Madness (55 page)

Even if by some miracle he was still alive after the terrible fall, he had now been buried alive, interred in the bowels of the earth forever.

Simon and the other man waited until the shaking had subsided, and once they were sure it was safe, offered a hand blindly, and helped each other to their feet. They began to brush themselves down, muttering their somewhat bashful thanks for helping bring the foul Oxnard to justice at last.

“He certainly won’t be missed. Bloody
canard
.” The huge man spat into the hole to clear his mouth of dirt, and release the last of his pent-up fury.

Simon was surprised at the insult uttered in French. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Don’t mention it. It was a pleasure to see that bastard dead at last. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, thanks. That sure was close, though,” Simon said, hacking up the plumes of soil and debris he had inhaled.

The dark man tried to cuff the dust out his own eyes with one mired sleeve.

Simon reached into his pocket and offered him a handkerchief. "Here, take this. It's clean. My wife would tell you never to rub an eye with soot in it. She worked at the clinic for women at Bethnal Green as a nurse, so she knows what she’s talking about.”

George paused mid-rub. “The Bethnal Green clinic?” Something sparked off in his head.
Dr. Herriot. His assistant. The tarts at Bedlam.
“She isn’t called Clarissa by any chance, is she?”

Simon looked at him in surprise. “No, Gabrielle. She does have a friend called Clarissa though. And her sister is Lucinda. That’s her baby you all helped save.”

The man stood still as a stone, blinking his watery eyes, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.

Simon wondered at the reaction slightly, but he was already looking up the path in relief as Jonathan and the dark rider now came galloping near to make sure their friends had not been swallowed by the cataclysmic quake.

“You two chaps all right? George? Simon?” Jonathan asked worriedly.

Alexander had already swung down off his mount and now offered the child to Simon. He stared into glinting gold eyes. Eyes which mirrored his own.

“Your nephew, did you say?” the man asked, his voice trailing off as he watched the chap cradle the baby against his chest in a tender way which was truly moving.

“I did. My nephew Christopher.”

“Fine lad. Very fine.” But Simon sensed that it was he himself Alexander was now staring at.

“My God,” Jonathan breathed, staring now himself. “It’s not possible. And yet I see miracles happen every day.”

Simon felt a prickle up his spine, but told himself to not be silly. There was nothing to be nervous about. These men were not going to harm him, not with Jonathan so near.

Simon cuddled the infant and looking him over for any sign of injury. “I’ll have to get Blake or Eswara to examine him. Her home is closest. If you wouldn’t mind letting me borrow your mount, sir,” he said to the dark rider, “I should be most grateful.

"Or I can swing up behind if you will continue to be so kind as to take him up with you and hold him a bit longer. And I must find my wife and sister-in-law, who was shot by that madman.”

The silence was so profound he could have sworn he heard his own heart beat. No. Three hearts beating in time.

At last he looked up to meet a pair of brown eyes so pale as to be nearly gold, and another pair so dark as to be almost black.

“My God,” Jonathan said again. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Believe it,” Alexander said. “I’ll be glad to ride along with you, Simon. My brother.”

Simon frowned slightly. Then he looked harder. And looked again.
 
“
Jason
?” he gasped.

“Alexander now. Alexander Deveril. Formerly Jason Alexander Davenport.”

The other man called George, overwhelmed utterly, began to weep, and all eyes now turned to him.

“Oh God, you have no idea. Jason, Simon. I’ve been looking for you for years, Jason. And you, Simon. When they told me you had been captured I prayed like I’d never prayed before that one day I would see you again. Six years of doing nothing but waiting, hoping, chasing shadows, and here you are.
Here
.”

“George?
Georges
?” Simon and Alexander both said simultaneously.

“Aye, it’s me. I’m alive too. Alive, and no longer bitter and alone.”

The time for male stoicism was now at an end. They all began to weep in earnest, and hugged each other as though they would never let each other go.

Jonathan certainly couldn’t manage to keep his eyes dry, but he was the only one not completely overcome with emotion.

At length he said, “I think we need to get back to see what’s happened to Lucinda, and to reassure everyone that Christopher is fine and Oxnard can’t harm anyone any more.

"Come, Simon, hand the baby up here to me, and swing up behind. George and Alexander can share. We’ll be back in a trice. Then I think we need to adjourn to Lawrence’s house for some much-needed explanations.”

Simon held the baby up for the vicar once he had mounted. Simon was numb with shock and relief, and a host of other emotions, but eager to get back to Gabrielle and Lucinda to see how they fared, and to tell his beloved his miraculous news.

Jonathan grasped the infant firmly, before offering him an arm up. With one last embrace George hugged Simon. Next George and Alexander also embraced, then mounted and returned to the clearing following on close behind.

 
Lucinda was sitting up, her shoulder bandaged thanks to Blake, still alive but completely in hysterics.

"My son. My boy. Simon, bring him back. My son!"

She leapt to her feet and ran amid a flurry of petticoats as soon as she saw the kind vicar with her child, and began to smother the infant in kisses.

The dark-haired woman hurried forward and gasped, “Darling, are you all right?”

“I couldn’t be better,” George replied. “Oxnard is dead and will never harm his wife and child again. Or you, my love. And I now have everything I’ve ever wanted in my life. And I have you to thank for it, my treasure.”

“Me? I don’t understand. What’s happened?” she gasped.

Gabrielle had moved forward to meet her lover as well, but it was too late.

Simon could feel the darkness encroaching already. “I’m not mad. I’ve never been mad. They know I know things. They’ve left me here to rot. Couldn’t kill me in case they needed me. Please, I have to-” He began to twitch and looked at Gabrielle beseechingly. “Please, help me.”

Gabrielle realised at last that every time he heard the phrase “I don’t understand,” he uttered the same formulaic phrase. “It’s all right, you’re safe. It’s not a real seizure. You’re safe here with friends. Darling, tell me what happened.”

She helped him down off the horse and pulled him into her arms.

He fell to his knees with her, and began to make sure she was all right after the dreadful ordeal with Oxnard. He ran his hands over her worshipfully and smothered her face in kisses. His eyes were full of tears as he accepted Lucinda’s hug as well.

"Thank you. You kept your promise. You protected him, saved him."

"I love you all. You're my family now. And while nothing can ever make up for all I lost, the three of you have brought me here, to this place, where everything has been found again."

"I don't—" Gabrielle caught herself in time, and said instead, "What are you trying to tell us, my love?"

"That I've found them."

"Found who?"

Gabrielle stared in shock as the tall dark man with nearly black eyes declared to the woman by his side, “My dearest Miranda, I would like you to meet my two brothers. Jason Alexander and Simon Andre D’Ambois.”

Gabrielle gasped. “Ess, a, dee. SAD. Your tattoos.”

"Yes, and this is my brother Georges. George. George Davenant, I think?"

"Aye," he said, nodding.

The other women in the clearing both stared at him, wondering if all of the upset with Oxnard had taken a toll on his sanity.

But as Gabrielle looked around at the four men all looking moist-eyed and overjoyed, she realised with a lurch that he was actually telling the truth. He had found his family at last.

The dark-haired woman held out her hand. “So very delighted. Oh, you have no idea.” Scattering all caution to the winds, the lovely young woman threw her arms around Alexander first, and Simon second. She even hugged the vicar for good measure as he beamed in delight.

“And my wife Gabrielle, and her sister Lucinda, now officially a widow, for which we shall all thank the gods daily,” Simon said at last, in a voice choked by emotion.

“And I am therefore related to you all by marriage,” Jonathan explained, “for Alexander here is married to my sister Sarah," he said, pointing at the other dark haired, intelligent looking woman in a plain gown who had come over to stand nearby.

"Come, let’s go find Lawrence and tell him the remarkable news. Then I’m going to tell the other Rakehells what’s happened. Don’t worry, we wouldn’t wish to intrude—”

“Intrude?” the woman Miranda said with a laugh. “Lawrence is my brother-in-law, and Matthew my brother. Tell him to come.”

“Intrude?” Gabrielle said with a laugh. “Randall and Michael are my cousins, and so is Matthew’s wife Althea. We’re all one big family. You’ve always treated us like that, ever since we came here when Simon was so ill. It’s even more true now that we know the everything at last.”

“Yes, do please come up to the house. Juliet and Lawrence will be only too pleased, I promise,” Miranda reassured them.

Thus the picnic moved indoors and a short time later, Eswara and her son Ash came with their spouses to join what looked to be a rather exciting Rakehell gathering.

“Well, I have to say everything you’ve told us is quite remarkable,” Ash Paington said with a fond smile down at his lovely wife Ellen, a statuesque blonde who was swathed in a most elegant sapphire blue sari which made her blue eyes look enormous.

“There’s only one more piece of information you might like to hear to put an end to this chapter in all your lives.”

“Oh, what’s that?” George asked with interest.

“Ellen and I just heard it in Bath and came straight home to tell everyone the news.”