River Of Fire (38 page)

As they waited in the salon of Ashburton House for the carriage that would take the bridal party to the church, Rebecca circled Beth for a last-minute check. Kenneth's sister looked enchanting in a cream-colored silk gown. It had been a gift from Lavinia, who adored all weddings. Rebecca paused in her orbiting to make a minor adjustment to the train.

"You're more nervous than I am," Beth said with a smile.

"Probably. I've never been part of a wedding before." Rebecca was enjoying the combination of high spirits and hysteria that surrounded the event. Hiding from the world had caused her to miss a great deal of fun.

But she was still impatient to be off. Kenneth and Catherine had gone to confer with the cook about the wedding breakfast, which the Kenyons were providing here at Ashburton House. Michael and Catherine had both been wonderful. Though Kenneth might not have accumulated much in the way of worldly goods, he had certainly acquired friends beyond price.

"Soon you'll be doing this, thought not on such short notice," Beth remarked. "Have you and Kenneth set a date?"

Rebecca glanced away. "Not yet. There's no hurry."

"Unlike Jack and I." Beth's hand slid protectively over her abdomen. "Though it's wicked of me, I can't be sorry."

Rebecca stared, wondering if she was misinterpreting the gesture. "Are you saying that… that…"

"That I'm in the family way?" Beth said cheerfully. "I thought Kenneth would have told you, since you're his fiancee. I guess he was being a very discreet big brother, but it's not the sort of thing that can be kept secret very long. When the baby is born, anyone who can count will wonder, even if the
dates
are not wholly impossible."

No wonder Kenneth had agreed to an immediate marriage. Rebecca was not surprised that he hadn't told her. Though he had done another sitting, they had both been on rigidly good behavior. It took so little to set passion blazing between them. Even friendly conversation was dangerous.

The door opened and Kenneth and Catherine entered. He was carrying a sizable parcel. "Beth, this was delivered a few minutes ago, addressed to both of us." He set the package on the table beside her. "A wedding gift, I presume, though I -don't know why my name would be on it."

Beth unwrapped the package and found an elaborately gilded casket. She unlatched and lifted the lid, then gave a gasp of astonishment. Inside was a gleaming trove of jewelry with a sealed note resting on top.

"Good God!" Kenneth exclaimed. "The Wilding jewels. I don't believe it."

He removed the note and tore it open. As Rebecca and Catherine converged on the table, he read, "
To Beth
and Kenneth: I've decided that the Wilding family pieces belong with you. Best wishes on your wedding day, Beth. Hermione Kimball
."

Eyes wide, Beth picked up a pair of sapphire earrings, cradling them gently in her palm. "I never thought I would see these again. How wonderfully generous of Hermione."

"I don't believe it," Kenneth said flatly. "She never had an unselfish impulse in her life."

"Nonetheless, the proof is in front of our eyes." Beth frowned as she returned the earrings to their velvet-lined compartment. "And I didn't even invite her to the wedding." She glanced at her hostess. "It's too late for her to come to the ceremony, but may I invite her to the wedding breakfast?"

"Of course," Catherine replied. "There is paper and ink in the writing desk in the corner. Write a note, and I'll have a footman deliver it right away."

As Catherine and Beth went to the desk, Kenneth folded the note and tucked it inside his coat. "I still don't believe it."

"Nor do I," Rebecca said quietly. "The woman is a snake, and while snakes may shed their skins, they don't change their spots. She must have had an ulterior motive."

Kenneth frowned. "I wish I knew what it was, but I can't imagine any way she would benefit by giving these back."

Rebecca touched the brilliant diamonds of the magnificent necklace Hermione had worn to the Candover ball. Someday Kenneth's wife would wear it. "Are all the heirlooms here?"

He surveyed the contents of the casket. "I think so. There are some pieces I don't recognize."

"Perhaps she included some of her personal jewelry in a fit of remorse for the way she looted your family," Rebecca suggested. When Kenneth gave a disbelieving snort, she chuckled. "Or perhaps Hermione got wildly drunk last night and acted while the balance of her mind was disturbed. Whatever the reason, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Now that the jewels are in your hands, they are yours."

An arrested expression appeared in her companion's eyes. Before Rebecca could ask what he was thinking, Beth rose from the desk and Catherine rang for a servant.

When the footman arrived, he accepted Beth's letter and added, "The carriage for the bridal party is ready, my lady."

Catherine turned to the others. "Shall we go? I'll ask the butler to put the casket in a safe place until later."

"In a moment." Kenneth lifted a beautiful multi-strand pearl necklace from the box. "You can be married in Mother's pearls, Beth. They were always meant to come to you."

"What a wonderful blessing for the day," Beth said softly as her brother fastened the pearls around her neck. "Now I regret all the unkind things I've said about Hermione. She really does have a heart under her glittering surface."

Rebecca wasn't so sure. Kenneth's stepmother had a glittering surface, all right, but it was composed of reptilian scales. There had to be an interesting story behind the casket of jewels. She hoped someday to learn it.

A few minutes' ride brought the bridal party to the small church where the wedding was being held. Kenneth helped the three ladies from the carriage. Then, with his sister on his arm, he entered the church. They were greeted by a joyous cascade of organ music that made the old stone walls resonate.

Catherine hugged Beth, then went into the sanctuary to take her place with the handful of other guests. While they waited for the ceremony to begin, Kenneth studied his sister, feeling a little sad. He was losing her before ever having a chance to become really close. There was too great a difference in age, too many years when he had been gone.

His mood must have shown on his face, because Rebecca said briskly, "Take heart, Kenneth. You're not losing a sister. You're gaining a steward." Then she peered through the double doors to check the progress of events. "Almost time, Beth. Jack looks wonderfully handsome. Also ready to expire on the spot. Michael is fulfilling his groomsman's duties by standing ready to catch Jack if he swoons. Ah. Jack is smiling now that he knows you're here. I think he'll survive after all."

Rebecca waited for the processional music to begin. Then she clasped her flowers in front of her and walked down the aisle with slow grace. She wore the amber silk gown again and looked almost as radiant as Beth.

His sister leaned her cane against the wall and took hold of his arm. When he raised his brows, she said decisively, "I'm not going down the aisle with a cane." She smiled up at him, her face luminous with love and certainty. "Besides, I won't need it. I have you to lean on now, and Jack later."

Kenneth smiled back. "You look lovely, Beth." He was struck by a pang of grief and deep regret. "I wish Mama could be here to see you."

Beth gestured at the vaulted ceiling and the glowing stained-glass windows with her bouquet. "I think she is, Kenneth."

Then she locked her hand firmly around his elbow and they proceeded to the altar, and into Beth's future.

After the ceremony, the newly married couple and guests returned to Ashburton House for the wedding breakfast, all of the females except Rebecca wiping away happy tears. There was a period of buoyant confusion in the vast foyer. The process of removing cloaks and hats was not helped when Louis the Lazy, the Ken-yon hound, decided to nap on Beth's train. Eventually the party went on to the dining room.

Kenneth lingered behind with Michael to say, "My thanks to you and Catherine for making the day special."

His friend made a deprecating gesture. "Who doesn't like a wedding? I've always thought well of Jack Davidson, and your sister is a darling. Seeing her safely wed must be quite a burden off your mind."

"I suppose this is good practice for when Amy gets married."

Michael groaned. "Don't talk about it. I'm afraid that I will break the neck of any beastly young man who dares ask her to walk in the garden."

Kenneth smiled, thinking that his friend had taken to the role of stepfather very thoroughly. They were walking toward the corridor that led to the dining room when the knocker smashed furiously into the front door. Michael went to open it. "
A
late guest, perhaps? I can't think who is missing."

The door swung open and Hermione barreled into the foyer. Ignoring Michael as if he were a footman, she charged straight at Kenneth. "How dare you!" she shrieked. "First you break into my house to steal my jewelry. Then you have the unmitigated impudence to make Beth write and thank me for 'giving' the jewels back! You… you beast! You contemptible villain!"

This was the stepmother he recognized. As she slashed at his face with clawed fingers, he caught her wrist in an iron grip. "It's too late to change your mind, Hermione," he said coolly. "I have proof that you returned the jewels of your own free will, so wild accusations will do you no good."

"Liar! I did no such thing." She wrenched her wrist free. "I'll have the magistrates on you for theft!"

"Oh?" Kenneth withdrew from his coat the note that had come with the casket. "This looks like your handwriting to me."

Hermione opened the note with shaking hands. "It's a forgery!" she gasped. "I never wrote this."

"Perhaps you did in a fit of absentmindedness, then forgot." Wanting to keep the note in case it was needed as evidence, he plucked it from her nerveless ringers.

As Hermione prepared for a new explosion, a musical voice said guilelessly, "Lady Kimball, how lovely that you've come to the wedding breakfast. Beth will be so pleased."

Catherine sailed into the foyer, every inch the gracious hostess. "I'm Lady Michael Kenyon. We've never been introduced, but of course I recognize you as one of the great beauties of London society." She smiled a thousand-candle smile. "I was deeply touched when the jewels were delivered this morning. It does you great credit that you put the claims of tradition and sentiment over personal gain."

Hermione stared, stunned speechless by so much lavish charm.

"As soon as the jewels arrived, I wrote about your unselfish gesture to my brother-in-law, Ashburton," Catherine continued. "Of course, you must know him."

A calculating gleam appeared in Hermione's pale blue eyes. "No, I've never had the privilege of meeting the duke."

"Then I shall invite you to dine with us when he returns to London. Just a private gathering, of course, since he is in mourning for his wife, but I should like you to meet him. It is
so
important that he make the right choice when he remarries."

There was a long, meaningful silence as the two women regarded each other. Then Hermione's lips curved into a predatory smile. "Since I have also been recently bereaved, I'm sure the duke and I shall have much in common."

Catherine beamed. "Come join us for the breakfast. Beth will be anxious to thank you for making it possible for her to wear her mother's pearls on her wedding day."

"I can't stay, but I do want to offer my best wishes to dear Beth." Hermione gave a tinkling laugh. "So absurd that I have a stepdaughter only a year or two younger than I! I was the merest child when I married Kimball, you know."

After the two women left the foyer, Kenneth said with awed respect, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I have just seen your saintly lady wife defang a serpent by promising to promote a match with the most eligible man in the marriage mart."

Michael chuckled. "Catherine is a dangerous woman, isn't she? I give thanks daily that she is on my side."

"She could give Wellington lessons in generalship. But I thought you liked your brother. It would be cruel to deliver him into Hermione's clutches."

"Stephen has too much sense to be attracted to a harpy like her," Michael said reassuringly. "By the time she realizes that she hasn't a chance to become the next duchess, it will be too late for her to claim that the jewels were stolen."

Suspicious of how neatly Catherine had intervened, Kenneth said warily, "You didn't burgle Hermione's house, did you?"

Michael arched his brows with aristocratic disdain.

"Of course not. What would I know about house-breaking?"

"Not much, I suppose. But wasn't one of your Fallen Angel friends some kind of government spymaster? A man like that might have some interesting skills."

Amusement gleamed in Michael's eyes. "it's possible that I mentioned your stepmother's disgraceful behavior to Lucien. He has a keen sense of justice. Perhaps in his indignation he alluded to the situation with some of his less reputable acquaintances."

"Which probably include forgers as well as burglars."

"No doubt," Michael said blandly.

Kenneth grinned. "I don't think I want to know any more. Please give my deepest thanks to whom it may concern."