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Slayde shook his head. “I don’t think so. The currents were too strong for him to have sunk without the weight of that sack dragging him down. He must have been washed ashore. And if he were already dead when that happened, I would have received word. You see, I sent messages to every coastal clergyman I could think of. Had a drowned man been found washed ashore, one of those clergymen would have been notified, after which he would have notified me.”
Promise flared in Lexley’s eyes. “That makes sense.” He sat up, his exhaustion forgotten. “Could this truly be possible? Do you honestly believe Captain Johnston is—might be—alive?”
A month ago, Slayde’s reply would have been an unconditional no.
But now?
Solemnly, Slayde pondered Courtney’s dreams, the periodic advances of her timepiece, the intensity of her faith, a faith that had been shattered by misleading currents too convincing to ignore.
Someone who looks but can’t see…But now he sees…
Confidently, Slayde nodded. “Do I believe Johnston could be alive?” he repeated, the answer as clear as the vision he now possessed. “Yes. And I know just where to go to find out.”
Chapter 16
AURORA GASPED, ALL THE color draining from her face as she examined the diagram Slayde had given her. “Someone at Pembourne is involved? My God.” She sank into a chair. “Whoever penned this aided Armon not only with blackmail and theft, but with murder. They killed Mama and Papa.”
“And they’ll pay for it.” Courtney lay a comforting hand on Aurora’s shoulder. “Their crimes won’t go unpunished.”
“Nor will their intended crimes,” Slayde added bitterly. Seeing Aurora’s questioning look, he expounded, his face tight with remembered rage. “Whoever’s orchestrating this scheme obviously believes Courtney to be a threat. When she and I left for London last week, we stopped in Somerset for the night. The moment Courtney alit from the carriage, a masked rider appeared out of nowhere and fired a shot at her. But for the grace of God…”
“No. Oh, Courtney.” Aurora grasped her friend’s hand, as if to assure herself that Courtney were unharmed. “Thank heavens he missed you.”
“He didn’t miss me for lack of skill,” Courtney said softly. “Were it not for Slayde…” A shiver of remembered fear. “Your brother saved my life—again. He knocked me out of the way just in time.”
“It had to be Morland.” Aurora was on her feet again. “Your threats terrified him. He hadn’t a clue they were contrived. He must have followed you here, then from Pembourne to Somerset—and tried to silence you.”
“My theory exactly.” For the third time in a quarter hour, Slayde glanced at the tightly locked sitting room door. “Let’s keep our voices down. As Oridge reminded us, we haven’t a clue who penned that sketch. Until we do, no one must be privy to our conversations.”
“We have to unearth the traitor at Pembourne.” Aurora’s whisper was fierce, her expression murderous. “Then he can lead us to Morland.”
“We spent the entire carriage ride home trying to do just that,” Courtney said with a restless sweep of her palm. “We came up with nothing. That, of course, must change at once.”
“Without question,” Aurora concurred. “We’ll think of a plan immediately.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, a faint smile flickered across Slayde’s face. “Not only are you both reckless and inventive, you’re also impatient and strong-willed. I shudder to think what my life will be like with the two of you.”
“Slayde,” Aurora put in, unsmiling, “is there anything else you haven’t told me?”
Slayde’s amusement vanished, and he glanced at Courtney, who gave him an encouraging nod. “Only one thing more,” he admitted quietly. “A truth I kept from you from the start—not because I didn’t trust you, Aurora, but because I was desperate to protect you.” A resigned sigh. “However, as Courtney finally managed to convince me, you’re entitled to know.”
“Know what?”
“The black diamond, the one I gave Armon—it was a fake. I paid a jeweler to craft it. I’ve never so much as seen the real black diamond. But I was terrified that your kidnappers would kill you if I didn’t produce something. So I did.”
Aurora sucked in her breath. “Why would you keep something of that magnitude from me?”
“Because you believe in that absurd, monstrous curse. I hoped my deception would afford you peace of mind. As it turns out, that peace of mind was shattered anyway.”
“I see.” Aurora shook her head, trying to absorb the ramifications of what Slayde had disclosed. “Right now, my feelings about the black diamond, its curse on the Huntleys—even my reaction to your deceiving me—are secondary. More important is the fact that given what you’ve just told me, Morland obviously still has the stone. If he’d tried to sell it or restore it to Russia, someone would have discovered it was a fake. Further, that explains why the letters we printed in the Times upset him so. We must have thwarted whatever plans he had.”
“I agree wholeheartedly,” Slayde replied. “ ’Tis time to discern Lawrence Bencroft’s plans and his state of mind. Hence, I intend to return his visit—today. I mean to find out exactly why he came to Pembourne, whether his intoxicated state was a one-time event or a reversion to his years as a drunken sot and what he’s been up to. After that, I mean to seek out Rayburn and hear from his lips whether Morland left his estate the night Courtney was assailed.”
“And then?” Aurora pressed.
“And then we’ll see if we have enough incriminating facts to undo Morland on our own, or if we need the help of his Pembourne accomplice.” Extracting his timepiece, Slayde glanced at the hour. “Speaking of which, we’re due in my study in twenty minutes for a meeting with Oridge. He’ll want that list specifying all the servants who have been with us at least ten years.”
“I’ll help you compile it,” Aurora declared at once.
