Duchess Beware (Secrets & Scandals Book 2) (30 page)

“Clothes for my first great-grandson,” Anne said as she held up the tiny garment.  “He’ll arrive late spring.”

Katrina swirled around, releasing more of that ghastly odor.  “You mean…?”

“Yes, the duke and I are having a baby.”  Silver truly hoped she didn’t sound too superior.  Then she recalled what her cousin had done to the little bird she had rescued from Caroline’s cat two years ago.  She nearly had the poor thing healed and ready to release when she found Katrina leaving her room.  Of course, she rushed in and found the bird dead, its neck twisted by cruel little fingers. 

Katrina crossed her arms, her eyes shooting sparks, and her pink lips dipped down.  Then she turned in a huff and stormed from the room.  Silver lifted her needle.  Perhaps Prudence had been right about the jealously.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Silver smiled as she watched Torie climb the ladder and add a magnificent gold star to the very top of the fir tree that had been set in the corner of the room.  She wondered why the family would bring a tree of all things into the house and asked Daniel.  He explained a German friend of his father’s had spent a Christmas with the family years ago and began the tradition.  Their tree, Daniel told her, started out much smaller and sat on a tabletop, but grew in size with each passing year.

Torie straightened the star and Silver gave a contented sigh. She was glad she had discussed with Daniel the poor girl’s worry about being betrothed to a man she didn’t wish to marry.  Without any cajoling at all, he had promised not to sign a betrothal contract without his sister’s consent.  For the first time in many years, she felt loved and as though she belonged somewhere.  She turned to her brother-in-law.  “I am so grateful the storm eased, allowing you and Torie to return from London in time for Christmas.”

Andrew nodded.  “That amount of snowfall was quite unexpected.  It reminded me of when the Thames last froze.  Called it Freezeland Street, we did.  Even skated over it.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.”  His topaz eyes lit with a question.  “Ever been skating?”

Silver shook her head.

“Never?” he asked with disbelief.

She laughed.  “No, never.  Why?”

“The lake behind Huntington freezes.”  He paused and shrugged.  “When we were children, we used to skate on it after opening our Christmas presents.”

“That sounds like another delightful tradition.”  She turned to watch Daniel assist Torie from the ladder.  Being part of this family brought more joy than she ever thought possible for ten lifetimes.  And it continued to get better.

She gazed up to the tree in wonder.  Blown glass figurines were intermingled with crude wooden horses, stars, and angles Daniel, Andrew, and Torie had made as children.  Her hands went to her stomach, cupping the mound there.  In the years to come, her children would tie their own decorations onto the branches.  Her and Daniel’s children.

The thought caused a lump of emotion to form in her throat quite suddenly.

Feeling eyes on her, Silver glanced to her left and watched her cousin turn away.  But Katrina hadn’t been swift enough to hide the jealousy and pain twisting those lovely features.

“She seems upset,” Andrew said softly, following the direction of her gaze.

She nodded, recalling the reason her cousin had come for a visit.  Katrina would never have children.  No doubt, Lady Longley, not so much the girl’s husband, had been the one to cause such havoc about the fact.  And since the girl had been brought up to think she could do no wrong and was perfect in every way, this certainly had to be a difficult blow.

With a sad shake to her head, she turned from the sight of her disheartened cousin and found her husband walking toward her, worry shadowing his green eyes.  He placed an arm around her waist, drawing her to his warm body.  “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said as Mrs. Birch, Larkin, and Godfrey began lighting the tapers that had been carefully placed on many of the branches.

“You didn’t look fine just now.”

She took note of his worried eyes and smiled, loving the man above reason.  “The simple truth is I was considering Katrina’s sadness.”

His eyes flickered to her cousin.  He nodded, the worry gone, and turned back to the tree.  “How much longer is she going to stay?”

She struggled to keep from grimacing.  “I haven’t a clue.”  She had hoped Katrina would have returned home by now.  The thought couldn’t have been anything but selfish, wanting to spend Christmas with her new family without her cousin’s presence to remind her of those unpleasant years.  But she couldn’t help it.  Three weeks had passed and the girl showed no signs of returning.  Surely, she didn’t mean to stay forever?  Silver expelled a long sigh.

“I could have her escorted back, if that is your wish.”  Daniel kept his eyes on the tree lighting.

Oh, how she wanted to say yes!  Unfortunately, she couldn’t force the word to pass her lips.  How could she possibly have a happy Christmas after throwing Katrina out?

He turned and lifted a brow, waiting for an answer to his question.

Rot!  Rot!  Rot!

With a sigh, she shook her head.  “No, not yet.”  She hoped she would not regret those words later.

“The lamps, Larkin,” Grandmother stated, gaining her attention.

The room dimmed, and Silver’s breath caught.  Tiny flames danced and flickered on the green branches, bouncing off of the glass ornaments.  The refracted light looked like stars splintering in every direction and in every color of the rainbow.  Never had she beheld anything so beautiful.

Her aunt, uncle, and cousins always spent Christmas with the baron and baroness.  She and Prudence remained at Pennington Manor alone. 

And in that instant, Silver knew the true gift Daniel had given her.  Their love made everything in her life special, even down to the smallest things.  The air smelled sweeter, the food tasted better, and everything was more beautiful.

Snuggling close to her husband’s side, her eyes grew misty.  She silently thanked God for already receiving the best Christmas gift she could have ever hoped for.  Her husband.

“Damn thing’s crooked.”

Silver hid a grin as she turned to Daniel’s great-uncle.  The man glared up at the tree.  She quite liked the crotchety old fellow, and the fact that Prudence was over the moon for him made him even more endearing.

“The tree is perfectly straight, George,” Prudence said at his side, her words calm.

Uncle George scrunched his eyelids together for a moment, squinting up at the tree, then shook his head.  “Damn thing’s going to topple over, Purdie.”

“George, you blind old goat,” Anne said from the other side of Silver. “The tree is stuck in that position like a boulder.  Now quit scaring Victoria and cease your prattle.”

Laughing softly, Daniel shook his head.  “Every year it’s the same with Uncle George.”

“What’s the same?”

His gaze flickered to the old fellow and back.  “Every year he swears the tree is going to fall and burn the house down.”  He smiled at the man with true affection.  “I think he just wants us to move into that drafty old mausoleum with him.”

“You mean he’s lonely?” she asked, a bit saddened by the thought.

He nodded.

She frowned.  “Then why don’t you invite him to come and live here?”

“I’ve asked countless times, but he always refuses.”

Silver turned back to Uncle George.  Watching the man casually slip his hand into Aunt Prudence’s, she felt a smile lift the corners of her mouth.  “Something tells me he might not refuse again.”

Daniel turned to the elderly couple and agreed with a chuckle.

****

Connor couldn’t believe his ears.  “Ye’re sure?”

“Captain Redding told me himself just moments ago.  Merrick probably won’t last the night. His fever is too high.”

The north wind raged outside, rocking the ship to and fro over massive waves.  Connor paid little attention.  He studied the captain, sensing a hesitation in the man, even though no outward appearance showed.  “There’s more.  What?”

Jack’s obsidian eyes narrowed a fraction before he answered.  “Captain Redding told me from the moment the man regained consciousness after being dumped aboard the
Mary Alice
, he insisted his name is not Victor Merrick.”

A bad feeling twisted Connor’s innards.  He frowned and turned to the window.

“That isn’t exactly the reaction I was expecting, First Mate,” the captain stated.  “It isn’t uncommon for a man to insist on being another when placed in this sort of situation.”

He turned from studying the large ship anchored beside them, his gaze clashing with dark, questioning eyes.  “Och, Capt’n, I dinna ken why I feel tha’ sommat is wrong.  I just dae.”

The captain furrowed his brows, his fingers steepling together.  Finally, he said, “Your instincts have always been incredibly accurate, Connor.  Perhaps we should board the
Mary Alice
together and learn what is wrong.”

Relieved, he nodded.  “Aye, tha’ is a goud idea.”

Even sheltered from the fierce north wind by the high cliff that loomed above the cove, the ships still dipped and tossed, making it impossible to leave one ship and board the other with ease.  Yet with determination, Connor managed the feat, along with the captain.

“Captain Redding, would it be possible for my first mate and me to speak to Merrick?” Jack asked.

The older captain removed the pipe from his yellow teeth and nodded.  “Aye.  But you better be quick about it.  The man’s near to coiling up his ropes, he is.”

Connor followed Jack and a scrawny crewman to the bottom part of the hold where they kept the sick.  Wailing mingled with weak moans, and the sound of retching echoed throughout the cramped interior.  He gritted his teeth as the abhorrent stench of vomit and piss slammed into his face, making even his iron-clad stomach twist a bit.

He kept his eyes forward as they passed rows of dying men, knowing Captain Redding had been unusually kind for separating the sick from the others, as well as keeping the room marginally lit.

Finally, the lad halted and pointed.  “’E’s there.”

The man lay on his back, head turned away, shivering.  Filth matted his hair, making it impossible to discern a proper color.  But it looked dark enough, Connor thought, seeing that the man had also been stripped of his fine clothes, jewelry, and boots.  Only a dirty, threadbare rag covered certain private parts.

Remembering what the beast had done to his sister, he grunted in satisfaction before approaching.  “Merrick.”  The sound bounced off the wooden walls.  He nudged the man in the ribs with the tip of his boot.

The man turned his head weakly, revealing a bruised, swollen face.  His eye lids fluttered open a fraction.  “Not Merrick.”

Connor frowned.  “O’ course ye are,” he said but couldn’t confirm the fact since the man’s face was so battered.  “Who else would ye be?”

His fevered body shuddered.  Then his eyes opened wider.  “Colin Pennington,” he said hoarsely, “as God is my witness.”

Alarm jabbed him in the middle, but Connor forced it back and folded his arms.  “Tha’ is a lie.  Aye, a lie tae save your gilded arse.”

“No lie.”  The man panted, growing weaker by the second.  “Victor’s idea…I pretended to…be him.  Rented…rooms…in London…using…his name.  Wore…his…clothes.”  He paused, struggling to catch his breath.  “Had to…help him…like he…helped…me.”

“Do you believe him?” Jack asked.

He shook his head.  “I dunno.  The man’s face is tae beat up tae ken for certain.”

The captain glanced down then back.  “Didn’t you wound Merrick?  The real Merrick?”

His breath caught.  “Aye.”  He glanced back to the now unconscious man.  “Silver told me she watched the dirk sink intae Merrick’s shoulder.”  He lowered down onto his haunches and rolled the man onto his stomach.  The filthy skin burned with a very high fever, he noticed as he searched for a scar.  Nothing above a few greenish-purple bruises.  No scar.  He rolled the man back over stood.  No scar there, either.

“Well?” Jack asked.

After shaking his head in disbelief, Connor turned to the captain.  “It’s no’ Merrick.”   Fear for his sister slammed into him like the force of a cannon ball.  He had to get back and warn her.  Fast.

****

“Wake up, Silver!”

As Daniel’s urgent voice penetrated her sleep, the smell of smoke filled her nostrils, making her cough.  Silver opened her eyes, seeing a faint haziness in the room, and became instantly alert.  Her husband had lit a lamp.  He rapidly buttoned the shirt he had discarded hours earlier.  She furrowed her brow.

Her husband turned, as if he had sensed her question.  “Something within the house is on fire.”

Her heart jolted in panic, and she scrambled out of bed.

“Wear a thick coat and some boots.” He stripped the bed of the heavy coverlet.

Her mind could hardly function.  She coughed again and glanced to the door, seeing a steady stream of dark gray smoke seeping in.  Terror pooled in the bottom of her stomach.  Fire.  The smell of charred wood choked her.  She backed away, remembering the melted face of her mother.

Daniel turned her to face him.  “Don’t panic, my love, it muddles the mind.  Now get your coat and boots.”  He gave her a gentle push toward the dressing room.

His reassuring voice and gentle touch helped to calm her.  Silver rubbed her stinging eyes and hurried to do as he had asked.  Returning a minute later with her boots on, she had just pushed her arms through the coat sleeves when a knock sounded.

He opened the door to Larkin.  “Your Grace,” the butler stated, thick smoke pouring into the room, “everyone is awake.”

Oh, thank God!
  She sagged against the wall and coughed as the smoke irritated her lungs.