Sweet Enemy (44 page)

His words evoked dueling emotions. On the one hand, relief that for now, at least, Wentworth seemed to buy her story. On the other, anguish at the thought that Geoffrey might take her actions the same way.

Once Wentworth ushered her inside, he reengaged the double-sided lock and pocketed the key, killing any chance she might have to run. He directed her to open some shutters for light. “Only the ones in the back that can’t be seen by passersby.”

As the room lightened, Liliana knew she’d run out of time. She’d need to be convincing, stall as long as she could. She decided to be aggressive.

“Now,” she said, whirling around as if to convey a great hurry, “we need to find where Geoffrey hid the letters.”

“Letters?” Wentworth asked, his face screwing up in confusion.

“Yes,” Liliana snapped. “The coded letters your
brother and my father exchanged. My father divulged where he hid the corselet in his last missive, but before I could decipher it, Geoffrey took the letters and hid them here in the folly. That’s why I agreed to marry him. To buy more time at Somerton Park until I could figure out where he stashed them. When we find the letters, we find the treasure.” Hopefully the search would take some time, giving either Geoffrey a chance to get there if he was coming, or her a chance to think of another plan.

Liliana turned her back on Wentworth and pretended to search the shelf in front of her. He didn’t move for some time, and Liliana held her breath, certain he’d finally seen through her. But then she heard a shuffling gait followed by the sounds of Wentworth rifling through Geoffrey’s desk.

She prayed she wasn’t simply delaying her own demise.

Outside the back window of the folly, Geoffrey froze, the words floating from the open sash kicking him in the gut.

That’s why I agreed to marry him. To buy more time at Somerton Park until I could figure out where he stashed them. When we find the letters, we find the treasure.

And yet…

In his heart, he knew they weren’t true. Not entirely, at any rate. Though he wasn’t certain why Liliana had agreed to marry him—was afraid indeed that she’d agreed only so she could stay long enough to retrieve her evidence—he was the one who’d decoded Liliana’s father’s letters, and he knew very well there was nothing about the location of the treasure in them. Liliana was shamming someone in there, and he’d wager it was his uncle. Which meant Liliana could be in danger.

Geoffrey fought to keep panic at bay. He’d need a clear head if he were to be any help to her. Instincts honed over a dozen years in the military took over. He edged closer to the window, hoping to get the lay of the battlefield before him.

He caught sight of Liliana, only feet from him, and anger threatened to burst through his tight control. Damn his uncle for putting her through this. Liliana’s face was pale, and her hand shook as she moved books around on a shelf. She was trying to hide it, but Geoffrey could see her fear growing.

Movement drew his eye to the right, and Joss came into view, pulling items out of Geoffrey’s desk drawer and piling them on the surface.

A glint of metal caught the light, buried beneath the papers Joss was haphazardly tossing onto the desk. Could that be a gun? Had Joss threatened Liliana with the weapon? Rage fired his brain, but Geoffrey tamped it down. Knowing Liliana was in immediate danger changed his battle plan entirely. He gauged the shuttered window. Could he get the tip of his own pistol through the slat and fire, killing Joss or even just wounding him enough that he was no longer a threat to Liliana?

He considered the angle of the slat and knew it would be impossible. The shot would have to be fired up and would be well over Joss’ head, giving Joss ample opportunity to pull his own weapon and either fire back at Geoffrey or fire at Liliana.

There was no time to return to the house for reinforcements, either.

He’d have to take the man by surprise, then. If he kicked in the back door, Joss’ attention would be on him, giving Liliana the chance to run or at least hide. She didn’t deserve to be caught up in this. She never should have been. His uncle had done her a horrid disservice, and so had he. He’d apologize a thousand times when this was all over. For now, he needed to save her life and end this thing with his uncle.

Geoffrey slowly ducked below the window and crept toward the back door.

Gooseflesh rose on Liliana’s arm.
Geoffrey.
He was near. Though she couldn’t see him, her body told her it was so.
He’d come.

A shadow caught her eye from the left. She glimpsed dark hair moving toward the back door just beneath the window. He was going to try to come through the back door, but it was locked. Even if he’d brought a key, the sound of it clicking the mechanism would give him away.

Liliana’s heart kicked into a fluttery rhythm. Geoffrey couldn’t know his uncle was armed. He would be shot for sure, and it would be her fault. She was the one who’d run away, who’d allowed herself to be lured into Wentworth’s carriage. She’d led the villain here, counting on Geoffrey to save her, knowing it was her only chance.

But she would not be responsible for Geoffrey’s death. She’d have to create a distraction when he came into the room. If he were quick thinking, he could take advantage of Wentworth’s distraction and get to safety.

She looked around her, scrambling for an idea. She thought about just yelling that she’d found the letters, but that would bring Wentworth to her, making her easily captured and used as a hostage. That would put Geoffrey at a disadvantage, because no matter how angry he was with her, she knew him to be too honorable to just let her be killed. He would try to negotiate for her life, thus endangering his own.

Her eyes lit upon Geoffrey’s paint supplies. Oils, rags, brushes…

Turpentine
—highly flammable, with possible explosive tendencies. That might work. She reached into her pocket, her hand closing around the decorative tinderbox with her experimental accelerant inside. If she could get it lit and drop it inside the container of turpentine, she should have time to move to a safe distance. But even if she couldn’t, it wouldn’t matter as long as Geoffrey got away.

The door burst open with a loud crash that sent Liliana a foot into the air. Geoffrey must have kicked the door in, aiming for the element of surprise.

Wentworth shrieked like an old woman but quickly swiped his gun from the desk and pointed it at Geoffrey.

Liliana’s world stopped moving.

Geoffrey kept his eyes on his uncle’s face and tried not to focus on the pistol aimed right at him. His own pistol was cocked and tucked in the waistband of his breeches, behind his back where his uncle wouldn’t notice it. He raised his hands slowly. He had to make no sudden movements, had to keep Joss focused solely on him so that Liliana could make it to the door.

As much as he wanted to look upon her, to ensure himself she was fine, he kept his gaze trained on Joss. Geoffrey’s chest eased a bit as he glimpsed Liliana inching toward the entrance.

“Are you planning to kill me, Uncle, as you did my father?”

Uncle Joss flinched, but the gun did not. “I hadn’t planned to,” he finally answered. “I’ve lived with the guilt of your father’s death for years, although things were good for me when your brother was earl. It was easy to divert money when I needed it from beneath his unwatchful eye. But you aren’t the fool Henry was. I had hoped to blackmail you long enough to cover my gambling losses—and then I was going to quit. I swear it. But then
she
showed up.” Joss bobbed his head in Liliana’s direction, but to Geoffrey’s relief, he didn’t turn to see her inching away. “I recognized her surname, of course, so I knew why she must have come. I figured if I could follow her, figure out where she was searching and get to the corselet first, I could break it up and sell the jewels. I could have paid my debts with no need to involve you, but without it, I may have to kill you after all. Then I will be earl and I can pay what I owe.”

Liliana stopped moving toward the door and bent down. Why didn’t the foolish woman run? Damn it. If she would just get clear, he could finish this. He needed to keep his uncle talking until she got the hell out of the way.

“Who would loan you so much money you fear for your life?” Geoffrey asked.

“Percenters, a nasty lot of them,” Joss answered.

What in the blazes was Liliana doing? Geoffrey couldn’t tell, as she was simply a blur in his peripheral vision. He daren’t take his eyes off Joss, but he wanted to shout with frustration. She was crouched too close to Uncle Joss, only two arms’ lengths away.

“Let me pay your debt,” Geoffrey offered, straining for a soothing tone. “Let me get you help for your problem.” Though it galled him to say the next, he said it anyway. “You’re my family.”

Joss’ gaze wavered, and it seemed as though he wanted to accept. But then his face hardened. “As if you would help me now that you know I killed your father.”

It seemed his uncle wasn’t a fool, after all.

“Of course, I’ll have to kill Miss Claremont, too,” Joss said. He took a quick step back and snatched Liliana up to him, turning the gun on her.

Geoffrey stopped breathing. It took everything in him not to reach for his own weapon. But he’d never be able to kill Joss before the man pulled the trigger, and he couldn’t risk Liliana. He dropped to his knees. “Please, Uncle, don’t harm her.”

Liliana forced herself to hold perfectly still, even though every nerve in her body screamed to get as far away as possible from the explosive she’d just lit.
Four…five…six…
She had no idea how long it would take for the turpentine to ignite, but as contained as it was, when mixed with the ingredients in her tinderbox, she expected at least a flash explosion sometime soo—

The force of the blast knocked Liliana to her stomach. Pain exploded in her head as it came in contact with the floor, and heat licked up her legs, but she paid it no heed, rising to her hands and knees and looking frantically for Wentworth. Screams rent the air behind her, and she whipped around.

Flames ate their way up Wentworth’s breeches. He’d dropped to his knees but hadn’t lost control of his weapon, which he now aimed at Geoffrey. Liliana turned
her head to where Geoffrey was still on his knees. Why hadn’t he run, blast it? He reached behind his back, pulling his own weapon, but from the corner of her eye, Liliana saw the flex of Wentworth’s hand as he pulled his trigger.

“Geoffrey,” she screamed, fear and painful heat overwhelming her.

Two reports filled the room, one slightly before the other. She didn’t get a chance to see anything more before she was tackled by a blur and she was being rolled, patted, smothered, and rolled some more before being dragged across the floor.

When she stopped moving, she became aware of a vicious stinging pain encompassing her lower legs. She also realized she was being cradled in Geoffrey’s arms.
He’s alive.
Her heart soared and tears burned the backs of her eyes. She breathed in, craving his scent of man and mint, but all she could smell was smoke and chemical fumes and something she was distinctly afraid was burned flesh. The pain in her legs grew so much that she didn’t think she could bear it, and her head throbbed mercilessly.

“Your uncle?” she croaked.

“Dead.” Geoffrey’s voice was hoarse.

“How? His weapon was aimed before yours was completely pulled.”

Geoffrey hugged her to him, and Liliana moaned against the shift in position. He immediately stilled and pulled back, brushing her hair tenderly from her face as he looked down at her.

“A spoonful of sugar in my powder,” he said. “A trick a brilliant chemist once taught me.”

“You fool,” she said, meaning to tell him that under improper conditions, that trick could have backfired, but before she could get the words out, everything went dark.

L

Why do I hurt so badly?

She gasped, memories flooding in. The explosion. Wentworth firing his pistol at Geoffrey. Geoffrey cradling her in his arms, stroking her tenderly, almost as if he loved her…

She jerked to a sitting position, her orbital muscles finally accepting her consciousness and allowing her eyes to open, but she couldn’t contain a cry as her legs shifted in the bed.

“You’re awake.”

Penelope? Blinking as her eyes adjusted, Liliana located Pen sitting in a chair near the head of the bed. She noted the set of Pen’s brow, the worried twist of her lips.

“I’ll call the doctor.” Concern colored her cousin’s voice, but not fear. So she’d live, then. “He can give you something more for the pain.”

Liliana glanced around her. The celadon draperies and counterpane told her she was back in her room at Somerton Park. She squinted against the light, bringing
her hand up to press at the tender knot near her temple. So that was why she felt so muzzy.