Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (43 page)

And that is exactly what they did.

Cecilia was furious when she found out that Helen was still alive. At luncheon, she threw her whole plate of food at her butler and demanded, “Go get me another bottle of wine, and be quick about it.”

Her butler dashed down to the wine cellar, grabbed a bottle of red wine, and hurried back upstairs. Placing the bottle of wine on the table beside Cecilia, he quickly left the dining room. Sitting by herself amid the broken crockery, she fumed over Helen.

How could that bitch still be alive?

Louis must have lied to her.

How could he do this to her?

He had told her that he had killed the bitch. Obviously, he must have gotten cold feet, but where did he take her? The bitch had been gone for over a month. Well, she would just have to take care of this herself. She would kill Helen and then worry about the brats later. Right now, she needed to find Louis and make him tell her why he didn’t do what he was supposed to do.

Louis came to her that night and confessed. “I just couldn’t kill her, so I sold her to a brothel in London instead. I don’t know how she got away from Madame Lucille’s Gallery. She promised me she would make sure she didn’t escape. I really tried to make myself kill her, but I just couldn’t do it. Don’t hate me, Cecilia. You know I’d do almost anything for you, but I just couldn’t do it.”

“Well, I don’t have your problems with murder,” Cecilia said, with her voice as cold as ice, and her violet eyes brittle with malice. “Are you sure they don’t know I’m behind all her misfortunes? They better not know, because if they do, I’ll make you very sorry for betraying me like this.”

“There’s no way they know about you being behind the accidents or the abduction. I kept Lady Collingswood heavily sedated the whole way to London. I don’t think she has any idea who I am or about my connection to you.”

“I’ll just have to kill her myself. I’ll worry about the brats later. When I go to their dinner party, I’ll find a way to get rid of her for good. Once she’s dead, I’ll get Matthew back, and this time he’ll marry me. Maybe it’s good that he had sons, because the reason he said he couldn’t marry me was because he needed an heir. Well, now he has two. Once Helen is dead, I’ll be right there to hold his hand through his grief. He’ll be so grateful to me, that this time he’ll marry me! You just need to stay out of my way.”

“Cecilia, maybe you need to reconsider. I don’t want to see you go to gaol, and if you’re caught, you could be hanged. Is he really worth running this kind of risk?” Louis asked.

“Don’t worry about me. I won’t get caught. After she’s gone, I’ll have Matthew right where I want him. Once he’s married to me, I’ll make his life, and his children’s lives, a living hell. I’ll make him pay for putting me through all this agony. And I’ll have all that money that Matthew received from Helen’s marriage settlement. Ah, yes, life will be good.” Louis just looked at Cecilia with fright in his eyes.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your plans, and I just hope you don’t live to regret this.” Bowing, Louis left Cecilia alone.

Matthew went to the village the following day and talked to the innkeeper, Mr. Wallace. After he gave him a description of Louis, Mr. Wallace nodded. “There was a man that fits that description in ‘ere two nights ago.”

Matthew excitedly asked, “Have you ever seen him here before? Does he ever meet anyone here?”

“He used t’ come ‘ere a lot till bout five or six weeks ago,” Wallace replied. “He’s always alone, and he just gets a bite to eat and drinks some ale, then leaves, milord.”

At last, now he would be able to capture this Louis character. “Will you do me a favor? The next time he comes here, send someone to Collingswood Hall and let me know he’s here. This is very important, and I’ll make it worth your while.”

“I’ll be ‘appy t’ do that,” Mr. Wallace replied, “And ye don’t ‘ave t’ give me nothin’ fer doin’ it. Milord, ye ‘ave already made ever’body’s life so much better since ye became th’ earl. Ever’body in th’ village owes ye a debt of gratitude fer th’ changes that ye ‘ave made ‘ere. Me business ‘as grown a lot since ye took over.”

As Matthew shook Wallace’s hand, he said, “I appreciate your help with this matter. I just hope he comes back soon.” Then lowering his voice, he continued, “Don’t say anything to anyone else, but he may be involved in the abduction of my sons, and I mean for him to pay for what he did.”

With eyes as large as saucers, Wallace replied, “I won’t tell nobody. Me lips are sealed yer lordship, and if ‘e shows back up again, I’ll make sure ‘e stays ‘ere till ye get ‘ere.”

When Matthew returned home, he met with Wells and the guards he’d hired and told them what he found out in the village. He let them know they needed to be ready at a moment’s notice. “When the innkeeper sends for me, I want two of you to come with me. When we get there, I’ll confront the bastard by myself, but I want you nearby. If he starts to run, you’ll need to stop him. I just know he’s the man we’re looking for.”

Wells nodded in agreement. “Whatever you need, my lord. We want to catch this man as badly as you do. Lady Collingswood has been so gracious to everyone since she came here to live. We hold her in very high esteem, so we’ll do anything we can to help you.”

That night, Matthew told Helen about what he found out in the village. “I’m going to take two guards with me, so Louis won’t be able to get away. I’ll get him to tell me everything. Once I get the truth out of him, then we’ll have Cecilia.”

Helen looked relieved. “Oh Matthew, I hope this works out. I just want this to be over with so we can get on with our lives. I’m tired of always having a guard watching me. I also miss our rides on the beach. Until we get her to confess, I know I’m not completely safe.”

“I promise you sweetheart, I’ll get her to confess, and then I’ll have her arrested for attempted murder. Then she’ll be out of our lives forever. I miss our morning rides and the picnics we took on the beach last year also. It won’t be much longer. I have a good feeling about this. I think Louis will show up quite soon, hopefully before the party. Now let’s go upstairs and we can continue this discussion in bed.”

Chapter 27

End of May 1821

The next two days went by, and Matthew didn’t hear anything from Wallace. Tonight was the last night before the party, and he certainly hoped Louis would show up. It would make it so much easier to get Cecilia to confess, if Louis told them everything.

That night at ten o’clock, the message came. Louis was at the inn. Matthew sent for Wells. The two guards that were coming with him were armed and ready. The other guards would stay at Collingswood and make sure Helen and his sons were safe. When he arrived at the inn, Wallace pointed out a man in the corner. He certainly fit the description that Helen had given him. The two guards came in and made their way to a table next to the one where Louis was sitting. Matthew approached Louis and sat down.

“Mind if I join you, Louis?” Matthew asked.

Louis looked at Matthew, and his eyes opened wide. Matthew could see that he was very nervous. “That’s my name, but how do you know me? I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. If you’ll excuse me, I was just getting ready to leave.”

When Louis stood up and started to leave, Matthew stood up and blocked the way. “You’re not going anywhere, you bastard. We’re going to have a long talk, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll cooperate. I can have you arrested for kidnapping my wife and sons. So you had better answer all my questions!”

Louis had broken out in a cold sweat as he looked at Matthew. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, I’m leaving, so move out of my way.”

Louis tried to step around Matthew, but Matthew grabbed his arm. “I was hoping we could talk about this like two civilized gentlemen, but obviously that isn’t going to happen. Guards, grab him!”

Louis pushed Matthew away and dashed towards the door. Matthew and the guards gave chase, and before Louis could get through the door, the guards subdued him. Matthew turned to the innkeeper. “Wallace, I need one of your private dining parlors. Can you please show me to one?”

“O’ course, milord. Just follow me.”

The guards pulled Louis along, and soon they were in the private parlor. Matthew said to the guards, “Tie him to the chair.”

Once that was done, he pulled a chair over, sat down, and began to question Louis. “Why did you abduct my wife and children?”

Trying to bluff his way around the issue, Louis drawled, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never even met your wife. Why would I do something like that?” Louis struggled against the ropes that tied him to the chair as he said this.

“I don’t know why you did it, but I know you’re responsible. It’s obvious that you were working for someone else. There’s no need for you to take all the blame. You do realize that kidnapping is a hanging offense, don’t you?”

Louis’s eyes darted around the room as he replied, “My lord, I have nothing more to say. Now release me this instant!”

“Enough!” Matthew bellowed, “Start talking, and you better give me the answers I want. My wife can identify you, so I’m sure your punishment will be swift. If you cooperate with me, I’ll see that you aren’t hanged, even though you deserve it. When I think of what could have happened to my wife in that brothel, it makes me want to kill you. So start talking if you value your life!”

Louis sat there tied to the chair and hung his head. “I did it for my cousin, Cecilia. She thinks that if your wife is dead, you’ll turn to her and marry her,” Louis explained.

Matthew stood up with so much force his chair fell backward. “I knew Cecilia was behind it! Did she want her dead, or just abducted?”

Louis looked up. “She wanted her dead…and your sons. She wanted your wife killed last fall. It was Cecilia’s idea for me to cut the girth on your wife’s saddle. When that didn’t work, she had me cut some of the spokes on the wheel of your carriage, hoping she would be killed when the carriage overturned. As you know, that didn’t happen.”

“You bastard! What else did you do at Cecilia’s bidding? Tell me everything!”

Louis struggled against the ropes that held him bound to the chair as he replied with fear causing his voice to shake, “When your w-wife had your sons, Cecilia became a bit unhinged and demanded that I k-kill them and your wife. I refused to kill the b-babies, so I suggested we send them to a baby farm. I was supposed to kill your wife and leave her body on the beach, so it would look as if she’d drowned, but when it came time for me to do it, I just couldn’t.”

“You better be glad you didn’t kill her. I would have hunted you down. No place on earth would have protected you from my wrath! Now tell me the rest. How did my wife end up in the brothel?”

“When I realized that I couldn’t kill her, I came up with the idea of selling her to a brothel. Madame Lucille assured me there was no way for her to escape, but evidently that wasn’t true, because she obviously did, or either you rescued her.”

Matthew felt fury roll through him like a tidal wave. “You’re damned right I rescued her, and you better be glad no harm came to her. If it had, you’d be a dead man right now!”

“You’ve got to believe me. I never wanted to hurt your wife, but Cecilia’s been good to me,” Louis pleaded. “I was an outcast with my own family, but Cecilia never turned her back on me. I felt as if I owed her. Besides, it’s very hard to tell Cecilia no.”

“Better an outcast than a murderer! Tell me what she has planned, now that she realizes that my wife is still alive.”

“You need to know she hasn’t given up on killing your wife. She plans to do it tomorrow night at the party. I don’t know how she plans to do it, but I do know she’s very serious about getting rid of her. Cecilia has always been temperamental. I fear this has caused her to lose her mind. Be very careful tomorrow night, or she’ll succeed.”

“Now that I know what she has planned,” Matthew retorted, “I’ll thwart her. She shan’t get the chance to harm my wife. You should thank the heavens above that I found out before she could do anything.”

“I’m so sorry for the grief I caused your family. All I’ll say in my defense is that if I hadn’t done it for Cecilia, she would have found someone else, and they wouldn’t have balked at killing your sons or your wife. What are you going to do to me?”