Elizabeth Thornton (40 page)

Colonel Langley laboriously climbed the steps. He was limping now, and Hugh remembered that he’d got that limp years ago when he fell through a roof of a disused icehouse he’d forgotten was on his property. He’d found a horrifying use for it these last weeks.

Muffled sounds came from inside the icehouse, then
George was led out. His hands were bound behind his back and his mouth was gagged. Hugh waited until George and his jailer were clear of Langley before he took a step forward.

“Put your hands up,” he barked out, “or I’ll blow your brains out.”

Langley’s hands slowly rose.

The man who was guarding George said, “What took you so long, Mr. Templar, sir? It’s bleeding cold in that there ice ’ouse. Our teeth is chattering like castanets.”

At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Langley jerked round. Hugh smiled. “Good job, Tom,” he said. “Daniel, get George. Giles, get Langley’s lantern and bring it over here, and don’t get between Langley and me.”

Daniel removed his brother’s gag and bonds, then held him at arms’ length. George was so weak, he could hardly support himself. His clothes hung on him loosely and were covered in filth. He smelled as though he’d bathed in a sewer. But he was grinning, and that grin was Daniel’s undoing.

George squinted up at Daniel and his face puckered. “What’s wrong with you, Daniel? Aren’t you glad to see me?”

But Daniel couldn’t speak. He embraced his brother and his shoulders began to heave. Giles came up and he enfolded both brothers in his arms. “Thank God! Thank God!”

It was a long time before they broke apart, and when they did, Daniel had found his voice. “If you ever again go off without telling anyone—” He broke off as George sagged against him. “Templar! There’s something wrong with my brother! I think he’s drunk.”

“He’s just weak,” Hugh said. “They kept him sedated. A few days at home and he’ll be his old self again. You did
well, George. Without your help, we could never have caught Langley.”

Langley lowered his hands. “So you were here earlier.”

“I was, and in case you’re wondering, your co-conspirators are already locked up in Newgate. You’re the only one left.”

“They’re Nemo’s co-conspirators, not mine.”

“Nemo is dead,” said Hugh.

Langley’s head came up. “You’ve done well, Hugh.”

“Miss Vayle killed him.”

“I see.” Langley paused. “Then who told you where to find young Vayle?”

“No one told me. When I finally figured out that you were Nemo’s accomplice, I decided to take a look around your house. When I got here, I noticed something strange—your gardeners were armed. One of them took the path to the old icehouse. It struck me that that would be the perfect place to hide a hostage. Maitland and I came back later with a detail of soldiers and we found George.”

“Then why didn’t you arrest me at once? Why go through that charade at Merkland’s house?”

“Because the evidence against you was circumstantial. George had never heard of you and didn’t recognize your description. We had to catch you red-handed.”

George said, “I did my part, too, Daniel. Tom was going to take my place, but I wouldn’t let him. No, don’t look like that. It was all right, really. Tom’s been feeding me bread and hot soup, and I … I …” His head slowly sank down on Daniel’s breast.

Maitland, who had been standing quietly with his pistol trained on Langley, suddenly exploded. “Do you know what I told Templar when he came to see me this morning? I scoffed at his suspicions. I told him that Nemo had set you up. I said that unless I caught you in the act, I
would never believe you were a traitor.
Why
, in God’s name, why?”

When Langley was silent, Hugh said, “The usual reasons. Money. There was no legacy. That was just a pretext to explain how he could afford to refurbish his house and launch young Hetty in style.”

“Money!” Maitland’s tone was scathing.

Langley’s face turned a fiery red. His tone was just as cutting as Maitland’s. “Do you know what my income is? Do you know how much a colonel in the British army makes? I have a daughter to launch in society. I had a stately home that was crumbling around my ears. But we managed; by scrimping and cutting corners, we managed to get by, until the minister decided to get rid of me. I gave my life to my country, and this was to be my reward. They said I was too old. They were going to pension me off, force me into retirement and let a younger man take my place. Oh, yes, and as a sop to my pride, they allowed everyone to think the idea had come from me.

“Who betrayed whom? What I did, I did for my wife and daughter. They deserved better than this. So don’t try to make me feel guilty.”

Maitland said bitterly, “And you think that makes it all right? Because you were slighted, four of my agents had to die? And Ballard—how could you have turned on one of your own?”

“Because he suspected me! He was asking awkward questions. I had the letter from Miss Vayle long before it reached your desk. I knew you’d find out about it soon enough from the Paris office, but I wanted to give Nemo time to get to England and get the book first.

“Somehow, Alex found out about the letter. If he had found the book he would have gone over my head and given it to the minister. I couldn’t let that happen.”

Maitland tried to control his anger, failed, and burst out, “So when Alex turned up in Miss Vayle’s room in Marlborough, Nemo was waiting for him! There are no words base enough to describe a man like you.”

Daniel said urgently, “Can’t this wait? George is shaking. He’s not well. It’s all right, George. We’re going to get you home right away.”

But George resisted and fought his way out of his brother’s arms. He pressed a hand to his eyes.

“George—”

“No, Daniel! No! I want to hear what that man has to say. I want to look into his eyes and ask him
why
. They were going to kill me and leave my body in the grounds of Merkland House so that everyone would think I had murdered the Prime Minister. I was to be the scapegoat. But I never understood why they were doing all this.”

Hugh and Maitland had already heard George’s story so it came as no surprise to them. But Daniel’s face went parchment white and he crouched as though he would spring at Langley. Giles prevented it by clasping Daniel in a bear hug and subduing his struggles.

“I’ll kill him,” Daniel ground out. “Damn you, Giles, let me go. I’ll kill him! I swear it!”

“No, Daniel!” Giles tightened his arms, holding Daniel in a vice-like grip. “He’s not worth it. And he’ll hang for his crimes.”

“I think not.”

At Langley’s sharp retort, there was a sudden and profound silence. Everyone looked at him, and under that intense scrutiny, a transformation took place. He squared his stooped shoulders; he lifted his chin proudly and gave back stare for stare. He was every inch the commander.

Hugh experienced the oddest sensation. Fragments of
memories flashed through his mind with the speed of lightning: Langley, grim-faced and pacing when an agent was late in reporting back; Langley, roaring like a lion when someone took foolish risks; his face ravaged with grief when one of his men didn’t return from a mission.

And his men had worshiped him.

He’ll hang for his crimes
.

“First of all,” said Langley, “in answer to that young man’s question, I’ll say only this. It was Nemo’s idea to use him as the scapegoat, not mine. Nemo was out of control. He was using the boy to punish Miss Vayle because she didn’t follow orders. He wouldn’t listen to reason, and I had gone too far at that point to turn back.

“As for why we were doing it, I think that must be obvious by now. With Lord Liverpool out of the way, there would be no one in charge until Parliament could agree on someone to replace him, and that could take weeks. It would be a good time for our enemies to strike.”

Giles said, “What enemies? What are you talking about?”

Langley smiled. “And I thought you were all so clever.”

“It must be Napoleon,” said Hugh. “Nemo is Napoleon’s man. He wouldn’t kill for anyone else.”

Maitland shook his head. “No,” he said. “Napoleon is locked up on Elba. Langley wouldn’t go that far. He despises Napoleon.” Then, as the truth dawned on him, “My God, we’d better alert the Prime Minister at once.”

“You’re too late.” Langley made a sudden movement with his hand, silencing everyone. “If everything has gone to plan, Napoleon has already broken out of Elba. I expect the news will reach England in a few days.”

Giles suddenly exclaimed, “The two events would
have occurred simultaneously! That’s it, isn’t it? Lord Liverpool’s assassination and Napoleon’s escape from Elba were meant to coincide. And with the Prime Minister out of the way, there would be chaos in Parliament, no one at the helm to stop Napoleon.”

Langley gave a dry laugh. “Don’t look so aghast, all of you. Nothing will come of it. Let Napoleon raise his standard. No one will join him. His generals are loyal to the French crown now. There will be no war between England and France.”

Giles said quietly, “You’re a fool if you believe that.”

“But I do believe it, otherwise I would never have embarked on this scheme. Good God! You can’t believe I would have seen my country go down to defeat. Napoleon is finished I tell you. I used Nemo. He didn’t use me.”

“You—”

Langley said testily, “I’ve said my piece and that’s all I’m going to say. Well, Richard, what are you waiting for? Do your duty and act like an agent.”

Maitland shook his head. “I don’t have the stomach for it.”

“I do,” said Hugh.

Langley’s eyes locked on Hugh. “My pistol is in my pocket. You deliberately allowed me to keep it, didn’t you, Hugh?”

Hugh was silent.

“Thank you for that,” said Langley softly. Then, brusquely, “You’d be a fool to take chances. I’m going to shoot to kill.”

“I’m counting on it.”

Langley reached for his pistol.

There was a movement on the path, and Abbie came into the light. “No!” she screamed. “No, Hugh!”

“Abbie, get back!” Hugh roared.

Langley aimed his pistol at Abbie. It was Maitland who shot him dead.

Hugh closed his eyes and rested his neck on the back of the banquette. He and Maitland were the only two people in the carriage, and neither of them had spoken since they’d dumped Langley’s body in his luxuriously appointed mansion. Hugh guessed that Langley’s plan had been to move his family into it in another week or so, after things had quieted down and he’d obliterated all traces of the old icehouse. Instead, he was lying in a heap, growing colder by the minute, in front of the white marble fireplace in his formal drawing room. Nemo had fared no better. He would be buried on the morrow in a pauper’s grave, just an unfortunate, nameless footpad who had come to a bad end. Giles was going to take care of everything.

He should be feeling elated now that George was safe, but he couldn’t seem to muster any emotion at all. Not even the thought of Napoleon could jog him from his inertia. Giles would have informed the Prime Minister by now, but really, he wasn’t interested. That would come later, he supposed. For now, he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that one of the best damn commanders in the British army had turned traitor.

There had been no piece of brilliant deduction on his part to unmask Langley. He’d put his chief’s name on his list of suspects simply because Langley was a member of British intelligence. He’d even put Giles’s name on his list because Abbie’s brother-in-law seemed to have inside knowledge of everything that went on at Whitehall. At the top of that list, of course, was Richard Maitland’s name.

He’d wanted it to be Maitland because he couldn’t stand the man. But it just didn’t wash. If it hadn’t been for Maitland, the men who attacked him at the Black Boar wouldn’t have been frightened off. So Maitland couldn’t be one of Nemo’s men. He had to be in the clear.

By a process of elimination, he was left with Langley’s name. But he trusted the colonel so much that he hadn’t even bothered to think things through. It was only when Harper had brought him the calendar of the Prime Minister’s engagements that doubt began to set in. He knew that Lord Merkland and Langley were neighbors, and he knew that Langley’s house was lying empty. It would be the ideal place to hide a hostage or an assassin who, having completed his mission, needed a safe place to stay. That started another train of thought: the expense, as Abbie eloquently described it, of launching a young woman in society; the expense of refurbishing a house for a come-out ball. Where had the money come from?

A legacy, Langley had told everyone. But was it true?

And in the early hours of this morning, Giles had used his influence and connections to discover that there was no legacy. Langley was paying for everything in gold coin, but where the money was coming from was anyone’s guess.

Maitland said, “That’s the trouble with having a traitor in our midst. You don’t know who you can trust.”

“What?” Hugh sat up.

“I was thinking of Ballard, not knowing who to trust, not knowing what he was up against. He wouldn’t have known about Nemo. None of us did until the book was decoded. Except Langley, of course. When I think of Ballard, I wish to God I’d let that bastard hang.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“You know why. Because Langley trained us.”

Maitland lapsed into silence, leaving Hugh to his own thoughts. He was thinking of Abbie and how she’d witnessed Langley’s last moments. She’d walked in on an execution. Though he and Maitland hadn’t talked about it beforehand, they’d both known they would never allow Langley to go to trial. And Langley had known it too. He’d taught his agents to clean up their own messes. And that’s exactly what they’d done.

If that made him barely civilized, so be it.

Abbie seemed to think so. She hadn’t said a word to him when she left with George.

It had been a mistake to allow her to go out to Langley’s place. But he’d thought it only right that she should be one of the first to greet George. She’d risked so much for her brother. He should have known she wouldn’t do as she was told and remain in the gazebo.