The Duke's Deception (20 page)

‘Yes, I will,
you rustle up some food. We’ve ridden hard and are famished. Also, have a
substantial tray sent out to the stables for our grooms.’

An hour and
thirty minutes later they were remounted and ready to leave. The sun had risen
in their absence and it promised to be a fine day.

‘We’ll make
better time now we can see,’ Theo remarked. ‘But we must take it steady,
neither
horses
nor ourselves are fit enough to hurry.’

‘But, your
grace, it will be after ten when we arrive.’

‘An hour or two
will make little difference now, my friend. I am resigned to the inevitable. As
long as Marianne is alive I shall be content.’

‘But he won’t
kill her, why should he? It’s her money he wants; he will have forced her to
marry him, your grace. She will be as good as dead to you.’

Theo shook his
head and laughed. ‘I have always wanted to marry a rich widow.’

The horses, as
tired as the riders, trotted and cantered but the spells of walking became
longer as the miles unrolled. A little after the expected time they reached the
entrance to Drayton House.

‘Dismount here,
leave your horses, they are too tired to go far. We shall complete our journey
on foot,’ Theo told them quietly.

*

The morning sun
did not shine into the sitting-room where Marianne still knelt but she sensed a
gradual lightening of the gloom and could delay no longer. Her knees were
stiff, her legs numb after her vigil and she pushed herself upright with
difficulty. She sat on the chair, spreading out her crumpled skirts and opened
her sewing case. She selected the silver scissors, their long thin blades ideal
for her purpose.

She closed her
eyes and put the points to her breast then she placed both hands on the
handles. She would need the strength of both arms if she was to be successful.
She was so engrossed in her task she didn’t hear the rattle of the door behind
her, the urgent voices calling out to her. She took several deep breaths
knowing her hands needed to be steady.

The flimsy
barrier gave way and Jane and Annie burst in. She would get no further
opportunity. She drew back her hands to plunge the blades into her heart.

Annie reached
her first, flinging herself forward with outstretched arms and sending the
chair and its occupant crashing to the floor. Jane knelt down and prised open Marianne’s
fingers, removing the scissors.

‘That’s not the
way, my dear. It’s never the way.’ Marianne rolled over, curling into a ball,
moaning quietly.

‘Come along,
Miss Marianne, you can’t stay down there. You’re overwrought and you need to
rest,’ Annie crooned. Then she and Jane lifted her gently and guided her to the
bed.

Marianne was
lost in a world of despair. She had failed again. God had deserted her. In the
distance she heard voices she didn’t recognize. Then welcome blackness swept
her away.

*

Jane and Annie
removed her garments and pulled the comforter over her. ‘I can’t believe she
would try and take her own life. What could have possessed her? We have only
one chance on this
earth,
it’s too precious to throw
away. However bleak the circumstances we must trust in the Lord,’ Jane said.

‘To marry that
evil man, spend the rest her life at his mercy, have his children, watch him

gamble
away her fortune— how could she bear that?’

Jane shook her head
and regretted it. ‘Even marrying him is better than being dead. And children
are always a blessing; she can find her solace in them.’

‘Well if Miss
Devenish is to be married this morning she must have something suitable to
wear. I heard that man say so last night.’

Packing away the
spilled clothes helped to fill the hours they had to wait until Sir James came
to collect Miss Devenish. They selected a high-necked morning dress in deep
cerise, the one she had tried on first and loved so much. The requisite
undergarments, hosiery and slippers were placed ready. The matching kid gloves
were found. With nothing else to do they sat either side of the bed and prayed.

*

Marianne opened
her eyes. What had woken her? She could hear voices in the dressing-room and
the rattling of a bucket. She felt strange as though seeing the world through
the wrong end of a spyglass. Her brain was refusing to function, to tell her
what to do. She was unhappy but was not sure why.

Jane would tell
her. She pushed back the coverlet and rolled to the edge of the bed. Then
inertia took over and she closed her eyes again. She would rest a little and
wait for Jane to come back.

‘Up you come,
Miss Marianne. I’ve hot water, you will feel much better after a good wash,’
Jane told her.

Marianne allowed
herself to be washed and dressed like a child. She felt removed from it all; if
she did as she was bid and didn’t argue then perhaps she would be permitted to
return to her bed. She wanted to sleep, sleep for ever if she could. Jane was
tying her sash when there were footsteps outside.

Ellison
appeared. ‘Sir James is waiting in the drawing-room.’

Like an
automaton, Marianne, guided by Jane, followed the butler downstairs.

Sir
James,
dressed in full evening dress, a diamond fob on his
snowy cravat, his hair swept back, his eyes alight with anticipation watched
her enter.

The vicar paid
handsomely to conduct the ceremony, stepped up and cleared his throat. He had
been told to dispense with the preliminaries and start immediately with the
vows.

Chapter
Twenty

Theo led his
small troop stealthily around the edge of the open space in front of the house.
The place seemed deserted. He gestured for them to follow him as he sidled
below the window ledges and around to the rear. He intended to break in here.

He removed the
first of his pistols, John did the same - Billy and Tom gripped their cudgels
firmly. Theo flung open the kitchen door. The cook, terrified by the sudden
arrival of a huge man brandishing a pistol, dropped his skillet on his toe.

Whilst he was
hopping about in agony Billy and Tom grabbed his arms and bundled him out. The
plan was to tie prisoners securely and leave them in the woods that surrounded
the house. Theo waited until the boys returned then moved towards the door. He
pushed it open a little and put his ear to the gap. He could hear voices coming
from the front of the house.

Good - his
enemies were located. He slid through the door and with the others shadowing him
stole along the passage pressed hard against the wall, almost invisible in the
gloom. He stopped as he reached the hall. This was the dangerous part, crossing
the open space where there was no cover. If he was expected, that would be the
time for them to strike.

He pointed
downwards and then removed his boots, the others copied. In
stockinged
feet he walked towards the murmur of voices. The door was ajar - thanking God
his luck was holding he gently pushed it open and on silent feet stepped in.
John was at his left shoulder, the boys on his right.

Gathered at the
far end of the room was a wedding party. The vicar with his prayer book open
stood in front of the bridal pair. Two women stood to one side both weeping
softly, two sour faced men stood on the other.

Theo’s vision
misted and he paced forward. Sir James swung round still gripping Marianne’s
hand.

‘Good morning,
gentlemen, have you come to offer felicitations to my bride?’

‘No, I have come
to offer my condolences.’ Theo raised his hand and fired down the length of the
room. Sir James clutched his head and fell a look of total stupefaction on his
face. For a moment the tableau froze then several things happened
simultaneously.

The two men
finding
themselves
staring down the barrels of two
pistols, capitulated, holding up their hands in surrender. The vicar collapsed
in a dead faint and Theo moved smoothly to draw Marianne away from the corpse
at her feet. The blank expression in her eyes frightened him.

‘Marianne, sweetheart, come with me.
We will go into another
room where it is quieter.’

Without demure
she walked beside him her hand trustingly in his as he guided her to a smaller
reception room. Jane was close behind them.

‘Mrs Smith, take
care of Marianne for me. I shall be back in a moment. This is not over yet.’ He
strode back to the drawing-room and hauled the vicar to his feet. ‘You have a
ceremony to perform, sir, it would be best if you woke up.’

The man, no
doubt, had already been well paid for his services but he had yet to earn his
money. ‘I will pay you handsomely. Will five guineas be sufficient to clear
your head?’

The vicar nodded
and looked round for his prayer book. He was in no position to argue with a
cold-blooded killer. Theo picked up the book and handed it over. They stepped
round the body of Sir James and hurried back to the room in which Marianne was
waiting.

He glanced
round— he needed John and Tom to act as witnesses. They were returning through
the open front door. ‘John, Tom, with me. Leave him where he is. I haven’t yet
decided how to dispose of his remains.’

Marianne smiled
at him as he came in. ‘I know
you,
you are Theo, are
you not?’

‘I am, my love.
I have come to take you home. I am going to take care of you for the rest of
your life.’

‘I should like
that. Can I go to bed now please, I am so very tired?’

He slid his arm
around her and pulled her close. ‘Very soon, little one. Then you can sleep as
long as you like.’ He glared at the vicar who hastily opened his book. Theo
remembered he had not given the man the special licence authorising the
marriage. With his freehand, he pulled it out of his pocket and tossed it to
him.

So, he, the Duke
of Wister married Miss Martha Frasier. She was in a morning gown, he in his
stockings. But however they were dressed the ceremony was legal. The
certificate was signed and the vicar paid but when the man started to back away
Theo shook his head. John stepped up, indicating the reverend gentleman was to
sit down and wait until he was told he could depart.

‘I shall take
Marianne up to her room. She needs to sleep, she is in shock. And anyway, we
can’t leave until Vincent comes with the carriage.’ He lifted his wife from the
floor and cradling her in his arms turned to the door. ‘Where to, Mrs Smith?’

Jane led him
upstairs and through a cheerless parlour and into a bedchamber. There he placed
her gently on the bed. His stepped back leaving the girl to take care of her.

‘Mrs Smith, will
you come next door. I wish to hear what has occurred in the past twenty-four
hours.’

She told him
about the attempted suicide and when she had finished his cheeks were wet.
‘It’s
all my
fault, Mrs Smith. None of this would have
happened if I had not driven her way.’

‘You have done
the right thing now, your grace. Not many men would take her after this.’

Unashamed, he
brushed his tears away. ‘I told John I would marry her whatever happened. I
just prayed I’d find her alive. It is a miracle she escaped that man’s
attentions.’

‘She will come
to you as any young bride should, your grace, but, I beg you, not now she is
not ready.’

He smiled and
touched Jane shoulder. ‘Not for a while, Mrs Sampson. I shall take her back to
Frating Hall to recuperate. They will be happy to receive Marianne now she is
my duchess. I shall come to her when I can. I pray that day will not be too far
in the future.’

‘You’re a good
man, your grace.’

He grinned
ruefully. ‘But I am a murderer, Mrs Smith.’

‘No, that you
are not. You are an executioner. If you had not done it then my John would
have. He would never have allowed him to take her.’

‘Please excuse
me, Mrs
Smith,
I have duties to perform downstairs.’

John was waiting
in the hall. ‘How are we going to deal with this, your grace?’

‘I have no idea.
I would not have done it differently but it’s a devil of a mess. Killing a man
in cold blood before ten witnesses was not a wise thing to do. I have a nasty
suspicion I might need to make a run for it abroad.’

‘You’ve nothing
to fear from us, your grace, we will say whatever is necessary, lie through our
teeth if we have to. The cook saw nothing, the other two men have been involved
with abduction and false imprisonment and they are in no position to cavil. But
the vicar is a different kettle of fish.’

‘Indeed he is.
Whatever I decide we cannot leave a corpse on the floor. We had better put it
outside for the time being.’

Theo retraced
his steps to the drawing-room. He stopped - his eyes widened and his mouth fell
open. ‘Good God! Where the hell is he?’

All that
remained of Sir James Russell was a patch of blood on the rug. The body had
risen and walked. John shook his head.

‘Well, he isn’t
dead, that much is certain. You must have winged him and he recovered his
senses and sloped off.’

Theo’s laughter
reverberated around the empty room. John joined in; relief making the incident
seem funnier than it was. Finally Theo regained control and mopped his
streaming eyes.

‘I can hardly
believe my luck. Bring the vicar in, let him see that piece of filth is gone
and I shall be in the clear.’

The vicar was
shown the empty room but remained unconvinced. ‘How do I know you have not had
the body removed whilst I was conducting the ceremony? Until I see him alive I
shall still consider you a murderer.’

‘God dammit!
John, take Billy and Tom and try and find the
bastard, drag him back by his heels if you have to.’

‘He could be
miles away by now,’ John said.

Theo strode
across to the French window which he noticed was unfastened. ‘Look here, John,
there’s blood on this frame. He went out this way. The boys are outside, so
with any luck he won’t have been able to reach the stables.’

John needed no
further instructions, he turned and prepared to chase out of the door. Theo
called him back. ‘Boots, man, you have no boots on.’ Chuckling at his stupidity
John ran back into the hall to put on his discarded footwear.

The vicar had
watched this pantomime with some astonishment.
‘Your grace?’

‘What is it
now?’

‘I am now
convinced Sir James is not dead. I have your word that he will remain alive?’

Theo grinned.
‘He will not perish at my hand but I can’t vouch for other aggrieved fathers
and brothers in the future.’

‘Then let him
go, your grace. I have no need to see him.’

Theo shouted
through the open window. ‘John, leave it, let him go. Tell the boys to let the
others go as well.’

John appeared at
the side of the house, pushing his pistol back into the waistband of his
breeches. ‘I’ll go around to the stables and tell them. Then we all need to eat
and sleep.’

‘Could you try
and persuade the cook to stay? Bribe him handsomely if you have to.’

The vicar bowed.
‘I shall leave you now, your grace. I doubt I shall have the pleasure of your
company again. But I will never forget this morning you can be very sure of
that’

Theo frowned.
‘How did you get here?’

‘I walked. It’s
only five miles from the village.’

‘Go out to the stables,
Tom will find you a mount. Keep it, as a bonus with my compliments.’

The prisoners
were quickly released and delighted to be allowed to vanish into the trees with
no further punishment. Sir James had not come for his carriage so Tom gave one
the handsome horses to the vicar.

An hour later
Drayton House was quiet its occupants snug in their respective beds. Theo
wondered how much longer it would be before he could make his beloved his true
wife.