AllFreeNovel
Share Us
e diamond.”
Aurora rose, wide-eyed. “You struck Morland—for me?”
A hint of softness. “You are my sister, you know.”
“I’m beginning to realize that,” she replied with an equal measure of softness.
“Slayde,” Courtney pressed. “Did you learn anything?”
“Too much and not enough.” Slayde eased Courtney inside the bedchamber, gesturing for Oridge to join them. “The four of us have a great deal to discuss.” The moment the door shut behind them, Slayde turned to his investigator. “Did any of the servants behave oddly?”
“Not in the least. I’ve been posted outside Lady Aurora’s bedchamber all afternoon, scanning the list and studying the staff. Other than a few maids and footmen who expressed sympathy that I’d been given the impossible task of thwarting Lady Aurora’s escape efforts, no one’s so much as spoken to me. They’ve performed their jobs in what I would call a customary fashion. Oh, I did have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Lexley. He’s a most gracious fellow, but with no additional details to provide us.”
“Then we’re right back where we started, damn it.” Slayde’s arms tightened about Courtney. “I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he informed her. “Not for a moment. So give up any notion of locking doors unless I’m behind them with you.”
“Slayde, what is it?” Anxiously, Courtney studied Slayde’s taut expression. “What’s upset you so?”
A muscle worked in his jaw. “Morland’s innocent,” he stated flatly. “He’s not the one who hired Armon. He doesn’t have the diamond. And he didn’t take a shot at you the other day.”
Aurora emitted a shocked gasp.
“And your parents?” Courtney sounded more concerned than she did stunned. “Is he innocent of their murders as well?”
“According to him, yes. He vehemently denied any involvement in their killings. Of course, he’s said that a dozen times before. We have yet to find proof of his innocence. There’s every possibility that he’s lying.”
“But you don’t think he is.”
A weighted silence. Then: “No—I don’t.”
“What about Chilton? Do you still believe he committed the murders?”
Reason and emotion warred in Slayde’s head, years of enmity screaming for acknowledgment.
Logic. Mr. Scollard’s words sliced through his mental turmoil. Reserve the irrational for Courtney’s loving hands; employ reason where no love exists.
“No,” Slayde heard himself say. “I don’t.” He gave a dazed shake of his head. “How ironic. For ten years, I’ve been so certain, so utterly convinced Chilton was responsible. But today, listening to Morland, seeing him without allowing hatred to blind me…somehow my perspective altered.”
“Did you speak to Rayburn, my lord?” Oridge interrupted.
“Yes, immediately following my confrontation with Morland. As a matter of fact, I brought Rayburn back with me. There’s no point in his remaining there, scrutinizing Morland’s every move. The duke is not the criminal we seek.”
“I take it His Grace was at home the night Miss Johnston was attacked?”
“At home and alone. Morland hasn’t left his estate all week. Nor has anyone visited him. So he neither fired that shot nor hired someone else to fire it. By the way, he was also fully sober during our altercation. Vicious and frightened, but sober. He disclosed things that made all the pieces fit: why he’s stopped drinking, why he’s rejoined the business community, why he’s been conducting meetings with his banker and solicitor.”
Quietly, Slayde elaborated, disclosing Morland’s objectives, his plan to unearth the black diamond, his immediate goal to investigate the Huntleys.
“That explains his irrational reaction to our article in the Times,” Aurora concluded thoughtfully.
“Yes. It also leaves us with no name, no face—nothing but the realization that whoever orchestrated these crimes wants Courtney eliminated.” Slayde swallowed. “If it isn’t Morland, who is it? And how the hell do we find out before he tries to hurt her again?”
“Using the only other lead we have,” Courtney pronounced, gripping the sleeves of Slayde’s coat. “Our only hope of getting to the true culprit is to discern the identity of his other henchman—the one right here at Pembourne. Once we do, he’ll panic and unknowingly lead us straight to whoever hired him.”
“Which brings us to the remarkable plan Courtney’s developed,” Aurora piped up, her shock at Morland’s innocence eclipsed by renewed excitement. “Thanks to her quick thinking, we’ll have our traitor by tomorrow, and his employer soon after.”
With a start, Slayde raised his brows at Oridge.
“This is the first I’m hearing of Miss Johnston’s plan, sir,” the investigator replied with a helpless shrug. “As I said, I’ve been in the hall all day—barred from the room.” He glowered at Courtney and Aurora. “According to the agreement I made with these ladies—under extreme duress, I might add—they were to return the sketch to me twenty minutes ago. They refused to comply. I had no idea what they were using it for or what they were up to.”
