25. Chapter 25
Kitty doubted whether anyone in the household had passed a restful night. It had taken her hours to fall asleep as the events of the day swirled around in her mind. How had Mr Jenkin fallen over the edge of the cliff? What part had William played? How could Laura have deceived them so cruelly?
At last, peace had settled over her heart like a blanket, allowing her to rest, as she reached the conclusion that William was innocent. Though the circumstantial evidence was strong, what motivation did he have for killing the riding officer? At worst, it was a terrible accident.
After a solitary breakfast, she went in search of her absent friends. Not Hugh, of course. She didn’t count him in their number. In truth, she wished she never had to see him again.
Kitty’s first port of call was Laura’s room. Her gentle knock was answered by Sutton, who ushered her inside.
“She won’t leave him, miss. Nor eat nor drink. I don’t believe she’s slept a wink, poor dear.” The maid wrung her hands together. “Her heart is breaking, and there’s nothing I can do. To think she might be widowed—”
“I know you share your mistress’s distress, but it will not help her to hear your fears, Sutton. Why don’t you fetch some of the chamomile tea she finds so soothing?”
“Oh yes. That would be just the thing.” She bobbed a curtsey and hurried out the door.
Kitty drew up a chair and sat beside her friend. “How is he?”
“He hasn’t woken up yet. I don’t know if he ever will…”
“How long have you been married?”
“Since the day after my birthday,” Laura said, wiping away a tear.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I couldn’t risk my father finding out.
I knew Papa would be furious when he learned of our marriage, and I was right.
You heard him last night, ranting at me even while my husband lay dying. That’s why we wed in secret.”
“But why did you say you were in love with Lord Droxford?”
Laura screwed up her nose. “I never said anything of the sort.”
“Yes, you did. Yesterday.”
“Oh no. You misunderstood. I was talking about David, not the Viscount.”
Kitty reviewed the conversation in her mind. No names had been spoken, but she’d been so sure they’d been speaking of William. “You said you feared the man didn’t love you, whereas anyone could see that Mr Jenkin was head over heels in love with you.”
“Everyone except me. After we wed, David begged me to stay here because he was closing in on the person who was helping the prisoners of war escape, but I didn’t want to.
We had a terrible argument. I thought he didn’t care, but then you encouraged me to tell him how I felt. Sutton let him know where to find me—”
“And I told Lord Droxford.” Oh heavens. What had she done?
“If my father hadn’t been so desperate for me to marry his lordship, he would never have kissed me, and David wouldn’t have lost his temper and ended up like this.”
Kitty’s breath hiccupped. William had kissed Laura? Before he had proposed. Not the action of an indifferent man. Had he been lying to her, claiming he didn’t care about her friend?
Laura blinked back the tears. “It was my fault he tried to kiss me. The look I sent him invited it. I wanted to make David jealous, so he would take me away from all this. I didn’t expect them to fight over me.”
Kitty’s breathing returned to normal. No, he hadn’t deceived her. Poor William. He had been sucked into Laura’s plan and received the full measure of Mr Jenkin’s wrath. “That was badly done. It was not fair to your husband or the Viscount.”
“I know—and now Lord Droxford has hurt him and—”
“Do you believe his lordship is capable of that?”
“Maybe. If David told him I was his wife and Lord Droxford was desperate to marry me.”
It was past the time for secrets. Her friend needed to learn the truth about William’s feelings. “I can assure you he was not.”
Laura jerked her head around to face her. “He wasn’t? But he openly admired me. Flirted with me. I thought—”
“Did it never occur to you that your father was pressuring his lordship into the match as much as you? That all Lord Droxford ever wanted was to paint your portrait?”
“No.”
Poor Laura. It was a revelation that not every man adored her.
After a few moments, Kitty redirected her friend’s thoughts to the accident. “Do you still believe the Viscount pushed your husband over the edge of the cliff?”
“Not intentionally.”
Kitty heaved a sigh. “Then you admit he’s not a murderer.”
“Yes. I don’t think he tried to kill David. I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to accuse him of that yesterday. I was overwrought and hadn’t thought it through. It must have been an accident.”
That was a relief, but if Mr Jenkin died, others might be less ready to pass his death off as misadventure.
And there remained a more sinister possibility. That someone else had attempted to kill the riding officer. Though Kitty didn’t wish to worry her friend further, if that was true, Laura needed to be on her guard in case they tried again.
“There is a chance it was not accidental. That another person was involved. Someone who wanted your husband out of the way. Mr Jenkin must have made plenty of enemies in his line of work.”
Laura’s eyes grew large. “Too many. Papa always said David was too efficient for his own good. Perhaps he was right. Do you think they’ll try again?”
“They might. If they thought he was too much of a threat.”
“But he’s safe here, isn’t he?”
Blake’s face came to Kitty’s mind. She suspected him of being involved with the smugglers—but murder?
“While you are with him, he won’t come to any harm.” Beyond that, Kitty could not say.
Sutton interrupted their conversation as she bustled into the room with a pot of chamomile tea and poured her mistress a cup. “Would you like some too? It’s very soothing for the nerves.”
“No, thank you.” There was only one cure for Kitty’s anxiety. Proof of William’s innocence. She needed to discover how Mr Jenkin had ended up at the bottom of the cliff.
After a fruitless search for William in the house and gardens, Kitty wandered along the path to the ruins of St Andrew’s Church.
The old place of worship drew her back, whenever she had time, to the peace she found within its broken walls.
Despite the nip in the air, she felt the need to go there again today, to contemplate the current situation and to pray.
As she neared the first gravestone, Kitty could hear a man’s voice. William? She edged closer, keeping herself hidden, so she could withdraw unseen if she was wrong.
“I’m sorry, Lord. Forgive me.”
Kitty’s body turned to ice. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Was all her confidence misplaced? Was he confessing to the crime she’d been so sure he hadn’t committed?
Though it warmed her heart to hear him putting things right with God, the enormity of his confession overwhelmed her. Because if he had pushed Mr Jenkin over the edge, he was in love with Laura. Which meant he was not the man she believed him to be, but a liar. And a murderer…
“Kitty?”
William must have heard her approach. He was staring at her, beckoning her with the desperation in his eyes. Unwilling to face the truth, she longed to run away, but the connection between them drew her to his side, step by reluctant step, as if she were walking through a snowdrift.
“I didn’t do it. You believe me, don’t you?”
She wanted to. Desperately. “Don’t lie to me. I heard you say you were sorry.”
William gave her a wry grin. “For sparking the fight with Mr Jenkin by kissing his wife—not trying to kill him.”
A flicker of hope melted the ice inside her. He had not meant to hurt the man. But he was not entirely innocent, kissing a woman he wasn’t married to, whom he claimed not to care for. She admired him for admitting it, but it still rankled. “Why did you kiss her?”
“I thought she expected it, but then I wasn’t so sure as she moved at the last moment, so I only pecked her cheek. Not that Mr Jenkin seemed to notice. He stormed up like a jealous husband—which, it turned out, he was.”
“When did he tell you?”
“Not straightaway. I would have apologised at once if I had realised. I was horrified to discover I’d tried to kiss a married woman.
If he’d told me at the outset, I would never have fought back, but he wanted to keep their marriage secret even whilst protecting his wife’s virtue.
” He paused and asked in a quieter, more vulnerable voice, as he ran his fingers through his hair, “How is he? Will he live?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Leaving me no way to prove my innocence.”
“Laura no longer thinks you tried to kill him. She believes it was an accident. Was it?”
“No. Someone hit me over the head. When I awoke, Mr Jenkin was gone. I was about to go back to the house when his wife arrived, accusing me of murdering her husband.”
“Why didn’t you return to your room last night? A groom told me you slept in the stables.”
“I felt too wretched to face anyone. Especially you. When you wouldn’t let me proclaim my innocence yesterday, I was afraid you thought I was guilty.”
“I knew you had no motive to kill him, but an accident? Yes, I thought that’s what had happened. But if you say someone else was responsible, I trust your word.”
William’s fingers combed through his hair again.
“That’s a relief, but Mr Barrington believes it was a crime of passion.
Or at least, that’s what he wants me to think he believes.
I’m scared, Kitty. He can paint a convincing picture of my guilt if he chooses.
The desperation of a man who has lost the woman he loves to another. ”
“But why would he do that?”
“To force me to rely on him to extricate myself from the consequences if Mr Jenkin dies—and to marry the man’s widow out of gratitude.”
“No! He could not possibly—”
“Yes, he could. Revolting, isn’t it?”
It was more disturbing than she cared to admit. To think she had considered marrying such a heartless man, even for a moment!
“What am I going to do if Mr Jenkin never wakes up, Kitty?”