Grayson.His image filled her mind, and she shut her eyes tightly, forcing away the vision of him sleek and golden in the moonlight, loving her with his body, if not with his heart.
Seeing him today had shattered all her fine intentions to forget him, and Kate began to wonder if she was running from the one good thing that had ever happened to her.Plumping the pillow violently, she paused to consider that Lucy might be right.
Was she so accustomed to suffering that she could take no pleasure in anything?Had Grayson been insupportable, or had she searched for a reason to hide from the strongest feelings she had ever known?
Turning over in the suddenly still and eerie silence, Kate felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as they so often had in London, and her eyes flew open wide, searching the darkness.She let out a shaky sigh.No one was watching her here.She was alone, except for Lucy in the next room.
And then she heard it: the quiet glide of the handle that gave entry to her room.Shooting upright, she clutched the blanket to her chest as the door swung wide to reveal the shadowy figure of a man.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the high-and-mighty Lady Wroth.”
Kate stared, unable to believe her ears, for the voice was that of the man who had bullied her all afternoon.But hadn’t Brown been turned over to the magistrate?
“What are you doing here?”she asked.
“I’m holding a gun on you, in case you didn’t notice.”The fellow taunted her, and Kate drew in a sharp breath as moonlight glinted off the metal in his hand.“And none of your ragged band of rescuers are going to save you, either.Now, didn’t I tell you that you’d pay for tying me up?Well, now’s the time.Get up!”
“Let me dress, at least,” Kate said as steadily as she could, while her thoughts raced ahead.Was he alone?How had he escaped?And where were Tom, the footman, and the two men Grayson had left to protect her and Lucy?
“No!You just get up as you are and get your fancy self downstairs.Jasper’s waiting.”
Jasper!Kate’s heart thudded wildly as she rose to her feet.This was no petty revenge from a thieving bully.This was more, much more, for Grayson had left with her uncle in good faith.Grayson!Kate stumbled as fear swamped her.What if Jasper had done something to Grayson?
She would kill him.
Determination steadied her, driving away the panic and the fright and clearing her head.As she reached for her robe, Kate slid the pistol she kept beneath the bed into a pocket, glad for the voluminous velvet garment she would once have scorned, for its thick folds hid the weapon cradled in her palm.Stepping into her slippers, she straightened, head held high.
Silently, she led the way downstairs, Brown following close behind.The large windows flanking the entrance sent shafts of moonlight across the foyer, where Jasper stood, his hand resting on Lucy’s shoulder.Her sister was seated in a small straight chair to which her hands and feet were bound, as Brown had been earlier, and Kate gasped in outrage.
“Ah, there you are, Kate, darling.We thought we had better take care of dear Lucy first, just in case we had difficulty persuading the headstrong older sister to cooperate, eh, Brown?”Jasper asked, while his cohort chuckled appreciatively.
“And I must say, it was nice of you to keep the house so deserted.My confederates had the situation neatly in hand in only a few minutes.Really, Kate, a house this size should have a proper staff, don’t you think?But I must admit, I am impressed that you hung on to anything.Did your dear papa have some private funds hidden away here that kept you going?”
When Kate did not answer, he merely shook his head.“Ah, well, it is of no consequence now.I still have the bulk of your fortune and the land.The house will, unfortunately, have to be burned down in order to make the deaths of you and your sister appear to be a tragic accident.”
At his words, Lucy moaned softly, apparently too frightened to engage in her usual histrionics.Although Kate ached to comfort her sister, she did not want to be bound, as well.
She had to maneuver herself into a better position, for she would have only one chance to shoot her uncle, and then she would have to contend with Brown.Stepping away from the little man, she eyed Jasper coolly.
“Surely, you do not intend to set fire to Hargate?”
“Oh, but I do, Kate darling.You see, I simply cannot afford to lose all that lovely money.This way, Lucy dies, unmarried, so I retain her share, and as for you…”
“But I am already wed,” Kate said.“What about Wroth?”She held her breath, unable to bear the thought that Jasper had already killed her husband.
Her mind, cleared of its usual clutter, focused on Grayson with startling clarity.All the disagreements between them suddenly seemed petty and absurd, as nothing compared to what she felt for him, and Kate realized that she wanted him always, whether he loved her or not.
Jasper shrugged.“Naturally, I would have liked to include Wroth in our little conflagration, but he is a bit too clever to fall into such a simple trap.However, since he is as rich as a nabob, I doubt he will begrudge me your trifling estate.”
Kate released a ragged sigh of relief into the stillness, cut off when she saw movement in the shadows.
“You are wrong.”
Grayson!Kate’s joy at the sound of her husband’s voice was tempered by fear for his safety.Was he alone?Armed?Jasper was a desperate man with no conscience, capable of anything, and as if to prove it, he smirked in greeting.
“Welcome to our little party, my lord.You’re just in time to die.”
“I think not,” Grayson said, with his usual cool confidence, and Kate saw the moonlight glint off a weapon, pointed straight at her uncle’s chest.
