Chapter Eight
Where the devil is Mary?
More than an hour had passed since he’d parted ways with her in that sitting room. He’d shown Lady Parsington her son’s body in the icehouse, and once she’d departed, he examined the corpse once more to make certain he hadn’t missed anything the first time around. There was a signet ring on the man’s left pinky like the one Mary had discovered, but it only made him more curious as to why both twins would have one.
Along with that, he’d taken another peek at the stab wound on the young man’s chest. Indeed, there were two puncture marks in the flesh. However, he wasn’t certain that the tuning fork had played a large role in dispatching the unfortunate Edwin. As Mary had said earlier in the investigation, it would have taken great force to push the relatively blunt ends of the fork through layers of fabric then through the skin beneath in order to even reach vital organs. Oh, there had been blood loss from the wounds, of course, but the cause of death? Unlikely.
He’d also re-examined the back of Edwin’s head. That was a different story entirely, for there remained a large gash at the base of his skull, and he’d hit the edge or corner of a table with enough acceleration that it had managed to make an indent in the bone. No doubt the copious amount of blood loss had come from that wound. Had that fall severed the spinal cord within, or had the blow that broke bone also penetrated the brain, resulting in death?
That wasn’t in his purview, but the facts remained the facts. Edwin Rightenour had been murdered by persons unknown at this point, whether by stabbing or by a large enough push that resulted in a fatal fall. The ending was the same, and it was his duty to solve the puzzle.
However, he needed to consult with Mary about a few things he had further questions on, but she was nowhere to be found. Where the deuce had she wandered off to, then?
At half past their stated rendezvous time, knots of worry pulled in his gut. It wasn’t like her to ignore a planned meeting. Perhaps she’d decided to check on the children and had lost track of the time, especially if Charlie had questions.
After dashing upstairs to the schoolroom and finding his children content and engaged with learning letters and numbers, he pulled Miss Wright aside.
“How are the children this morning?”
“Doing wonderfully well, Inspector.” She shot him a puzzled glance. “Is there a concern I should be aware of?” The redhaired woman had been their governess for a few months now, but already she was an integral part of their family.
“I don’t believe so. However, did my wife come up here to spend time with Cassandra and Charlie? I’ve done a quick circuit through the manor and haven’t been able to locate her.” As he said the words aloud, more anxiety tugged through his gut.
“She hasn’t been here since breakfast, as is customary for her.” Worry creased the young woman’s brow. “Do you believe something foul has happened to her?”
“Oh, I doubt that. She’s probably chatting with some of the house party members, but I thought I would come up here and inquire.” He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring grin. “Will the children go on an outing this afternoon before tea?”
“We are going on an expedition to pick daffodils, snowdrops, and violets. The older ones will make posies for their mothers.” Delight reflected in the governess’ hazel eyes. “As long as the weather holds, it should be a lovely day.”
“I’m certain Mary will enthuse properly when she receives hers. Well, don’t let me keep you from your duties.” With a nod, he left the schoolroom and headed back down to the main level.
Though he wouldn’t admit it to the governess, he was worried. It wasn’t like her to be absent after making plans or promises.
When he came upon the butler, he waylaid him near the entry hall. “Billings, have you seen Mrs. Bright recently?”
“Not lately.” The older man frowned. “The last I heard from one of the footmen was that she’d wished to take in some sun on the rear terrace. Perhaps she decided to walk the property?”
“I’ll do some reconnoitering. Thank you.” Then he frowned. “On that note, is there anyone missing from the house party that you find strange?”
The butler narrowed his eyes, but eventually he shook his head. “Not that I’m aware, but would you like for me to do a silent head count?”
“No, that’s not necessary.” Gabriel held up a hand. “I’m sure my wife has merely lost track of the time if something captured her imagination.”
“Good luck, Inspector.”
Had Mary run afoul of someone connected to the case or had she truly immersed herself in something more interesting than meeting with him? His chest tightened and a thin ribbon of fear twisted up his spine. Was she even now in danger and alone? If that were the case, he would tear the estate apart and wouldn’t stop until he’d found her.
It took him nearly an hour to search the manor from top to bottom, but he did it in such a manner that no one knew he was growing more frantic with each footstep. Anyone he came into contact, he greeted as if nothing was wrong, and every once in a while, he asked if they’d seen his wife this morning. The answer was always the same. Mrs. Bright hadn’t made an appearance there.
In short, Mary wasn’t to be found. Anywhere.
So many emotions crashed together in his chest as he burst outside. The skies were becoming overcast, and the sunshine of the early morning rapidly fled the area ahead of gray and swollen rainclouds. As he stood on the wide rear terrace, a bevy of young ladies hurried into the house. No doubt they didn’t wish to get rained upon. To be fair, luncheon would be served soon as well.
“Mary!” Perhaps it was ridiculous to shout into the air, and he didn’t expect an answer, for if she were that close, she would have already made an appearance.
Just as he did with the manor, he conducted a detailed search of the property, which included outbuildings. In a systematic fashion, he started with the coach house, which was where the estate’s carriages and coaches were stored and maintained. He even peered into each vehicle, hoping that he might find her there, but he was disappointed in that.
Next, he moved to the dairy. It was a cool, well-ventilated building for storing and processing milk, and featured large stone shelves as well as a churning area. A couple of maids were inside, but he flashed them a disarming smile and said he was in search of his wife. Neither of them had seen her. After that, he moved past the sturdy enclosure of a pigsty. Separate areas for feeding and sleeping were housed in a stone building.
The poultry house and gardener’s shed were both devoid of human occupation, as were the wood store, where firewood was kept on a raised floor for air circulation and the ice house… with the exception of Edwin Rightenour’s body.
Mary was nowhere to be found.
Cold fear was a constant companion as he made his way to last outbuilding on the property—the laundry room. Located a hundred yards from the main house, it was the place where the maids and housekeeper washed clothing and bedding; it contained large tubs and drying racks. Small, square, leaded-glass windows high up on the stone walls let in dim illumination from the overcast day, but the light didn’t penetrate the shadows of the large room. He met no servants as he entered the stone building. All the tubs had been drained of water, so clearly today wasn’t a washing day. A stout oak table off to one side held no folded garments, but a couple of willow baskets waited with bars of soap or a collection of clean rags.
Just as he was about to go out of the building, a faint sound of fabric rustling filtered to his ears. Perhaps a garment had fallen from one of the drying racks. When he went deeper into the space, moving between wash tubs, his gaze fell to one of the shadowy areas at the back of the room where a drying rack stood, partially obscured by a handful of sheets that hung from the wooden arms.
The moment he shoved aside the rack, he gasped. “Mary!” His wife sat huddled on the floor with her back to the wall, fear and determination in her eyes. With her hands behind her back, bound with the same rope that tied her ankles, she immediately grew animated when she saw him. The rag stuffed in her mouth had been secured with another strip of cloth. “Good God.”
At least she was alive. Bending down, Gabriel scooped her up into his arms. Once he’d carried her over to the table, he planted her arse on that strong piece of furniture then he worked to free her limbs from the bindings. Finally, as the ropes fell away, he wrenched the gag from her head and mouth and then held her head between his hands .
“Are you hurt?” he asked as he peered into her lake-blue eyes, explored her head beneath her disheveled blonde hair. “What happened?”
“My head hurts a bit, but I’ve felt worse.” She clutched at his arms. Tears filled her eyes. “I went out onto the terrace because I wanted to enjoy the sun on my face; I knew it would rain soon.”
“I looked everywhere for you. All over the manor and the property. This was my last stop.” When his fingers encountered a bump at the back of her head and came away with a faint trace of sticky blood on his gloves, his chest squeezed as white-hot anger filled it. “Who did this to you?”
“The attacker was behind me. I never heard them approach. All I felt was a blow to the base of my skull and then I crumpled into darkness. When I awoke, I was here, and bound.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I wish I could tell you that I wasn’t frightened, but I was, and I also knew that you would come. Eventually.”
Emotions battered his form. Questions bubbled through his mind, but the overwhelming feeling was love. Quickly, he removed his gloves and tossed them to the floor. “I will always move heaven and earth to get to you.”
“I know, and that is one reason I fell for you.” Her voice broke and the sound slammed into his person. “I was alone and forgotten for hours—”
“Never forgotten, sweeting.”
“Ironic that the only way we can find ourselves alone is for me to become the victim of an attack and short-lived kidnapping.”
“I would have found you, no matter where you were taken.” When she tugged on his cravat, Gabriel followed her hint, for how could he not? She was his everything. “You are back with me, and I’ve never loved you more.” Encouraging her off the table, he took her into his arms then lowered his head and claimed her mouth in a hard, determined kiss that he hoped would convey how he felt.
Mary slipped her hands up his chest to clutch his shoulders. When she stood on her toes to kiss him back, a moan escaped them both, for he pulled her flush to his body, and his length twitched with appreciation and demand; there was no way she couldn’t have felt that.
“Gabriel…”
“Hmm?” He broke the kiss merely to drag his lips along the column of her throat. Damn, but he couldn’t have enough of her, wanted to show her how much he valued her, that he would always protect her.
“Do you remember how aroused and needful we both were last October in that illegal pleasure spa?” As she spoke, she glided her fingers down his arms then back to his chest where she worked the silver buttons on his jacket from their holes.
“Yes. Why? ”
“I feel that way right now, as well as grateful to be alive, and…” Her words died as she stared at him with moisture-spiked lashes, her eyes dark green pools. “I need an outlet for all of these feelings.”
“Oh?” His eyebrows soared while desire quickened in his veins. “I can help with that. Right here, right now.” It was as good a place as any. “And we’re alone, as you said.”
“We are.” Her swallow was audible.
“What of your head? I don’t wish to make it ache more terribly, for we can do this another time.”
“No.” She shook her head so hard, a lock of hair escaped its pins. “I am well enough, and I want you. Send me flying, Gabriel. You know how I like it.”
“I do.” He cupped her cheek and wiped at the tears lingering there. “I also promise that I’ll find out who did this to you, and God help them, for my wrath will not be pleasant.”
“Ordinarily, I’d chastise you for wishing violence on someone, but in this instance, I think it’s fair. If I’d been hit harder, or dumped somewhere else…” She nuzzled into his palm as a shiver wracked her body.
“Don’t think about that. You are safe now.” Not wishing to show her how frightened he’d been, Gabriel drew the pad of his thumb along her lower lip, then brushed his lips over hers. “No one else will hurt you.”
“You can’t guarantee that, but I understand the need for the sentiment,” she said in a barely-there whisper. “If there is one thing I’m certain of, you will always be there to catch me if I fall, will always be there to fight off my enemies.”
“I do try. That’s what love is.”
“Gabriel…” She looked so lost that his protective instincts welled. “I need you so that I can feel myself again, to remove this clinging fear from my mind.”
There was only so much willpower a man could tap into before he broke. Gabriel crushed his lips to hers in a savage kiss that told her in no uncertain terms he wanted her and everything they would be together. By the time they wrenched apart, they were both breathless. He sought her gaze with his. “When I couldn’t find you, I nearly went out of my mind; you are my world, Mary.” In the end, perhaps vulnerability wasn’t a weakness, for it brought them closer.
“And you are mine. I love our children, but I have loved you first, and once they are grown, I will still have you.” She tugged his shirttail from his trousers and then shoved her hands beneath his shirt and waistcoat. The heat of her seared his skin, ignited his blood. His body caught fire and was fueled by the stark want in her blue eyes. “Together, there is nothing that will stop us.”
“Ah, sweeting.” Never could he resist her. Gabriel embraced her, kissed her hard so there were no doubts of how much he loved her. Over and over, he devoured her mouth as if she’d be instantly ripped from his life. She did the same, gave as good as she got, and soon they were panting, hands searching, fingers trailing over familiar skin, lost to the heat between them.
As desire overrode common sense—after all, they could be discovered at any moment—he lifted her, and once more deposited her onto the worktable. “Are you certain you want to do this here?”
“Yes.” She tugged him closer with a half-crazed light in her eyes. “We have been dancing around this meeting for days. I want no more interruptions.”
Her words, her need, fed his ego and fired his own want as he settled between her naturally splayed legs. In short order, he had the bodice of her walking dress yanked downward, and when her beautiful breasts were bared from the fabric, he uttered a possessive growl. Never would he tire of seeing those charms. With a hand at her back, he pleasured those pale globes, sucking the hard nubs of her nipples.
Already, urgency shot through his engorged shaft, for the teasing and looks of longing between them for the past few days had him nearly at frayed edges. Still, he tortured those pebbled points, rolled them from the root to the tips, and then once more took them, one by one, into his mouth to tease her with his tongue. Her soft cries of enjoyment spurred him onward, and by the time she reached for his frontfalls, his length was aroused to the point of pain. As his member sprang from his breeches, he paused long enough to appreciate his wife in all her glory. Skin flushed, legs parted, dress rucked up to her hips, eyes shining; she looked the part of a woman far gone in desire, and truly he'd never seen a more gorgeous sight.
“I would venture to say that age hasn’t made this act dim for us, hmm?”
“Of course not. We aren’t that ancient, and there is no rule that seasoned couples such as us cannot enjoy carnal play.” As she spoke, Mary took his equipage in her hand, curled her fingers around his shaft, and began to stroke him.
Oh, God.
“There is no one equal to you, love. Every day I am so damned lucky to wake up and know that not only are you mine, but we share a wonderful life together.” He shoved up yards of her skirting. When she was bared to his gaze, he gripped her hips and brought her forward until she balanced on the edge of the table. As passion drove him, he kissed her, found her center with the tip of his member, and then thrust swiftly in until he was fully seated in her honeyed heat. “Ah, Mary,” he whispered against her lips.
It was like being welcomed home after long years away, except he’d just shared this with her a handful of days ago. There was no other way to explain how it felt each time he coupled with his wife.
“Gabriel… yes.” Mary clutched at his forearms as she moaned. Need mirrored in her eyes in the dull illumination from the windows. “Don’t hold back. I’ve needed this for days.”
He nodded. “As have I.” Then he moved.
His thrusts, frantic, hard, and deep, irrevocably joined them. At some point, he paused merely to enjoy the blissful sensations she created within him. Mary held his head between her hands, brought his forehead to hers, and kissed him like a woman desperate for the very air he breathed. He, of course, kissed her back. Never had the connection between them been stronger, and he promised himself that he wouldn’t let her out of his sight until after the case had been solved.
Then, he straightened as urgency compelled him to finish. “Damn, I’m sorry this session is so short; I’ve been primed for too long.” He held her hips, the outside of her thighs, in an effort to go as deep as he could, stroking again and again into this woman who he’d taken to wife nearly seven months ago, this woman who continually gave him reasons to be grateful.
All too soon his stones drew tight and hot pleasure rushed through his length while he thrust faster. As much as he wished to draw this coupling out, he simply wanted her far too much. When she broke with a cry upon her lips and tears in her eyes, he kissed her, taking most of the sound into himself as he fell into an intense release that left him shattered and sated. He ground his pelvis into hers to prolong the joyous sensations, but the act was over, and he wasn’t ready to let her go. However, after connecting with her in this manner, his mind had cleared from some of the cobwebs made by the case, and he was ready to continue.
“I can never decide if I enjoy the fast, intense couplings or the slow, soulful joinings more,” she said in a breathless voice.
“There is time for each as we go through life.” His limbs shook as she clung to him. Keeping his arms firmly around her, he kissed her forehead that was damp with sweat, and held her to him until their breathing evened.
Eventually, she stirred. “Thank you for that.” When she peered up into his face, their gazes connected. “I knew you would come.”
“I always do when carnal play with you is involved,” he quipped with a wink, laughing when she gave his shoulder a mock punch. “But I know to what you referred.” Slipping one of his hands to the back of her head, he asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Some of the pain has eased, or else I’ve forgotten it in favor of more pleasant things.” Then she worked to tug her bodice back into place. “I should have paid more attention to my surroundings. You’ve reminded me of that time out of hand.”
“It has been a busy week full of worries, and your mind was no doubt going over interviews and clues. Don’t fret about it.” He stuffed his flagging length back into his breeches and quickly did up the buttons. “I’ve found myself doing it too.” Once finished with his clothing, he assisted her down from the table. “Did your attacker say anything before knocking you out?”
Slowly, she nodded. “In a growly sort of voice, the person told me that if you and I continued to investigate Rightenour’s death, I wouldn’t be so fortunate the next time. That his death has nothing to do with us.”
Anger once more filled his chest. “There will not be a next time. Also, I’m certain your attacker must have been a man, for a woman wouldn’t be able to carry or even drag your dead weight from the terrace all the way out here without being seen. I didn’t see marks in the grass or along the gravel path that indicated anything had been forced this way.”
“Perhaps you’re correct. The ropes that bound me were tied rather tight. Not that a woman couldn’t have accomplished that.” Then she gasped. “Was it the murderer? The person who’d shoved a piano tuning fork into Edwin’s chest?”
“We don’t know that for a fact.” Though he could hazard a guess it was probably true. “I examined the body after the viscountess said her goodbyes. I’m not convinced Edwin fell on top of the fork; it had to have been pushed into his chest, but I doubt it was the cause of death.”
Her eyes rounded. “The blow to his head was.”
“Indeed. The trouble is, we still have too many suspects, and two of those people are the nuptial couple.” Gabriel shook his head. “Our extended time is running out. If we don’t solve this, it might be the constable who gives a cursory glance at our evidence and takes Priscilla or Henry into custody. Married or not.”
“We will solve this.” Mary took one of his hands in hers. “Don’t we always?”
“Yes, we do. Thank you for the reminder.” He led the way out of the laundry house. “I’m famished. What do you say to luncheon?”
“I’m in agreement, but I’d like to at least wash the blood out of my hair and perhaps beg a salve from the housekeeper.”
“Of course.” After he closed the door behind them, he slipped an arm about her waist. “Ah, Mary, we do manage to have fun together, don’t we?”
“I can do without being hit on the head, but otherwise, yes.” She flashed him a smile. “I wouldn’t trade this life for any other. ”
“Neither would I.” While they walked toward the manor, he said, “By the by, Vivian is with child once more. It’s come as quite the shock, but I think she and Francis will be delightful parents this time around.”
Fate was certainly a fickle mistress with an odd sense of humor, and he grinned as he and Mary had a lively discussion about that.