The Earl of Her Dreams (17 page)

Kate really couldn’t think of a good reason, but Christian’s charming smile grew lazier, a sure sign that he held an ace.

“You heard us talking about not finding a weapon. Benji even mentioned that he had talked to both of you in his report that first day about how we were searching for a weapon around the inn. You
knew
, Mrs. Wicket.”

Kate smacked the heel of her hand to her forehead. Mrs. Wicket, to Kate’s astonishment, smiled. A small smile.

“You caught me, Mr. Black. Well done. I did know, yes. And I chose not to tell you about the cubbyholes, that is true as well.”

“But you didn’t murder Mr. Janson.”

Christian’s voice was sure, almost resigned.

“No, Mr. Black. I didn’t murder Julius Janson. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that you have an idea who did.”

Christian tilted his head in acknowledgment. “You will not interfere?”

“Oh, I will most definitely interfere, Mr. Black. What I choose to do depends on your intentions.”

Christian looked toward Kate, and must have recognized that she had started to piece the puzzle together as well. The time of the murder. Of course. And she had a bad feeling that the motivation for the crime was well within the bounds of self-defense. She was sickened by the thought of what might have occurred to motivate it.

Christian nodded at her, seeming to take her silence as agreement. “Thank you for answering our questions, Mrs. Wicket. I believe that we will be talking with you later?”

At the woman’s nod, Christian pushed back in his chair and led the way to the door. He had a hand on the knob when a soft but firm voice stopped them.

“Please. Please be kind, Mr. Black, Mr. Kaden.”

Christian nodded curtly, and Kate gave the woman a sympathetic look.

Benji was sitting in one of the armchairs in the small common area near the stairs. Christian paused and cast a speculative glance in his direction.

“Benji, would you like to accompany us? We are about to solve the mystery of Julius Janson’s death. You deserve to take a part in the proceedings for your help.”

Benji’s eyes widened, but he quietly rose as
Christian knocked on the door Kate indicated. Footsteps echoed inside and then the door was pulled open, a friendly, pretty face staring at them in question.

“Good morning, Mary.”

“G
ood morning, Mr. Black. Can I get you something?” She peered around Christian’s shoulder to where Kate and Benji hovered behind him. “Is something amiss?”

Kate felt a heavy weight settle in her chest as she gazed past Mary to the slight figure who had stepped up behind her. “Hello, Sally.”

Christian’s gaze focused on her as well, and Kate watched as the lines on his face grew resolute. “Mary, would you mind if we talked to Sally alone? Benji will be with us.”

Mary’s eyes held innocent confusion, but Kate caught the darting look she threw Benji. They all knew. She’d bet every last farthing that the entire staff of the inn, possibly barring Mr. Wicket, knew what had happened to Janson.

“Sally?” Mary turned to her, an obvious question both in her voice and on her face.

“It’s all right, Mary. Please.”

Mary studied her for a long moment and finally nodded. She gave Christian a cool glance and cast an imploring one on Kate. Kate understood. She was supposed to understand and as an employee of the inn, if only temporarily, help them. Mary’s gaze held a hint of betrayal as well, which confirmed that Mary had been aware of her gender all along.

Kate nodded to her. “I will do all I can.”

Mary’s eyes lost the chill, and she nodded sadly before filing past them.

Christian walked into the room and Kate watched Benji close the door. He looked devastated and close to tears. She looked between Sally and Benji. Of course. More than two people were involved. Had she and Christian been so caught up in each other that they had missed the obvious? On the other hand, if one were to look at the possible suspects from the outset of their investigation,
Sally would be at the bottom of their list, with Benji not far behind.

“You know, don’t you, Mr. Black?” Sally’s soft voice asked.

“What happened that night, Sally?”

The maid’s eyes grew filmy, but she lifted her chin, showing more spirit in that moment than she had in all their previous encounters combined. “Mr. Janson was not a nice man, Mr. Black. I learned that from his previous stay at the inn.” She rubbed her arm, and Kate could see a wicked bruise peeking from under her cuff.

“He threatened you?”

Sally’s expression turned bitter, a look not suited to her usually kind demeanor. “Mr. Janson didn’t threaten. No, he always made a point that he promised. And that his promises were always kept.”

Kate moved forward. “He hurt you.”

Sally tried to maintain a stiff upper lip, but the look was compromised as a tear slipped down her cheek. Kate felt another burst of outrage on Sally’s behalf. Janson had been a monster.

“Mr. Janson was very spoiled. His parents gave him everything he wanted and he took whatever else he desired. He was the chief cock of the walk, to borrow Tom’s phrase. The community loved him for his status and prowess on the field, and
those who did not learned quickly to either move on or remain silent.”

“What happened that night, Sally?” Christian’s voice was low and soothing.

“He tried—he had done—he already—” She broke off on a sob, and Benji rushed around them to hug her tightly. She latched on to him.

Christian allowed her a few minutes to compose herself. Kate’s heart was heavy. It was obvious what had happened to Sally. Christian had warned her days ago that she probably wasn’t going to like what they uncovered. But why had Janson done such things in an inn whose owners he was trying to woo?

“He did it because he could.” Benji answered her unspoken question grimly. “He did nearly everything because he could. You don’t understand how things worked around here. It happened before—he caught her behind the stables. After he was done he threatened, no, promised, that no one would believe her innocent, even if she were to yell down the inn. Said he would say she had approached him and had taken advantage of him. I told Sally to tell Mrs. Wicket or Mary all of it, but she wouldn’t. Only reason I know is because we found her afterward, me and Tom.”

He looked devastated at the memory. “Mrs.
Wicket and Mary rightly guessed, though I could see it in their eyes. There wasn’t much we could do about it. The Jansons rule this district. Even if Mrs. Wicket and Mary had protested against him, it would have done little good. Nothing ever stuck to Janson,” he said bitterly. “It took a long time for Sally to walk around the inn without a fireplace poker in hand, even when Janson was out of town.”

Kate’s mouth fell open, stricken. “Oh God, oh no. I took the poker from you, Sally. I can’t—I don’t—”

Sally raised her head and stayed further comments. “It’s not your fault, Ka—Mr. Kaden. Mr. Janson attacked me long before you took the poker. I could have retrieved it. I was trying to believe it couldn’t happen again, especially with so many folks staying here at the inn.”

Kate saw Benji flinch. He had probably been trying to boost her confidence.

“I took some towels down, and he grabbed me outside his door. He was drunk.” Her chin rose again, and Kate had the feeling that she wanted everything finally out in the open. “He dragged me inside and threw me on the bed. I was dazed at first, but when he began to undo his trousers, I just
grabbed the first thing at hand. He slept with his cricket bat,” she said darkly. “I hit him once, just grazed him across the shoulder and ran toward the gallery door. He lunged at me. I just…I just brought the bat down again. He fell into the drapes and they dislodged. He never got up.”

She shuddered. “There was so much blood. I had Mr. Crescent’s trousers that I was taking to press. I tied them around Mr. Janson’s head to stop the flow, but there was so
much
. I ran from the room.”

“Were you by chance wearing a green calico dress?”

“Yes.” She seemed surprised. “How did you know? Oh.” She seemed to realize something. “There was a tear in it, a piece missing. I assume you found it?”

Christian nodded. “What happened after you ran from the room?”

Sally looked Christian straight in the eye. “I dragged Janson out to the gallery, tossed him over the railing, and pulled him into the stables.”

Christian sighed, clearly not believing her obvious lie. Benji forestalled him. “I did it, Mr. Black. Sally ran from the room and into me.”

“No, Benji, no!”

Benji touched her cheek. “It’s all right, Sally.” He turned back to Christian. “I tossed him over the rail and dragged him into the stable.”

“You tossed him over, then you and Tom dragged him into the stable,” Christian clarified.

Benji looked as mutinous as Sally had. “I did it alone.”

Christian shook his head, in obvious denial. “You may have started dragging the body by yourself in your panic. I can’t see Tom succumbing to panic. But you couldn’t have dragged Janson all the way on your own. Tom was in the stable, on the night shift, and probably more than willing to help after he heard what happened. You moved Janson’s belongings at that point, because it was too late to act as if his death were an accident. If the weather had been more cooperative, you might have been able to get rid of the body. Alas, it was not. So you moved Janson’s things to make it look as if he had left. Then someone had to hide the murder weapon, his bat.”

They stood tight-lipped.

“Mary hid the bat,” Christian said.

“No!”

At that moment Kate knew it was the truth.

Christian cocked his head. “Benji hid it, then.
It was really just the two of you acting in self-defense.”

Both of them were so visibly relieved as to wilt where they stood, still clutching each other.

“Thank you, Mr. Black. What will happen to us now?” Benji asked, head high.

“I’ll talk to the Wickets and take you with me. I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave you here with the likes of Donald Desmond ready to whip up a mob against you.”

“Where will you take us?”

Christian cocked his head. “I have a house near London and connections. We will see what we can work out. Do all the servants know what happened?”

Benji cocked his head in return and seemed to come to a decision. “More or less. Since the guests’ servants are bunking with us, conversation has been limited. We all knew what a rotten bastard Julius Janson was. Only Mr. Wicket was blind in that regard, and even he could only hold on to the blindness for so long. He was getting desperate, if you hadn’t noticed. Desperate to keep intact his ideals about the town’s number one cricket player and handsome man-about-town.”

Christian nodded and turned to Kate. “Anything more you wanted to ask?”

She shook her head, still in shock.

“Both of you stay up here while we sort things out with the Wickets. As soon as the roads clear we will be leaving. The less you see of Desmond or any of the other guests, the better. In fact, can you both stay here until we call for you?”

“Yes. It won’t take me long to pack. And Mr. Crescent’s valet has left our room, so all is clear for that.”

“And Mrs. Crescent’s maid?”

“Staying with Daisy and Bess.”

“Good, good. We’ll see you in a bit. Stay strong, Sally.” Christian gave her an encouraging smile, but stepped no closer to her. It was obvious why Sally was skittish around men she didn’t know well. Kate could have hugged him. Sally’s answering smile was still a bit timid, but no less sincere.

They exited the room and Christian closed the door behind them. Kate leaned against the wall, shock and anger still brimming. He took hold of her and nudged her down the stairs and into their room.

As soon as they were inside, he pulled her into his arms. She trembled and hugged him back tightly.

“What will happen to them? Oh God, I knew
Janson was bad. I
heard
his threats. And I did nothing.”

He pulled back and lightly shook her. “No, Kate. It’s not your fault either. It’s Janson’s fault. Let it go.”

“But—”

“No.”

Although the high-handedness of the statement might have caused her outrage at another time, she felt the tension ease from her body.

“Janson got away with so much because he was the son of a squire,” Kate said. “Like the nobility, just what Mrs. Wicket said. And Sally is a by-blow, did you know? I found that out accidentally the first day I was here. Sometimes even servants can be careless when they think they are alone. The daughter of a baronet and an upstairs maid. Of course, her father never acknowledged her. Kicked them right out.”

Christian wasn’t sure he liked where this conversation was headed.

“Just like the titled, powerful aristocrats to care about their own pleasures and use those in lower classes before throwing them away like so much waste.”

“Yes, well—”

“Happens all the time, Christian. Surely it sickens you?”

“Yes, well—”

“You are a gentleman at heart, no matter what you claim, and you must have seen this type of thing before.” He saw her shudder. Funny, his collar felt tighter than when he had fastened it earlier.

“The upper classes just take and take. And they get away with anything. Worse, they
know
they can.”

Yup, definitely tighter.

“My brother’s friend is a minor baronet. He’s the one my brother, half-brother actually, wants to sell me off to. Says I should be happy with what I can get. The man is repulsive, though. Not much better than Janson, really.” She shuddered again, and Christian couldn’t even appreciate her sudden chattiness as he felt a familiar curl of rage building inside.

“What?”

“I’m running, of course.”

“You aren’t marrying him.”

She patted his arm. “Of course I’m not. And it’s kind of you to offer to help.”

“You will tell me their names.”

“Oh, I doubt we will run into them.”

“You will tell me their names.”

She seemed to finally catch on to the fact that his words were clipped and his face a thundercloud.

“Christian?”

“You won’t be marrying this baronet. I don’t care what your brother threatens you with.”

She ran a hand down his arm in a soothing manner. It worked. A bit.

“That’s sweet of you. If it came to it, he could force me, and there is nothing you could do. He is a baronet. My brother will gain custody of me if I can’t outsmart him for a few more days.”

He touched her cheek. “I’m not worried. And if they are stupid enough to come near you before you are ready to claim your inheritance, they will be very sorry.”

“It’s not much of an inheritance. Probably a pittance to you—unless you really have gambled it all away. But money is money, as my half-brother has always said. And I could live off of it. Maybe get a little place of my own with a garden and no clocks,” she said wistfully.

“I’ll get you a little place with a garden
and
clocks. You won’t be afraid of them anymore.”

She gave him a strange look. “Christian, you can’t just say you’ll buy me a house.”

“You’re right. I
will
buy it instead.”

“But—”

A knock on the door interrupted her. Christian grabbed the knob, happy for the excuse.

Elias stood there with his hand ready to knock again.

“The carriages will arrive in half an hour, sir. Will you be needing one?”

“Yes. Wait. On second thought, would you be willing to run to the Green Toad?”

Elias looked at him strangely, but agreed to visit the other inn. Christian gave him the description and name of his driver and pressed a coin into his hand. Kate gave him an odd look as well, but he just shook his head.

“I need to talk to the Wickets and make arrangements. Will you be all right here, Kate, or do you want to go downstairs?”

She looked outraged, and he almost smiled.

“I can handle myself quite well, thank you.”

He gave her a small salute. “As you wish, my lady. I’ll track you down in the dining room or here in fifteen minutes or so.”

He had an innkeeper to appraise, a deal to work out, and a problem to solve. He had tangled his own web and deceived Kate, and now he was going to have to work out how to get rid of the snarls. The snarls had never been a problem in the past; he had simply left and started over. But he didn’t want
to start over. He wanted Kate. He wanted honesty. Honesty from her and for her. And he hadn’t the first clue how to be in an honest relationship with someone else.