“Actually, it was because of Edgerton’s actions that everything fell apart for you. Because he strangled poor Mrs. Needle, he set events in motion for his downfall, yours as well. You see, the duke had a Bow Street Runner come with him to help find out who had murdered her. The night before the duke and I returned to London, I met a man on the beach at midnight. The Bow Street Runner saw everything and told the duke. Evidently, he didn’t realize that I wasn’t a man, what with the long cloak I always wore. I didn’t betray you. Edgerton himself did you all in.”
“No,” DeWitt said. “No, you’re twisting things.” He walked to her. She could hear his furious breathing. “Oh, yes,” he said, very close to her, “I’ll go back to France, but I’m not going back alone. I know you’ve told them everything you know. I’m taking you back with me to Houchard himself. He will kill you, and I will smile when he does it.
“You’re an excellent hostage. Don’t do anything foolish. You’re not worth much more to me alive than dead.”
At least Edmund was safe. Thank God, only Edgerton had known of his threat to Edmund. She had no doubt at all that if DeWitt had known, he would try to kill Edmund. She’d won and she’d lost. But it wasn’t over yet. As long as she was alive, it wasn’t over.
The duke jumped down from his curricle, threw the reins to Juniper, and strode up the great stone steps. He shoved open the great front doors of Chesleigh castle and shouted her name.
“Your grace, what are you doing here? I don’t understand this. The gentleman you sent is here now, telling Madame of your delay and—”
“Bassick, what man?” He grabbed the butler’s arms and shook him. “Quickly, Bassick. What man? What delay? What’s going on here? Where’s Madame?”
“She’s in the drawing room, your grace, with the gentleman you sent to see her. I’ll inform her of your early arrival.”
“God in heaven, I sent no man!” He didn’t wait for Bassick to reply. He rushed through the entrance hall and flung the drawing room doors open. He saw a heavy brocade curtain lifting slightly in the breeze through an open window. The room was empty.
He strode back into the corridor, a knot of fear twisting in his belly, and nearly collided with Bassick. “Who was the man?”
Bassick, like every denizen of Chesleigh, knew that French spies had been caught doing their shady deeds in the Chesleigh cove. He as well as everyone else knew that Madame was somehow involved, but no one knew exactly what the facts were. But now something horrible was happening. “He said his name was Ferguson, your grace.” The duke cursed. “What did he look like? Quickly, Bassick, can you remember anything at all about him?”
“He wasn’t much older than you, your grace. A pleasant gentleman he seemed, and a large man. A mole, your grace, yes, there was a large mole on his cheek. Oh, dear, the man wasn’t named Ferguson?”
“No,” the duke said. “It’s Conan DeWitt, a very bad man, Bassick. Get all the men together. He’s taken Madame. Quickly, Bassick.”
He was running to the library to get a brace of pistols, when he called over his shoulder, “Was he in a carriage, Bassick? A horse? What?”
“He was riding a horse, your grace. Yes, that’s right, there was no carriage.”
Once the duke had his two loaded guns, he headed toward the stables. DeWitt had come either to kill her or to take her with him to France as a hostage. He couldn’t very well expect to get far if he held Evangeline before him on his horse. He’d have to have another horse. Then he’d have to get her to Eastbourne. It was the closest town to catch a ship to France.
Trevlin was sitting on his haunches at the stable entrance, mending a bridle. “Trevlin, have you seen Madame?” “Yes, your grace,” Trevlin said, scratching his left ear. Then he sensed the urgency in the duke’s voice and jumped to his feet. “I wondered. Yes, I wondered what she was doing with him. She’s with a man, your grace. They were walking toward the cliff, right over the cove.”
The duke heard a half dozen men running toward them. He shouted over his shoulder even as he sprinted away from Trevlin, who threw the bridle to the ground to join in the chase, “He’s taken her to the cliffs.” He rounded the rear of the stables, ran down the rutted path, men at his heels trying to keep up with him. DeWitt had a boat waiting.
The duke was some thirty yards distant from the cliffs when he heard Evangeline’s terrified scream, and then a thin, wailing yell.
&nb
sp; The duke didn’t stop. Blood pounded at his temples, and his breath sounded like thunder in his ears. He was afraid to think of what that scream meant. The rocky terrain sloped upward to the cliff edge, and he saw her locked in Conan DeWitt’s arms. He was pulling her toward the cliff. There was no horse in sight. Dear God, he was going to kill both of them.
“DeWitt, let her go!”
The man turned to face him, Evangeline held tightly against his side.
“Fight me, you puling coward. Let her go.” Suddenly, in that instant when DeWitt was distracted, Evangeline brought her knee up and struck him in the groin. He yelled, and his hold loosened. She jerked away from him, stumbled on a rock, and went flying forward, flailing the air to keep her balance. DeWitt twisted around, saw her falling toward the cliff edge. He was on her then, his hands outstretched. Only she didn’t stay standing. She fell to her hands and knees, and when he struck out at her, she fell flat on her stomach. Conan DeWitt went flying over her back, screaming.
When the duke reached her, she was standing, looking over the cliff to the beach below. He stood behind her, looking down. Slowly, all the men came forward, looking over the cliff down to the beach.
Conan DeWitt lay on his back, his black greatcoat spread out about his body like huge wings. It was then that the duke saw a boat being rowed frantically away from the dock.
He hadn’t been going to kill her. He was going to take her to France.
He gathered her against him. “It’s over now,” he said against her hair. “It’s over. DeWitt’s dead.” He was rubbing his hands over her shoulders, up and down her back. His hands were trembling. He was so filled with relief that for a moment he couldn’t speak.
She slowly raised her face, and he saw that her pupils were nearly black. “You came,” she said. “You came. I knew he was going to kill me. I saw the boat come in, you see, and I saw there was only enough room for one more. He didn’t want me for a hostage. He just wanted to kill me. He kept pushing me closer and closer to the cliff edge, and the path wasn’t even near here.” Suddenly, her arms were around his back. She was panting, her eyes wild. “I didn’t want to die. Oh, God, I just found you, I didn’t want to leave you.” Still he had no words. He simply held her, feeling her heart beating against his.
“After I kicked him, I just wanted to run, but I tripped and fell. Then he fell over me.”