Macbeth's Niece (38 page)

Tessa’s mind was finally taking in what she
had seen. Could Jeffrey have killed Cedric? He’d certainly reacted
badly to the news of her marriage to him. Poor Cedric. She hadn’t
been fond of him, but to be— As she looked at the body, she had a
sudden revelation.

Cedric had been stabbed in the back, which
made no sense. Everything she knew of Jeffrey Brixton said that if
he’d killed Cedric, it would have been done face-to-face, in combat
and not by stealth. Even Hawick’s men had been tied and left behind
during his escape when possible. It couldn’t have been Jeffrey.

Understanding dawned. Aidan said Jeffrey had
admitted it. Aidan said Jeffrey intended to harm her, but Aidan had
forced her to leave the ball with him. Now she was at his mercy.
With a jolt she realized that only one man had much to gain from
Jeffrey’s fall: Aidan, his own brother. She had not considered it
possible, never thought he would betray a blood relative, but if
Jeffrey were convicted of a crime or forced to flee England, Aidan
would become Lord Brixton, take control of the properties
associated with the title, and be able to win the woman he seemed
to desire, Tessa herself.

How could she not have seen it? In Scotland
there was bloodshed within families in pursuit of power, and it was
the same everywhere. Aidan had seemed so helpful to his family, so
kind. She tried to find another explanation but could not.

No, it was true. Aidan had stayed in the
background, doing William’s bidding, for years. He now believed he
deserved to be Lord Brixton, and he was willing to destroy his
brother to reach that goal. Suddenly the niggling feeling from
earlier that something was wrong became clear. She had mentioned an
outlaw as Jeffrey’s captor, and Aidan had supplied his name:
Hawick, he had said. He knew the outlaw, had known him all along.
Aidan was the Englishman Hawick dealt with!

Tessa’s face told the story of her thoughts,
and Aidan, as always, was watchful. He said nothing, but she saw
the brown eyes harden until there was no kindness in them at all,
and his lips curled into a sneer.

“You did this,” Tessa accused.

Aidan seemed unfazed. “We were hoping you
would believe me. It would have been so much easier if you
had.”

“We?”

“My friends, actually, some old friends of
yours, as well—” He raised his voice a notch. “My dear? I believe
you know Mistress macFindlaech?”

“But of course,” said a voice from the
shadows, and Mairie stepped out from her hiding place. “I told you
she would not believe Jeffrey did it.”

“And you were correct, mademoiselle. I admit
it.” Aidan’s voice betrayed his impatience with the situation.
“There’s nothing for it now but to do as we planned. I will return
as soon as possible. Give me a few minutes and then do your
part.”

Mairie nodded. “Hurry then. The
entertainment will end soon, and some may start for home. You will
not want her screaming and kicking when there is the possibility
she will be seen.”

Tessa finally grasped their intention to
abduct her, and she made a lunge for the door, hoping to duck past
Aidan before he could stop her. Aidan simply raised his arm and cut
her off, a wicked smile across his face. He encircled her waist
with the other arm. Coming up behind Tessa, Mairie handed him a
looped rope he dropped over her shoulders and pulled tight. Mairie
quickly tied the sky-blue sash from her dress over Tessa’s
mouth.

A horse stood in the shadows of the farthest
stall, already saddled. Aidan mounted then leaned down, easily
picked Tessa up, and set her before him. “Give me a minute to get
away, then scream your heart out,” he told Mairie, steering the
horse out the door. Tessa caught a last glimpse as the woman stood,
perfectly composed and lovely as always, smiling after them.

Taking a little-used path that circled
behind the house and came out a quarter mile down the road, Aidan
urged the horse to a gallop. Within minutes of leaving the masque,
Tessa was on her way to an unknown destination, farther and farther
away from help as the horse’s hooves pounded along the road in the
moonlight.

Chapter Thirty-One

As they traveled, Tessa considered her
options. She could try to slide off the horse, but with her arms
tied to her sides she would probably be hurt, and Aidan had only to
turn around and come after her. If he removed the gag she could try
to talk to him. Was he beyond reason? If he had killed Cedric and
blamed his own brother, what else was he capable of? In the end,
she rode on passively, hoping for a chance to escape at some
point.

After a long and uncomfortable ride, Aidan
allowed the horse to slow to a walk as he looked for a turning.
When he found it, they made their way down a descending path little
used and uneven, with washouts making it obvious that rainwater
followed the same course to a large river. Knowing vaguely that
both the Ballards and the Hopes lived along the lane, Tessa judged
they were approaching the River Thames, which flowed through Oxford
and on to London. A light showed in front of them after some
moments, and Aidan called softly, “It’s I.”

“Come on, then,” replied a voice, and Aidan
made his way onto a sandy bank where the sound of flowing water
could be heard. A small boat was tied to an ancient dock, and
beside the boat squatted Hawick, warming himself over a small
fire.

“So she didn’t believe your story,” he
commented when he saw Tessa. His foreknowledge of the night’s
events revealed that Aidan had cold-bloodedly planned the murder of
Cedric. It had been no sudden crime of rage.

“It was worth a try,” Aidan replied, “but
your sister will see to it my brother takes the blame.”

“Right. It would have been nice if she had
come willingly, but a woman is a woman anyway, say I. Once you are
lord of Brixton, she’ll come along right enough.”

Tessa’s mind screamed “Never,” but she told
herself to concentrate on taking in her surroundings in case a
chance came to free herself.

“I must return as soon as the messenger
arrives, so I can add my sad tale to Mairie’s.” Aidan spoke to
Tessa for the first time. “We had hoped for your help, unwitting
though it might be. If you had believed in Jeffrey’s guilt, it
would have added to the evidence I have been heaping up against him
over time. Now I must add a bit to my part.” Aidan couldn’t resist
explaining. “Everyone will be shocked to learn my poor deranged
brother tried to kill even me. He’s a madman.” He rolled his eyes
in pretended horror. “Being no match for a professional killer, I
ran away, but I shall return and reluctantly tell the truth of the
matter, matching Mairie’s story in every detail, which of course I
could not have heard. In fact, I’ve never met the woman before in
my life, as far as anyone knows.”

Hawick confirmed what Tessa had guessed. “I
may have mentioned in your presence a certain Englishman with whom
I have had some business. That gentleman stands before you,
Mistress.”

Aidan continued the story. “As William’s
agent, I had access to information and networks that allowed me to
supply Hawick with specifics that have been profitable for us both.
Since I had intimate knowledge of the crimes, it was easy to blame
them on my brother when the necessity arose. With poor William
dead—and poison will do that to a man—and Jeffrey imprisoned, I
will finally be what I have worked all my life to become.” His
voice was triumphant, and he turned with fervor to Tessa. “And
tonight you is your last chance to share it with me.” Aidan untied
the sash that acted as a gag. “Leave me alone with the lady for a
moment, Hawick.”

The outlaw moved off with a leer, joining
one of his men who had come from the boat and squatted by the fire.
Aidan gently removed the rope that tied her arms. Tessa spoke in an
agitated whisper. “Aidan, Hawick is not to be trusted. He forced me
into a marriage with him—”

Aidan put a finger to her lips, smiling
patronizingly. “I know all about Hawick’s mistakes. First, he was
supposed to assure my brother Jeffrey never returned to England,
since it was obvious you were—are infatuated with him. He failed in
that because Mairie took an interest in Jeffrey, and Hawick can
deny his sister nothing.

“Secondly, he took an interest in you, not
knowing of my affection. Since things worked out as they did, there
is no harm done. The marriage is invalid. You were married to
Cedric at the time, and now Cedric is no more, so you are, as they
say, an eligible candidate. Hawick is not perfect, but he suits my
needs at the moment.”

Aidan took Tessa’s arm and walked her to the
bank of the river. “Now, when we were last together, I proposed to
make you Lady Brixton. I was, of course, premature in that
pronouncement, not knowing you had found Jeffrey. Why ever did you
do such a thing?”

“Eleanor asked me to give him some
letters.”

Aidan reacted with a spate of anger. “Yes,
that is how he knew of my affairs. The bitch was spying on me.
Still, he has no proof. I found the box in his room and burned it.”
Aidan turned to look at her, his face quite clear in the moonlight.
“Oh, Tessa, I have planned this for so long. Playing the faithful
lackey to William, the charming nobody to the rest of the family.
And then you came along, and I knew I had found someone who would
make it worth the chances I had taken, and others I must take, to
make my plan work. It helped that you thought Eleanor and Jeffrey
were lovers. It kept you from him just long enough for me to
arrange his accident.”

“But—” Tessa began, and then stopped
herself. When she had mentioned Jeffrey’s love for Eleanor to
Aidan, he’d at first seemed surprised. She’d taken it for shock
that she knew of the affair, but now she realized it was surprise
at the thought itself. Cleverly Aidan had played along, pretending
he knew of the affair and making her doubt her feelings for
Jeffrey.

He laughed aloud now at the stunned look on
her face, his character quite different now from the
self-controlled man she had known. “The pious Eleanor and the noble
Jeffrey—that’s a humorous picture! No, my dear, they were never
lovers. Jeffrey felt sorry for Eleanor, and rightly so, for the way
William treated her, but there was only affection between them.
William kept spies in his household at all times, so jealous was he
of his wife. She was the saint she appeared to be.”

His face showed contempt. “I understood
Eleanor’s decision to play William’s docile servant, her desire to
have a place in society, and her acceptance of his wealth and
security, because I had those same needs. Yet nothing I did
honestly brought me what I wanted. I had little chance of becoming
Lord Brixton, I didn’t have two coins to rub together, and I didn’t
win your love. So I have turned to other means, which worked out
well.”

Tessa made no answer and Aidan went on,
intoxicated with the sound of his own voice. “I wish you had not
been so diligent about Eleanor’s wishes. The letters she sent to
Jeffrey alerted him to my plans, so he was able to escape arrest
when he found the box was gone. If he had been surprised and taken
prisoner, he would have been unable to stop me. I have been very
careful to impress the right people with my earnestness and
diligence, all the while working secretly with those who can assist
me to get the things I’ve always wanted.” He turned away, looking
at the darkly moving stream before them, invisible except for the
occasional shimmer of light over the changing surface.

Aidan’s voice became dreamy, almost wistful,
revealing the boy inside the man who felt cheated by the accident
of his birth. “You truly cannot know what it’s like to be the
bastard brother. Oh, they were all very correct and never mentioned
it, but people talk. Servants, neighbors, even the tutor Father
hired to teach us our letters made it clear I was the least of the
sons.” His shoulders shrunk together at the memory.

“And of course, I couldn’t inherit unless
everyone else in the family had his chance first. William used me
as a clerk who came cheaply, since he didn’t have to pay a salary.
Still, over time he did begin to trust me and left things in my
care, which was an advantage. I began casting about for ways to
make money, and I met certain men like myself, who make money as
they can.”

“Men like Ian Hawick,” Tessa supplied
scornfully.

Aidan sent a glance over to where Hawick and
his man stood warming themselves by a small fire in the sandy bank.
“Yes, men like Ian. When Hawick sent a messenger to demand ransom
for Jeffrey, I knew he was one such as I. You see, Jeffrey did not
go overboard by accident, but he has the most damnable luck. He was
rescued by some fishermen and came into Ian’s hands. A word with
Dougal after he left Brixton Manor gave me the story. My brother
didn’t know his own name. In the end, for certain exchanges of
information, Hawick agreed to see he didn’t return to England.
Quite by accident in the meantime, Eleanor found out about my
dealings with…” He paused to think of an acceptable term.

“Criminals,” Tessa put in.

“As you say.” Aiden bowed ironically. “She
wrote to Jeffrey, informing him of her suspicions. Because of the
family tie, she didn’t expose me publicly, and because she knew
what William would do if he found out, she didn’t give the
information to him. Eleanor trusted Jeffrey. She wasn’t to know he
would not return from that last trip.” His teeth showed white in
the moonlight as he smiled knowingly. “I, of course, congratulated
William on not wasting his money to ransom a brother those terrible
outlaws had probably already killed.”

“So you plotted to cheat one brother and
kill the other?”

“The idea first came to me when Ethelbert
took the holy orders. I realized I was one step closer to the
title, and one step is a beginning. For three years I have been
preparing my way, investing the profits from my business dealings
where it will do me good at Court. I could have been happy, with
Brixton and with you.”