“Probably someone smoking around the barn, though, damn me, I’ve told them until I’m blue in the face,” Edward muttered, looking irritated now. “I thought I’d got the point across, but perhaps not.”
“You sure about that, my lord?” Charlie asked, a dark look in his eyes. “It was a close-run thing the castle didn’t catch, eh? If we ‘adn’t a noticed it so quick, an’ you ‘adn’t thought to bring that roof in… Well ... could a been a sight worse, is all I’m sayin’.” The man’s voice was so ominous that Belle shivered.
“Do you mean to suggest someone did this on purpose?” she exclaimed, horrified by the idea.
Charlie gave Edward a significant look and Belle saw him frown. “He means my cousin Gabriel, Viscount Demorte.”
Belle felt a chill, remembering what Edward had told her about the man’s obsessive hatred for him, the previous attempts on his life.
“Why do people always do that?”
Belle, Edward, and Charlie looked around in alarm at Crecy, who sounded utterly furious.
Her lovely grey eyes were alight with rage. “Once someone has a bad reputation, no matter if they deserve it or not, it’s a stick to beat them with, isn’t it?”
Belle gaped at Crecy, astonished by her outburst.
“But Crecy,” she said, staring at her sister as though she’d never seen her before. “Demorte tried to kill Edward, he almost killed poor Aubrey when he stepped in to save him.”
“And you have proof of that?” Crecy demanded, letting go of Belle’s hand and staring at Edward, who looked every bit as alarmed as Belle was feeling. “Did you see him pull the trigger?”
“No,” Edward said, frowning at Crecy. “In fact, it wasn’t him who pulled the trigger. But Aubrey saw Demorte speak to the man who did then shoot at me right before he left Almack’s. Whoever he was, he was waiting for me outside.”
“So now a man is guilty of attempted murder because he’s spoken to a man who did attempt it?” she flung back. Belle took a breath, astonished and appalled by Crecy’s outburst.
“There is a little more to it than that,” Edward said, his tone careful, and Belle could only marvel at his calm demeanour when all she wanted to do was shake some sense into her sister. What on earth had come over her?
“Why do you defend him so, Crecy?” Belle demanded. “What is there between you and Viscount Demorte?”
Crecy blushed, her lovely face suffused with a combination of guilt and indignation.
“Nothing,” she said, a little too fast, perhaps, and in any case, Belle could no longer believe her. Crecy had been keeping secrets for too long. Oh God, was this it? Did Demorte have some kind of hold on her? But how? How was it possible when she hardly ever left the estate? Had she met him in London? Is that why she was so anxious to get away?
Questions circled Belle’s head until she was dizzy. She clutched at Edward’s arm as exhaustion swept over her.
“Belle?” Edward said, his arm going around her. “Come along. Let us all get out of the cold and this dreadful smoke. I think there has been enough excitement for one day.” He turned his attention to Crecy, who looked like she might cry. “We can talk about this later,” he said, not unkindly, but with a tone that suggested Crecy would have questions to answer.
Belle nodded, too ragged to ask anything else, and too afraid to hear the answers.
Chapter 32
“Wherein life is ever complicated, but love wins the day, and the future is full of promise.”
Back in the peace and calm of Belle’s room, Edward had a bath prepared for them. Once it was filled and infusing the room with its sweet, steamy scents, he insisted that Belle get in first.
“Come love, I’m so filthy the bath will have to be scrubbed before it can be used again,” he said, washing at the basin to rid himself of the worst of it, and gestured at the dirty water.
Belle acquiesced, too tired to argue, and sank into the warm water with a sigh. Once he was a little less filthy, Edward came and stoked the fire to ensure the room was warm enough, and then knelt beside the bath.
“Better?” he asked, his voice soft.
“Mmmm,” Belle said, as Edward reached for the soap and began to wash her shoulders. His strong hands caressed her, bringing heat of another kind as she leaned forwards and closed her eyes with a blissful sigh.
“You’re worried about Crecy,” he said, as Belle leaned her head on her knees and looked at him.
“I’m always worried about Crecy,” she said with a rueful smile. “It’s what I do.”
He returned a smile and nodded. “You think she is ... interested in my cousin?” he asked, his voice careful.
Belle pulled a face. “I know she’s interested in him,” she replied, feeling anxiety tug at her heart. “Crecy has always been drawn to danger, to things that are too damaged, too beyond her help or her kindness. But she can never see that,” she added, sitting up as Edward switched his attention to her arms, smoothing his warm, soapy hands over her skin. “She thinks she can save everyone, everything, if she only tries hard enough. She never sees the danger to herself.” Belle drew in a breath, hoping that it was just an interest and nothing more. “Your cousin would be just the kind of man to fascinate her. It’s just the kind of thing I have always feared, that she would ruin herself by not considering the consequences.”
“Come now, love, you’re running ahead a little too quickly, aren’t you?”
Belle smiled and gave a shrug. “I hope so. I believe it is simply a fascination at this point. She saw him here once when he came to visit, and it was clear he didn’t know her. But he is a striking man, in a rather terrifying way. She was clearly intrigued.”
Edward lifted one of her feet from the water, soaping her toes as Belle squirmed, torn between bliss and the need to squeal and tell him to stop tickling.
“Still,” she added, in the reprieve while Edward reached for her other foot. “There is no way she could have seen him since, as she’s never left the estate.”
Edward paused, a frown tugging at his brow.
“What?” Belle asked.
He looked up at her, appearing hesitant to reply. “Gabriel’s estate borders my own.”
“What?” Belle exclaimed, sitting up so fast that the water slopped over the sides of the bath.
“Hush, love,” Edward chided, pushing her gently back into the water. “It would be a hard ride to get even to the border of his land and back in a day, let alone anywhere near the house, and that’s with little or no time there at all. It’s hardly a recipe for romantic encounters, is it?”
“But what if he rode out to meet her?” Belle demanded, feeling sick with anxiety now.
Edward was silent for a moment but then shook his head. “Not my cousin’s style. He puts himself out for no one, not even a beauty like Crecy. And certainly not in the dead of winter. I’ll say one thing in his favour, he’s never had an interest in ruining innocents. His love for whores is well known, I’m afraid.”
Belle allowed herself to be a little soothed by the idea, but her fears remained.