The Lightkeeper's Ball (21 page)

She watched him rummage through the strewn debris. He took a piece of seat, some wire and metal, then disappeared into the trees. Every rustle in the trees made her tense. Every noise from a squirrel left her wary. When he finally returned to help her to their new lair, she was ready to feel safe.

As he leaned down to help her to her feet, she heard a whine in the air. Harrison shouted something and jumped on top of her. His breath was ragged in her ear. Her face pressed into pine needles as his body covered hers. The sun had left, and a few drops of rain fell. Then it came harder. Hard enough to obscure the landscape and blur her vision. The drone of it pattering onto leaves and vegetation grew louder.

“Are you hit?” he asked, his voice frantic.

She pulled her mouth free of the suffocating vegetation. “No, no, I’m fine. What happened?”

“Someone shot at us,” he said.

“A hunter?” Her thoughts raced. Had it been another attempt on her life? But why here? No one knew where they were.

“Maybe. I’d stand up and shout, but the rain will muffle anything I might say.” Harrison helped her up and they set off through the trees. Clinging to his arm, she hobbled as fast as she could. Rain sluiced over her face and plastered her hair. The cave wasn’t far, but they were soaked by the time they reached it.

He glanced around the space. “I’ll start a fire in the mouth of the cave. And fetch a club.”

He sat on guard at the fire the rest of the day. It was only late in the night when she felt the branches shift as she lay dozing. She lifted an eyelid to see the fire blazing away, protecting them from intruders.

“Just going to take a catnap, Essie,” he said, his voice slurred.

He slipped his arm around her, and she curled up next to his warmth without a thought to how inappropriate it was.

N
INETEEN

W
ARMTH PERVADED EVERY
pore. Olivia snuggled closer to the comfort of the body against hers. The heat made her feel protected. Until the male scent made her eyes fly open. She was entwined in Harrison’s arms, inhaling the aroma of pine and masculinity. At the same time she heard male voices. Turning her head, she saw four men peering into the cave.

Rolling away, she sat up and frantically swiped at her hair. “You’ve found us,” she said.

The men didn’t look at her. They ranged in age from twenty to forty, and all of them had twigs on their clothing and mud on their boots.

The constable shifted from one foot to the other. “Your valet convinced Mr. Peers to take us up in his balloon. I saw the smoke from your fire, so I knew where to head.”

Harrison rose from behind her. He brushed pine needles from his shirt. “Smart thinking, Constable. We thought we’d have to try to walk out of here today. Lady Devonworth has a sprained ankle, and we’ve been unable to make the trek.”

Could Harrison not see these men had tried them both and found them guilty of fornication? Olivia saw it in the quick glances they shot between her and Harrison. In the way they shuffled, and in the unease on their faces. She curled her hands into fists.

Harrison fixed the man next to the constable with a stare. “Quinn, I’ll thank you to keep this out of the paper. There was nothing unsavory happening here.”

A reporter. Olivia wanted to hide behind a giant redwood. This would be all over the country.

The man took off his bowler and wiped his forehead. Though clearly only in his twenties, he was already balding. “It’s already in the morning paper, Harrison.” His mouth turned down and he shrugged. “It’s news, my friend.”

Her face blossomed with heat. From the Mercy Falls news, it would hit the San Francisco papers. Then on to New York, Chicago, Boston. She was ruined. But maybe it would be a small article and missed by the bigger papers. Unless he ran a follow-up story. She would try to talk him out of it.

She opened her mouth, then shut it again. It was impossible to miss the gleam of avarice in Mr. Quinn’s eyes. He had every intention of writing about what he saw when he stepped into the clearing. Nothing she could say would sway him. Could he be paid off? She meant to try at the first opportunity.

She managed a smile. “I’m glad you’re here, gentlemen. I fear I shall still need some assistance, even after two days’ rest.”

“We had a bear appear our first night, so we took to this place, which I could defend with a fire,” Harrison said, grabbing the walking stick. “I fear neither of us got much sleep.”

Olivia caught the double meaning in his words and saw the men’s faces change as well. The constable was the only one who didn’t smirk. She grabbed the stick from Harrison’s hand and thrust it into the ground to keep from whacking him with it.

“Shall we depart?” All she wanted was to get home and shut the door and fall onto her bed.

Harrison helped her from the cave. The men began to gather strewn belongings and put the items in bags they’d brought. They all went back to the clearing. Harrison directed them to the most important plane parts. The silence was as thick as last night’s mist. By the time they headed into the woods, she wanted nothing more than never to see any of these men again—including Harrison Bennett.

The stick did little to alleviate the throbbing in her ankle. The constable strode ahead, forcing branches out of the way and tamping down weeds to allow her easier access. Bugs swarmed her damp skin, and every step was a misery. It was going to take hours of this torture to get to civilization.

She blinked against the stinging in her eyes. She would not cry. It would take every ounce of fortitude she possessed to get through the next few days. The physical pain of walking out of here was nothing compared to the emotional anguish that awaited her. Surely there was a way to salvage this.

I could marry him
.

The stray thought made her stumble, and only the stick prevented her from tumbling into the bushes. What of her initial suspicion of him? The only clue she had indicating his guilt was her father’s letter telling Eleanor that the Bennetts were dangerous. But Harrison had rescued her from the sea, and he could have disposed of her out here in the wilderness. He’d been so gentlemanly, so concerned for her. He’d withstood a bear for her.

She didn’t believe he was capable of murder, but that didn’t mean she was ready to marry him.

Olivia had never been so glad to see a truck in her life. Harrison assisted her onto the black leather seat next to Mr. Quinn, who would drive them out of here, then went around to climb in the back with the rest of the men.

Mr. Quinn glanced at her from the corner of his eye. The smirk in his eyes made her want to squirm, but she held her chin up and looked straight ahead. The interior of the truck smelled like oil or grease, but getting her dress stained was the least of her worries.

“I’m glad you appear to be unharmed, Miss Stewart,” Mr. Quinn said, his voice smooth.

She started to thank him, then froze when she realized he’d used her real name. When she turned her head to look at him, he glanced back and his smirk widened.

“How do you know my name?” she managed to ask without her voice trembling.

“I know quite a lot about you. But I have to wonder why you are using some title instead of your given name of Olivia Stewart.”

She had to convince him to stay quiet until she had a chance to reveal the truth herself. “It’s very simple. I wanted to find out what happened to my sister.”

One eyebrow rose, and the truck jerked to the right as he glanced at her. “You doubt that she drowned?”

“If I promise to give you the full story when I get to the bottom of the situation, would you promise not to print my name until my investigation is concluded?”

He pursed his lips. “I’d get your full cooperation to run the full story?”

She felt no qualms about promising that. The murderer would be behind bars. “Yes.”

“It’s a deal. So what makes you doubt she drowned?”

“I don’t doubt she drowned. I just don’t believe she willingly went swimming.”

“Suicide?”

“She feared the water. If she were going t-to do away with herself, she wouldn’t choose drowning.”

His eyes gleamed. “So that leaves foul play.”

She clutched the seat as the truck careened around a corner. “I fear so.”

“Do you suspect anyone?”

A few days ago she would have been forced to admit she suspected Harrison. But that was no longer true. She shook her head. “I’m looking into some acquaintances she made while she was here.”

“Like Frederick Fosberg?”

“How do you know about him?”

“She seemed to be making a fool of herself over him at a party I attended.”

“Do you know the man?”

“Not well. I’m planning on doing a piece on him and the new business he’s opening. Say, how about the two of us work together? I’ll help you get to the bottom of this.”

The last thing she wanted was this man poking into her business, but what choice did she have? “Thank you,” she said, resigning herself to the inevitable.

Harrison bounced on the wheel well when the truck hit a pothole. The constable sat beside him on the floorboards.

“How much talk in town?” Harrison asked Brown once they were underway.

“The town is abuzz with it. It’s the only thing discussed at the soda shop and the mercantile. There is much speculation that perhaps the two of you ran off together instead of crashed.”

As he’d suspected. “So the lady’s reputation is ruined, is it not? Even if you tell of the wreckage you saw, people love a juicy rumor instead of truth.”

Brown inclined his head. “I fear so.”

Harrison turned to look at the steeples and rooftops of Mercy Falls in the distance. The lady had a high position to maintain. The only way to salvage her good name was for them to be married. This was his fault. He’d taken her up in the flying machine without a thought for her reputation. At the first opportunity, he would ask for her hand.

His mouth went dry at the thought. It was too much to even hope that she would say yes. He had money but no title. Her family would forbid such a marriage. And she’d been open about her friendship with Eleanor. He’d have to tell her the truth.

The truck rumbled into town. People turned to stare. He saw the women begin to talk at once. Some even turned their backs on the vehicle. All but one rubbernecker frowned. Addie’s bright smile was like sunlight breaking through the trees. He waved and she hurried toward the truck with Edward and the dog Gideon in tow. When the truck stopped, she rushed to greet them.