“Then what hope is there?”
“The fact that I’ve arranged a planned rescue. The instant I wrested the details of what had occurred from Armon’s first mate, I sent word to a colleague of mine, who, along with five associates of his, happen to be among the most extraordinary and seasoned navigators in England. I didn’t receive word back from my colleague until just before you arrived, as he lives far west in Cornwall. In any case, he and his men departed for the isle instantly, equipped with longboats, food, and medical supplies. They left from Falmouth, so they’ll probably have reached Raven by now. Let me repeat, the chances of recovering your crew alive are remote but, in their favor, it’s been a rather mild May. And, should Lexley and the others have discovered any source of food—be it nuts, berries, or an unlikely fish or two—there is a slim chance they could be alive. We’ll soon know.”
“Thank you,” Courtney said gratefully. “I pray your efforts, and the efforts of your men, are successful.”
“As do I.” Oridge gestured for her and Slayde to follow him. “Armon’s men are in the rear of the warehouse, under guard. Once you’re finished with them, they’ll be taken away. As for your crew—” Oridge grinned. “I took the liberty of providing them with a few rounds of ale at the local pub. By now, they must be feeling quite renewed.”
“I hope I can make the same claim once I’ve faced Armon’s men,” Courtney muttered, suddenly shaken by the fact that she was about to confront the fiends who’d destroyed her home and killed her father.
“You will.” Tenderly, Slayde enfolded her fingers in his, his warmth a welcome balm to her distress. “I’m right beside you.”
Courtney could actually feel his strength seep through her, renew her faltering courage. “Thank you, my lord,” she replied, love shining in her eyes. “Although I must warn you that once this ordeal is over, I’ll want to join my father’s crew at that pub, where I intend to consume one—perhaps two—full goblets of fortifying brandy.”
Slayde’s smile wrapped itself around her. “My pound notes are ready.”
It was like reliving a nightmare, Courtney thought, scrutinizing the cluster of surly, foul-smelling pirates, meeting the cruel gazes of those who’d boarded the Isobel with Armon. She’d caught mere glimpses of them during those horrible days of her imprisonment; in fact, the only ones she’d viewed up close were the two who’d joined Armon in besieging the quarter-deck. Yet it mattered not. Their bristled faces, filthy hair, and arrogant sneers had engraved themselves in her mind forever—an indelible horror that no amount of retribution could erase. Just looking at them now was enough to make her gut clench and her blood run cold.
And, God help her, to remember.
Slayde was watching her unsteady breathing, her ashen expression. “Oridge, I have nothing to say to these bastards,” he pronounced. “So far as I’m concerned, you can take them away and hang them all now. But let’s allow Miss Johnston to identify those who seized her father and her ship, just to eliminate any chance that the magistrate might be generous in his sentencing. Then, get the scum out of here.”
“Certainly, my lord.” Oridge turned to Courtney. “Miss Johnston, do you recognize any of these thugs?”
With a shudder of revulsion, Courtney nodded. “Those two.” She pointed at the last two men on the left. “They guarded the Isobel’s berth deck. I saw them outside my cabin door whenever Armon opened it. The scarred one in the rear I recognize as well. He preceded Armon onto the Isobel.” Courtney’s heart lurched as her eyes found the most painful memory of all. “The stout one on the right and the grizzled-looking one beside him are the ones who invaded the quarter-deck with Armon.” She felt their icy, unrepentant stares, and a violent surge of hatred shot through her—so intense that, at that moment, she wondered if she, too, were capable of murder. “The latter one held me; the former aided Armon in wresting Papa from the helm,” Her voice broke, and she turned away, literally shaking with rage.
“Oridge?” Slayde questioned instantly.
“That’s more than enough,” Oridge assured them. “We can now add murder to their list of crimes.” He nodded at the guards. “Take them.”
Even with her back to them, Courtney could still see their faces. She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to block out the memories flooding through her.
“Let’s adjourn to that pub.” Slayde wrapped a strong arm about her waist, leading her away—from the warehouse and the past. “I could use a drink myself. Then we’ll head back to the inn and rest. Later today, we’ll board the Fortune and have a look around.”
“No,” Courtney whispered, shaking her head. “Although I thank you from the bottom of my heart. But I can’t rest until I’ve searched Armon’s ship. I need to go there now.”
Slayde stared down at her for a long moment. Then, he nodded. “Oridge,” he said quietly. “Lead us to where the Fortune is docked. While we’re searching, I’ll fill you in on all the events preceding—and during—Miss Johnston’s and my trip to London.”
An hour later, having scoured Armon’s quarters inch by inch, Courtney had all but given up. For the third time, she delved through his desk, hunting for a journal, glancing up occasionally to see if Slayde was having any better luck searching Armon’s trunk, or Oridge, through his bedding.
Hadn’t the bloody pirate kept any written records at all?
She was about to scream in frustration when, from a kneeling position beneath the berth, Oridge made a triumphant sound of discovery. “This looks promising.”
“What?” She was beside him instantly, holding her breath as he extracted his discovery, then eased back on his haunches to examine it.
It was a single sheet of paper that had been folded into a tiny square, then jammed beneath the leg of Armon’s bed—so carefully placed it was almost invisible.
Courtney gasped as Oridge smoothed out the page and came to his feet. “That’s the Huntley family crest,” she pronounced. “ ’Tis the same stationery on which Aurora and I penned our note to the Times.”
“It is indeed,” Slayde concurred, reaching Courtney’s side. “The crest is faded, but nonetheless distinguishable.” His brow furrowed. “Who wrote the letter? What does it say?”
“ ’Tis a diagram, sir. And a note.” Oridge turned his attention to scanning the contents.
Abruptly, Slayde went rigid. “My God,” he breathed, snatching the paper from Oridge’s hands. “A sketch of Pembourne Manor. Or at least a portion of it, from the entranceway to the library. I don’t understand.” He squinted. “The bloody note at the top is faded.”
“Bring it closer to the light,” Courtney urged, rushing to the porthole. She waited until Slayde had complied, then peered over his shoulder and read the message aloud:
A: I was instructed to prepare this sketch for you. Use the passage to the library for both coming and going. You’ll find it unbolted when you arrive. I’ll secure it once you’ve gone. The strongbox is concealed in the top drawer of the library desk. The jewels are in it. Take it. Just before you leave, unlock the entranceway door and leave it ajar. Don’t fail.
The library. The strongbox. The jewels. The faded letters. Dear Lord, it couldn’t be.
Courtney’s gaze darted to the upper corner of the page, finding and confirming her worst suspicions. The date on the note read 27 March 1807.
Beside her, Slayde made a strangled sound, and she turned, searching his agonized face, finding her answer even before he spoke.
“My parents died four days after this note was penned.”
“Oh, Slayde.” Instinctively, Courtney reached for him, clasping his taut forearms.
“Armon killed them.” Slayde’s throat was working convulsively, his stare now fixed on the sketch. “No wonder Bow Street couldn’t find any clues on or near the manor—Armon didn’t break in, nor did he exit through the front door. That also explains why my parents never suspected there was an intruder inside when they returned home that night. If he came and went through t
he library, the entranceway door was still properly locked upon their arrival. He didn’t open it until after…after…” A hard swallow. “Bow Street checked the passage—a mere formality, given the front door was ajar—but it was secured at both ends.”
“Who knew of its existence?” Oridge asked quietly.
Slowly, Slayde turned toward the investigator, his eyes bleak with realization. “Only those at Pembourne: my family, the servants. We never used the bloody thing. My great-grandfather was the last Huntley to have need of a passage for secret comings and goings.”
“Perhaps the last Huntley. Evidently not the last person.”
Again, Slayde’s stare returned to the sketch, as if needing further confirmation that the atrocity he was beholding was indeed real. “Someone living at Pembourne drew this sketch,” he said, giving voice to the unfathomable truth. “Someone I trust, someone my father trusted. Whoever that someone is helped Armon break in and kill my parents.”
“I doubt murder was part of their original intention, sir,” Oridge interceded gently. “More likely, they meant to snatch that strongbox and bolt. Unfortunately, your parents surprised them by returning.”
“What the hell’s the difference?” Slayde shot back, his fist striking the wall of Armon’s cabin so hard it shook. “The end result is the same. Armon murdered my parents, aided either firsthand or indirectly by a trusted resident of Pembourne.”
“Both of whom were receiving orders from whoever ordered this sketch to be drawn,” Courtney murmured, once again studying the note. “Do you think he was seeking the black diamond?”
“It would stand to reason that he was.” Oridge rubbed his chin. “Given that Armon blatantly extorted the diamond from Lord Pembourne scant weeks ago, my suspicions are that his motivation and his employer have remained the same. So, I would think, has his coconspirator.”
Silence, as the implications of Oridge’s conjecture sank in.
“You’re saying there’s a traitorous bastard living at Pembourne,” Slayde bit out. “Not only then, but now.” He sucked in his breath. “It makes a world of sense, now that I think of it. That’s how Armon could so cleverly plan Aurora’s alleged kidnapping and coincide it with his ransom notes. He had a wealth of information close at hand: his Pembourne accomplice. He had only to confer with that faithless bastard to know my sister’s intentions—and to act on them.”
“Close at hand,” Courtney murmured. “Of course—that’s what Mr. Scollard meant.” Intently, she searched her memory. “ ‘Danger,’ he said. ‘ ’Tis only now emerging to take form. Terrible danger. Look deep within. It’s festering close at hand.’ ”
“Scollard said that?” Slayde demanded.
Courtney’s grip tightened. “Yes, the morning I left for Morland. At the time, I thought he was warning me to be careful during my upcoming confrontation. But he wasn’t. He was talking about the traitor at Pembourne. Now that I reflect on it, he became terribly agitated as he spoke the words aloud, almost as if he were sensing something for the first time, as if the danger were just now becoming powerful enough for him to perceive.”
“And the next day, someone tried to kill you.”
“Who, may I ask, is Mr. Scollard?” Oridge interrupted to ask.
“Just a very wise friend.” Courtney didn’t mean to be curt, but she had neither the time nor the patience to deal with Oridge’s anticipated skepticism of Mr. Scollard’s gift. “Slayde,” she continued, her mind racing. “As unnerved as we are to learn there’s a criminal living at Pembourne, we cannot overlook the opportunity this affords us. Until now, we knew of only one accomplice to whoever orchestrated the blackmail scheme: Armon. And Armon is dead, leaving us with no one who can lead us to his employer. Well, if Morland is that employer, we now have another means through which to incriminate him.” She nodded at her own half-formed notion. “I don’t know how yet, but we must ferret out his other cohort—the one living at Pembourne—who can, in turn, lead us to Morland.”
By dusk, Courtney, Slayde and Oridge were ensconced in the Pembourne carriage, beginning their return journey to Devonshire. After a brief reunion with her father’s crew, bittersweet with the joy of survival and the remorse over those still missing or forever gone, Courtney was more eager than ever to return home to the ever-deepening mystery.
Home.
The very word brought her up short. Sometime between regaining consciousness after her near-drowning and now, Pembourne had become her home—thanks to Slayde, Aurora, and a houseful of loving servants.
A frisson of fear shivered up her spine. One of those loving servants was a thief and, quite possibly, a murderer.
“Courtney?” Slayde gazed at her from across the carriage. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” she reassured him. “Merely lost in thought.”
“The sketch?”
A nod. “The sketch. We should put this travel time to good use by conjuring up a plan to unearth Armon’s Pembourne contact.”
“We’ll be arriving at Pembourne the day after next,” Oridge pronounced. “By midmorning on that day, if we make only brief stops. That gives us ample time to explore our best course of action. Before we begin, however, I think we’d best discuss the immediate, formidable challenge you should prepare yourselves for.”
Slayde’s brows rose. “Which is?”
“The way you’re going to behave toward and around your staff.” Oridge cleared his throat. “Sir, if our theory is correct and one of your servants was indeed Armon’s accomplice, the last thing you want to do is alert the culprit to the fact that you’re suspicious. You must treat everyone as you customarily do. Also, I must advise you not to converse openly with Miss Johnston or me about the situation, lest you be overheard, nor to mention our findings to anyone.”
“What about Aurora?” Courtney put in immediately. She gripped the edge of her carriage seat, resolutely meeting and holding Slayde’s gaze. “We’ve kept things from her far too long already. Slayde, she’s your sister. She’s also a grown—and trustworthy—woman. If you truly want to tear down the emotional barrier you’ve erected between you, you won’t do it by lying to her. Please. I’m asking you to tell her the truth—all of it,” Courtney added, emphasizing the phrase as a clear indication that she included the revelation of the false diamond in her request…something even Oridge knew nothing about.
Slayde inhaled slowly, wrestling with his decision.
Oridge shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Forgive me for intruding, sir, but I must speak up, given that keeping your family safe is my job. If Lady Aurora is as impulsive as you’ve described, the knowledge that there’s a criminal among us could inspire her to do something rash to expose the culprit, thus endangering her life.”
“Remaining unenlightened could endanger her life as well,” Courtney countered, never diverting her gaze from Slayde’s. “Aurora trusts the staff…and why shouldn’t she? With you away so often, they’re her only family and have been for years. Given how much of the mystery she’s already privy to, it’s more than likely she could inadvertently say the wrong thing to the wrong person. Unless she’s instructed not to.” A pause. “Slayde, please—do this for me.”
Courtney could see the effect of her plea in the darkening of Slayde’s eyes, the profound expression that crossed his face. His reply, when it came, was filled with husky tenderness. “Consider it done. With one modification. I won’t tell Aurora the truth; we will. We’ll take her to a private spot and tell her—together.”
A riotous surge of emotion accompanied Slayde’s use of the word together, intensifying at the realization that he loved her enough to base his decision on her feelings. “Thank you, my lord,” Courtney managed to say in a quavering voice.
Slayde leaned forward, his knees brushing hers. “As it happens, we have a great deal of news to share with Aurora. Or have you forgotten?”
“Forgotten?” Courtney wondered if her heart would burst. Had she forgotten that she was soon going to become Slay
de’s wife? Forgotten the exquisite moments surrounding his proposal? Never in a million years. “No, my lord,” she assured him with a secret smile. “I’ve forgotten…nothing.”
Her veiled allusion to their magical night together, while lost to Oridge, rendered its full impact on Slayde. His jaw tightened, his penetrating stare delving deep inside her, unequivocally stating that, were they alone, he’d rekindle those memories here and now.
“Very well then,” Oridge conceded, aware of the tension, misinterpreting its cause. “Share the details with Lady Aurora. But no one else. Is that acceptable?”
“Perfectly,” Courtney agreed, tearing her gaze—and her thoughts—away from Slayde. “Difficult or not, we have no choice but to keep all this to the four of us, to behave as if we’ve learned nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Agreed.” Slayde, too, returned his full attention to their original topic—albeit reluctantly. “Getting back to the matter of resolution, there are over a hundred servants at Pembourne. How the hell do I determine which one is guilty?”
“You can start by compiling a complete list of your staff, then eliminating anyone who wasn’t in your family’s employ ten years past, at the time of your parents’ deaths,” Oridge suggested.
“The guards,” Courtney put in. “You didn’t hire them until after Aurora became your ward.”
“True,” Slayde conceded. “Moreover, I do keep written records concerning my staff, including the dates they’ve been at Pembourne, in my study.”
“Excellent.” Oridge nodded briskly. “Compiling that list and reviewing your records will be our first priority upon reaching Pembourne.” He shifted, turning to face Courtney. “Miss Johnston, while we’re on the subject of prudent actions…” A discreet cough. “Although I’m duly impressed with your quick mind, I must prevail upon you—given the dangers of the situation—not to rush off on any more reckless crusades like the one Lord Pembourne described to me this morning.”