Rushton"s face tightened into a mask of fury. "The little fool said she could not stand the sight of him. I had to force her to accept St. Justin"s offer. She claimed she was in love with someone else. Someone she called her handsome angel."
"Bryce Morland."
"I did not know who he was and I did not care." Rushton"s face twisted in disdain. "All I knew was that the man was a n.o.body. And married. To a merchant"s daughter, of all things. Obviously he had no money and no t.i.tle of his own."
"And that was what you wanted? For Deirdre to marry a man of wealth and background?"
Rushton looked astonished. "Of course. She was my only a.s.set, you see. The only thing I could use to buy back my proper place in the world. I should have been a man of wealth and power, you see. But my wastrel father lost everything at cards when I was a boy. I never forgave him for whistling my fortune down the wind."
"So you sought another method of acquiring the wealth and status your father lost at the tables?"
Rushton"s gaze darkened. "When Deirdre started to blossom into a beautiful young woman I knew I could use her to lure the son of some great family. Once I was related to people of the proper sort through marriage, I would have access to the power and privilege money buys. After all, I would be the father-in-law. Through Deirdre I would be able to get what I wanted."
"You tried to use your daughter."
"She had a duty to obey me," Rushton said fiercely. "She was far too beautiful to waste herself on a man who could give her family nothing. But I soon made her see reason. I told her she could have anyone she wanted after she was married to St. Justin. She was not stupid. She understood. She said she would marry the devil himself, in order to have her angel in her arms."
"Oh, G.o.d," Harriet whispered.
"But then it all went wrong." Rushton"s voice rose to a shout of anguished fury. "The little fool gave herself to her lover before she was married off to St. Justin. She got herself with child. Her lover"s b.a.s.t.a.r.d. She realized she had to seduce St. Justin quickly so that she could convince him the babe was his."
"But her plan did not work, did it? St. Justin knew something was amiss."
"Deirdre was a fool. A b.l.o.o.d.y little fool. She ruined everything. She came to me to tell me what had happened. She said she was going to find a way to get rid of the babe. But I knew it was too late to marry her off to St. Justin then. She had told him too much. I could not believe she had been so stupid. We quarreled."
Harriet took a deep breath as intuition struck her. "In the study?"
"Yes."
"And you killed her, did you not? You shot her and then tried to make it look as if she had taken her own life. That is why there was no note. She did not commit suicide. She was murdered. By her own father."
"It was an accident." Rushton"s eyes bulged wildly. "I did not mean to kill her. She kept screaming that she was going to run off with her lover. I grabbed the pistol from the wall. I only meant to threaten her with it. But ita Something went wrong. She should have obeyed her father."
"You belong in Bedlam."
"Oh, no, Lady St. Justin. I am not mad. Indeed, I am very sane." Rushton smiled. "And very clever. Who do you think organized the ring of thieves that was using this cavern?"
"You?"
Rushton nodded. "I knew all about these caves. I had to have money, you see. Deirdre was dead and could no longer secure my future by marrying into wealth as I had planned for so long."
"So you eventually found another source of income?"
"When I put my mind to the problem I realized there was treasure aplenty in the drawing rooms of London. And it was so easy to take. At first I merely helped myself to the odd trifle and sold it quickly before it was even missed. But then I saw the opportunity of much larger profits. It would take time and I needed a place to store the goods. I remembered these caves."
"But St. Justin broke up your ring of thieves."
"Because of you," Rushton said coldly. "You ruined my new plans just as Deirdre ruined my old ones. You married the man who should have married my Deirdre. You saved him from the punishment he was made to suffer by Society"s verdict. You ruined it all."
Rushton raised the pistol.
Harriet"s mouth went dry. She took a step back, although there was no place to run. If his first shot missed, she just might be able to make it to the cavern entrance before he could reload or catch her, but she knew there was little likelihood of escape.
"Killing me will accomplish nothing," Harriet whispered. She took another step back. She had heard that pistols were quite unpredictable except at very close range. The farther away she was from Rushton when he pulled the trigger, the greater the odds that the first shot would miss.
"On the contrary," Rushton murmured. "Killing you will accomplish a great deal. I shall be avenged, for one thing. And as your husband will take the blame for your murder, my sweet Deirdre will also be avenged."
"You killed your daughter, not St. Justin."
"Because of him. It was his fault," Rushton snarled.
"People will never believe my husband killed me," Harriet said. "St. Justin would never hurt me, and everyone knows it."
"No, madam, they do not know it. It is true he is now in favor in Society"s eyes. But when you are found dead in these caves, people will ask if the Beast of Blackthorne Hall has reverted to his old ways. They were quick enough to turn on him six years ago. This time will be no different."
"That is not true."
Rushton shrugged and raised the pistol higher. "They will say he probably thought himself a cuckold. What woman would not turn to a lover if she were obliged to face the scarred face of the Beast of Blackthorne Hall every night?"
"He is not a beast. He was never a beast. Do not call him that." Harriet threw the mallet at Rushton in blind anger.
Rushton sidestepped the mallet. It clattered against the stone wall of the cave. He turned swiftly to aim the pistol once more and his finger began to squeeze on the trigger.
"Rushton." Gideon"s voice roared through the cavern, ricocheting off the walls.
Rushton whirled around and fired the pistol in one motion. Gideon had already stepped back into the pa.s.sage, putting the cavern wall briefly between himself and the bullet.
"Gideon," Harriet shouted.
The bullet struck rock, shattering a section of stone on the wall of the cave. Even as the debris crashed to the floor, Gideon launched himself through the entrance and collided with Rushton.
Both men went down with a sickening thud and rolled together on the stone floor. Harriet watched in horror as Rushton"s groping hand found the chisel she had dropped.
Rushton raised the chisel in his fist as Gideon fell on top of him.
"I will kill you the way I killed your brother. You were supposed to marry my Deirdre. It is all ruined." Rushton screamed with rage as he drove the chisel toward Gideon"s eyes.
Gideon put up his arm and blocked the blow at the last instant. He forced Rushton"s hand to the stone floor and then he twisted his wrist until Rushton released the chisel.
Gideon straightened to a sitting position and slammed a huge fist into Rushton"s jaw.
Rushton went limp and unconscious.
For a moment Harriet could not seem to get herself unstuck from the floor.
"Gideon." She raced toward him, throwing herself into his arms as he got to his feet. "My G.o.d, Gideon. Oh, my G.o.d."
He crushed her fiercely to him. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. Gideon, he killed her. He shot Deirdre."
"Yes."
"And he murdered your brother."
"Yes. d.a.m.n his soul."
"And he was the master thief all along. Poor Mr. Humboldt. We shall have to see that he is freed immediately."
"I will take care of it."
"Gideon, you saved my life." Harriet lifted her head to look up at him at last. He was holding her so tightly she could barely breathe, but she did not mind in the least.
"Harriet, I have never been more afraid in my life than I was a few minutes ago when I realized Rushton had followed you into the caves. Do not ever, ever put me through such an experience again. Do you comprehend me, madam?"
"Yes, Gideon."
His big hands framed her face. His tawny eyes were stark with emotion as he glowered down at her. "What the devil did you mean by leaving our bed this morning at such an early hour?"
"The tide was out and I could not sleep," she said gently. "I was eager to get to work."
"You should have awakened me. I would have come with you."
"For heaven"s sake, Gideon, I have been going alone into these caves for years. They have never been particularly dangerous until now."
"You will never go alone into them again. Is that quite clear? If I am unable to accompany you for some reason, you will take a footman or someone else from the estate. You will not work here alone."
"Very well, Gideon," she said soothingly. "If that will make you feel better."
He pulled her close again. "It will be a long while before I feel better. I may never recover from the sight of Rushton holding a pistol on you. Good G.o.d, Harriet, what would I have done if I had lost you today?"
"I do not know," she said, her voice m.u.f.fled against his chest. "What would you have done? Would you have missed me, my lord?"
"Missed you? Missed you? That does not even begin to cover how I would have felt. d.a.m.nation, Harriet."
Harriet managed to raise her head again. She smiled up at him, her heart soaring. "Yes, my lord?" And then her gaze fell on the cavern wall behind his shoulder. "Oh, my G.o.d, Gideon. Gideon, look."
Gideon released her and swung around in a split second, prepared for another battle. He frowned when he realized no one was standing in the cavern entrance. "What is it, Harriet? What is wrong?"
"Just look at him, Gideon." Harriet took two steps toward the cavern wall, transfixed by what she saw.
Rushton"s pistol shot had dislodged a slab of rock which had sheared off the wall along a broad plane. The shards of stone had fallen away, revealing a fresh layer of rock.
Embedded in the newly revealed section of the cavern wall was a magnificent jumble of ma.s.sive bones. Giant femurs, tibiae, vertebrae, and a strange skull lay nestled together. A section of a very long jaw showed, and in it Harriet thought she could see the outline of teeth that matched the one she had found earlier. It was as if the monstrous creature had settled down to sleep a long, long time ago, never to awaken.
"Just look at him, my lord." Harriet stared at the creature frozen in stone. She was filled with awe and an unparalleled sense of discovery. "I have never seen or read of anything like him, Gideon. Is he not a wondrous, great beast?"
Behind her, Gideon started to laugh. It was a roaring laugh that echoed off the stone walls.
Harriet spun around, startled. "What is so funny, my lord?"
"You, of course. And perhaps myself." Gideon grinned down at her, his eyes blazing with a fierce tenderness. "Harriet, I love you."
At that statement Harriet actually forgot about the beast in the cavern wall. She rushed back into Gideon"s arms and she stayed there for a very long while.
The Earl of Hardcastle and his countess arrived for a visit at the beginning of fall on the same day as the latest issue of the Transactions of the Fossils and Antiquities Society.
The gardens around Blackthorne Hall were still in the midst of an explosion of early fall blooms. The hall sat tranquilly in the sun, the windows open to the sea breezes. There was a pleasant hum of activity in the big house and on the surrounding lands. A ball was scheduled for the following evening in honor of the Hardcastles" visit. Everyone for several miles around had been invited.
Gideon was at breakfast when the post arrived. He was helping himself to eggs at the sideboard and reflecting pleasantly on the fact that Blackthorne Hall felt like home again these days when Owl walked into the breakfast room.
Harriet spotted the journal on the salver in Owl"s hand. "The Transactions have arrived." She leaped from her seat and dashed across the room to grab the journal before Owl could reach her chair.
Gideon frowned in disapproval. "There is no need to run, my dear. I have told you before that you must exercise caution these days."
Harriet"s advanced state of pregnancy had not slowed her down very much. She still moved with enough energy and enthusiasm to exhaust a man. Of course, when she moved like that in bed, the result was an exceedingly pleasant exhaustion, Gideon reminded himself.
Nevertheless, he did not want her overexerting herself at this stage. She was far too precious to him.
He was having to keep a much closer eye on her than usual lately. Harriet had no notion of how a woman in her condition was supposed to go on. Just yesterday morning he had caught her attempting to go down to the caves by herself. It was not the first time.
She had made the usual excuse that everyone on the staff was busy. Gideon had been forced to lecture her severely. He envisioned a lifetime of such lectures.
"It is here," Harriet exclaimed as she whisked herself back to her seat and opened the journal to the table of contents. " "A Description of the Great Beast of Upper Biddleton" by Harriet, Lady St. Justin." She looked up, excitement br.i.m.m.i.n.g in her eyes. "It is in print at last, Gideon. From now on everyone will know that the cave beast belongs to me."
He smiled. "Congratulations, my dear. Somehow I think everyone already knew that."
"I"m inclined to agree." Hardcastle exchanged a knowing look with his wife.
Lady Hardcastle smiled at Harriet. "I am proud to be able to say I am acquainted with the discoverer of such a magnificent set of fossils, my dear."
Harriet glowed. "Thank you. I cannot wait until Felicity and Effie come for tea this afternoon." She flipped to the pages that contained her article. "I do not think they believed it would actually be printed."
"I venture to say it will be the chief topic of conversation among fossil collectors for some time," the earl said. "There will be many arguments about the existence of such a giant reptile. You will no doubt be swamped with people wanting to see your beast."
"Let them argue," Harriet said happily. She looked at Gideon. "I know my beast is something very rare and precious, indeed."
Gideon gazed back at her down the length of the table. He thought he would drown in the love he saw in her eyes. He wondered again how he had lived all those long, dark years buried in his own private cave.
The truth, Gideon knew, was that he had merely existed during that bleak time before meeting Harriet. There had been no joy in life and no antic.i.p.ation of the future until she had freed him. She had brought him out into the sunlight just as she had the bones of the ancient beast in the cliff caves.
"Your beast would be nothing without you, my love," Gideon said softly. "He would still be locked in stone."
Two months later Harriet was safely delivered of a healthy son. It was soon obvious that the babe would have his father"s tawny eyes, as well as Gideon"s size and strength. The infant also showed signs of a temper and a stubborn will that appeared exceedingly familiar to all.
When Gideon put the squalling infant into Harriet"s arms, she smiled ruefully.
"I fear that between us we have created the true Beast of Blackthorne Hall, my lord," Harriet said ruefully. "Just listen to him roar."