Shades of the Past (31 page)

Vanessa continued her progress toward Adrian.  Seeing his scowl deepen at Lawrence’s persistent goading, she feared he might do something rash. 

"It was a challenge to seduce Olivia after she became your wife, I'll admit," Lawrence conceded, as he continued his taunting.  "But I have pride in that she desired me, for myself alone.  But now—”  His voice broke unexpectedly.  "Now I find, even that position I thought to hold as your brother—even that—is not mine."

Adrian's anger visibly wavered at the puzzling words.  As the two men's gazes remained locked, Vanessa began to rise and prepared to dash the remaining distance to the safety of the others.

"Well, you'll not have it all!" Lawrence bellowed at Adrian.  "We were raised as twins, remember?  One twin shares the other's pain—so it has been for all time.  And pain you shall have,
brother
.  I promise you that.  Like me, you will remain a man cursed in love."

Lawrence's gaze swung to Vanessa where she rose to her feet.  Realizing his deadly intent, she broke into a run toward Adrian.  But Lawrence turned his gun on her and took aim.

"No-o-o . . . !" Adrian kicked his horse forward.  Hurling himself off his steed, he seized Vanessa and thrust her behind him, becoming Lawrence’s target instead.

Lawrence marked his new prey, a smile spreading his lips.  But as he squeezed off the trigger, a sudden rush of wind hurtled over the grounds and swirled about Lawrence, jerking his arm to one side and causing the gun to fire.  Grealey screamed, toppling from his saddle, then lay lumpishly on the ground, groaning.

To everyone's shock, the wind whipped upward with a choleric wrath, spinning into a funnel-like form as it continued its assault on Lawrence.  Adrian drew Vanessa into the protection of his arms as the whirlwind began to glow as if from within.

Lawrence flailed madly at his luminous attacker, but was no match for its seething force as it knocked him from his mount.  Scrambling to his feet, he continued to fight as the glowing, swirling wind encompassed him entirely, lifting him off his feet and sweeping him to the cliff's edge.

"H-Help me-e-e . . ." Lawrence cried out, but the wind held him in its reeling grip, glowing even more strongly now as an ethereal shape took form—that of a woman.

"Deceiver . . . Murderer . . ."  The words carried upon the wind in whispery-dry voice.  "To the grave . . . To the grave . . ."

The wind turned to a bright ball of light, carrying Lawrence over the cliff’s edge then evanescing in the blink of an eye.  Lawrence dropped from sight, his screams echoing against the night as he plummeted to the rocks below.  Then all was silence.

Adrian hugged Vanessa against his chest, shielding her in his strength.  Their lips met in an urgent, needed kiss.   

"Are you all right, my love?  Did Lawrence harm you in any way?"  Adrian brushed back her hair from her face and searched her eyes. 

"I'm all right now, but he would have killed me had you not arrived."

"I'm not so sure about that," he said solemnly, glancing toward the cliff's edge.  "There were other forces at work here tonight." 

Motioning over one of the officers, Adrian arranged for several men to make their way down to the river's edge by means of the old path and to recover Lawrence's body.  It was impossible he'd survived the fall, not with Olivia's enraged spirit ensuring he didn't.

"What of Constable Grealey?" Adrian asked the officer as he began to turn away. 

"The bullet caught him in the shoulder and he's lost a good bit of blood, but he should be right as rain in a few weeks." 

The officer paused, looking somewhat pale to Vanessa's mind.  But then, they'd all been shaken by events this night. 

"Yer lordship, I'm more than willing to climb down to the riverbank and do what must be done for Mr. Marrable."  He shifted from one foot to another and back again.  "But, d'ye think it, she—the thing we saw—d'ye think it's down there?"

Adrian clamped a hand on the officer's shoulder.  "No.  I think she's at peace now."

As the officer withdrew, Adrian turned his gaze back to Vanessa.  Sheltering her in his arms, they embraced and kissed a long moment, then realized they were not alone.  As their lips parted, they discovered they had a small audience of three—Henry, Nigel, and the man Vanessa didn't recognize.  He appeared in his late twenties, tall, with chestnut hair and a trim mustache that leant him a dashing air.

"Darling, may I present Detective Kincaid of Scotland Yard," Adrian introduced his friend proudly.

"Cameron
Kincaid?"

"Yes, madam."  The detective smiled, bowing politely over her hand.  "At your service."

Vanessa returned a wide smile of her own.  "You are just the man I needed to find this night."

The four men exchanged quick glances, Adrian arching one brow high.

"I—I'm flattered, Mrs. Wynters."  Mr. Kincaid inclined his head.  "Was there something in particular you wished for me to attend to, madam?"

"Yes, but not for me.  For Adrian."  From the folds of her cloak, Vanessa produced Lady Gwendolyn's papers and entrusted them to his hands.  "This will clear Adrian from any doubts that might linger concerning Olivia's death." 

Vanessa looked to Adrian, her smile easing from her lips.  “It seems your aunt witnessed all that transpired in the tower.  But her missive contains far more than that.  There are things that are surely to come as a shock to you.  But Gwendolyn Marrable was a good woman, even when her judgment was not perhaps the best."

Adrian sent her a quizzical look.

"Later, darling."  She squeezed his hand.  "We'll need ample time to discuss it all and . . ."  Her eyes widened.  "Oh, heavens, I forgot—" 

She spun on her heels and pointed toward the mausoleum. 

"There is a large pouch over there by the drive where I tossed it.  It contains the missing Marrable jewels!  Lawrence had them hidden in the Orangery."

"You've had a astonishingly eventful night without me, my love."  Adrian smiled and kissed her forehead, obviously pleased.  He circled his arm about her as Henry and Nigel went in search of the pouch.  "Is there anything else you've been about that I should know of?"

Vanessa caught her lip between her teeth.  "Well, I'm not sure the marble lid is reseated properly on your aunt's tomb—" 

She clamped her mouth shut, seeing the renewed look of surprise on Adrian's face.

"I have a feeling we have a long night of explanations ahead of us," he commented dryly, but couldn't conceal his smile.

Vanessa nodded her agreement then stilled, concern filling her.  "Lawrence—is it possible he's—"

"No, madam."  Cameron shook his head, having moved off momentarily to the cliff's edge and now returning.  "It doesn't appear he survived." 

He turned to Adrian. 

"I'll oversee everything here.  Why don't you escort Mrs. Wynters back to the manse and we'll speak later.  Your brothers-in-law, Lord Norland and Lord Pendergast, have offered their assistance and intend to remain."

"Very well, then.  Until later." 

Adrian guided Vanessa toward the horses.  To their surprise, Delilah was not among them.

“Do you suppose Olivia’s ghost frightened her away, Adrian?”

“Not to worry, darling.  As you’ll recall, Delilah is quite capable of finding her way back to the stables.” 

They shared a laugh as Adrian located the steed he’d ridden from town.  He helped Vanessa into the saddle, then climbed up behind her.  Holding her against his chest, he let the horse set its pace as they followed the road from the dell and passed the first of the follies.

Vanessa rested against him.  They rode in silence at first, but at last she could no longer contain her questions. 

"Darling, do not misunderstand.  I am thrilled you are free.  But, how is it that Grealey released you?  And that Mr. Kincaid is here?  And why did you choose to approach Sherringham from the direction you did, and not by the main road?"

Adrian chuckled.  "Do you want answers, or do you want to ask more questions?"

Vanessa shot him a look over her shoulder.  "The answers will do."

"Good.  The first two can be covered with the same explanation.  Grealey had no choice but to release me once Cameron appeared in Hereford this morning.  He'd solved the case of the Marrable jewels and arrived with his evidence in tow—a certain young actress of varied talents, among them selling priceless stolen jewels."

"Lawrence's lover?"

"The same.  She's now occupying some rather uncomfortable quarters where I'd been previously held."

"But how did Detective Kincaid find you?"

"He didn't.  He encountered Cissy and Majel in town and recognized them from pictures I'd previously shared.  On learning of my plight, he quickened to my aid, explained matters, and demanded my release.  Grealey was not pleased at first, but as I said, he had no choice.

"As to Lawrence, once his role was known, it was easy to guess where he kept the jewels.  By coming into Sherringham on the road we did, we'd hoped to keep surprise on our side and, either find the jewels at the Orangery ourselves, or catch Lawrence with them in hand.  I can tell you, it was a shock to find the two of you when we rounded the building—and you in imminent danger."

"I'm glad you recovered from your shock.  I fear to think what would have happened to me otherwise."

Adrian pressed his lips to the curve of her neck.  "Fear no more, my lady, for there is nothing in this world or the next that can keep me apart from you."

As he lifted his head, he spotted Delilah, directly ahead, preceding them to the stables.

“Ho!”  He laughed, hearing her exchange knickers with Samson.  “It would seem we are not the only ones who refuse to be separated.” 

Minutes later, Adrian dismounted, then gently lifted Vanessa to the ground.  As he kept her in the circle of his arm, he gave over the care of the horses to the groom and ordered extra oats for both. 

He escorted Vanessa toward the mansion, then paused before entering inside.

“Darling, there is one question that remains unanswered between us.”

Her eyes widened as his midnight eyes brushed hers, all seriousness returned to them.  “’Between
us
?’”

He nodded.  “I offered you an honest
proposal of marriage. 
Will
you marry me?”  He quickly placed his forefinger to her lips.  “Understand, I have no intention of living without you, nor would I think to keep you as a mere mistress.  I want you as my
wife
, Vanessa.  I want you by my side always, to love as my viscountess.”

“But, Adrian, your heir —”

“I am willing to chance whether we shall have children or none.  And if that is God’s will, so be it.”

His gaze dropped momentarily to her hands.  Gathering them in his, he rubbed his thumbs gently across their backs.

“With my brother gone, Geoffrey is next in line to inherit.”  His gaze lifted to hers.  “Would that trouble you so?”

Vanessa held her silence as to the truth concerning Lawrence.  Adrian would learn of it soon enough.

“Geoffrey?”  A smiling warmth spread through her as she envisioned the lad, so like his noble uncle.  “Why, no, that would not trouble me at all.”

Adrian tipped her chin up with his forefinger.  “Then torture me no longer, my heart.  Say ‘yes.’  Say you will be my wife.”

Vanessa’s heart swelled near to bursting as the concerns she’d held and anguished over dissolved to nothingness.  Incredibly, the path lay clear before her to claim the man she loved.

“Oh, Adrian, yes”—she flung her arms around his neck—“yes, I will marry you.”

Enclosing her fully in his arms, Adrian covered her lips with his and kissed her long and deep.  Without breaking their kiss, he caught Vanessa up in his arms and carried her across the portico and over the threshold, into the heart of Sherringham. 

"You don't have to look so grim.  I'm only taking your photograph," Vanessa commented, rechecking the camera's viewing screen.

  Adrian shifted in the chair where he sat posed before the drawing room fireplace, beneath Leonine’s portrait.

"I was striving to look dignified, as befits a married man."  He drew himself up stiffly, looking akin to an oak plank, and turned his head to one side.

"Adrian, you've changed the pose!"

Vanessa popped from beneath the focusing cloth and crossed the distance to him.  As she reached out to grasp him by the shoulders and reposition him, he seized her by the waist.  A grin broke over his face as he pulled her onto his lap.

"You must forgive me, darling.  As I've done nothing but smile like a Cheshire since the day of our wedding, I propose I continue to do so now." 

He pressed a kiss to the base of her throat, at the same sweeping his hand upward, over her breast.  Deftly, his fingers began to free the buttons fronting the bodice of her gown.

"Leonine is watching," she warned teasingly as he parted the silken fabric.

"I can't imagine her being shocked.  Envious, but not shocked."  He dropped kisses to the swell of her breasts where they rose above her low-cut camisole.  "You know, darling, I've been thinking how much I'd enjoy having a boudoir painting done of you, just like Leonine's."

"Adrian, I'm beginning to increase
everywhere
.  I'll need more than a spaniel in my lap to hide my growing dimensions."

"I wish for you to hide nothing."  His lips continued to warm her flesh.  "The sight of you swelling with our child will always fill me with nothing but joy."

 Tears moistened Vanessa's eyes.  The discovery of her pregnancy came as a wondrous surprise and particular blessing for both themselves and the extended Marrable family. 

The shock of Lawrence's death and the exposure of his part in the deaths of Olivia and her maid—let alone his intentions for Adrian and Vanessa—had left a lingering pall over the family.  Even after Lawrence's and Olivia's remains had been lain to rest in the mausoleum, and Bonnie Beckford's disinterred and returned to her relations, even then a heaviness continued to linger in everyone's hearts.   

And then there were the revelations concerning Lady Gwen . . .

The pain and enormity of it all continued to weigh on everyone.  But then, not long after hers and Adrian's wedding, their honeymoon travels were cut short by her recurrent "illness."  It was a doctor in Edinburgh who'd confirmed that, miraculously, Vanessa had conceived. 

The prospect of a new little life entering the world—a child for the House of Marrable—brought vast and unexpected happiness into their lives and swept away any shadows that hung over Sherringham.

As Vanessa felt a coolness wash over her shoulders and top of her breasts as Adrian drew her bodice downward
. 
His mouth followed his fingers until he came to the frill of ribbons securing the top of her camisole.  He began to tug them free, one by one.

"Dearest, someone may enter at any time.  It would be most embarrassing," she protested.

"I've left strict orders with the servants to not enter unless expressly bidden to do so.  There's nothing to fear, my love," he vowed as he won past another layer of fabric and started to liberate her breasts.

"Hello!" a familiar feminine voice rang out from across the room.  "Oh! . . . Sorry.  How unforgivably unthinking of me to barge in unannounced.  I'll wait over here.  Don't rush."

"You're incorrigible, sister," Adrian tossed in a brisk tone to Cissy as he helped Vanessa put order back to her clothes.

"I know."  Cissy laughed, taking a seat on the sofa farthest away.  "But you must be nice to me.  I brought you a gift."

Minutes later, her cheeks still burning, Vanessa and Adrian joined the smiling young woman who appeared enormously pleased with herself.   A large, square package rested on her lap.

"All right, Cissy," Adrian said with feigned annoyance.  "What is it you wish us to see?"

"Here.  Open it for yourself."  She held forth the bulky package.

At Adrian's nod, Vanessa accepted it, then lowered herself beside Cissy on the couch.  As she pulled away the wrappings, she discovered a beautiful wedding album, covered in white watered taffeta and embellished with artificial orange blossoms and seed pearls. 

"Oh, Cissy, it's exquisite!" Vanessa said breathlessly.  "Adrian, look, your sister has assembled the photographs of our wedding into a special album."  She stole a glance of Cissy, then carefully opened the cover.  "So, this is why you insisted the prints be delivered to your London residence, even before we'd seen them."

"I couldn't let you see what I was about and spoil the surprise, now could I?"  Cissy burst into a brilliant smile, unable to contain herself.

Adrian took a place beside Vanessa and they began to slowly turn one page, then another, finding each enhanced with delicate watercolors by Cissy's own hand.

The wedding itself had been a small, but glorious affair.  Vanessa lingered now over the photograph of their wedding party on the cathedral steps.  A second assemblage of the family and servants was taken at Sherringham—on the patio, outside the banqueting hall where the wedding luncheon was served. 

Vanessa smiled as she looked over the faces—her cousins up from Hampshire, Cissy and Henry, Majel and Nigel, and, of course, all of the Norland and Pendergast children.  Rascal sat importantly at Geoffrey's side, and Pasha lazed on the low sash of the hall's soaring window.  At the heart of the grouping stood Vanessa and Adrian.  They gazed, not at the camera's lens, but at each other, love filling their eyes.

Vanessa looked to Adrian and found him smiling too.  But as she returned her attention to the photograph, her gaze alighted on an upper window in the left of the print. 

"Oh, no!"

"Darling?  What is it?"  Adrian slipped his arm about her at once.

"There . . . Do you see?" 

Her pulses quickening, she pointed to where a luminous light filled a portion of the window.  There appeared to be a figure in the glowing mist—that of a man . . . or a woman perhaps . . . ?