After The Storm (26 page)

Once he was out of earshot, the earl towered over his
bride. “Why were you in that man’s arms?”

“Why were you here in the woods with Lady
Hester?”

“I met her as I took the shortcut home hoping to get
back as quick as I could
to you
,” he answered.

“Yet, you dismounted and stayed with her!”

“She was just picking herself off the ground when I
came by, and I only stopped to make certain she was not
harmed.”

“And yet her conversation sounded …
intimate,
” said his wife, who stomped her foot and ran back
towards the house.

He let her go as he closed his eyes; she had heard
Hester’s stupidity!

He was going to have to make her see. He was going to
have to make his Jenny understand that he loved her to
distraction.

* * *

The earl found the door to his bedroom, where his
bride could be heard sobbing, was locked.

“Open the door Jenny,” he said coaxingly.

“Go away,” she answered on a sniff.

“Open it, or
I will,
any way I have to,” he
answered.

“No,” she answered.

The earl stepped back and then, with a swift force,
kicked at the door latch so hard it bent and hung, a degraded
object. Having successfully broken the lock, he then proceeded to
push the door open so forcefully that it banged convulsively
against the wall.

Jenny jumped to her feet, and her eyes blazed with
defiance as she pointed and said, “
Fie
. Now, out, and
please, send someone to repair this door at once.” It occurred to
him that she was the most magnificent woman he had ever
encountered.

Two passing male servants, who had been polishing the
banisters, exchanged glances and kept on going.

Jason loomed tall and full with determination as he
stood his ground in the entrance. He wondered what next he should
do.

Jenny came at him, poking him in the chest with one
finger while the other hand shoved at him. “Do as I ask, Jason of
Danfield,
now
.”

He had come up to offer her his undying love and the
promise of his fidelity always. He had come up to assure her that
he had told Hester to give up trying to win him back, as he
belonged to his wife.

He had not meant to play the wild man. He didn’t even
understand what had come over him. He turned and marched off at her
command, as he couldn’t think of anything else that he could do at
that moment. And he felt wretched.

* * *

Jenny went to the window and watched as he stomped
out and towards the woods. She went onto the balcony, suddenly sick
with concern. Someone was trying to hurt Jason, and there he stood
in the open—a target.

She called out to him, “Jason!”

And then the air was shattered as a shot rang out,
and her husband fell to the ground.

Jenny screamed and ran out of the house towards him.
She ran faster than she had ever run before.
No!
He couldn’t
be hurt.
She couldn’t bear it.
She loved him with all her
heart and could not go through this again …

“Jason!” she cried as she dropped beside him

He took her hand and hushed her. “Easy, love. He
missed me, but just stay low with me a moment.”

He scanned his surroundings, looking for a moment at
the hothouse, and then he said, “Come on then. I think the
blackguard is gone.”

She hugged him around his middle, and he said softly,
“Come, sweet, let’s get out of the open. This grows too serious to
ignore.”

Once inside she tugged at his hand. “Jason, what is
going on? Who could it be?”

“I am not certain, but I am damn well going to find
out,” he said, frowning.

“The shot came from the direction of the hothouse,”
she said. “I am certain of it.”

“Yes, so am I.” He shook his head. “Someone who knows
about the tunnel.”

“Yes, I found it, quite by accident. And it did seem
to me when I was digging that it was used recently. I just assumed
you or Howard had … but, oh, Jason, who is doing this?”

“Stay here,” he said as he turned to go back out.

“No,” she said and ran along with him.

He sighed. “Very well. Perhaps you are safer if I
keep you close.”

He moved to the hothouse and there found the trapdoor
had been left open, “Did you leave it open, Jenny?”

“No, I distinctly remember shutting it. Who knows
about it besides yourself and Howard?”

“Hard to say,” he answered evasively and led her back
to the house.

They entered to find Helen Browne standing in the
central hall. She smiled and asked, “I heard a shot. Did the
gardener get the wild boar, then?”

“Boar?” asked his lordship.

“Why yes, Howard and I saw it this morning and told
the gardener about it,” she answered.

“Jenny, stay here. Do me that favor, for I want to
speak with the gardener and will only be a few minutes.”

Jenny watched him go and then excused herself from
Helen Browne and went in search of Wimbly. From him she discovered
that Brad was still away, that Howard Danfield also had not been
seen, and that no one knew where the dowager was.

The earl returned to her and held her hands. “Jenny,
I have to get to Bridgewater Pass. I am meeting with the Hedley men
because, quite honestly we need some help, and I trust them. Do
tell me you will stay indoors and wait for my return.”

“Why can I not go with you?”

“Please, Jenny, trust me in this. Let us just
consider the fact that we don’t know who is at the bottom of this,
which leaves everyone suspect. Just stay here.”

She agreed and with some trepidation watched him
depart.

* * *

Their conversation had been heard, and she wasn’t the
only one who watched the earl ride off towards the Bridgewater
Pass.

A pair of bright eyes, set with a purpose, filled
with a kind of cunning madness, watched him as well and followed
him at a distance, sure to stay out of the earl’s view.

The watcher had a strange glint in the gaze that
followed the earl’s movements as the earl trotted over the bridge
towards the farm where he was to meet his friends.

A satanic smile hovered about the mouth, and a
spittle of drool made its way down the chin, as thoughts of the
mission emboldened desires deep in a heart that was obsessed. A
wildness of thought flitted through the brain as the rider
dismounted and walked to the bridge, crowbar in hand.

In a manner of moments, the planks of the bridge had
been pried loose and ably dismantled.

Purpose filled the wickedly twisted soul by which
this person was governed. There was no right and wrong,
only
need
.

It had to be done, and it had to be done tonight.
The earl had to die
.

Eyes, devilishly glinting eyes, scanned the water and
the rocks below. The earl and his horse would meet a terrible end,
and the notion curved thin lips.

In the center of the bridge, hands removed three
laths of wood and then replaced them to look as though they were
still fixed in place.

The same work was repeated at the far end of the
bridge, before this harbinger of death returned to the horse
tethered nearby.

* * *

Jenny paced in the parlor, wishing someone was about,
when Mac entered. She ran to him. “Mac, I am so glad you are back.
I am worried about Jason. He has gone to meet the Hedley men at
Bridgewater Farm, and I have this bad feeling. Will you ride with
me to Bridgewater Pass?”

“Why would you want to do such a thing? I am certain
he would prefer that you remain safely home.”

“
I cannot
. If you do not accompany me, I shall
have to go on my own.”

“I am afraid I cannot allow that, Jenny,” he said
gravely.

“Please, Mac, I know you are trying to be kind, but I
must go. Please don’t try to stop me.”

He looked annoyed as he shook his head, and for no
reason, Jenny felt a shiver rush through her. She had never seen
him quite so angry.

“All right then, if you must ride out to meet him,
I’ll go with you.”

It didn’t take them long to tack up and ride out. The
sun was going down, and dusk would soon settle in. Jenny had an
awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. Female instincts told her
something was wrong, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

“I can’t imagine where everyone has gone,” she said.
“The castle is nearly empty. The dowager is off somewhere, as is
Brad …”

“I know that Howard said he was has headed for
Dover,” Mac offered.

“He told you that?” she asked.

“I spoke with him before they left. Howard was for
Dover, but as to the rest, I really have no idea.”

“Then do let us hurry.”

“Perhaps we should just wait here—after all, you
don’t want to pounce on him as soon as he starts over the
bridge.”

“Yes, I do, I want to meet him at the bridge. I can’t
say why, I just do.”

“No, Jen, this is close enough. He should be here
soon enough,” Mac commanded and grabbed her reins.

Jenny eyed him doubtfully, shocked. She had never
seen this side of him, and then all at once, he had dismounted and
was pulling her roughly off her horse before she knew what was
happening. It was all so unexpected.

Jenny was astonished and nearly speechless but found
her voice to exclaim, “Mac, what are you doing? What is wrong with
you?”

Bright eyes glinted luminously back at her, like a
wild animal about to attack, and she knew a sudden misgiving. She
backed away from him.

“
It is your fault
, Jenny. All this has been
your fault. If you had not married him, he would not have to die.
But you did,
you betrayed
Johnny. You betrayed me, just as
Johnny betrayed me,” he said accusingly.

“What are you talking about?” Jenny’s hands fluttered
as though to ward off some horrid, unforeseen evil.

“You don’t know, no, you don’t know. You weren’t
there with us that terrible night of blood and death and terror,
Jenny … such terror. You didn’t see, but I did. I saw
them—
all of them
, my friends, I saw them with their arms
shot off and their heads blown to pieces. We saw a soldier’s head
blown clean off his shoulders, watched it roll down the hill, and I
fell to my knees laughing. Jenny, do you hear me?
I laughed
.
I was so happy it wasn’t me.” He stepped towards her. “You don’t
see—neither did Johnny. He had fought in the Peninsular. He was so
ready for it all. You have no idea. I saw Fenhurst, riding off with
his horse, and then in a split second … he was nineteen when a
sniper killed him. I froze. I heard Johnny curse and take chase.
Even then, I hadn’t thought of escaping. I rode back into that hell
with Johnny beside me. Then Johnny had his third horse shot out
from under him. He knelt by his mare and shouted, “Confound the
Frogs! Dash it, Mac, do you see what those devils have done? They
have killed my Sugar. Devil take them, for I loved this horse.” He
looked around then, and I helped him onto my horse, and we rode
back to our lines. He jumped off and cried out to me as merrily as
though we were at Vauxhall, “Now I’m off, Mac. I’ll just go find
another steed.”

“I loved Johnny, but I couldn’t take it any longer.
Something broke inside me. I had to find a way out. That was when I
saw the wagon full of wounded being taken out of the fray, back to
Brussels. I pulled apart, nearer to the thickets, and aimed my gun
at my left arm, and shot!” He ran a hand through his hair, and
Jenny closed her eyes, picturing it all.

“It was then that life ended for me. I looked up, and
there was Johnny staring at me with disbelief,
with horror
.
I had never before felt his contempt, but I felt it in that moment.
I loved him so … I tried to explain. I told him how it was,
what I was going through. I told him my mind was reeling. But he
was so hard-hearted, Jen.
He turned on me
. He said I
disgusted him and that I should have put a bullet through my heart
instead of my arm. He was going to report me. He said he could
never let it go. He began walking away. I couldn’t let him—you see
that, don’t you? I couldn’t be shamed,
forever shamed
. He
was betraying our friendship, betraying all the loyalty I had given
him. In that moment,
I hated
him! It was so easy, one shot,
just one shot, and he was dead, and
so was I
. Just that one
shot, and John’s glory was gone. He felt no pain, Jen … he
died immediately. He never said a word. I know because I held him.
I held him and waited for him to cock his mouth and grin at me. Ted
Hawkins found us and took him away … put me in the wagon, and
you know the rest.”

She had listened with growing horror.
Mac had
killed Johnny
.

All the while she had been backing up towards the
bridge. She knew now, without his saying so, it had been Mac …
Mac who had cut the leathers, Mac who had fired a shot at the
earl.

She turned and ran, heading for the bridge, just
ahead.

Something was wrong with the bridge. That was why he
didn’t want to draw nearer. He hadn’t wanted her to see!

She was getting closer to the bridge, but she could
feel, hear, him catching up to her, and she ran with all her heart.
She was almost there when he caught up to her, grabbed hold of her
dress, and brought her down.

She hit the ground but scrambled to her feet, took
careful aim, and because he wasn’t expecting it, got off a swift
kick to his groin.

He yelped with pain as he bent over, and she was off
once more.

He reached her just as she stepped onto the bridge,
grabbed her arm this time, and spun her around.

She looked at him with disbelief. He was breathless,
wild-eyed, and totally insane. She saw that at once.

“Jenny,” he pleaded. “You see, don’t you? I was
supposed to take care of you for Johnny, to make up for what I did,
but you married the earl and ruined everything. So I had to get rid
of him. It was so easy to cut the girth of his saddle. He should
have died taking that fence, but never mind, he will when he comes
over the bridge.”