Mandy

The viscount went forward and unceremoniously took her into his arms and held her tightly, whispering, “Oh my dear Kathy, what has happened to overset you?”

The duke watched this scene unfold, torn between impatience and amusement. He could do nothing but await its outcome.

The viscount, with his arm around the woman, turned towards the duke and met his gaze to say, “Brock, I have the honor, to present my wife, Kathleen, to you.” He turned to the woman, “This is the Duke of Margate, Brock Haydon, my dearest friend.”

The duke found her poised in her reply and in that moment knew she was perfect for the viscount. He was well pleased. She gave the duke a fleeting smile, as he bent over her hand and she softly said to him, “Ah, yes, John has often said your name and with great affection. Do please excuse my strange intrusion. I have received…something of a shock and am not myself.”

“A shock?” Skip held her tightly, “Oh, my dear…what is it?”

She cast a doubtful glance at the duke and he begged to be excused, but she stayed him, “Oh no, Your Grace, you needn’t leave. It is just that, you see, my father…has died.”

She fell then into her husband’s arms, obviously overcome with the sound of the words on her lips.

The duke offered his condolences and quietly left her to the viscount as he withdrew. He stood outside, having closed the front door at his back, and tried to decide what he should do. Well damn it, ride! Yes—ride, but to where? The diary wasn’t at the Abbey. Did she mean for him to meet her there? Was that it?

* * *

It was at just about that moment the two women in question arrived at the waterfall cave. Mandy took a moment to marvel both at its beauty and the fact that she and Ned had never found this spot. She then remembered Elly’s grief and clamped her mouth shut as she told herself she was a stupid girl.

She watched as Elly walked straight to Jack and she winced to see Elly bend over the slumped body and speak quietly to the man as though he were still alive. How awful. How terribly sad to have one’s dreams ripped out from under one in the blink of an eye, Mandy thought and then Elly held the diary up for her inspection.

“You see, miss, m’Jack was mixed up in this…” she went to one of the chests and threw it open. “And it got him killed.”

Mandy gasped to see all that gold. “Oh my goodness.”

Elly suddenly went very rigid and put her fingers to her lips. Elly swung around with the diary and dived to Jack’s body once again, slipping the book under him.

Mandy watched opened-mouthed for a moment before it dawned on her, that they were not alone. A man in a black cape with its hood pulled low over his head stepped forward and as he slipped the hood off and sneered, Mandy gasped again. She never once suspected, really suspected when she listed the possibilities. Here stood her cousin, Alfred Speenham.

“So then, here we are,” Alfred said quietly.

“Indeed, but Alfred, we will soon be joined by the duke and Skip. I left a message where I was going, so do not think you will get away with this,” Mandy bluffed.

His glance was filled with hate, “Nonsense. You left no message, how could you? What? Tell the butler you were going to a waterfall cave?” He shrugged, “And even if you did. They won’t find this easily, will they? I would have enjoyed killing you slowly, Amanda, but we’ll have to do it more quickly now and leave your bodies for them to find away from this cave. I need time to move the gold you see. Can’t take any chances of it being found now, when I am so close to removing all my problems.”

“Beast,” Mandy hissed.

“My father wanted me to marry you, but I shall be rich for all time and no longer need your inheritance.”

“You and Celia?” Mandy decided to stall for time. She needed to find a way out of this. Never, not once, did she imagine that Celia had in any possible way was actually in love with Alfred. Celia had been in love—but Alfred? What had she seen in him? “Alfred, you were the father of Celia’s child?” Mandy could not believe this and it showed.

“And why not?” he took umbrage. “She adored me, and for a time, I did think I could love her, but she made the mistake of threatening me. I couldn’t have that, could I?”

“But…to kill her…your child?”

“She found out about the gold shipment from Aunt Agatha and told me about it. When the gold went missing, she put it together and thought to threaten me into marriage. When I refused, she backed down and asked only for money with which to vanish.” He shrugged. “She knew too much. I couldn’t have that, now could I?”

“But why? You are well off. You have no need to steal?”

“Ah, you are quite wrong. Father is not a wealthy man. He is comfortable, but not wealthy and I have been spending more than I should…gambling and wenching and gambling some more. Debts piled up and debtor’s prison was waiting for me. I had to do something and since you were not interested in my suit…well, this was an answer,” he said waving at the gold. “Now, hand over the diary.”

“It isn’t here,” Elly said. “Why would it be here? I came here looking for Jack…and found him…like this. We hid it.”

“Where the devil is it?” he snapped sharply.

“At the Abbey ruins, in a special place you will never find,” Mandy stuck in quickly. “We hid it before we came here.”

He leveled the gun at Elly and said, “You will take me there, but she has been a great deal of trouble and I think I will end that trouble now.”