A Gentleman's Curse (Avenging Lords 4)

“So you were at the inn, and someone followed you,” she reminded him.

“A hulk of a man with a thick neck and bulging eyes. He saw me staring out of an upper window and gestured to the small wood behind the inn.”

“What did you do?”

“I left Selina in the room and trailed after the fiend. He seemed just as eager to avoid the few guests using the inn. We stopped near an old oak tree, and he demanded I hand over the money, demanded I repay the debt.”

Claudia frowned. “A gambling debt?”

“I have no notion. Clearly he had mistaken me for someone else. Every time I pleaded ignorance, the brute punched me in the gut.” Hudson clenched his teeth. “I was too weak, too foolish. Now, I’d rip his throat out with my bare hands.”

“Is that the man you supposedly murdered?” Claudia swallowed past the lump in her throat. During a violent rage, a person’s memory might be foggy. Did people not speak of seeing nothing but darkness, of having no recollection of the atrocities committed by their hand?

Hudson nodded. “Selina appeared, weaving through the trees. Fear choked the breath from my lungs. If the blackguard could beat an innocent man, what would he do to a woman?” Anger darkened Lockhart’s voice. “The fiend pulled a blade from his boot, threatened to chase her down and slice her throat unless I brought him the money he was promised.”

“And so you knew you must protect her.”

A deep frown marred his brow as his head shot in Claudia’s direction. “I did not kill him if that’s what you’re implying.”

“Of course not. Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know what happened. I lurched at the rogue, tried to kick the blade from his hand, but someone hit me hard on the head from behind. The next time I opened my eyes, I was sprawled on the ground clutching the knife.”

“And what of the man who came to claim payment of the debt?”

Hudson closed his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

“There was so much blood,” he said, opening his eyes and staring at the water. “Blood on my hands. Blood smeared on the blade. Blood oozing through his shirt and waistcoat from two wounds in his chest.”

Claudia took a moment to gather her wits. Hudson Lockhart was not a killer. The fact a man had crept out of the shadows and bludgeoned him proved her point.

“But it’s not the blood that revisits me in my nightmares.” Hudson gripped the edge of the tub so tightly his knuckles were white. “It’s the cold, glazed eyes. During the fight, I saw the darkness in his soul, the anger. And yet as he lay motionless at my side, it was as if a door had closed and I saw nothing.”

Claudia covered his hand with hers and rubbed back and forth until his fingers relaxed. One question sprang to mind.

“Where was Selina? Surely she can identify the man who attacked you from behind.”

“When the scuffle broke out, I shouted for her to run. I didn’t see her again until I regained consciousness. She’d taken the carriage back to London and returned with my brother.”

Selina ran away and left him?

Anger bubbled in Claudia’s stomach.

“Why on earth did she waste time riding back to London?” Even at breakneck speed, the round trip must have taken more than an hour. “Why did she not run to the coaching inn and alert the proprietor?” If not the proprietor, she might have returned with the coachman. After all, the trustworthy servant ferried her to her illicit liaisons without alerting her parents.

“She said she heard the rogue’s bloodcurdling scream and feared I’d killed him. She couldn’t risk her father discovering the truth about our clandestine meetings. Terence was the only person she felt she could turn to for help.”

Claudia considered the information. An uneasy feeling settled in her chest. Had Selina cared more about saving her reputation than saving the life of her lover? Or had her actions stemmed from wanting to protect the man she loved from being hauled to the magistrate?

“What did Terence do?”

“He sent Selina to wait in the carriage. The coachman came and carried me to the vehicle. To this day, Terence refuses to tell me what he did with the body. Apparently, the less I know the better, should I ever find myself dragged before a judge and jury.”

Or perhaps Terence wanted to use the information as blackmail. Time would tell.

“And what about the man who hit you?”

Hudson shrugged. “Terence searched the woods and found no sign of the other man. He fears I may have been confused and hurt my head during the scuffle.”