The Wild Baron (Baron 1)

“You know that we did. It provided the clue to find the cask.”

“I knew when I saw the three of you coming out of Bishop Roundtree’s house, trying to look as if you’d found nothing at all. It amused me because none of you could prevent the excitement from bubbling out of you. You found the other half of the map as well?”

“Yes, it was in the book,” Rohan said.

“But I had the other half. How did you manage?”

“I drew it on another piece of paper,” Susannah said.

“So you have uses other than the obvious ones. Hand me the cask now, Susannah.”

“Wait,” Rohan said. “Just a moment, Tibolt. Tell us now, just what is this Devil’s Vessel? How does it come by its power? What is the bloody thing?”

“I told Susannah about its power. With it, I will rule the world. I will live forever. I will be as a god. There is nothing more to tell you.”

“Yes,” Phillip said, “there is. What is it?”

Tibolt laughed. “You will see soon enough if the vessel is indeed what I believe it to be.”

“Where is Theodore Micah?”

“He is waiting for me in the cathedral. He is keeping a watch.”

“Once I give you the cask, what will you do?”

He looked down at Susannah. “I won’t kill you, though you’re worth little enough. As for you, my brother, no matter that you’re as lecherous, as filthy and perverted as our parents. But no, I am a man of God. I won’t kill any of you.”

Phillip took another very small step. Now he and Rohan were in a half circle around Tibolt.

“Enough, dammit. Give me the cask, Susannah. Be very careful with it. It’s older than anything one can begin to imagine.”

Very slowly, Susannah picked up the cask. She was terrified that it would crumble in her hands, but it didn’t. It was heavy. She took the two steps to Tibolt.

“You can’t take it. You don’t have a free hand.”

He realized she was right. She would have sworn that he flushed. “Take it beyond me and set it on the ground. Soon you will see the Devil’s Vessel.”

Tibolt handed Susannah the watch chain. “Here is the key. Open it, Susannah. Don’t try to be a heroine or I will shoot your husband.”

“He is also your brother.”

“I won’t kill him, but I will shoot him in the knee. He will never walk again. Perhaps some of his dozens of women will even remove themselves. Who knows?”

She took the chain from him. The tiny gold key felt very warm in her fingers. She was pleased that her hand wasn’t shaking. She was scared to death. How to stop him? What to do? She saw that Rohan and Phillip were well separated now. But still, if one of them managed to get to him, he would be able to shoot the other.

“I need more light,” she said after a moment of running her fingers over the thick bar of wood that held the cask together. “I can’t find the hole for the key.”

Tibolt moved beside her. He leaned down and placed his single candle on the ground. She watched his fingers move slowly over the thick wooden bar. He didn’t find the hole either. He sighed. “Everything is difficult in life. I am only twenty-four, and yet I have already learned that.”

“Wait until I find you,” Rohan said easily, “and then you will truly come to comprehend how difficult life can be.”

“The philanderer speaks. A threat. Ah, yes, I know that you are a noted member of Gentleman Jackson’s salon, that few want to take you on in the ring for fear of having their jaws broken or their teeth knocked out. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that you’ve shot some husbands after you’ve seduced their wives.”

“Is this truly what you think of me, Tibolt?”

Tibolt shrugged. “You are like our parents. They are immoral, wicked. The old man died, but she lives on. Ah, I have found it. The bar is simply a decoration. The keyhole is right here, at the juncture where the cask slopes up.” He looked away just for a moment.

Susannah lunged upward, throwing herself at him, knocking him onto his back, both her hands grasping at the hand that held the gun.