Sins of Omission (36 page)

Max ordered me to go a little further into the shaft, but allowed me to stop before descending deeper.  There was a makeshift bench, which he graciously invited me to sit on. I clutched the baby, hoping she wouldn’t wake up just yet.  I needed my wits about me, and a wailing child would prevent me from thinking rationally.

“What do you think of this place?” Max asked conversationally.  “In two hundred years or so, this will be a major tourist attraction -– The Catacombs of Paris.  Thousands of skeletons will line the walls, creating a macabre draw for people who are fascinated with death.  Most of them will just walk through the tunnels, taking it all in without ever really thinking about the people whose skulls stare at them in mute horror.  But all those people had lived, had loved, suffered, and feared death as much as you and I.  Will you be one of those people, do you think?” 

He was enjoying himself; I could see that.  This wasn’t something that he’d just thought of on the spur of the moment; this was a well-thought-out plan, and a prepared speech.  He was trying to scare me, to intimidate me, and God in Heaven was it working.  I knew I had to try to talk to him, to reason with him, but my wits had deserted me.  I was numb with fear and panic, but I had to think of something to say.  I had to save my baby.

“Max, why have you brought us here?” I asked, hoping my voice wasn’t dripping with accusation.  My only chance of escape was in talking him around, and infuriating him wouldn’t help.

Max sat down opposite me, placed the pistol on the wooden plank, and planted his hands on his thighs.  “I suppose I owe you an explanation,” he replied, smiling at me as if we were about to order dinner at some restaurant and he was apologizing for being late.

“Yes, you do,” I replied, hoping it would be a long one.  Hugo had to realize that we were missing by now.  I tried not to think of the fact that Max left no trace of where we’d gone.  Hugo would have no idea where to search for us.

“As you know, I was arrested in place of Hugo and sent to the Tower of London where I was beaten, tortured, ridiculed, sentenced to death, and eventually sent down to Barbados for seven years of indentured labor because some mysterious benefactor bribed the judge.”

“Hugo was your mysterious benefactor.  He paid for Gideon Warburton.  We tried to help you, Max,” I cried, seizing the opportunity Max had just provided.  Perhaps if he knew that we hadn’t abandoned him, he’d give up on this crazy plan.

“Well, that was most kind of Hugo, I’m sure,” Max replied, as if I just told him that Hugo sent his regards.  “You wouldn’t believe what I went through to escape, and I won’t bore you with the details.  You see, my initial plan had been to just make my way to England and return to my rightful place.  You have no idea how much I miss home,” he added. 

“What changed your mind?”

“I happened to learn, quite by accident, mind you, that you and Hugo were in Paris, and that you’ve had a child.  Imagine my surprise,” Max said theatrically, his eyes growing wider.  “By the way, is it a boy or a girl?” he suddenly asked.

“It’s a girl.”

“Hmm, shame for Hugo.  I suppose he wanted a son, but I am all right with having a daughter,” he shared with me as if it were a great secret.

“What are you saying?”  Horror crept up my back like cold fingers; caressing me as it threatened to choke me. 

“Neve, I have no wish to harm you; I love you, and I will love your child.  You have my word.  We can have the life we were meant to have, you and I.  I know you won’t go quietly without your baby, nor will you forgive me if anything happens to her, so I will make sure you’re both safe.”

“I don’t understand,” I replied, feeling hysteria begin to well up inside me.  He was really scaring me, especially with his calm and jovial demeanor.  Had he lost his mind?

“Neve, I brought you here in order to lure Hugo to his death.  After I kill him, we will make our way back to England, and back to our own time.  You will be free to marry me, and I will adopt Hugo’s child; I owe him that much.  She will grow up calling me “Daddy.”  I love the irony of that, don’t you?”

“I will not go anywhere with you,” I hissed, really terrified now.

“What reason would you have to remain here if Hugo were dead?  He can be one of the first skeletons to grace this place, along with this handsome fellow.  Hugo won’t even receive a proper Christian burial, which I know would be important to him, so I’ll punish him even in death.”

“Hugo has done absolutely nothing to you; he tried to help you; he risked his life for you,” I shrieked, but Max remained unmoved.

“Neve, I freely admit that Hugo is an honorable man, one who deserves your love.  However, your child is a threat to my future, as are any other children you might have.  If I allow Hugo to live, he might father a son, which would leave me disinherited.  I would have nothing to go back to, and I couldn’t bear that after what I’ve been through.  I don’t hate Hugo; as a matter of fact, I even admire him, seeing what he risked, doing he felt was right, but that doesn’t change my intent.  Hugo must die, and you must come with me.  History will be set to rights; Clarence will inherit, and everything will be as it should have been.  I really do love you, Neve.  I realized that after I saw you with Hugo.  You tore my heart out.”

“You love me?” I gaped at him.  “You don’t do this to people you love.  And the only reason you want me is because I love him, and not you.  You want his life for yourself.”

“Yes, I suppose I do,” Max agreed, nodding to himself as if the idea had only just occurred to him.  “It pains me that you chose him over me, but I can see why you would.  He’s a real man, not a preening, self-absorbed peacock who only cares about posturing and gain.  I will be the man you want, Neve.  I’ve learned much in the past, and I will make you proud,” Max said, his gaze suddenly earnest.  “I will become worthy of your love, and worthy of our daughter.”

“Max, do you honestly believe that a man who would kill my husband can ever be worthy of my love?  Please, let me out of here.  I will go with you willingly, but leave Hugo alone.  He’s suffered enough.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.  Hugo cannot be allowed to reproduce.  Shall I castrate him, do you think?” Max asked with a twinkle in his eye.  “Would he prefer life as a gelding to death as a man?  I suppose that’s an option, but I doubt he’ll submit.”

I was staring at Max, my heart pounding with fear.  He was mad.  His captivity had turned his mind.  He must have been through hell, I’d grant him that, but he was talking like a madman.  Did he really believe that I would love him after he killed Hugo, and allow him access to my only child?  Did he really believe that Hugo wouldn’t put up a fight to save us?

“How will Hugo know where to find us?” I asked, praying that Archie would be on hand when he did.

“I sent a note to the house, telling him that I have you and to come alone and unarmed, or I will kill both you and the child.  That should bring him running.  What’s wrong with him, by the way?  He looked a bit sickly the last I saw him.”

“Hugo had been shot,” I replied tersely, not wanting to give Max any more ammunition.

“He does tend to make enemies, doesn’t he?  I’m surprised Lionel Finch never killed him.  He certainly wanted to; I saw it in his eyes at that mockery of a trial.”

“Finch is dead.  Hugo killed him, and he will kill you,” I spat out, “as he should have when you tried to brain him with a rock.  He was merciful.”

“Hugo could afford to be merciful; I was no threat to him, but he is to me,” Max explained patiently.

I drew back in apprehension as I heard something coming from outside.  Would Max try to shoot Hugo as he descended without even giving him a chance to defend himself?  I had to distract him somehow.  But, Max was onto me as I tried to divert his attention when I saw a pair of boots coming down the ladder.  He got behind me with his pistol trained on the opening.  Hugo jumped off the ladder and faced Max, his hands held up. 

“I’m not armed, Max, as you requested,” he said soothingly.  “Neve, are you all right?”

I tried to answer him, but all that came out was a desperate sob.  In a few moments, Hugo could be dead, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.  Max held all the cards, and Hugo and I were at his mercy.

“Hugo, I know you tried to help me while I was in the Tower, and I am grateful for that; I want you to know that.  I do admire you, really, but I’m afraid you must die.  You have made a mess of my future, and I must set things to rights before I return to my rightful place.  Sorry, old man, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made.  I just want you to know that I will take good care of your wife and child.  The least I can do is give you that little bit of peace.”

“Let Neve and the baby leave, Max.  They don’t need to watch me die.”

“Oh, but they must,” Max replied calmly.  “Neve must know for sure that you are dead, or she will never be able to move forward.  I intend to marry her, old boy.  We will be a proper little family.”

“She’ll never love you,” Hugo replied, his voice laced with fury.

“She will in time.  I am the only person who will be able to understand what she’s been through, and it’s not as if she has much to go back to — no family, hardly any friends.  I will happily provide for Neve and the baby, and in time, they’ll forget you ever existed.  The child doesn’t even look like you, so not like her looks will be a reminder of dear old dad.”

“You truly are mad,” Hugo said as he looked at Max’s gleeful expression.

“Yes, I suppose I am, but there’s method to my madness.  Now, shut up; I’ve heard enough from you.”

I tried to meet Hugo’s gaze, but he looked utterly shaken by Max’s revelations, the shock evident in his eyes as he stared at his sister’s descendant.  Hugo’s face was gray in the feeble light of the lanterns, and his lips moved as if he were praying.  He leaned against the earthen wall of the tunnel for support, closing his eyes momentarily as he breathed deeply to combat whatever he was feeling.  Max stood back, watching Hugo with interest, obviously in no hurry to fire the gun.  He was enjoying this too much to let it end quickly.  He’d had months to plan this, to envision how it would all play out, and now that it was a reality, it was too intoxicating to just terminate mid-performance. 

Hugo doubled over, his arm across his middle as if he were going to be sick.  I hoped he was stalling until Archie got there, but there was no sign of reinforcements.  Max had demanded that Hugo come alone, and he did, too afraid to jeopardize our safety.  It was just the four of us, and only three were coming out alive. 

“Kneel,” Max ordered, pointing to a spot before him with the pistol.  He was going to kill Hugo execution style.  “Don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be for your wife.” 

Hugo’s eyes finally met mine.  They were full of love and longing.  He didn’t say anything, but his expression said it all.  He was saying goodbye.

“Max, I beg you for his life,” I pleaded.  “I will do anything, anything at all.” 

“I would gladly take you up on that, Neve, if it were possible, but you know the situation.  Hugo must never have another child, biological or even adopted.  The line of succession must not be altered.  History must be reset.”

“Hugo,” I cried as I tried to go to him, but Max pushed me back.  “See to your daughter, Neve.  I think she’s waking up.”  Valentine was fussing in my arms, her eyes fully open now, gazing around at her strange surroundings.  She smiled when she saw her father, revealing her two emerging bottom teeth. 

“I love you both,” Hugo said as he sank to his knees in front of Max, his hands folded as if in supplication.  Why wasn’t he fighting?  Did he think he was protecting us?  Is that why he was going to his death like a sacrificial lamb?  I wanted to scream at him, urge him to fight, to resist, but Hugo looked up at Max, daring him to shoot.  Their eyes held each other in thrall, the moment frozen in time just before all hell broke loose.

Max lowered the gun, ready to shoot.  I closed my eyes, unable to watch as my husband met his end at the hands of someone I had once liked and trusted.  I was shaking all over, which made Valentine giggle.  She thought I was playing with her.  I pressed her closer to my body for comfort and squeezed my eyes tighter.  I was expecting to hear a gunshot, and I did.  It sounded like an explosion in the small space, and a shower of dirt rained down on my head, causing me to open my eyes in alarm.  A sound of animal agony tore from Max as he collapsed to his knees in front of Hugo.  I had no idea what had happened, only that Max had fired upward and was now screaming and clutching his middle. 

Hugo was on his feet in seconds.  He grabbed Max’s gun and stuffed it into the waistband of his breeches before dragging me toward the ladder and pushing me up as I struggled to hold my skirts and the baby at the same time.  I climbed out of the hole, followed by Hugo, who took Valentine away from me since I was shaking so badly I was about to drop her.  He grabbed me by the elbow, and half dragged me toward the nearest street.  Archie was waiting with the carriage, his arms crossed over his chest, and a look of ferocious anger stamped on his features.  He gave us a quick examination before flinging open the door and helping me into the carriage. 

Hugo climbed in and put his free arm around me, drawing me close.  I could see that he was in pain, but he just shook his head as I tried to take the squirming child away from him.  Valentine was howling with terror, having been frightened by the shot, but Hugo held her close and whispered to her until she began to calm down.  She grabbed onto his finger and began to gnaw, the pressure easing the pain in her swollen gums.