She exhaled her pent-up breath in an awed gasp. “Are the jewels inside?”
He loosened the drawstring top and their heads bumped as they both looked into the bag. Even the gray mist couldn’t dull the sparkling glitter of the contents. Reaching in with an unsteady hand, she reverently lifted the first thing she touched-an exquisite strand of creamy pearls. Delving back in, she lifted an emerald necklace, tangled with a sapphire bracelet.
She tilted her hand so the jewels slid back into the bag then looked at Nathan. “Even though I’m seeing this with my own eyes, I can scarcely believe it.”
“Neither can I. But we can dwell on that later.” He pulled the drawstring closed, then tucked the cache under his arm. “Let’s gather our things and get out of here.”
While Nathan hastily shoved the hammers and chisels into the tool bag, Victoria scanned the ground for her rock-filled reticule. Spying it several feet away, near Nathan’s feet, she was about to reach for it when a familiar voice behind her said, “Victoria.”
Before she could so much as blink, she found herself shoved behind Nathan, who held his small pistol in front of him.
“Nathan, stop!” Victoria cried, darting around him. “Father,” she said, staring in stunned amazement at the gray-haired man standing a dozen feet away. Before she could utter another sound, a shot rent the air.
Victoria watched in horror as her father crumpled facedown to the ground.
Twenty-one
Today’s Modern Woman must realize that not every love affair will have a happy ending.
A Ladies’ Guide to the Pursuit of
Personal Happiness and Intimate Fulfillment
by Charles Brightmore
Nathan was aware of Victoria dashing to her father, falling to her knees beside him, but his attention was riveted on the wooded area beyond the ruined cottage. A slight movement behind a thick tree trunk alerted him. Dropping to one knee to make himself a smaller target, he aimed his pistol at the tree. “Stay down, Victoria,” he ordered in a low voice.
“Drop your weapon, Nathan.” The command came from behind the tree. For an instant Nathan froze at that familiar voice. Then white-hot anger and betrayal shot through him. You bastard. Before he could reply, the voice continued, “I have a pistol aimed right at her head. If she moves, I’ll kill her. If you don’t follow my directions to the letter, I’ll kill her. Now set your pistol on the ground and push it away.”
Nathan’s gaze flicked to Victoria, who was pressing the hem of her gown against her father’s bleeding wound. She looked up at Nathan with wet, horrified eyes. “Keep as much pressure on his wound as you can,” Nathan said in a terse undertone, “but don’t move.”
Moving slowly so as not to be perceived as making any sudden moves, Nathan set his pistol on the ground then shoved it aside.
“Good,” came the voice. “Now do the same with the knife in your boot. Don’t bother to pretend you do not have it, especially as I’m the one who gave it to you. For your birthday five years ago, as I recall.”
Nathan slid the knife from his boot and shoved it aside.
“Now stand up and put your hands on your head.”
After he’d obeyed, Nathan said in a mocking voice, “Brave enough to show yourself now?”
Nathan remained still as a statue, his gaze burning into the man who stepped out from behind the tree. Holding a pistol in one hand, his other hand resting on the hilt of a sheathed knife tucked into the waistband of his breeches, Gordon approached.
“Very kind of you to locate the jewels for me, Nathan,” Gordon said in a conversational tone, his gaze flicking down to the worn leather sack at Nathan’s feet. “I knew if I followed you, you’d eventually lead me to them. You cannot imagine what an inconvenience it’s been trying to locate them for the past three years.”
Nathan’s mind whirled. Damn it, he needed time, a diversion, yet if there was any hope of saving Lord Wexhall, he couldn’t stall for long. “You betrayed us three years ago,” Nathan sneered. “Why? Why risk everything when you already had everything?”
Stark hatred burned in Gordon’s eyes. “Everything? I had nothing. My father had gambled away everything-my entire inheritance-except the entailed property. He left me with a half-dozen homes I couldn’t afford to maintain and that I couldn’t sell due to the entailments. I needed money-a lot of money-and quickly.”
“Because of your greed, my brother could have been killed.”
Gordon’s face twisted. “Your brother was supposed to have been killed. And I was only supposed to have been grazed.”
Understanding dawned and Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “And I was supposed to remain uninjured, thus thrusting the guilt upon me. How much did you pay Baylor to betray the mission?”
“Too much. And the bastard ruined everything. He got away with my money and the jewels. Once I recovered from my gunshot wound, I searched everywhere for him. I’d given up hope of ever finding him or the jewels until you showed up. When I learned Wexhall was sending his daughter to Cornwall, I knew something was afoot.”
“You searched Lady Victoria’s belongings.”
“Yes. Sadly, I didn’t find what I was looking for.”
“And you hired that thug who robbed us in the woods.”
Gordon chuckled. “Very clever of you, Nathan, having a false note with you. Clever, but exceedingly annoying. I wasted a week chasing false clues.”
Nathan’s gaze shifted briefly toward Victoria, who stared at him through solemn eyes. “That bastard you hired nearly killed Lady Victoria.”
Unfortunately, Gordon didn’t follow his gaze, as Nathan had hoped he would. “If it makes you feel any better, he’ll never hurt anyone again.”
“A tremendous load off my mind,” Nathan murmured. “You cannot possibly hope to get away with this.”
“On the contrary, I’m confident I shall. No one will gainsay the word of the Earl of Alwyck.”
“I will.”
An unpleasant smile curved Gordon’s lips. “Dead men can’t tell tales, Nathan. Now give me the jewels.”
“If you’re going to kill me anyway, why should I?”
“Because if you do as I say, I’ll allow your father to live. If not, I fear he shall meet with a tragic accident. Now pick up the jewels very slowly and toss them to me. After you do, your hands go back on top of your head. You’ll have one chance to make a nice, gentle toss I can catch. If you fail, Lady Victoria will have drawn her last breath.”
Nathan picked up the leather satchel and nimbly tossed it to Gordon, who caught it in his free hand. He lifted the cache up and down several times, testing its weight, and a slow smile curved his lips. “Finally,” he said. “And now-”
“There was no need to shoot Lord Wexhall,” Nathan said quickly, clasping his hands on his head.
A look of utter disgust passed over Gordon’s features. “He got exactly what he deserved. God only knows what he was doing here today. Looking out for you, no doubt. You always were his favorite of the three of us. Never understood why. Never understood why he gave you the chance to recover the jewels.”
Nathan shrugged. “He thought I could use the money. If he’d known your financial difficulties, I’m sure he would have given you the opportunity.”
“It makes no difference now. I have the jewels.”
Nathan flicked his gaze toward the ground. “Um, yes. Yes, you do.” He made a tiny sideways kick with the toe of his boot.