Chapter Sixteen
Good God, I truly might die in this wretched place.
Meeting his demise in a poultry house was not how he wanted Mary to remember him. As the flames ignited the chicken nests and a wall of heat surrounded him, Gabriel couldn’t help but think about everyone he’d leave behind: the wife he adored, the second family he’d started and desperately loved, his firstborn son who’d only today married the love of his own life.
I can’t give up.
As a small flame jumped from the wall to find the trail of whale oil that led to his boots, Gabriel made certain to stamp it out as best he could though it was difficult with his legs bound to the post. Sweat broke out on his forehead and upper lip. It rolled down his spine. The terrified squawks from the chickens grew deafening. His only hope now was if a passing servant heard the commotion inside and came to investigate or someone noted the smoke from the fire.
For that matter, had anyone missed his presence at the breakfast? No doubt Mary would have, but by the time she put together the pieces of the case then went looking for him, would she find him in time?
Come on, sweeting. I know you can do this. I’ve never met a woman quite like you.
Thick smoke filled the interior of the poultry house. It stung his eyes, and the tears streamed down his face. It filled his throat and lungs to the point that coughing didn’t help. No matter how much he scraped the ropes around his wrists against the post, the fibers only frayed a bit, not enough to help. As he coughed, Gabriel yanked at the post in the hopes it might come away from the ceiling. Unfortunately, it had been well placed and didn’t budge.
As darkness flirted with the edges of his vision and his lungs ached with each breath he drew, the door flew open with such force that the wooden panel smashed against the wall. Terrified shrieks from chickens followed, and some of the poultry nearest to the opening rushed out of the building with the mad flapping of wings.
As he peered through the heavy smoke, surprise smacked into him as the Earl of Kendrick rushed into the building with an axe in hand. “Kendrick?” What the hell was this, then? “What are you doing here?”
“Saving your arse, Inspector. Mary sent me.” With a few coughs of his own, he dashed to the wooden post and slipped behind Gabriel. “We’ll need to do this quickly. The whole place is nearly engulfed.”
The muscles in his arms and legs twitched in a warning that they would soon give out. Then seconds later, the earl chopped at the ropes that bound his arms to the wooden post. A modicum of relief went into his limbs, but they were still tied behind his back. Then the ropes that held his legs to the post were chopped away, and because his strength was almost gone, he slumped to the floor.
“Oomph!” He fell onto his side, but since every portion of his form ached for some reason or another, he barely felt the impact. At least this low to the ground, the air was partially clearer, and he greedily tried to fill his lungs with it.
“Easy, Inspector.” Kendrick tossed the axe away. Seconds later, he yanked Gabriel off the floor and half-carried, half-dragged him out of the poultry house.
“Where is Mary?” His throat was so parched, the words sounded like a rusty gate.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. It’s something you’ll need to witness yourself.” The earl continued walking until they’d cleared the burning outbuilding by a large margin. When he dumped Gabriel onto the cool spring grass, he dropped to his knees beside him. “Look there.” He pointed, and with a moan, Gabriel turned his head, focused his blurry gaze on a scene about thirty yards away.
“Damn.” For the moment, all he saw was the purple smudge of Mary’s gown, but as his vision cleared of the smoke and became sharper, the scene that met his eyes was truly unbelievable. “She is taking on Forsythe by herself?”
“I told you.” Amusement wove through the earl’s voice. “Her dander is well and truly up. Once we searched the house, we conducted an intense search of the outbuildings. Only then did we see the smoke at the same time Mr. Forsythe was slinking across the lawn toward the terrace.”
“She solved the case, didn’t she?” Never had he been more proud of his wife.
“More or less. At least she knew who the killer might be and that you were in terrible danger from him. When we couldn’t locate you but had a feeling you were with the smoke, she launched herself at the man like an outraged mama tiger. When I offered to help, she had some choice words for me, called me a nodcock if I didn’t get my arse into the poultry house to rescue you.”
“God, I’m sorry I missed that. She has quite the independence streak.” And when she thought someone was hurting those she cared for, there was nowhere for a criminal to hide from her wrath. Since he was on his side anyway, he maneuvered himself so that his back faced the earl. “Untie my wrists if you please. I’d rather not collapse in a heap like this.”
“You look like a dog’s breakfast, if you want the truth of the matter,” Kendrick said as he began work on the ropes. “What the devil happened in that place?”
“Other than finding myself on the wrong end of a madman’s knife?” When the ropes about his wrists finally popped free, he groaned from the unexpected sensation, then quickly sat up to massage his abused skin that had nearly been rubbed raw. “I don’t know if I’d say Mr. Forsythe is fully deranged, but I do think he let his thirst for revenge and his skewed views get jumbled in his head until they pushed him into doing horrid things.”
“So I have had cause to witness.” Kendrick watched as Gabriel released the rope from his ankles. “I’m just glad I arrived in time to see you safe. I owed you that.”
He snorted. “You owe me nothing, Kendrick. I merely did my job, but I’m thankful the ordeal is over and that you are safe. As well as Robert.” It would have been more of a tragedy if there were more deaths surrounding what was a day of celebration.
“I’ll wager you have no idea how grateful I am for you and your wife.”
“Do stop, Your Lordship.” Knowing he wasn’t strong enough to stand and with the urge to still cast up his accounts lingering in his belly, he sat on the cool grass with his knees bent and his forearms resting on them. Soot marred his skin, and his body ached seemingly everywhere, but he hadn’t perished in a chicken fire.
That was something.
As he tried to draw air into his lungs without hacking, he watched his wife as she straddled the unfortunate Mr. Forsythe and proceeded to beat his head, chest, and shoulders with her fists. Too far away to hear what she said, he could only imagine it wasn’t good. The younger man would do well to heed his words, for once the constable and judge found out what he’d done, Mary would seem like heaven.
“He’s going back to Newgate, but this time he’ll stay there, and no doubt hang for what he’s done.” Gabriel glanced at the man beside him. “Make certain you live the remainder of your life in a way that reflects what you’ve learned and will honor your convictions.”
“I will. Thank you, Inspector.” The earl’s expression was grim. “When I think of how close I came to death when I wasn’t even aware someone hated me merely due to my birthright…” His body rocked with a shudder. “I’ll work to make the world around me better, I can promise you that.”
“Good man.” The sound of the poultry house walls crashing down from the fire arrested his attention. Cries of urgency came from a bevy of grooms and other male servants as they rushed to the scene with buckets of water. With a sigh, Gabriel nodded. “As for me, I can’t wait to go home to London. This trip to the country has been anything but relaxing.”
Kendrick chuckled. He rested a light hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “I rather enjoy your company, Inspector. When we are all settled in Town, feel free to call on me, have dinner with me and my mother. I don’t want to lose touch.”
“I’ll do that.” Then he only had eyes for Mary, who had apparently finished taking Mr. Forsythe to task and was now walking toward them at a brisk pace.
Kendrick scrambled to his feet. “I’m sure you’ll want a private word with your wife. I’ll go and tell everyone at the breakfast what happened. It will be a large relief to everyone involved and will mean the ball tonight will be even more of a celebration.”
“Thank you for the rescue.” Gabriel offered a hand, which the young earl shook.
“Anything for you, Inspector.” Then Kendrick departed just as Mary dropped to her knees beside him.
Her hands were red and a few of her knuckles were bloodied from her contretemps with Mr. Forsythe. Dirt and grime marred the skirting of her beautiful gown. Locks of her blonde hair had escaped their pins and tumbled down around her shoulders. But her eyes. Dear God, her lake blue eyes were filled with tears and so many emotions he couldn’t read them all, and as she met his gaze, those drops rolled to her cheeks.
“Good heavens, Gabriel. You look a fright. Are you all right?” Before he could utter a word, she threw herself into his arms with such force that they both sprawled on the grass in a tangle of limbs. “I thought I’d truly lost you this time.” The statement was muffled, for she had burrowed her face into the crook of his shoulder.
Of course he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, because he’d honestly thought he’d never have the chance again. “Thankfully, Kendrick found me in time. Thanks to you.” With a groan, he gently urged her off his body so he could wriggle into a sitting position. “I knew you would solve this.”
“I only know bits and pieces, but I’m quite certain you truly solved the case.” She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “If we’d had another couple of hours, we would have both arrived at the same conclusion.”
“That is because we are excellent partners.” Moisture sprang into his own eyes, for he was so damned grateful to still be here. In a choked voice, he told her what had transpired in the poultry house, how he’d been taken to begin with.
She roved her gaze over his person. “When I couldn’t locate you and I knew Mr. Forsythe was most likely behind your absence, rage like I’ve never known before consumed me. In that moment, I was confident that I could drive a piano tuning fork through that man’s chest, but instead, I sent the earl after you while I took on the murderer myself.”
“I would have liked to have seen that.” Would there ever come a day when he wasn’t completely fascinated by her?
Her chuckle was a watery affair. “I think the man finally passed out because he wasn’t moving when I left him after Lord Titterford came over with Billings. He told me that they would take Mr. Forsythe into custody and keep him secured in one of the rooms in the annexed part of the house until the constable returned to the village.”
“That might take days or even weeks.” Suddenly, exhaustion swept over him, and every single wound he’d received this day demanded his attention. “Perhaps they would be better served by driving him to London and letting Bow Street take it from there.”
She nodded. “We should mention that to Titterford.” Then she once more threw herself into his arms, and this time he held her close to his abused chest and settled her in his lap despite the renewed pain. “Somehow, I don’t think you’ll be in dancing form tonight at the ball.”
“I don’t think so either.” Gabriel tried to laugh, but the effort hurt too much. “In fact, I’m feeling rather worse for wear at the moment, and I wouldn’t say no to a bath and a nap.” Perhaps a bit of laudanum, depending.
“Of course.” With care, Mary slowly gained her feet. “I wouldn’t mind a few hours’ rest as well. It has been quite a busy day.” Then she extended a hand to him. When he grasped hers, she helped him to stand. “But we have both survived, and that is the most important thing.”
“Indeed.” He slung an arm over her shoulders while she slipped one about his waist. “I want to go home to London more sooner than later. It is where our life is.”
“Agreed, but anywhere you and the children are is where my heart belongs.”
His heart squeezed, and a few tears fell to his cheeks. “I would kiss you but first, it would require more exertion than I currently have, and second, I’m quite grimy and I’ll wager that’s not attractive, and third, I’m in a considerable amount of pain.” Though he despised appearing so weak before her, this was life, and sometimes it was far too real and raw.
“There will be other times, but I will say it’s a shame we never got ‘round to finding scandal at the heart of that hedge maze.”
Though he chuckled, pain in his chest made him groan. “I love you. As always, there is nothing more to say.” At least the danger was now over.
Mary’s smile made him feel as if he could do anything. “I love you too, Bright. Thank you for another exciting case. It certainly rendered Henry’s wedding quite memorable.”
“It did, and he’ll have his whole life to embellish the tale to entertain his friends around the dinner table.” Slowly, they both walked in the direction of the terrace. “But let us both agree that our next trip should probably be to somewhere relaxing like Bath or Brighton. As much as I adore solving cases with you, I wouldn’t mind just sitting on a chair watching the sea for a bit.”
Her laughter was like the most potent balm. “Agreed, and we shall discuss plans for that after you’ve had time to recover and heal.”
With a nod, he pulled her close. How odd that life grew infinitely better when one had the right people in it, and he wouldn’t trade his family for anything. Titles and coin were one thing, but love was truly all one needed.