Secret Pleasures (49 page)

Border of Scotland
?
Darien jumped to his feet. For one dizzying moment he dared to believe his brother was alive and living the life of a horse breeder in the wilds of Scotland
.
But Jacobson was here and claiming Philip murdered
.
Darien skimmed the note once more
. 
He was not reading a suicide note
.
Philip sounded entirely too happy
.
Someone was lying and he had a gut feeling who.

I shall be in contact again when the dust has settled
.
I have always been able to count on your discretion in personal matters, if nothing else
.

Darien swung open his father’s bedroom door only to find a musket aimed in his direction
.
Maddox directed pure hatred down the barrel, no doubt longing to pull the trigger
.
Abruptly, he retrained the weapon at Collin Jacobson who sat hunched in a chair against the far wall
.
Darien met Ivy’s frightened gaze
.
She was cradling Melody and sitting on his father’s bed
.
Dear God, she must be terrified to be so close to his father
.

His excitement of discovering his brother had not taken his own life turned to cold fear
.
Henry Maddox was not only a cold-blooded killer but one who could cover his tracks well.

“What’s going on here?” Darien asked his sister, who
now
stood between Maddox and her father’s bed.

“Mr. Maddox wants to shoot an unarmed man.”

“He shot your son, Mrs. Fitzgerald,
” Maddox said
.
“
I would think you would want justice to be served.
”
Maddox kept his gaze trained on Jacobson’s bowed head.

Collin
Jacobson’s fears had been correct
.
Maddox would kill him on his first opportunity.

“And we should indeed take this matter to the local magistrate
.
We have witnesses who will be glad to provide evidence to a Grand Jury
.
Let the law deal with him
.
My father is not well.
”
Lily turned back to the bed
.
Darien noticed for the first time his father remained unconscious despite their raised voices.

Darien strode to the bed.

“No, you don’t
.
I don’t want you at my back
.
Over here, Blackmore.
”
Maddox’s
words
held threat and an all too satisfied edge
. 

Darien slowly turned
.
“Point that weapon at me again and you better be willing to use it.”

“I’d love nothing more.”

For a moment, Darien thought Maddox would toss out reason and pull the trigger
.
Instead, he proved he was truly desperate and veered the weapon toward Ivy and Melody.

Darien slowly walked toward Maddox
.
“Do you even know how to shoot, Maddox
?
If you fire in the direction you are aiming, you will be dead before you have the chance to reload.”

Maddox blinked and turned the weapon back to Jacobson
.
For the first time in their acquaintance, Maddox seemed unsure of himself
.

“See here, Blackmore
.
For our own best interests, we must dispose of this fiend without complications
.
You don’t want him to reveal the truth about Philip’s death
.
You are willing to sacrifice”
—
Maddox cut his gaze to Ivy
—
“
her
for the sake of the earldom
.
Why not this scoundrel?”

Darien grabbed Lily’s arm and tried to move her aside, but she wouldn’t budge
.
A musket fired in such short range could spray debris for several feet
.
“Dear sister, please see to our father
.
He appears worse than when I left.”

Lily nodded but gave him a warning glare and went to their father’s bedside, though she kept her gaze trained on Maddox.

“I never thought I would see this day, but for once, we agree.
”
Darien shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from clenching his fists
.
“There is a remote moor east of the estate which I think will be well suited for the deed
.
In the interest of our good name, I must insist that we shoot Jacobson outside the grounds
.
I’ll accompany you and even do the business myself
.
I believe I already mentioned that I’m an excellent shot.”

Maddox studied Darien suspiciously, loosening his grip on the weapon
.
Darien’s instinct urged him to lunge for Maddox but he didn’t dare until he removed him and the weapon f
r
om the confines of the bedroom.

Jacobson lifted his head and his bleary eyes revealed that he had finally been told the truth about Philip’s death
.
Apparently, he hadn’t taken the news any better than Darien
.
That none of the ugly slander had been true enraged Darien all over again
.
Maddox was the one Darien intended to shoot.

“I would never say anything to discredit Philip
.
Nothing at all
.
I swear I would not mention our relationship
.
I’m sorry about shooting your nephew, Darien
.
If I had known Philip had
…
”
Jacobson pressed his hand over his mouth as if he could not bear to say the words.

“He let Mr. Maddox take the weapon from him after we told him that Philip hung himself,” said Lily, who had come to stand at the bedpost closest to them
. 

Damn her
.
Why didn’t she just stay out of the way?

“I deeply regret my actions, and am willing to accept whatever punishment you see fit, Lord Blackmore.
”
Collin Jacobson’s voice was hoarse and his face wet with tears
.
“The musket’s not even loaded.
”

Maddox glanced down at the flintlock in his hands
.
Darien
lunged and
rammed his shoulder in Maddox’s midsection before he could again raise his gaze to see what hit him
.
The force of Darien’s blow sent them both to the ground
.
Darien reared back and slammed his fist into Maddox’s mouth.

“Darien, please
!
”
Lily’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from rearing back a second time
.

Melody’s cries sounded above the ringing in his ears
.
He straddled Maddox and gripped his wrists before he glanced at his daughter
.
Ivy had slipped off the bed and jostled Melody into quieting her outrage.

“Philip didn’t kill himself
.
He left a letter for me and it was no suicide note
.
What happened, Maddox
?
I know you were behind his murder
.
Philip said as much.”

“You are lying
.
He couldn’t have
.
It was a
…
” Maddox stopped himself.

“A letter, Darien
?
Philip left a letter?
”
Lily hovered behind him.

Darien dared not loosen his grip on Maddox to retrieve the evidence
.
The musket he
’d
left earlier, fully loaded and ready to be fired, stood against the wall.

Jacobson stood, staring down at the two men in utter confusion
.
Between Henry Maddox and Collin Jacobson, Darien knew which man he trusted more.

“Collin, help me lift him,” Darien called to Jacobson who immediately rushed to help him drag Maddox to his feet.

Once Jacobson had wrenched Maddox’s arms behind his back, Darien reached into his pocket and handed Lily the two folded pieces of paper resting near his heart
.
He quickly strode to the musket and lifted it to his shoulder.

“You can tell me everything now, Maddox, or we can find Major Fitzgerald
.
Have you ever heard of the disciplinary measures used by his Majesty’s Calvary
?
Rand is quite handy with a whip.
”

“It was an accident.
”
Henry struggled against Jacobson’s grip
.
“Tell this murderous brute to release me at once
.
He’s as much to blame as anyone
.
Have you forgotten he almost killed your nephew?”

“But he was aiming for you.”

“Shoot me, Blackmore, and questions will be asked
.
Perhaps I have a letter of my own somewhere.
”
Maddox tried to act confident but his gaze locked on Lily, who frantically read Philip’s letter
.

“
No doubt
Father
has already concocted
the story of my demise…
”
Lily glanced at their father
.
“
Father
?”

Darien’s father did not respond
.
His fingers remained curled where Ivy had held his hand, unnaturally stiff as if he were made of molding clay.

“His breathing became painfully shallow after he told Collin what he thought had happened to Philip.
”
Ivy leaned over the bed
.
Melody stuck her thumb in her mouth, her feathery eyebrows knitted as she searched her mother’s face with obvious worry.

Darien stared dumbly, from his father to his daughter, relieved for her safety and heartsick for the loss of his father at the same time
.
He tightened his grip on the musket and turned his attention to Maddox.

“Philip intended to run away to Scotland
.
He took the time to write me a full-page letter
.
He didn’t hang himself.”

Lily touched their father’s cheek, then felt for signs of life at his neck
.
Her stoic expression crumbled on a sob.

“Answer me, Maddox.
”
Darien funneled his grief into anger
.
“You killed Philip, didn’t you?”

“I would have never intentionally hurt Philip.
”
Maddox swallowed hard and made a show of struggling against Jacobson’s grip.

“Release him.
”
Darien ordered, then nodded for Jacobson to step away
.
If Darien needed to shoot Maddox, he wanted a clear path.

“Philip would have grown bored of Scotland in short order.
”
Maddox straightened his jacket and glared at his rival
.
“He’d have been back in London before the start of the next season
.
But the damage would have been done, just the same
.
I tried to make him understand that.”

“May I see that letter?” Jacobson said softly.

Darien glanced at Ivy, who had deposited Melody in Agatha’s arms and held the two pieces of paper he had given his sister
.
He wasn’t sure which one she read with such a wide astonished gaze, but both would change their future drastically.

“Ivy, when you’re finished, would you be so kind?
”

She met Darien’s gaze and smiled sadly, but with something he hadn’t seen in her large eyes since their passionate night in the carriage
.
Hope instead of bitter resignation
.
She strode toward Jacobson and handed him Philip’s letter.

“Philip no doubt changed his mind after he’d disappointed his father so bitterly
.
That letter proves nothing.
”
Maddox followed the letter’s progress with the attention one might give a looming threat.

“It proves everything.
”
Darien gripped the musket with one hand and held his freed hand out to Ivy
, who walked close to him
.
“And ends any association you have with the Blackmores.”