The Countess (19 page)

“Oh . . . erm . . .” Suzette shrugged. “Just for a minute or two here and there the last day or so.”

“Hmm.” Christiana eyed her suspiciously, able to tell when Suzette was lying, but not sure she wanted to know the truth in this instance.

“Well, you can come ride with Chrissy and Dicky and me too,” Lisa said unrepentantly.

“Richard,” Christiana corrected again. Dicky was the hateful imposter she’d been married to. Richard was the true man she wasn’t married to . . . yet. Unfortunately, what with the rush to pack and set out, she hadn’t got the chance to explain things to her sisters yet.

“Here we are.”

Christiana glanced up and murmured a thank-you as a glass of some beverage was set before her. It smelled like cider and she smiled appreciatively at Richard as he settled across the table from her.

“The innkeeper’s wife has a pot of beef stew bubbling in the back. It smells delicious so I ordered us both that. But I didn’t think to ask you what you’d like to drink, so I asked Langley what you like and he said cider. Fortunately, they had some.”

“Thank you,” Christiana murmured again. “Beef stew sounds delicious and I do like cider.”

“Married a year and you had to ask Langley what she likes,” Suzette muttered with disgust.

Christiana kicked her under the table and glared when Suzette glanced to her in surprise.

“Well, at least he asked,” she said grimly. “Dicky wouldn’t have bothered.”

It was only when Suzette peered at her with confusion that Christiana realized what she’d said. Before she could explain, Lisa, who apparently hadn’t caught the slip, said, “Dicky, it’s all right if Suzette and I ride with you and Christiana the rest of the way, isn’t it?”

“Richard,” Christiana and Richard corrected as one, and then shared a wry smile.

“If the girls are going to ride in your carriage, you’re welcome to join Robert and me in mine,” Daniel offered, setting a glass of lemonade in front of Suzette as he sat down next to Richard.

“Oh.” Richard glanced her way, but then sighed in defeat and nodded. “Yes. Fine. Thanks.”

Christiana picked up her glass and took a sip to hide her expression. She could tell he wasn’t pleased with this turn of events and had probably hoped to continue what they’d started before the carriage had stopped, but events were conspiring against him.

Chapter Thirteen

I
don’t know how she can sleep.”

Christiana smiled faintly at Suzette’s dry comment, her gaze shifting to Lisa, who had chattered away nonstop for the first several hours after leaving the inn, but had slowed down and finally nodded off with her head on Suzette’s shoulder. “She always used to fall asleep on carriage rides when we were children.”

“Hmm.” Suzette twisted her head to try to look at Lisa’s face, but then glanced to Christiana and asked, “So would you care to explain what you meant back at the inn?”

Christiana glanced to her with confusion. “Explain what?”

Suzette narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything else, Lisa’s bag slipped from her lax hands and dropped to the carriage floor with a small thunk. Christiana immediately leaned forward to pick it up. The bag carried a small notebook, quill and a sealed pot of ink. Lisa tended to carry it with her whenever she thought she might find something interesting to write about. She had aspirations to someday be a writer of those horrid adventure novels she was always reading.

“You missed something,” Suzette said as Christiana straightened, and she glanced down to see that there was an envelope on the floor. Bending again, she picked that up as well, but straightened much more slowly this time. There was nothing on the outside of the envelope to indicate who it was to, and it had been closed with a blob of dark wax without any seal impression pressed into it, which for some reason sent a shiver of apprehension through Christiana.

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Lisa murmured sleepily.

Christiana glanced to the younger girl to see that she was yawning but awake. “What is it?”

“A letter for Dicky,” Lisa answered sitting up.

“You mean a letter for Richard,” Suzette corrected dryly.

Christiana ignored her and asked, “Who is it from?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t open it,” Lisa said indignantly.

“No, I can see that,” she said with exasperation. “But why was it in your bag?”

“Oh.” Lisa shrugged and took the bag from her. “It was this morning when Daniel and Robert were helping Dicky bring out his chest.”

“Richard,” Christiana murmured as Lisa paused and frowned, no doubt because the men had loaded it themselves rather than let the servants do it. Christiana was the only one of the three of them who knew that the men had loaded it themselves because George was in it and they hadn’t wanted to risk it being dropped and its contents spilling out.

“Anyway,” Lisa continued. “The cutest little boy came running up. He asked which of the men was the Earl and I pointed out Dicky—”

“Richard,” Christiana corrected.

“—he started to go toward the men,” Lisa continued without stopping. “But I suggested he give the letter to me rather than trouble them when they were busy. I meant to give it to Dic—Richard once they were done with the chest, but then Grace came out of the house, tripped on the step and fell and I shoved the letter in my bag and went to help her up, and . . .” She shrugged. “I forgot all about it till now.”

Christiana peered down at the letter. Something about the blank face and black blob of wax gave her a very bad feeling. Besides, it must be for George, not Richard. Richard was only newly returned from over a year in America, and the only person who knew that was Daniel. Daniel would hardly send Richard a note when he had been at the house almost every waking moment since their return.

She turned the letter over in her hands and stared at the blob of wax, and then began to open it.

“What are you doing, Chrissy? That’s Dicky’s!” Lisa tried to snatch the letter from her.

“Dicky’s dead,” Christiana snapped, shifting sideways on her seat and ripping the letter open.

“What?” Lisa gasped.

Ignoring her, Christiana held the letter to the window to read it. It was growing late in the day, the sun was setting and there wasn’t much light to read from, but she managed and cursed as she did.

“What is it?” Suzette asked and snatched the letter from her.

Christiana didn’t bother to try to stop her, but waited silently as she read it. She had meant to tell them at some point. Suzette’s reading the letter was as good a way to bring up the subject as any.

“I knew it!” Suzette exclaimed suddenly.

“You knew what?” Lisa asked curiously.

“I knew there was something going on,” Suzette explained, her tone distracted as she continued to read.

“Why? What’s going on?” Lisa asked, turning narrowed eyes on Christiana.

“Dicky’s dead,” Suzette announced. “I knew he was. The man was cold as stone when we left for the ball.”

Lisa blinked in dismay. “Whatever are you talking about? Dicky’s fine. He’s in the carriage with Daniel and Robert.”

“That’s Richard,” Suzette muttered, continuing to read.

“What? I don’t understand.” Her gaze slid to Christiana. “What is she talking about, Chrissy?”

“The man I married—”

“Murder!” Suzette squawked suddenly. “Dicky wasn’t murdered.”

“Of course he wasn’t,” Lisa said with exasperation. “He’s alive and fine.”

Suzette ignored their younger sister and waved the letter with disgust. “I wouldn’t even bother to show this to Richard. It’s all just claptrap. Threatening to tell everyone Richard murdered George to get his title and name back. What nonsense.”

“Yes, I know, but the other business is true enough, and even that would cause a scandal if what George did got out,” Christiana said unhappily as Suzette continued reading. “I need to tell Richard about this and the sooner the better. Suzie, bang on the wall and tell the driver to stop.”

Suzette lowered the letter and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think it’s better if we wait until we reach Radnor? We must be almost there by now and if that chest the men insisted on loading themselves holds what I think it does, we definitely need to leave it at Radnor and not take it back to town.”

“What does the chest hold?” Lisa asked at once.

“George,” Christiana answered, verifying Suzette’s thoughts.

“Who’s George?” Lisa asked with a frown.

“Dicky,” Suzette answered.

“What?
” Lisa squawked, and bounced on her seat impatiently. “You aren’t making any sense! I demand someone explain what’s going on this instant.”

Christiana and Suzette exchanged a glance and then Christiana sighed and sat back. Suzette was right, they probably were almost at Radnor. Richard had said they should arrive before dark and that was almost upon them. And they did need to get George there and leave him. She certainly didn’t want him back in the master bedroom in town. It was a bit disturbing to sleep in the room next to your dead, not quite legally wed, husband.

“Is someone going to explain?” Lisa asked grimly.

“Ask her,” Suzette said dryly. “I have an idea of what’s happened, but am not sure of all the specifics.”

When Lisa and Suzette both turned to her, Christiana grimaced and said, “I was going to tell you this yesterday, but wanted you both together to explain, and then with the sudden need to pack and the trip and everything, there never seemed a good time to—”

“Yes, yes, you were going to tell us,” Suzette interrupted impatiently. “Just get to it.”

Christiana took a breath and then said abruptly, “The man I married was an imposter. It was Richard’s twin brother George.”

“But he’s dead,” Lisa protested.

“He is now,” Christiana said grimly, and then sighed and said, “Just listen and let me explain.”

When Lisa and Suzette both nodded, Christiana quickly explained things as clearly and concisely as she could. She then sat back and waited expectantly.

Lisa was the first to speak. Releasing a deep sigh, she said, “It’s just like one of those books I read.” Turning on Suzette she added, “And you said they were all nonsense and wouldn’t happen in real life.”

Christiana blinked. “It is not like one of your novels.”

“It is,” Lisa insisted. “George was the evil villain, you are the beautiful heroine, and Richard is the brave hero who loves and rescues you.”

“There is no love,” Christiana said firmly.

“Of course there is. Why else would he marry you?”

“Because he’s a good man who doesn’t wish to see us pay for his brother’s sins.”

“Oh, he’s so good,” Lisa gasped. “You have to love him, Chrissy.”

“For heaven’s sake, Lisa,” Suzette said with exasperation. “He is saving himself from scandal too.”

“Men do not really suffer from scandal,” Lisa said grimly. “It is only the female who does. Why, when word got out that Lord Mortis had assaulted and deflowered Penelope Pureheart, the scandal barely touched him. He was still welcomed into the finest homes and free to go to his club. It was Penelope who was banished to the wilds of—”

“Lisa, that is fiction,” Suzette interrupted impatiently.

“If I were to tell someone the tale Christiana just told me they would probably think it fiction too. I— Oh!” she interrupted herself, eyes going wide. “I could write it!”

“No,” Christiana and Suzette said as one, both equally horrified. It was Suzette who pointed out, “Someone might realize it is about Christiana and Richard and—”

“Oh, I would change the names,” she said with irritation. “Never fear. It will be fine.”

Christiana opened her mouth to protest further, but paused as the carriage slowed. A glance out the window showed that they were winding up a driveway toward a large house. She recognized it at once as Radnor.

“We are here,” Suzette murmured, peering out the window on the opposite side of the carriage.

“Thank God,” Christiana muttered, and then turned to Lisa. “You are not to write a word of this ever. Do you understand?”

“Oh, very well,” Lisa said resentfully. “But it would have made a wonderful love story.”

“It is not a love story,” she insisted.

“It will be,” Lisa assured her solemnly. “Trust me Chrissy. He is your hero, you will love him.”

Christiana rolled her eyes and opened the carriage door, leaping out before it had even come to a complete halt. The last thing she needed was Lisa’s drivel about her falling in love with Richard. She had no desire to have her heart broken all over again. She’d been through that with Dicky-George already and it hadn’t been pleasant. But she feared it would be a thousand times worse if she were foolish enough to fall in love with Richard, and the most depressing thing about that was she feared she was already halfway there.

“Christiana! What the devil are you doing leaping out of the carriage before it’s stopped?” Richard demanded, doing the same thing himself from Daniel’s carriage to stride forward and berate her. “You could have been hurt.”

“I wasn’t though,” she said quickly, and then held out the letter and added, “Besides, this is important.”

Richard scowled at her for another moment, but then took the letter and peered at the broken seal.

“A young boy gave it to Lisa this morning saying it was for the Earl. She got distracted and forgot to give it to you and I opened it in the carriage just a few minutes ago. I thought it was probably for George, but it’s for you.”

Eyebrows rising, he opened the letter and began to read.

“What is it?” Daniel asked as he reached them.

“Blackmail,” Suzette answered, stepping down from the carriage and moving to his side. “Someone knows what George did and that he’s dead. They actually think Richard killed him to get back his name and position and is threatening to reveal all if he isn’t paid a good sum of money.”

“I see. Then Christiana explained—?” Daniel began, but Suzette cut him off grimly.

“Yes, she explained everything. Something that you, as my soon-to-be-husband, surely should have done before this, don’t you think, Woodrow? Husbands and wives really shouldn’t have such secrets, should they?”

Christiana bit her lip at Suzette’s tone and the use of Daniel’s last name. It was a good indicator that Suzette wasn’t pleased. Daniel seemed to realize that, but merely shrugged and said solemnly, “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

Suzette hrrumphed and glanced to Richard as he closed the letter again.

“We need to get back to the city at once,” he announced.

“But—” Christiana said, and then gasped in surprise as he caught her elbow to urge her toward the Radnor carriage.

“I only have until the day after tomorrow to get the money together and will receive another message telling me where to leave it then,” he said. “We have to go.”

“No, wait,” Christiana said breathlessly, forced to run to keep up with him.

“Surely you aren’t going to pay the blackmail?” Daniel asked, falling into step on her other side.

“I hope not. That’s why I want to get back at once. We need to try to sort out who it could be. But if we don’t figure it out, I will pay rather than risk the scandal damaging the girls.”

“But—” Christiana tried again, only to gasp in surprise as they reached the carriage and he caught her by the waist and lifted her in. Once on her feet on the floor of the carriage, however, she whirled and blocked his entrance. “Dammit, husband, listen to me.”