Leo’s gaze narrowed, but he continued to swirl Susan around the room. Who was he? About his age, he was similar in height to Leo. His golden hair, slightly curled, was tossed haphazardly about his head as if he’d barely bothered to get ready for the ball. His tanned skin looked strange compared to the rest of the pale guests.
He was completely and utterly out of place, but with all attention focused on Leo, no one else seemed to notice. Taking a sip of his drink, the man’s gaze slid to Henry, who stood a few feet from him. Leo froze, heedless to the other dancers bumping into them. Merda, Henry had him surrounded.
Ella slipped from her bedroom and made her way down the long hall. Night had fallen dark and heavy, adding to her unease.
“Miss Finch,” Kips snapped as he stepped from a room.
Ella squealed and jumped. “You frightened me,” she gasped.
He didn’t apologize, but continued to frown. “You are not to leave your room.”
Shocked, Ella had no idea how to respond to the man.
Kips pasted an obviously forced smile upon his narrow face. “That is to say, Lord Roberts requested you stay in your chamber…for your safety.”
“But I need to speak with him—it’s most important.”
Kips nodded. “I’ll see that he gets the message and send for you when he is ready.”
Ella nodded, hesitating. The man quirked his brows and waited, a formidable stone wall that would obviously not allow her to pass. How very strange!
“Well then, I shall retire to my room.”
She turned but could feel Kips’s gaze continue to burn into her back. Without looking at the man, she slipped into her room. She pressed her ear to the closed door and waited. Seconds later she heard the thump of footsteps as he made his way downstairs.
Ella pushed open her door and peeked into the hall. Empty. Picking up her skirts, she raced down the corridor. She was breathing rapidly when she finally paused outside Lord Roberts’s bedchamber. Without pause, she knocked.
When no sound came, she nudged the door open and peeked inside. The large four-poster bed laid empty, the hearth dark and cold. Only a lamp glowed on a desk across the room, doing little to dispel the lengthening shadows. Frowning, she pushed the door wider and stepped into the room. Lord Roberts should have been abed. There should have been maids sitting by his side to assist him if the need arise. Had he made a miraculous recovery? Alarm made her press her hands to her lips.
Had he taken a turn for the worse? Oh, dear Lord, is that why Kips had been acting so strangely? No, no, Lord Roberts could not be dead.
The soft murmur of male conversation interrupted the silence. Anxious for answers, Ella rushed across the room to an adjoining door. She lifted her fist to knock when Lord Roberts’s voice made her still.
“Did you see the body?”
Elation gave way to confusion. Body? Whose body?
“Leo,” she whispered. “No, not Leo.”
Not Leo! The blood rushed from Ella’s head, and the room started to go dark. She sank against the wall, too weak to stand.
“Well, not exactly,” a male voice replied. “But a man from town claimed to have seen the Indian’s remains and buried him.”
Indian? Not Leo? Relief shot through her, bringing stinging tears to her eyes. “Not Leo.” But who? “Akshay,” she whispered, horrified.
“Damn it, you didn’t see for yourself that he was dead?” Lord Roberts growled in a voice that belied his weaken state.
“No, my lord. We can dig up the body if you’d like.”
“Constantly cleaning up Henry’s messes.” Lord Roberts sighed, long and loud. “Forget the Indian man.” There was a tinkle of china, as if he were taking a drink of tea.
“And the governess?”
Fear and confusion held Ella frozen in place. There was only one governess in this household.
“She retired hours ago, my lord.”
“A nosey chit. But Henry insists on keeping her.”
Ella couldn’t seem to move. Couldn’t seem to think. Lord Roberts didn’t want her here? Never had? Then why was she here?
“Do you think me a monster, Samson?”
“It is not my job to judge, my lord.”
Ella’s hands fisted in her skirts.
“It must be done, you know.”
“Of course, my lord.”
“It is not something I enjoy, but it must be done.”
Ella stumbled back, leaning on a dressing table. “What must be done?” she whispered.
A chair scraped in the room, indicating someone was standing. Ella spun around, preparing to flee.
Then she saw it, glistening on the tabletop…a necklace. The same necklace Convey’s brother had in his cottage. A little, clear quartz god. She staggered back, feeling as if she’d been punched in the gut.
“Very good, Samson.” Lord Roberts’s voice sounded hollow and empty, as if the man were far away, when she knew, even in her dazed state, he was coming.
She stumbled back, her heart thundering in her ears. He was coming. She spun around and raced across the room. When she was not three feet from the door, it opened. Ella stopped, soft gasps of air parting her lips.
“Miss Finch,” Kips snapped, his jaw clenched in obvious annoyance as if he’d been looking for her.
A shiver of unease made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and she knew Lord Roberts had entered the room. Kips’s gaze focused over her shoulder and panic sucked the strength from her body. Swallowing hard, she turned. Lord Roberts stood in the middle of the bedchamber, his brows drawn together.
“What has happened?” he demanded, taking a step forward and pausing to lean on his cane.
“I just now found Miss Finch here, in your bedchamber.”
Lord Roberts’s nostrils flared slightly, the only sign of his anger. “Leave us, Kips.”
The man bowed and left the room. Ella wanted to beg him to stay, but she knew she was alone. Silence settled around them, harsh and condemning.
“What exactly are you doing in here, my dear?” His voice was calm, too calm.
“Lord Roberts, I…I…” Oh, dear God, she couldn’t think. “I wanted to check on your welfare.”
He came closer, his face a blank, empty mask that frightened her more than his anger. “Really? And what did you find?”
Her hands fluttered around her like nervous birds looking for escape. “I…I saw that the bed was empty and was worried. I was going to ask after you, when Kips entered.”
He stilled only feet from her. “What did you overhear, Ella?”
She couldn’t prevent the telltale heat from racing to her face. “Nothing, I swear it.” But she’d never been good at lying, and it was obvious Lord Roberts didn’t believe her.
He sighed and closed his eyes for the briefest of moments as if gravely disappointed. “It doesn’t matter. You would have found out soon enough. In fact, we did little to hide the obvious.”
But it wasn’t obvious. Nothing made sense. “I don’t understand.”
Instead of answering her, he went to his sideboard and poured a glass of scotch. “And that, my dear, is your downfall. You are much too trusting.”
She didn’t know how to respond, and so she didn’t.
“This is bigger than you, Ella. This is about my family, my heritage.” He strolled to his dressing table with his glass in hand. “Is this familiar?” He held up the necklace, the god swinging back and forth, glistening like pure ice in the lamplight.
Ella swallowed hard and nodded.
“Of course it is.” He smiled and dropped the necklace to the tabletop. It tinkled like glass. “I have no use for it. But Henry’s father thought the god important, and now Henry does. I only want to keep my family together, to keep the bloodline strong.”
“Of course, my lord. Surely you will.” She darted a glance at the door, wondering if she could make it down the hall before he called for help.
“You wouldn’t make it.”
She snapped her gaze toward Lord Roberts. He’d gone from looking indifferent to looking furious. With hurried steps, he stormed toward her. Fear held her immobile. He stopped only inches from her face, his breathing ragged and harsh against her skin. “It couldn’t work with Leo.”
“I…I don’t understand.” He was mad. Truly, completely mad.
“Leo will be this family’s downfall, and I can’t allow that.”
Her lips parted on her gasp. “My lord, surely you don’t mean that. Leo is—”
“Insane. Uncouth.”
She resisted the urge to reach out to him, to make him take the words back. “My lord, no!”
He laughed then, a sound of actual mirth. “You honestly thought I’d keep him here? I’d hand over the title to a boy educated in a jungle?”
Ella ignored his question and attempted to keep her face calm and natural. “Perhaps you aren’t feeling well; perhaps I should call for a servant.”
Forcing herself not to run, Ella turned and started toward the door. Something whacked hard against her back. She cried out and stumbled forward. The ground rose up to meet her, and she hit the carpet with a thud that shook her bones. Immediately, she rolled over. Lord Roberts loomed above, his cane in hand. She shrank back, her lungs collapsing, and she couldn’t seem to draw a breath. He quirked a bushy brow and tapped his cane lightly against an open palm.
“It’s honorable, really. You think you can protect him?” There was no sadness in his voice, not even mockery—only mild curiosity.
She scooted back, her feet catching on her skirts. It couldn’t all end like this. “Please.”
“I admire that, I do.” He started toward her. “But you can’t possibly understand our world.”
Tears stung her eyes, and she finally managed to get to her feet. “He’s your grandson!”
Lord Roberts released a harsh laugh. “I highly doubt that, my dear. Not with the way my wife was constantly sniffing around my older brother.”
Ella didn’t understand this Lord Roberts; she didn’t understand what was happening. Was she dreaming? Stuck in a perpetual nightmare?
Lord Roberts waved a hand through the air. “His sire doesn’t matter. I would have allowed him to rule this land, but I can’t allow it now. Leo is the firstborn, he will inherit everything. Everything. Henry is trained. He knows how to run this estate. I thought Leo dead, but Leo came back. He’s not right, Ella. Don’t you see that? He can’t run this estate…not everything I’ve worked so hard for.”
Ella glanced one more time at the door. Was Kips still there, keeping watch? Most likely. How could she possibly escape with so many servants working against her? She had to find Leo; she had to tell him his grandfather had gone mad. She had to save him.
“Leo’s father was barely better than Leo. Still, I would have allowed him to inherit. But Leo…that is asking too much of me. Not when I had to watch my own brother nearly run our name into the ground with his ignorance and wild ways.”
“Leo is not wild—he cares.” Ella tried one more time.
Lord Roberts sighed as if truly disappointed in her. “You’re blind. You don’t understand how society works. Do you know what I’ve done to keep this castle within my grips?”
Ella straightened, suddenly angry. “No, and I don’t think I want to know. I’m leaving, Lord Roberts. You can’t keep me here.”
He didn’t look gleeful when he responded, merely resigned. “Yes, I can.”
Ella knew she had only moments. She spun around and raced to the door. Her sweaty hands slipped on the handle and pulled. It wouldn’t budge.
Locked in, captured.
Slowly, she turned. Lord Roberts stood in front of her. A scream trapped in her throat as he lifted his cane and swung toward her belly. The wooden pole hit her hip with a thud that sent Ella stumbling into a table. She lost her balance, and the table and the objects it held fell to the floor with her.
She pushed her hands under, attempting to sit up, when Lord Roberts appeared.
“I’m sorry, my dear. Truly I am.” He pushed her back so hard her head hit the carpet with a thud that left her dizzy. In her dazed mind repeated the thought that this couldn’t possibly be happening. Lord Roberts couldn’t be mad. It was all a dream.
Before she could even part her lips to scream, he pressed his cane to her neck, the wooden pole crushing her throat. Ella wrapped her fingers around the cane and pushed back. The old man was too strong. Her arms burned with exertion. She’d die…and with her death Leo would die. Black blurred the rim of her vision.
Just barely, as if from far away, she could see Lord Roberts smiling. “You did an admirable job holding on, my dear.”
She closed her eyes and pictured Leo. His golden body, his soft smile, those intense eyes. No. It couldn’t be the end. Ella flung her right arm wide, hitting something hard. Desperate, she wrapped her fingers around the cool, metal object.
“It’s rather unfortunate, but must be done. Just close your eyes—it will be over soon,” Lord Roberts’s voice was fading as her mind started going blank.
Dredging every ounce of strength she had left, Ella lifted the object and slammed it against Lord Roberts’s head. His gaze widened, and he slumped to the side. The blackness roared back, and light burst into view. Ella pushed his cane away, gulping for air. She scooted back from his unmoving body. A deep ache pulsed down her neck, but she was barely aware of the pain. Instead, she focused on the bright red blood that trickled down Lord Roberts’s temple.
Had she killed him? She stumbled to her feet, her heart pounding against her chest. A thump sounded from the hall, footsteps coming closer and closer. Any moment the servants would arrive. She’d be hauled off to prison, and Leo would never know the truth. Leo would hate her for killing his grandfather. Tears burned her eyes. Frantic, her gaze jumped from door to door, looking for the safest way out. Could she make it? Could she possibly sneak through the house without being caught?
A soft rain pattered against the windows, and suddenly she knew how to escape. The only way out.
Ella stumbled to the windows. Her hands trembled as she pushed the panes wide. Above, spread a dark, fathomless sky; below was blackness. She had to find Leo. She had to tell him she hadn’t meant to kill his grandfather. She pulled herself onto the window ledge. Her right foot slipped on the slick sill.
“Please, God, please.” She grasped onto the sides, regaining her balance.
The cool wind whipped her gown around her legs, and strands of hair slapped her face. Reaching into her skirt pocket she drew forth her uncle’s journal. She took in a deep breath and with a low growl threw the book into the night sky. Spinning and flipping, the journal arched over the moat and landed with a soft thud on the bank.
The moon peeked from behind a black cloud and below, the remnants of the moat glistened silver in the dim light. Ella closed her eyes and let the soft rain wet her face. Could she do it? Could she possibly survive the jump?
Just relax and you’ll float, Leo’s voice drifted through her mind.
“Just relax,” she whispered.
Taking in a deep breath, she released her hold and jumped.
Chapter 22
“Bravo, dear cousin. Charming the hostess?”
Leo clenched his jaw. The urge to toss the cup of lemonade into his cousin’s face was overwhelming. His fingers tightened around the delicate glass as he turned to face the man. Merda, he merely wanted to take Lady Pool her drink and slip outside unnoticed.
“Doing what I can to dispel the lies you’ve spread.”
Henry blinked his eyes wide. “Lies? I’ve only told the truth. How you attacked me in front of our grandfather. How you attacked me in front of our guests and how you attacked poor Convey for no reason at all. Besides, we had visitors that day, dear cousin. They’d spread the rumors before I’d arrived.”
Leo brushed past him, knowing his cousin followed. “I misjudged the lengths you’d go, you know. But in my defense, I expected family to
be honorable and trustworthy.”
Henry released a wry chuckle. “Ah, well, that’s where you went wrong.”
Leo stopped and met the man’s gaze. “I won’t make the mistake of trusting you ever again.” He turned to leave.
“Where is that lovely governess of yours?”
Henry’s words stopped him cold. Icy fear raced down Leo’s spine. “Do not speak of her—do not even think of her.”
“Or what?” He brushed a piece of imaginary lint from his black jacket. “Leaving her alone at the estate wasn’t one of your most brilliant ideas.” He stepped closer to Leo. “Anything could happen there…without protection.”
Leo’s free hand curled as he resisted the urge to hit his cousin. “She’s protected.”
Henry quirked a brow. “Is she? Was she protected when that arrow came through the garden? When she was attacked in the woods?”
The cup dropped from Leo’s hand, shattering on the floor. He hadn’t told Henry about the attack in the woods. Hadn’t even told his grandfather until right before he’d left. He’d known his cousin was responsible, but he’d never imagined Henry would practically admit he’d been involved. “If she is harmed in any way—”
“And that heathen friend of yours. What ever happened to him?”
Leo stepped closer, anger propelling him forward. “Where is he?”
Henry clasped his hands behind his back and nodded toward a servant who was rushing their way to clean up the mess. “Why, how should I know?”
Leo’s nostrils flared, his anger mounting with each passing moment. “Damn you, where is Akshay?”
“I’d be more worried about that woman you’ve seduced.”
Panic flared through his body, clenching his gut like a fist. “What have you done with her?”
“Ella?” Henry straightened his coat. “Nothing.” He turned and started to walk away. “Yet.”
Before Henry could escape, Leo grabbed his cousin by the back of his coat and spun him around. Leo slammed his fist into his cousin’s face. Henry stumbled back and fell to the floor. High-pitched screams erupted through the room. He didn’t care. Nothing mattered, nothing but Ella. He pulled Henry up by the collar. “What will happen to her?”