Rory (25 page)

“Come, all this bickering is not going to help find them,” Victor said, sliding a hand around his wife’s shoulders.

“We shall find them, bring them back, and then we will have all the time to question them.”

“I would let the authorities question them,” Georgiana said.

Rory noticed Lillith bit her lip and looked away.

“I am not just going to sit here,” Rory said, heading to his chamber to change, a thousand different emotions rushing through him, most of all, anger and guilt. He should have insisted
Shannon talk to him. She had said she would tell him
about her past when they had time to do so. He just never had made time. And yet he’d had time to make love to her.

“Why do you not just let the others go?”

Rory glanced up at the doorway, surprised to find Georgiana had followed him to his chamber, and now she stood at the door with arms crossed over her chest. He had seen the look of triumph in her eye when the first alarm had been raised before supper. Now, hours later, she seemed incredibly confident, and he didn’t like it.

“Why are you chasing her?” she demanded.

“Because I have to.”

She took a step farther into the room. “You are being foolish, Rory. She is a servant.”

“I don’t care.”

“You are in lust.”

“I am in love!”

Her eyes widened. “Love? No, you confuse lust with love.”

“Do you not think I know the difference?”

She shook her head. “You are a fool. Everyone will laugh at you.”

“Let them laugh. I honestly do not care.”

“Love her or not, I will see her hang,” she said through clenched teeth, and with a frustrated cry, rushed out of the room.

Rory finished changing and, hearing a carriage arrive, rushed down the stairs, praying it was Shannon.

Jeffries, Lord and Lady Rochester’s valet, opened the front door, and Marilyn lowered the hood of her cloak and he swallowed his disappointment. To his surprise, Anna followed behind her.

“Is Shannon here?” Marilyn asked, her eyes wide with concern.

His heart jolted. “No, she and her brother have left.”

“Oh dear,” Anna said with a heavy sigh. “What do you know?” he asked, taking the steps that separated them.

Victor and Sinjin quickly joined them on the landing. Anna pulled a newspaper clipping from her pocket. “Rory, you asked me to find out information about Clinton O’Connor, and I did. I had a discussion with him that made me very uneasy, and I went to the library to see what I could find. I found this.”

She handed him a newspaper clipping, and Rory read,

Rory felt his throat tighten. Shannon had dreamt about the fire. The fear he’d seen on her face when she’d walked into the dining room and saw her cousin. It all made sense now.

“Oh my God,” Victor said, brushing a hand through his hair, looking at Rory with disbelief. “So you believe the cousin is responsible for setting the fire, and now he is after Shannon and Zachary?”

“Exactly, I went to his hotel in London and he had checked out … the very day you left for Claymoore Hall.”

“Where would they have gone?” Rory said, more determined than ever to find her.

“I do not know,” Anna replied. “I am sorry, Rory. I wish I’d found out sooner. I know how very much you care for Shannon.”

“How scared they must be,” Lillith said, looking on the verge of tears. “I knew something was wrong, but I did not push. I should have. I should have insisted she tell me the truth.”

Rory shook his head. “I should have known.”

“There is not time to blame ourselves,” Victor said matter-of-factly. “We must help them now.”

“I imagine on foot they could not have gotten too far. We can each take a different road and see if we have any luck.”

Katelyn walked in, with Johnny in tow.

“Marilyn,” Katelyn said, hugging her sister to her.

“Johnny, tell them what you told me,” Katelyn said to the young man.

Rory straightened, almost fearful of what was about to come out of the lad’s mouth. He knew he had feelings for Shannon.

“Well, when we were still in Twickenham, I overheard Shannon and Zachary talking in the stable,” he said, looking nervous. “Zachary said something about going to Paris, but Shannon didn’t want to leave London. Then Scotland was mentioned, and they both agreed that they would be happier there. That it would be more like Ireland.”

“Can you remember anything else?”

Johnny chewed his lower lip. “Yes, this afternoon, why ye were gone, I saw them rush for the tree line, toward the lake. They were on foot. I yelled after them, but they didn’t look back … and I know they heard me.”

“Thank you for your help,” Rory said, hope building within his chest.

The other man nodded. He started for the door, then turned back at Rory. “I want to help look for them.”

Rory nodded. “We can use all the help we can get.”

“I’ll get my things,” Johnny said, rushing out the door.

“Father has maps in his study,” Victor said.

“Thank you, Anna,” Rory said, giving her a hug. “You are a good friend.”

“As are you,” she said, kissing his cheek. “You’ll find her. I feel it in my bones.”

“I hope you are right.”

“Come, you both must be exhausted,” Lillith said, taking Anna and Marilyn by the hand. “Jeffries, could you please bring us some tea in the red parlor?”

“Of course, my lady. Straightaway.”

“I’ll be in the study with Vic and Rory,” Sinjin said, and Katelyn nodded as she followed the women.

S
hannon heard the slow creak of the door, and her breath caught in her throat. She glanced at Zachary, who was snoring, his back to her. Dawn was fast approaching, the blackness giving way to gray.

The entire night she had tossed and turned, unable to quiet her thoughts long enough to sleep longer than minutes at a stretch, every little sound waking her.

She closed her eyes and tried to get comfortable, drawing her cloak tight about her shoulders. Try as she might, she could not keep her mind from drifting back to Rory. What she wouldn’t give to be in his arms now. Though she wanted to be his wife, the offer of mistress didn’t seem like a terrible alternative at the moment. In fact, it was all she could do not to run back into his arms. They had not traveled so very far, after all. Maybe five hours on–

A board creaked, and before she could move, a hand slid about her neck, fingers tightening, while another hand firmly clamped over her mouth. Heart pumping like mad, her eyes widened and she stared into the familiar eyes of her cousin.

“Did you honestly think you could escape without me finding you?” he said, his eyes glittering in the darkness.

His hand was smashed over her nose, making her fight for breath. He covered her with his lower body, hooking his leg tight about her, making movement impossible.

She tried to struggle, but her efforts only made him angrier, the fingers at her neck tightening. She was losing consciousness quickly. He must have realized as much because he released his hold, but only slightly. “I will remove my hand from your mouth, but you must not utter a word or I shall kill you. Understand?”

Shannon nodded, and when he lifted his hand, she remained silent, fearful of him following through on his threat.

Her brother continued to snore.
Zachary, wake up!

“What do you want from us?” she asked.

“I want to bring your brother to justice … for the death of your parents.” His voice was very matter-of-fact.

Her pulse skittered. “What do you mean?”

Rearing back, he looked down at her, his brows furrowed. “Zachary set the fire, Shannon,” he whispered, glancing toward her brother’s inert form. “Did you not wonder why he was so desperate to flee Ireland?”

“We saw you the night of the fire, Clinton. Standing in the shadows doing nothing while you watched the mansion burn while we were in it.”

“Zachary would say that, wouldn’t he?”

She stared at him, her mind racing. “Why would he kill his own parents? That makes no sense.”

“He was jealous because your father was molding me to take over the family business.”

Zachary had never said as much to her, and she had a hard time believing that their father would have ever overlooked his
own son for his nephew. If anything, Zachary had always felt a certain pressure that his life was already mapped out for him.

“Why would he save me from the fire, then?”

“He has no anger toward you, Shannon. You’re not a threat to him. Don’t you see … you were not involved in the business in any way.”

“Then he would have saved Mother, too, if that were the case.”

“Get your hands off of her, you murderer,” Zachary said through clenched teeth. “How dare you try to fill her head with such wicked thoughts? You are a fiend.”

Clinton’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you calling murderer?”

“I did not set that fire, and well you know it.”

“We all know the truth of it. You are guilty, Zachary, and soon you will pay for their murders.”

Clinton held Shannon tight to him, a knife at her neck. She felt the tip break the skin.

“Release her now, Clinton. She serves you no purpose.”

“I will not release her.”

A nerve in Zachary’s neck jumped. “I will kill you if you don’t release her now.” His voice was deadly calm, but she could clearly see the fury in his eyes.

“See,” Clinton whispered against her ear. “He is full of murderous rage. Do you not wonder why he wanted to leave the safety and security of Claymoore Hall? He knew in time you’d discover the truth.”

“Do not listen to him, Shannon.”

She knew her brother better than anyone, and didn’t for a moment believe Clinton, but she wondered if he had told anyone else that Zachary was responsible for their parents’ deaths? Dear God, what if he had convinced others that Zachary was responsible and her brother was ultimately charged for their murders?

“What do you want from us?” Zachary asked, his gaze skipping between her and Clinton. She could tell he was scared, though he was doing his best not to show it.

“What do you think, Zachary? We will return to Ireland where you will stand trial for your parents’ murders.”

“You are pathetic,” Zachary said, fury in his eyes. “If I was the killer, why then would you not just let me go? You are the sole heir.”

Shannon felt him stiffen. “Not everyone is convinced you are dead. However, I can take care of that.”

The darkness of the shelter gave way to gray as the sun came up. Even if one of them were able to get away and make their way back to Claymoore Hall, then they could bring help back to the other.

Shannon looked at her brother and motioned with her eyes for him to go.

He frowned.

“Go,” she mouthed the word, and Clinton promptly pulled back on her, choking her as he did.

“If you even think of fleeing, Zachary, I will slit her throat. Don’t think that I won’t.”

Zachary lifted his chin, his throat convulsing as he swallowed hard. “Let her go. It is me that you want.”

“Actually, I need you
both
dead.”

Fear rushed up her spine. He was insane, and he would finish what he had started. She had no doubt of that.

“She will not say anything to anyone, will you, Shannon?” Zachary said in a surprisingly calm voice. “She can go about her life and be fine. No one need know the truth.”

Clinton’s false laughter filled the shed. “I’ll know that you are alive, though … and I don’t need that constant threat.”

“And here I thought you said Zachary set the blaze.”

“Bitch,” he said, squeezing her neck so tight she started choking.

“Leave her alone!” Zachary said, knocking the blade from his hand.

He took Clinton so much by surprise that the other man faltered and gave her enough time to slip from his grasp.

“Go!” Zachary said, motioning toward the door.

“I won’t leave you.”

“I said go!” he yelled, his eyes intense.

“I’ll fuckin’ kill you,” Clinton said, swiping at the blood on his lip, while he clutched the knife with the other.

Zachary had no weapon.

Shannon rushed for the door and Clinton raced after her. She stumbled and fell, nearly knocking her head on a rack near the door.

She got to her feet and made it the door, but hesitated. She couldn’t possibly leave Zachary with this madman. Their cousin was physically stronger than Zachary and could easily overpower him.

Zachary threw a punch, which connected with Clinton’s jaw.

Clinton hit him in return, and Zachary stumbled back a few feet, putting a hand to his cut lip. He looked at her. “Run!”

Shannon ran like the devil was on her heels.

She kept to the trees and heavy brush, constantly looking over her shoulder and listening for her cousin.

Her heart was a roar in her ears as she tried to remember the way they had come, while trying not to think what was happening back at the shack.