Diana shook her head. "Not really, it's just thatWell, it's all so confusing, isn't it? All these terrible things happening. But you didn't answer my question, Daniel."
"Didn't I? Well, soon, perhaps. Yes, soon."
He nudged Tanis ahead and Diana frowned after him.
Lyon said very quietly, "Shall I read these newspaper accounts to you, Deborah?"
She walked like a very old woman toward the French windows, standing there, staring out over the grounds. "God, I tried. I tried so very hard."
"This first one is a year old. It concerns the murder of a young girl in Charlotte Amalie. She was strangled. She was the daughter of a local merchant. It appears to have raised quite a furor. The murderer wasn't found."
He paused a moment, looking at her. She hadn't moved.
He picked up a second newspaper page. "This one is another report of a young girl who was strangled. It is about a year and a half old. Also in Charlotte Amalie. She was a slave. No one appears to have cared too much."
"Stop it!"
"Deborah, why have you kept these gruesome articles?" But he knew the answer. Oh, yes, he knew, and the truth he had sought now made him feel as cold as death.
Deborah slowly turned to face him.
"And those bills you paid to Dr. Gustavus? They were for care of Daniel, were they not?"
"Yes. He knew, you see, and claimed he wanted to help Daniel. He also wanted money."
"And you wanted to get Daniel away from Charlotte Amalie before he was found out? Because surely it was just a matter of time before what he'd done was discovered?"
"Yes. I thought I could control him here on Savarol Island. Oh, God, that little fool, Moira! If only I could have gotten rid of her, once I found out what was going on! If only she'd understood! I warned her, I even threatened her, you remember, the riding crop. But it was too late. She wouldn't listen."
"How many girls did he kill?"
"Five. Over a period of four years. I kept hoping that Dr. Gustavus would help him. He kept Daniel so close, so close. Daniel didn't know that Dr. Gustavus knew his secret. Only I knew."
"But why Patricia? How could you let him marry her?"
"I thoughtno, I believed truly that she would change him. He seemed so very fond of her and she of him. I prayed --- oh, God how I prayed --- it would all cease, that the sickness in his mind would stop. But I soon realized that things were not well with them. It was at that time I met Lucien. No, I didn't marry him for Daniel's sake. I love him."
"But Daniel seems so very normal, so kind and ---" He broke off, still grappling with the truth.
"Yes, he does. I never would have guessed, never, and I am his mother. One evening, some four years ago, I was awake when he came in late one night. He'd killed a girl and he was still in the throes of this strange excitement. He told me everything. Then Dr. Gustavus came."
"And Charles Swanson? He was shot, not strangled."
"It was Patricia's fault!"
"She shot him?"
"No, but it was still her fault. I told you that I soon realized all was not well between Daniel and Patricia. Daniel isimpotent. Patricia told me. She and Charles Swanson became lovers."
"And Daniel discovered it?"
"Yes."
"And he shot Charles Swanson?"
"Yes."
"It is difficult to accept, Deborah. Surely you have realized that Charles Swanson and Edward Bemis were, well, closer than men should be."
"Patricia knew it too. She wanted to change Charles. And she did, for a brief time at least."
"Daniel must be stopped, Deborah."
"He is my son!"
"Yes, and he must be stopped."
She shuddered and buried her face in her hands. She moaned softly.
Lyon walked to her and put his arms around her. "I am sorry," he said, "truly sorry. Will you speak to Lucien now?"
"He will hate me," she gasped. "He will despise me for bringing madness and death to his island."
"No," Lucien said from the doorway. "I won't despise you, my dear, but Lyon is quite right, you know. Daniel must be stopped."
Lyon met the older man's eyes from across the room. He wondered how much Lucien had heard. He patted Deborah's back and gently eased away from her. "We must find Daniel," he said very gently. "You know that."
"Yes, I know."
Lucien said, "We will speak of this later, Deborah. Come, my boy."
"Daniel, it's my cave! You found my cave!" Diana whirled about to grin hugely at Daniel.
He merely returned her smile as he dismounted from Tanis' back.
"Yes," he said, turning to face her, "I guessed it was your cave. I found camping things and clothes that I figured belonged to you."
Diana also dismounted and tethered Salvation to an oleander bush. "Have you done much exploring?"
"No, I'm much too large to get about."
Diana giggled. "Even I am too large for much exploring."
"You never found another way out?"
She shook her head.
"Shall we go inside?"
"Lead on, big brother!" She shivered and wrapped her arms about her. "I always forget how very cool it is inside." She remembered quite clearly that afternoon she and Lyon had spent here, and unconsciously, she smiled.
"Did you and Patricia speak of other things, Diana?"
She blinked at the unexpected question, but replied readily enough, "No, not really. All this awfulness, Daniel, well, I know that Patricia knows more than she's telling. I'm sorry, but from what she told me today, well ---"
"What did she tell you?" His voice echoed strangely about her, very low, very deep.
"Things that didn't make much sense. She spoke of monsters."
"Ah."
"Oh, let's not speak of it, at least for now. Listen, Daniel, can you hear the sound of water? I know there's an underground lake."
"Perhaps you will find it, Diana."
"We haven't the time to hunt for it, I'm afraid."
"My mother isn't well, you know," Daniel said after a moment.
"She is naturally upset."
"Yes, and soon, very soon, she will not be able to keep things quiet. You see, she loves your father."
"What ever are you talking about?"
He stepped close to her and cupped her chin in the palm of one large hand. "You are a beautiful girl, Diana. Perhaps, had I met you before Patricia, things would have been different."
She felt a sudden spurt of alarm. "What do you mean, Daniel?"
"Nothing, I suppose. I do know, though, that there isn't much left for me to do. The net is drawing tight. It is not like Charlotte Amalie here."
She was growing colder and colder. She realized suddenly that she and Daniel were alone, in this isolated cave, and no one knew where she was. No, she was being silly. Daniel was just upset, as was everyone else. Had Deborah killed Moira and Charles?
"After you, Diana, it will have to be Patricia. She is not what I thought she would be. She is weak and silly and she betrayed me. With Swanson, and that damned man was a pervert!"
Diana didn't move. His fingers were lightly stroking her jaw. His voice had become oddly singsong.
"And of course, then Lucien and your husband. They must all die. I must protect myself. Surely you understand that? And my poor mother, I must protect her."
"Let us go now, Daniel. You don't know what you're saying. Please, Daniel."
"Poor Diana. I am sorry. You are not like the others. They were all so foolish, so cleverly mean to me. You really must face up to things now, you know. I can't bring myself to strangle you. But I must leave you here. I know this was a burial cave a long time ago. You won't be alone in your death."
She jerked away from him, her heart pounding, and rushed toward the cave entrance.
She was nearly there. Escape. Oh, God.
He caught her about her waist and hauled her back.
She was no match for his strength, but she fought him nonetheless. Her fingernai
ls scored his cheek before he caught her arms behind her back. He jerked her arms upward until she quieted, unable to fight more because of the intense pain.
"Daniel ---" Was that her voice, disembodied, so pitiful?
"Hush, Diana. Don't fight me. You know you can't win. Come, now, I will tie you up, but not tightly. You will get free but not until I've left."
He drew off his belt and bound her hands in front of her. "Sit down, now." When she didn't move, he shoved her down. She felt the hard earth and sharp stones.
"I will leave you light. I am not a monster."
Monster! Patricia knew, or at least she suspected.
"Daniel, you aren'twell. Please, I can help you. Lyon can help you, he ---"
He threw back his head and laughed. It echoed off the walls of the cave, bouncing back, surrounding her, and she wanted to scream with the terror of it. She watched him bring her lamp near her and light it. He stared at her a moment, not speaking.
He leaned down suddenly and kissed her, hard. "Such a pity. Good-bye, little sister."
She watched him stride to the cave entrance. He looked back at her and shook his head.
She struggled to her feet. She heard a loud scraping sound. She was nearly to the opening when the huge rock slammed over it and she was plunged into darkness.
She screamed, falling back as the earth shook from the impact of the boulder.
She fell to her knees. Silence. She was surrounded by silence and darkness. She looked toward the flickering lamp.
27
There is no limit to investigating the truth, until you discover it.
—CICERO
Lyon stood stock-still in the dim, cool stable. "What?"
"Miss Diana ride with Massa Daniel."
"Oh, God! Where did they go?"
"I don't know."
Lucien looked at Tom, the stable hand, and nodded. "Very well. Lyon, we must round up men, not only to search for Diana, but to find Daniel."
Lyon nodded. He wasn't up to finding words. He felt sick and stupid and blind. And Daniel was with Diana. Would he hurt her? Had something in his mind finally snapped? Was Diana now a threat to him, or another girl he had decided to kill?
"Where is Salvation?"
"Miss Diana ride Salvation. Massa Daniel ride Tanis."
"Of course, I'm not thinking straight." Lucien ran distracted hands through his disheveled hair. "We must go to the village and round up some men to help us. Lyon, you take Egremont, I will go find Grainger."
"Tell the women to stay in the house."
"Yes, of course you're right."
Ten minutes later, Lyon reined in at the slave village. He was told that Diana and Daniel had ridden away a half-hour before. No one knew where they had gone. He organized three dozen men to search. He had to tell them the truth, and when he did, Bob, Moira's lover, stared at him in disbelief, then howled in fury.
Where to look?
"I hear Massa Daniel say something about showing Miss Diana a special place of his," said an old man who was squatting next to a fire.
Lyon left the slave village in an organized uproar. He galloped Egremont back to the great house. Thirty-six men would comb the island, every foot of it. He prayed one of them would find heralive.
Diana stared toward the massive rock that sealed the cave entrance. She was trapped, alone, and she would die here, without ever seeing Lyon again.
She fell to her knees, her mind as numb as her body. She didn't know how long she remained there, her mind blank, when she became aware of a strange raw sound and realized that it was coming from her. Low, ugly sobs. "Shut up, you stupid weak fool!"
Her voice bounced back to her and the sound, although magnified and eerie, made her feel better. She continued aloud, "I will not sit here and wait to die. I won't!"
She looked at the lamp. She guessed she had another hour of light, not much more. Perhaps less. She shivered, more from the cold now than from the deadening terror. "All right, my girl, you will do something. You will find a way out of here."
She rose and walked to the entrance. She set her shoulder against the rock and shoved against it with all her strength. It didn't move. Not that she'd expected it to, not really. She turned her back to it and stared beyond the lamp into the hollow darkness. There was another way out. There had to be. If she didn't believe that, she might as well curl up and wait to be plunged into darkness, for eternity, alone.
She picked up the lamp and walked swiftly toward the back of the cavern. It ended abruptly. This was the north side, the side that was nearest the sea. She'd carefully explored the opposite side of the cave, particularly after she'd discovered that narrow opening. Unfortunately, she hadn't grown any smaller, so she would not be able to squeeze through it. No, she had to search out the more-recessed northern side. She'd avoided it as a child. The ground sloped up at an alarming rate, and she'd fallen once on the loose rocks. "Careful now," she said aloud, and was again reassured by the sound of her own voice.
Nothing. There was nothing save the expanse of slimy walls, treacherous loose rocks, and the stalactites, glittering, wet spears in the dim light.
She forced herself to continue. She hummed softly to herself, trying to think of pleasant things. Oddly enough, it was the wild, untamed moors of Yorkshire she pictured in her mind, the rolling mists that flowed over the harsh ground, forming strange patterns around the roughhewn rocks in the early morning. Oh, God, she wanted so desperately to see Lyon's estate, Ashton Hall.
What if now she would never see it? Never know the pleasure of being mistress of Ashton Hall, Lyon's wife and lover and ---
The lamp flickered and she froze. "No! Not yet!"
The light grew steady again, but it was much dimmer now. "No," she said aloud again, and frustrated, frightened, she whirled about and slammed her fist against the cave wall. To her surprise, she felt something give way. She raised the lamp. Her heart began to pound.
Feverishly, she set down the lamp and began digging at the loose dirt against the wall. It came away slowly, but she didn't pause. Suddenly, just as she pulling away a large rock, the lamp went out.
"No!"
She fit her hands about the rock, closed her eyes, and jerked. The rock gave way. She heard it hit the cave floor and tumble down the incline. It rolled and rolled, the sound of it more frightening than she could have imagined.
It was then that she saw a beam of clear sunlight.
Patricia didn't hear him. One moment, she was alone, walking swiftly back toward the great house, the next Daniel had grasped her arm.
Oddly enough, the first words out of her mouth were, "What have you done with Diana?"
"She is dead," Daniel said, his voice deep, calm, sounding so very normal in the bright sunlight. "I really didn't want to kill her, but she was discovering things, too many things. It was just a matter of time and I had her alone. And my mother, she is very close to breaking now. No, I had no choice, and she came with me so willingly. As for you, my dear wife, you will deserve your death."
"You're insane," she whispered, her voice ground nearly away in her fear. "You can't, Daniel, no!"
His grip tightened on her arm and he dragged her inexorably toward the southern end of the front grounds, toward the narrow, very sheer cliff that overlooked the only rocky shore on the island, some thirty feet below.
Patricia screamed, a high, piercing scream. It was the last thing she did. Daniel's fist slammed into her jaw and she crumbled.
"Oh, my God!"
Lucien grabbed Lyon's arm. "He's got Patricia. Lyon, he's going to the cliffs!"
At least he didn't strangle her immediately, Lyon thought. He shook his head. God, had he strangled Diana? The two men were standing on the second-floor veranda, guns in hand.
"Let's go," Lyon said.
"Don't kill him, Lucien! Don't!"
Lucien touched his wife's arm. "Stay here, Deborah. There's nothing you can do now."
Deborah fell away from him, sobbing wildly.
r /> The men took the stairs two at a time.
Dido, Lila, and the other household slaves stood huddled next to the front door.
"See to your mistress," Lucien said over his shoulder to Dido. "Keep her inside!"
Lyon ran faster than he'd ever done in his life. He would make Daniel tell him where Diana was.
Dear God, she couldn't be dead.
His booted feet pounded the earth. Suddenly, he burst through the thick growth of oleanders. There was Daniel, an unconscious Patricia in his arms, standing only about ten feet from the edge of the cliff.
And there was Grainger, not fifteen feet away from him, pointing a dueling pistol at him.
"Ease her down, Daniel." The overseer's voice calm, strangely detached. "Do as I tell you, boy. Set her down."
"No, Grainger, I can't do that." Daniel's voice sounded strangely apologetic. "She betrayed me, you see. She is like all the others."
Lyon came to an abrupt halt, uncertain what to do.
"Daniel," he called out, "where is Diana?"
Patricia moaned at that moment and began struggling. Daniel eased her to her feet, but kept his arm clamped around her.
"Where is Diana?"
"Dead," Daniel said. "I didn't want to, Lyon, but I had no choice."
"Release her, Daniel!" Grainger took a step forward, and Lyon wanted to yell for him to stop, for he realized that the overseer was trying to find a better vantage point to get a clearer shot.
Lyon stood stock-still, not wanting to accept Daniel's flat words. No, she couldn't be dead. No!
"She deserves to die, Grainger," Daniel called, crushing Patricia against him until she stopped struggling. "She did betray me, you know, with that little fool, Swanson. She's like all the others. They were all cruel, they didn't care. They laughed at me. And why do you care anyway, Grainger? Did she bed with you too?"
"You damned bastard! She's my daughter!"
In an instant of blank surprise, Daniel eased his hold on Patricia and she slipped downward. His eyes met Grainger's from across the distance.
Grainger fired. The gunshot rent the silence.