving old grievances-and doing it with a suddenness that bypa.s.sed the usual curbs on behavior. Two attacks, by two different people, put a new twist on the incident at the quarry.

"Lord Ridgeway, my lady," announced Trimble from the doorway.

A fresh bandage wrapped his forehead. Pickins had brushed his blue jacket and mended the tear, but mud still streaked the dove gray pantaloons, and blood stained his shirt. She bit back a groan when she spotted the scratch on his top boots. Gentlemen hated it when anything damaged their boots.

"Sit down, my lord." She motioned to the chair in front of the desk. He looked pale, but she was determined to keep the meeting businesslike. Her serenity would disappear if she did not maintain her distance.

"No more apologies," he begged, forestalling further comment.

"Very well." She handed him a gla.s.s of wine before seating herself behind the desk.

"Harry claims you brought me home yesterday."

She nodded. "What was the diagnosis? I am surprised to see you up so soon."

He grunted. "Concussion, but I hate being confined to bed."

"Yet if you were not still weak from blood loss, Will would have been less successful." Or if his clothes had been less fashionable. Even though his were looser than some-Mr. Crenshaw's, for example-they constrained his movements. His last lunge to tackle Will had torn the shoulder seam of his coat.

"Hmph." He sipped wine. "According to Harry, you found me unconscious near the quarry, loaded me into my phaeton, then drove me home."

She said nothing.

"Arrant nonsense. You could not possibly lift me."

"I never claimed to have done so. You were in your phaeton when I found you."

"Still arrant nonsense."

"Are you calling me a liar? I did find you near the quarry, and I did drive you home."

"Perhaps, but that is far from the whole story. What really happened?"

"Do you not recall?" Even before the incident in the stable yard, she had questioned her original conclusions.

He paced the room, tossing back the wine and helping himself to more. "I had spent the morning in town. People no longer recoil in shock at my appearance, but they remain aloof, even those who used to be friendly."

"That should come as no surprise, my lord. You have been absent a long time. People no longer remember you clearly and have to wonder if you resemble your brother in more than looks."

"It is more than that," he insisted. "I've done enough since returning to ease most fears."

"You have rolled back the rents and postponed turning off any servants, but that could be a prelude to harsher measures- something John often did. You cannot regain trust in a fortnight that took ten years of deliberate cruelty to destroy. And you cannot expect people to willingly abandon years of prudence to discuss the unmentionable subject of your brother."

"Always, we come back to John," he murmured.

"You cannot ignore him," she agreed. "And whatever your reasons, the fact that you are searching for his killer counts against you."

"Are you suggesting that I stop?"

She frowned. "At first, I thought it a futile attempt and an unnecessary one, but I am no longer certain. I had not looked beyond the fact that John's death benefited many deserving people. But what of the killer? Can I feel secure knowing that one of my neighbors is capable of brutally dispatching an enemy?"

"A valid concern. Where does he draw the line between friend and foe?"

"And what const.i.tutes justice?" she finished for him, then felt her cheeks warm at her temerity. Shivers rose at this apparent bit of mind-reading.

"Exactly, but we have moved far afield. Tell me about this accident. If I was still in my phaeton, why do I have a knot on my head?"

"What do you remember?" she asked again.

"I had been asking questions about last Christmas-strangers who might have pa.s.sed through, holiday visitors, John's actions. But no one admitted anything new."

"Of course not."

He sighed and resumed his seat. "I was mulling the responses as I drove back to Ridgeway, trying to decide if I had any hope of surmounting people's suspicions. But I remember nothing after I entered the forest."

"You met no one on the road?"

"I pa.s.sed the doctor and a farmer, but we did not speak."

"So much for one theory," she muttered, but he heard.

"What theory?"

"I had hoped that an argument had exploded into violence."

He raised his brows.

"A rock knocked you senseless," she admitted, shrugging. "I found you and drove you home."

"A rock?" He straightened, his eyes darkening in fury. "There was no argument, not even an exchange of greetings, so just how did a rock hit me as I drove through the forest?"

"Someone threw it."

"Hence the argument theory. But that won't wash."

"I was afraid of that. Which is why I began thinking about John's killer. Did you note any reaction beyond professed ignorance from those in town?"

"No. I have been keeping my questions casual, hoping that the different approach might uncover something new."

"So who was disturbed?" she murmured, half to herself.

"No one- or everyone. The response was uniformly unhelpful."

"Not surprising. You may lack Isaac's official standing, but they must a.s.sume you are seeking revenge."

"But I'm not."

"Of course you are, though you dress it up in words like justice. What is law but a way to retaliate against wrongdoers without incurring the stigma of dirtying your own hands?"

"Don't hit me with philosophy when my head is pounding," he begged, pressing his temples as if to suppress the pain. "So you think I should forget the killer and return home?"

"No, but many people will. Few openly rejoiced at John's death, but most did in their hearts."

"I agree that he was not a good man-"

Her snort cut off his words.

"All right. He was evil. I wish I had recognized it sooner- and I apologize for believing his tales. But I cannot condone murder."

"I would not ask you to."

"Good. That is doubly true now that the killer has attacked me."

"Slow down. We don't know that it was he."

"But you just said that my probing incited the attack. He must protect himself from exposure."

She shivered. "Even discounting an argument, I can think of three possibilities. And there may be more."

"I can a.s.sure you that I've made no enemies on my travels."

"That is not one of my theories."

He groaned. "Then what are they?"

"The first is the most obvious, that the killer-or someone who is trying to protect the killer-decided that your death was the only way to prevent disclosure. The second is that the killer or his protector was warning you to drop the investigation and leave. The third is that Will is not the only simple-minded soul who might attack because you look like John.

"Which do you believe?" His face had paled further.

"My first impression was an attempt on your life, but reflection makes me think it was merely a warning." Or so she hoped. Gossip contained no hint of her involvement, instead offering half a dozen explanations for the earl's sudden indisposition, which made it likely that the attacker had not remained long enough to see her.

His gaze sharpened. "You are hiding something. A rock to the head would hardly guarantee death, so why suspect murder? Start at the beginning and tell me exactly what happened. Why did you mislead Harry?"

The harsh voice grated on her ears, but she could hardly blame him. He had always been intelligent-and far too good at reading her thoughts. "I did not exactly mislead him. I reported that you had fallen. Since you were unconscious, he a.s.sumed you must have fallen to the ground. I saw no need to correct him."

"Why?"

"At the time, I believed someone had tried to kill you, but I had no idea who or why. If it were connected to John's death, the culprit might have been anyone, including one of your servants. You were helpless. The only protection I could offer was to make no accusations that would threaten the culprit."

He stared to say something, but she overrode his words. "After I left Ridgeway, I realized that I'd overreacted. The attack was most likely a warning."

"Fustian!" he snorted. "Quit tiptoeing around the truth. I want facts, starting with how you know someone threw a rock at me. You cannot have seen him, or you would know his ident.i.ty."

She sighed, then pulled open her reticule. He leaned across the desk to accept the rock she pulled out. The blood had blackened, but enough smudged the handkerchief to make clear what it was.

"Rather a large weapon if the purpose was merely a warning," he observed.

"And thrown with enough force to knock you half out of your phaeton. The horses picked up speed when they hit that downhill stretch leading to the quarry. Every b.u.mp pushed you farther over the side."

He abruptly sat down, as if his knees had collapsed. "That sharp corner where the road narrows would have tossed me out entirely-or overturned the phaeton, which amounts to the same thing."

She nodded. "And if someone wanted you dead, they need only roll you a time or two to send you into the pit."

"Thus hiding the blow on my head."