The Countess (30 page)

“Richard,” Christiana begged, trying to pull free and go after the man.

“Let him go, Christiana,” Richard said quietly. “It really is for the best.”

“Why? Killing George was a spur of the moment, desperate effort to save my sisters and me. He—”

“He used cyanide, Christiana,” Richard said quietly. “That is not something a person typically keeps sitting about the house. It suggests premeditation.”

Her eyes widened as she realized what he said was true and then she turned to watch Haversham get into a carriage waiting on the road. The man had planned his exit down to the last detail.

“You don’t really think it was premeditated do you?” she asked with a frown.

Richard hesitated and then said, “Haversham plans everything. He is a very careful man and always has been. I suspect he intended to kill George eventually, probably as punishment for his killing me, but also to rid you of the man and the miserable marriage he’d trapped you into. I suspect Haversham had been planning it for some time before actually doing it. He was most likely just waiting in the hopes that you would produce an heir.”

When Christiana glanced at him with surprise, he shrugged.

“Haversham is traditional. He would see the continuing of the family line as important,” he explained. “No doubt by the time he overheard George talking to Freddy, he’d realized that George never visited your room and there would be no heir. There was no longer a reason to wait, so he killed him.”

Richard closed the door as the carriage pulled away. “He knows I would realize all this, and that the only way my conscience would allow me to stay mum on the murder was if he was gone and beyond the reaches of English law.”

“Surely you wouldn’t have turned him in?” she asked with amazement. “Everything would have had to be revealed then, what George did, that we weren’t legally married . . . everything.”

“I realize that, and I don’t know if I would have actually turned him in knowing the outcome,” he admitted quietly. “But I would have wrestled with the decision. Haversham knows me well enough to know that, which is—I think—why he said he was going to retire to the continent. He will be beyond English law and revealing what he did would accomplish nothing but cause trouble and pain for those I love. Now I don’t have to wrestle with the decision.”

“I see,” she murmured.

“Is everyone still in the office?” Richard asked.

“No, Daniel went to tell Suzette— Oh,” she breathed suddenly.

“What?” He glanced at her with concern.

“I just realized. Suzette doesn’t have to marry Daniel now. The markers are in the office somewhere and—”

“I think you might want to keep that bit of information to yourself for a bit,” Richard interrupted.

Christiana’s eyebrows rose. “Why?”

“Because Daniel really wants to marry Suzette, and I think she wants to marry him too, but Daniel thinks she needs the markers as an excuse or may become difficult.”

She considered that solemnly. The conversation she’d had with Suzette today had made her suspect her sister really did care for Daniel. In fact, she’d seemed quite disgruntled over the idea that Daniel was only marrying her for the dower which made her ask, “Does he want her for her dower?”

Richard grinned and shook his head. “He’s almost as rich as I.”

Her eyes widened incredulously. “Then why—?”

“She fascinates him and he wants her. In truth, I think he’s half in love with her.”

“I think she may be falling in love with him too,” Christiana said quietly. “Why do we not just tell them and—”

“Daniel believes, and your father concurred, that Suzette is just contrary enough to refuse to marry him despite her feelings if she finds out she doesn’t have to. He also thinks that your year of marriage with George has put her off the idea of marriage altogether.” He raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

Christiana grimaced. “I think he knows her very well.”

“Then perhaps we can just keep the information about the markers to ourselves until we see how things go,” he suggested, and then smiled wryly. “ ’Tis a bit of good fortune for Daniel that Suzette wasn’t in the room to hear all that business.”

“Yes, I suppose,” Christiana murmured, thinking she would wait a bit, but she would tell Suzette before she and Daniel married. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to do otherwise. She changed the subject then, asking, “If Haversham killed George, does that mean the carriage accident was just that, an accident?”

Richard frowned. “It could have been, I suppose. It was only George’s murder combined with the fact that three spokes on the carriage wheel seemed relatively straight that made us think otherwise. I guess they could have simply broken that way as the wheel collapsed. Stranger things have happened.”

“But what about the post chaise that nearly ran you down today?” she pointed out.

He frowned and considered, but then sighed and said, “Accidents do happen and drivers lose control of carriages. It’s possible it was just an accident and we put it down as a murder attempt because George was poisoned.”

Christiana frowned, not convinced. “We shall have to be careful and alert for a while until we are sure.”

Richard smiled and drew her against his chest with a sigh. “I love you too.”

Christiana glanced up sharply. “What?”

Taking her face in both hands, he said firmly, “I said, I love you too.”

“You do?” Christiana breathed with wonder, and then realized he’d said I love you
too
and smiled wryly. “You did hear what I said to Father outside then?”

Richard nodded and then asked, “You did mean it, didn’t you? You weren’t just saying it to ease your father’s worries and—?”

“I meant it,” she interrupted, covering his hands with her own.

“Thank God,” he breathed, and lowered his head to kiss her.

Christiana sighed, her body melting against his and arms sliding up around his neck. She did love his kisses, they stirred her like nothing she’d ever before experienced, and apparently stirred him too, she realized as she felt him hardening against her.

“Richard?” she whispered, tearing her mouth from his.

“Yes?” he murmured, kissing her ear in lieu of her lips.

“Why do we not go upstairs?”

“Upstairs?” He stopped kissing her to pull back and peer at her face uncertainly.

Christiana nodded, pressed more tightly against his growing erection, and murmured, “I should like to discuss our feelings further . . . in the bedroom,” she added shyly in case he was misunderstanding her meaning.

Richard’s eyebrows flew up, and then he caught her hand and turned to start toward the stairs, only to pause abruptly as the parlor door suddenly burst open and Daniel and the others hurried out.

“Richard,” Daniel said spying them by the stairs and heading their way. “Now that the blackmailer is caught and the identity of the murderer found there is no reason to delay. We are heading for Gretna Green at once.”

Christiana heard Richard groan, and could have groaned with him, but then he suddenly straightened and said, “Certainly, we shall leave first thing in the morning.”

“The morning?” Daniel frowned.

“Well, the women will have to pack and—” he began, but Suzette interrupted him.

“The chests are still packed from this morning. At least mine is,” she added with a frown and glanced to Lisa in question.

“Mine too,” Lisa said.

Suzette glanced to Christiana next and she hesitated briefly, but then nodded. “So is mine.”

Richard ducked his head to her ear and muttered, “You could have lied.”

“I am a terrible liar. Besides, all is not lost. Trust me,” she whispered back.

“Richard, is your carriage still out front?” Daniel asked. “I don’t recall you sending it to the stables.”

“I didn’t,” Richard answered. “I wasn’t sure we wouldn’t need it again.”

“Mine is still out front as well,” Robert announced. “They just need to be loaded.”

“Excellent.” Daniel clapped his hands with satisfaction. “Then we merely need to have mine prepared and brought around, load them up and we can—Damn,” Daniel interrupted himself, and muttered, “I forgot my carriage is presently out of commission. I will have to rent one.”

“We can use mine,” Lord Madison offered at once. “It is out front.”

“Perfect,” Christiana breathed.

“Why is it perfect?” Richard asked under his breath.

“The Madison carriage is a coach. Five or even more can ride in it comfortably.”

He appeared perplexed as to how that could be perfect, but Christiana just grabbed his hand, gave it a squeeze and drew him with her as she backed toward the front door. “Lisa, will you see that Grace and the chest holding Richard’s and my clothes aren’t forgotten?”

“Of course,” she said with surprise. “But where will you be?”

Christiana reached behind her for the door. “We are going to head out at once. We have something to do. We shall wait for you at Stevenage,” she announced and then before anyone could protest or ask further questions, Christiana pulled the door open and hurried out, tugging Richard with her.

“What is the something we have to do?” he asked as they hurried to the Radnor carriage.

“I shall explain in the carriage,” she assured him and moved to the door while he moved to speak to the driver. By the time he entered, she had closed the small curtains at the windows. Richard eyed them with surprise as he sank on the bench opposite her.

“What—?” he began, and then swallowed the rest of his question when she tugged the sleeves of her gown off her shoulders and then shimmied her arms out of it. His breath then came out on a long, “Ohhhh,” as the material dropped to pool around her waist.

Reaching across the space between them, Richard caught her by the waist and promptly pulled her from her seat to straddle his lap.

Christiana sighed with relief as she slid her arms around his neck. She was trying to be as brazen as she wanted and not allow fear to hold her back, but truly, she’d felt terribly vulnerable baring herself like that so was glad not to feel so on display anymore.

“So this is the something we had to do?” Richard asked, his hands moving over her back in circles.

Christiana nodded. “I seemed to recall from our last journey to Gretna that we could . . .
discuss our feelings
almost as well in the carriage as in our room,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the scrape on his forehead. “So I thought perhaps . . .” The words died on a gasp as his hands found her breasts and squeezed gently. When he then used his hold to urge her up, Christiana obeyed and rose on her knees until her chest was in front of his face. Richard immediately took one hardening nipple into his mouth, rasping it with his tongue and then suckling briefly, before releasing it to peer up at her.

“Have I told you how brilliant I think you are?” he asked solemnly.

She blinked in surprise, but shook her head.

“Well I do, and you are,” he assured her, his hands moving over her hips and then down to slip under her skirts. “I find you lovely.” He pressed a kiss to the spot between her breasts. “Intelligent.” His hands glided up the outside of her legs. “Resourceful.” He licked one nipple, nipped at it, then suckled briefly, before releasing it to say, “Amusing.” His mouth dipped to the other breast, attending that nipple as one hand closed around her hip and the other slipped between her legs. “Charming.”

“Richard,” Christiana gasped as his fingers found her core.

“Hush,” he murmured against her breast. “I am discussing my feelings.” And then he paused, his hands stilling as he raised his head to ask. “Or have you heard enough? Shall I stop?”

Christiana shook her head at once. “No, husband. Pray continue.”

A slow smiled claimed his lips and he allowed his fingers to strum over her again as he said solemnly, “I fear it could take a very long time for me to tell you all of them.”

“Then perhaps you should just show me,” she suggested breathlessly, and bit her lip as his fingers slid across her damp skin.

“It would be my pleasure,” he assured her, and proceeded to do so.

By Lynsay Sands

T
HE
C
OUNTESS

T
HE
H
ELLION AND THE
H
IGHLANDER

T
AMING THE
H
IGHLAND
B
RIDE

D
EVIL OF THE
H
IGHLANDS

H
UNGRY
F
OR
Y
OU

B
ORN TO
B
ITE

T
HE
R
ENEGADE
H
UNTER

T
HE
I
MMORTAL
H
UNTER

T
HE
R
OGUE
H
UNTER

V
AMPIRE
, I
NTERRUPTED

V
AMPIRES
A
RE
F
OREVER

T
HE
A
CCIDENTAL
V
AMPIRE

B
ITE
M
E IF
Y
OU
C
AN

A B
ITE TO
R
EMEMBER

A Q
UICK
B
ITE

Coming Soon

T
HE
H
EIRESS