Diamonds and Dreams (19 page)

“Are you suggesting Doyle and Hutchins could
be partners?”

“I don’t know what the hell to think!” Saber
took another deep breath, struggling to control his frustration.
“But the idea isn’t ludicrous, Addison. If it’s true, then it’s
more than likely that in exchange for Doyle’s cooperation, Hutchins
has been rewarding him well. Rewarding him with
my
money! If
they’re guilty of that—Damn those thieving bastards!”

Addison frowned. Saber rarely swore. The
fact that he was doing so now spoke of his unmitigated rage. The
last place on earth Addison wanted to be was in Dane Hutchins’ or
William Doyle’s shoes—especially if the two men were guilty.

“All right, Saber. Let’s presume your
suspicions are true. If Delia could write, why didn’t she inform
you about her circumstances? And why would Hutchins and Doyle have
attempted what you suspect when Delia could have written to you and
told you about it?”

Saber stared at Addison for a moment, his
mind working furiously. “They wouldn’t have known Delia could write
either. And they’d never have given her the slightest clue that she
was supposed to be receiving the funds, so there’d have been no
reason for her to divulge anything. And as for her informing me of
her dire straits, she was too proud. Even Goldie thought so, and
she was right. All suspicions aside, the one thing I know to be
true is the extent of her pride. I may have been little the last
time I saw her, but I remember it.”

His shoulders slumped and his chin fell to
his chest. “God, she preferred death over telling me about her
deprivation. Or—Or maybe she believed I just wouldn’t care. Perhaps
that’s what all the villagers believe. Perhaps—God. I don’t know,
Addison. I don’t know what to think about any of this.”

“Saber—”

“I recall the day I said good-bye to Delia,”
Saber continued. He took a seat behind his desk, looking up at the
moulded ceiling. “I was so worried about her. I begged her to come
with me to London, but she said she couldn’t leave her home. I
tried to give her my pocket money. She refused it. I wondered how
she would get along without a job, for there was no longer any need
for a cook there.

“When my aunts and I arrived in London, I
expressed my concern to them and asked if there was anything we
could do. They arranged for Delia to receive a generous sum of
money each month. Hutchins was to deliver it to her personally. He
was to tell her my father had bequeathed her the funds, and that if
she refused them she’d be dishonoring her deceased lord’s wishes.
That was the only reasonable explanation we could give her to
overcome her pride.”

“I gather no one suspected him of
dishonesty.”

Saber straightened in his chair, ramming his
fingers through his hair again. “Hutchins has been working as
Ravenhurst’s estate manager since I was a baby. The solicitors Aunt
Clara and Aunt Lucy hired saw no reason to replace him. My father,
apparently, never had a problem with him, or else he’d have
discharged him.”

Addison rubbed his chin. “But when your
father was alive, Hutchins didn’t have the opportunity to perform
such treacherous deeds. That is, if he is, indeed, guilty of
them.”

Saber closed his eyes, sorrow and guilt
fairly smothering him. “Addison,” he whispered achingly. “However
indirectly, I am responsible for Delia’s death. She died only a
short time ago. If I had returned to Ravenhurst, I could have seen
to her welfare myself. But I—”

“Saber, don’t blame—”

“I was to have returned with Angelica,”
Saber went on, his heart throbbing. “Angelica. She wanted so badly
to raise our son on the ducal lands that would one day be his. If
she had lived, I would have gone back with her. But—”

“I know,” Addison said quietly. “I know,
Saber, but nothing that has happened is your fault.”

“I can’t understand,” Saber murmured, “why
Angelica didn’t tell me about what was going on there. Surely she
saw the state of the tenants’ houses. She could have written—”

“I’m certain she would have,” Addison tried
to assure his distraught friend. “But—She didn’t—Perhaps she didn’t
have enough time—Saber, she’d only been there for three days
before...her accident. And it could have been that she was going to
tell you everything in person once she returned to London.”

Clenching his jaw, Saber rose, drawing
himself up to his full height. “I’ll send a letter to Aunt Clara
and Aunt Lucy, and in it I will tell them the truth,” he said with
no emotion whatsoever. “Two more reliable and understanding souls
do not exist, and I know I can depend on their discretion. They
must be told about what I’m doing, of course. Otherwise, they’d
worry.”

Addison realized Saber had formulated a
plan. “Well, that’s topping, Saber. Would you mind telling
me
what you’re going to do as well?”

“I would have thought you’d have figured it
out.”

Addison shrugged. “After all these years,
the true shallowness of my intelligence is finally revealed. I’m
not as quick-minded as you, and there you have it. Put me out of my
misery.”

“The diaries.”

“The diaries,” Addison echoed, frowning in
complete confusion. “What about them?”

“Addison, there might be proof in them!
Goldie said Delia wrote about everything and everyone connected
with Ravenhurst and Hallensham. And the diaries are all dated. If
my suspicions concerning Hutchins and Doyle are true, it’s possible
I’ll find evidence in those little books. Maybe Delia saw
something. Overheard something. Who knows? With any luck, I might
find every scrap of information I need in them.”

Addison nodded. “So you’ll tell Goldie who
you are, explain your suspicions, then ask to read the
diaries.”

“No to the first two, yes to the third.”

“What?”

“No, I won’t tell Goldie who I am, and no, I
won’t tell her what I think about Hutchins and Doyle. Yes, I’ll ask
to read the diaries. I’ll explain I can learn more...uh,
dukish
stuff
if she allows me to concentrate on what Delia wrote.
Addison, if she learns who I am, she or Big might be tempted to
contact her drunken Uncle Asa. He, in turn, would announce the news
around Hallensham, and Hutchins and Doyle would hear of it. If
they’re guilty, they’d have ample time to escape before I’ve
attained the proof I need.”

“I see. But Saber, your time here at
Leighwood is over. You were to return to London tomorrow, and
Goldie was to return to—”

“She stays with me.”

Addison noted the emphatic nature of Saber’s
statement.
You’re quite adamant about her staying with you,
aren’t you, old boy?
Pretending to smother a cough, he hid his
smile. “Very well, my friend. Goldie stays. You’ll be spending the
time here at Leighwood, I presume?”

“In London I’d have a difficult time keeping
my real identity from her. You and the boys will return tomorrow
and spread the word that I am out of the country. Say I went to
Scotland and that you have no idea when I will return. Just make
sure the aunties receive my letter before they hear the rumors
about me. I don’t want them upset.”

“You may depend on us.”

Saber didn’t miss Addison’s mischievous
smile. “Give over, Addison.”

“I hide nothing.”

Saber thought for a moment, realizing there
was only one reason for Addison’s secret delight. “You’re playing
matchmaker again, and I warn you now that there is nothing at all
romantic about my relationship with Goldie.”

“Of course.”

“If I find any evidence in the diaries, I’ll
be returning to London without her. I will, however, make sure
Hallensham will be her home for as long as she wishes. And I will
provide for her financially. She is Delia’s niece, and I can do no
less.”

“Of course.”

“As you well know, she is a very
entertaining person to be around. I admit to having enjoyed her
company. But that is all.”

“Yes, yes, of course, Saber.”

“A relationship any deeper than mere
friendship is out of the question.”

“Oh, yes. Completely out of the
question.”

“She is an American.”

“She is at that.”

“I am an English aristocrat.”

“With blood bluer than the sky.”

“She lives in Hallensham, my home is
London.”

“Two totally different worlds.”

Saber’s thoughts drifted.
Diamonds. And
dandelions.
He sat back down, folding his arms across his
chest. “So I have made myself clear, Addison?”

“As crystal.” Addison made a low bow and
left the room.

Saber stared after him. Addison’s eyes had
been twinkling, and that familiar, telltale sparkle gave Saber two
distinct thoughts: he’d either not made himself clear at all, or
he’d made himself clearer than he’d meant to.

His mind continued filling with a myriad of
reflections. Delia. Hutchins and Doyle. Goldie. Ravenhurst,
Hallensham. The diaries. Death and love and loss and pain and
betrayal. So many thoughts writhed through him, he could
concentrate on none of them. He felt suddenly stifled by them, and
in only moments was outside. The cool night air ruffled his hair as
he walked swiftly through the courtyard. He had no idea where he
was going. He knew only that he had to get away.

He began to run, soon seeing moonlight
splashing upon the maze of hedgerows. The maze! He sped into it,
twisting and turning around its complex course, not stopping until
he was sure he’d reached its center.

His chest heaving, he stared up at the sky.
In his desperate loneliness and need, the stars looked to him like
bright eyes. Millions of benevolent eyes peering down at him.
“Gone,” he whispered up to them. “Dead. Because of me. My fault.
Angelica—Now Delia. Ravenhurst. I tried to take care of you, Delia.
But you never knew that. You died thinking I’d forgotten you. I’m
so sorry.”

He fell to his knees. Guilt more horrible
than he ever imagined could exist fell over him. Profound sorrow
and regret burned from the very core of his soul. He wanted to
shout out his anguish. Wanted to hear his own scream. Hot tears
burned his eyes, but refused to fall.

Anger joined all the other emotions ravaging
inside him. He raised a balled fist to the sky. “
You!
What
else, dammit? What other tragedies do You have planned for me to
bear? I can take no more!”

A brisk wind blew past him.

He thought he heard the sound of taunting
laughter in it.

* * *

Goldie slipped into her patched nightgown
and stepped out onto her balcony. She breathed deeply of the cool,
fragrant night air. It picked up her hair, sending curls fluttering
across her forehead and cheeks.

“I wonder where Saber is?” she asked Itchie
Bon. “He left the kitchen in such a rush tonight, that I
didn’t—”

She broke off when she saw a man fleeing
across the courtyard. Squinting, she realized who it was. “Great
day Miss Agnes, there he is!”

With the aid of the moonlight, she watched
him clear the yard and enter a thick grove of bushes. What in the
world was he doing, running around at this time of night? she
wondered. Staring at the distant shrubbery, she chewed her bottom
lip, deliberating.

“Itchie Bon, I can either leave him in the
bushes by himself, or I can get in ’em with him.” She concentrated
for many long moments, then turned to look down at the dog. “Do you
think I should meet him down there?”

Itchie Bon barked loudly. “That’s just what
I was thinkin’!” Goldie exclaimed. Grinning, she raced out of her
bedroom, through the hall, and down the staircase. Yanking the
front door opened, she skipped down the steps and rushed across the
yard, soon coming to the tall hedges. She entered hesitantly. The
bushes were much bigger than she was, and she wasn’t certain of
which way to go. “Saber?”

When he didn’t answer, she turned right and
kept walking. The wall of shrubs seemed endless. And was it only
her imagination, or were they closing in on her? She felt the
beginnings of panic. “Saber!” Spinning around, she hastened back
toward the entrance, true terror coming to her when she couldn’t
find it.

Clouds drifted across the moon, shrouding
its light. The maze grew darker. “Saber!” she yelled, running now.
Branches scratched her arms. Pebbles bruised her bare feet.
Something big flew close to her head. “Saber! A bat! Oh, Saber,
please
come find me!”

Everything was dark and scary and unfamiliar
to her. She increased her pace, racing as quickly as she was able.
Her fear rose steadily, and with it came her tears. But she
continued to run. Blindly she dashed onward until she ran into a
solid mass.

“Goldie.”

She felt Saber’s arms go around her, easing
her trembling. His scent of sandalwood floated into her, calming
her fear. His strength wrapped around her, blanketing her with warm
security. “Saber,” she whispered, watching the moonlight return. “I
was lost.”

She shivered in his arms. The action touched
something inside him. Something that felt very much like his heart.
“But you’re not now.”

“I was afraid, Saber.”

“So it would seem.”

“A bat was after me.”

“A bat, you say? Didn’t anyone inform you
that Leighwood is the home of England’s vampires? You probably
disturbed one of them with all your shouting.”

“You’re teasin’ me.”

“Am I?”

She looked up at him. “Aren’t you?”

He saw the uncertainty in her eyes. “Yes.”
He urged her head back to his chest, holding her more closely. She
felt so good in his arms, and he needed to have her in them. He
didn’t question his motive. His emotions were too raw, too complex
for him to understand. All he knew was that he had to hold her
tonight.

Potent emotion seized Goldie. To be in his
arms, to hear the rhythmic beat of his heart... Happiness caught
her, holding her fast. Tentatively, she put her arms around him.
Her own action sent a sweet ache spreading throughout her.