Wicked Deception (20 page)

“
What is that man doing in
my house?” she asked harshly as Gabriel came to her and grabbed her
arm, holding her fast, his expression tense.

“
Do not give him what he
wants, Catherine. You must tread carefully here,” he warned at her
ear.

“
No, I will not tread
carefully! I want him out of my house now! How dare he come here?”
she snarled under her breath. “What does he do here? Make sure the
job was done? Does he make sure we grieve
appropriately?”

“
Stop it at once,
Catherine,” Gabriel replied in warning. “He comes over. You will
accept his condolences and you will not reveal what it is you feel
or he will know you’re aware of all.”

“
I no longer
care!”

“
Do you wish to join
Nicholas?” Gabriel demanded and his expression softened to see her
trembling lips and tears fill her eyes. He cursed, not wanting to
hurt her again. She had to be wary now.

“
Mrs. Van Ryker,” the Duke
of Rudd said warmly as he approached. “I simply had to come to
express my deepest condolences. I didn’t know your husband well,
but I feel your pain, my dear.”

“
Thank you, Your Grace.
You’re very kind.”

Catherine accepted Lord Rudd’s most
sincere apologies for her loss, her eyes bright with the emotion
she felt and the desire to lash out at him. Disgust filled her gaze
as she looked up at him. His brown eyes blinked once as he
recognized the hatred glimmering in her emerald gaze. Whatever
emotion was there for mere seconds was gone quickly. He left at
once, his brow furrowed in a frown.

“
That gave it all away,”
Gabriel noted grimly, watching the man leave.

Catherine’s eyes filled with sorrow. “I
don’t care, do you hear? Let them all come for me now! I will wait
for them gladly!”

Gabriel glared at her. “Nicholas did
all he did to keep you safe, Catherine, even knowing he would die.
You will let the authorities handle this. They have all they need
now to investigate the man. His power and money cannot save
him.”

“
I wish to kill him,” she
countered, a glacial look in her eyes. “That would not be enough to
please me at this moment.”

~ ~ ~

Gabriel gave up trying to reason with
her. She was lost in the grief she felt. From the moment he arrived
when he learned Nicholas was dead, she pushed him away. It was
clear her husband’s death had affected her greatly. Seeing him
proved only to remind her how they betrayed him.

Martha and Tulley told him she hardly
came out of her room those first days, staring into space. The
older woman doused her tea with laudanum those first days to keep
her from screaming. That was no longer necessary. She was as
emotionless and as cold as ice, her emerald gaze flat and devoid of
feeling.

“
We will talk more, my dear.
You and the children cannot stay here now,” Gabriel told her. “You
will all be moved to my residence at once.”

Catherine snapped out of her anger and
stared up at him in disbelief. “I’m going nowhere! My husband has
been dead barely a month and you expect me to move in with
you?”

“
It is only for your
safety,” he replied patiently, his anger rising at her
defiance.

“
I do not wish to be safe,”
she countered.

“
What of your children?” he
snapped and saw her tense. “Do you think I don’t know what you’re
feeling? He was my friend, Catherine. I loved him too!”

“
We both loved him and look
what we did to him,” Catherine remarked in a toneless voice. “I
would take back every moment with you to have him with me
now.”

Gabriel flinched at her icy words. He
knew she needed someone to lash out at. She couldn’t mean that. He
refrained from allowing her words to wound him. “Catherine, I know
you’re hurting but you must think of the children. You’re not safe
here now. Rudd got your message loud and clear. He can’t afford to
let you live, knowing all as you do.”

“
I no longer wish to live,”
she whispered brokenly.

Gabriel wanted to shake her then,
determined she would realize how greatly she erred in letting Rudd
see her contempt of him. The man had come here for a reason,
leaving satisfied to know Nicholas’s widow knew who was responsible
for all of this.

~ ~ ~

The Van Ryker’s expected some closure
from Nicholas’s death, but in the days since their arrival, none
could tell them what Nicholas was involved in. Thor refused to
leave until he spoke with Gabriel. The brother’s were out for
blood. They were going to settle the matter of who killed their
brother before they left London.

“
What does the dwarf say?”
Dane muttered under his breath as he stood with his
brothers.

“
He said Nicholas left
instructions with him, as well as Tulley,” Thor said tightly, his
grey eyes tense. “We will know when this day is over. He plans to
meet with us then. Tulley refuses to tell me. What nonsense is
that? He was Father’s cook and friend for years, and now I cannot
get a straight word out of him.”

“
We wait, then,” Eric
whispered coolly. “Surely if our brother planned for this, he was
in over his head in something.”

“
Whatever it was, I’m not
leaving until the bastard who is responsible is dead,” Gareth
muttered with a scowl, earning a warning look from the quietest of
them, Thane, who had said little since they arrived.

“
All in due time, brother,”
Thane promised softly, eyeing the newly arrived mourners in
disgust. “Where did they find these people? They were not our
brother’s friends.”

“
I would like to know where
the hell Tieghan is!” Dane snapped finally. “He has nerve not
coming to the funeral. What a way to show how much he cared for
Nicholas.”

“
Enough!” Thor raged, his
scarred face livid. “Tieghan is no doubt drinking away his sorrows
privately somewhere, and I for one, don’t blame him! I need a
drink, are any of you coming?” He stalked from the salon to go to
Nicholas’s study. The four men followed.

~ ~ ~

“
Here’s to your death, my
friend!” Tieghan said with a grin as he downed the snifter of
brandy and gazed at Nicholas with a raised eyebrow. “Did you really
have to go so far to do this, Nicholas? Your wife is probably going
through hell.”

Nicholas rubbed his chin and dispelled
his concerns with a tight look. They argued it for weeks. Tieghan
arrived and met him here, aboard his ship. The Orion’s crew were
the only others who knew their Captain was still alive and just
returned from attending his funeral.

“
It can’t be helped,
Tieghan,” he apologized wearily. “It must appear I’m dead. Those
that seek my death watch everything now. Catherine’s grief must
appear genuine for the next part of my plan to work.”

“
You better hope it works,
because when this is over; she’s going to kill you for real for
putting her through all this,” Tieghan predicted and poured another
drink. “I don’t know who I feel most sorry for, my dead best
friend, or his wife; who will be furious when she finds out what
you have been up to this last year.”

“
She will agree it was
necessary, now stop making me feel guilty!” Nicholas said
defensively. “I love the damned woman! I don’t enjoy doing this to
her!”

“
Chumley is set to arrive
right about now at your house.” Tieghan consulted his timepiece and
grinned. “I would give anything to see their expressions when they
learn all your instructions. Thor will be suspicious. You may have
wanted to bring him in on this, Nicholas. He will know something is
not quite right about your will.”

~ ~ ~

“
Was he insane?” Thor
snarled irately as the dwarf quieted them all again as he read
Nicholas’s will. “This is outrageous!”

Chumley eyed the Van Ryker’s crammed
into the study with a patient sigh. He pushed his spectacles up and
continued on, yet again. “And as to the matter of my ship, The
Orion, I leave it in the capable hands of Jarl Tieghan Haardrad,
who the crew all agrees, is the best choice for my replacement as
its Captain.”

“
That was our father’s damn
ship!” Dane thundered in ire, unable to comprehend his brother’s
reasoning in such matters. “What was Nicholas thinking to leave it
to Tieghan?”

Chumley knew the decision to leave the
ship to Tieghan would enrage the brothers, who all believed it
should remain in their family. His instructions were clear. He hid
his smile as he saw them stewing as he went through the rest of the
bequests.

Thor was left his brother’s collection
of hats. Dane was left his walking stick. Thane inherited his
shaving kit. Eric was left his boots. Gareth was given his favorite
paper weight upon his desk. They appeared shocked, listened as all
was left to Catherine, including the properties here and in St.
Bart’s.

“
His blasted walking stick?
He would leave me a damned stick! I know where I’d like to stick
it! My ass of a brother has a sense of humor, I see!” Dane
sputtered and received a look from Claire, who shushed him, but not
before Eric added his own feelings.

”
Who needs a damned stick to
walk? I know where I’d like to stick those boots!” Eric added
meaningfully and all looked at him in outrage.

“
Why would he leave me his
shaving kit, of all things?” Thane asked in confusion to all, but
each was equally confused about what their brother left them. His
query fell upon silence.

“
What am I going to do with
a damned paper weight?” Gareth asked in apparent disgust. “I don’t
have any papers to hold down.”

“
I don’t even wear hats,”
Thor mused thoughtfully as he analyzed these ridiculous bequests
until it dawned upon him. He grinned widely, the sorrow in his gaze
replaced with excitement as the dwarf continued on.

The brother’s listened to the rest of
the will with little interest. Chumley jumped down from his perch
upon the desk to gesture to Tulley. The man looked mortified to be
reading the letter that Nicholas left them. He read it quietly, and
all in the room hushed to hear the story of their brother’s early
life, what had happened to him, and who was responsible.

He left detailed accountings of the
murders he witnessed, names of both perpetrators and victims, and
lastly the site where thirty children’s remains, in addition to
Annabel Hart’s, Lord’s Weldon and Billingsley, were now
buried.

The five brothers showed little
reaction to the news, too shocked to react. Thor was grim as he
took the letter from Tulley. He eyed his brothers gravely but his
grey eyes were filled with a mischievous light.

“
I guess we are obligated to
have this sent to the magistrate, boys, for they would surely like
to launch an investigation at once, don’t you think?” Thor asked
quietly, smiling slightly as he tucked the document into his
pocket.

He could see Eric was still bristling
over the matter of the boots but Dane and Gareth had already
reached the same conclusion as he had. Thane was busy rubbing his
jaw, reflecting if being left a shaving kit indicated his own was
less than desirable.

Thor chuckled as Tulley and Chumley
left the study. The ladies withdrew to let the men speak. Thor
waited until his wife, Tania, closed the door to let out a whoop of
laughter.

“
Our brother is alive,” Thor
whispered in relief as he danced around with Dane and glared at
Eric who was still bemoaning being left boots. “Do you not realize
what he is telling us? Go find these items, boys, at once!” They
ran to do just that, standing outside Nicholas’s door, aware
Catherine was inside.

Martha solved their dilemma when she
opened the door and glared at them all. “She is sleeping! Can you
not wait to rummage through Nicholas’s things later? You’re all
acting completely insensitive!”

~ ~ ~

Catherine got up to see her children,
looking miserable as she sat in the rocking chair in front of the
window, holding Aidan with a grief stricken expression. She could
feel nothing, numb, as she watched traffic pass the
residence.

She’d lost all track of time in the
weeks following Nicholas’s death. Nothing mattered anymore. He was
gone. She wept every tear dry, had none left, but many managed to
form in the days following the funeral.

She tried to be strong, knowing her
husband would expect it of her, but retreated to her room instead,
feeling cheered by having his things around her. She frowned,
thinking of his five brothers who now tramped through their room
looking for items their brother left them.

Catherine was furious they demanded
their inheritances at once. She was quite put out by their uncouth
behavior, listening to them chortling through the walls as they
went through the armoire and clothes press for the items they were
left.

~ ~ ~

Thor picked up the bowler hat and
turned it over. He saw a small piece of paper sticking out of the
inside seam. He withdrew it. He opened the note. All the brothers
stood around as he read what his part in the deception was to be.
He folded the paper and put it in his pocket.