Rushton sidestepped the mallet. It clattered against the stone wall of the cave. He turned swiftly to aim the pistol once more and his finger began to squeeze on the trigger.
"Rushton." Gideon's voice roared through the cavern, ricocheting off the walls.
Rushton whirled around and fired the pistol in one motion. Gideon had already stepped back into the passage, putting the cavern wall briefly between himself and the bullet.
"Gideon," Harriet shouted.
The bullet struck rock, shattering a section of stone on the wall of the cave. Even as the debris crashed to the floor, Gideon launched himself through the entrance and collided with Rushton.
Both men went down with a sickening thud and rolled together on the stone floor. Harriet watched in horror as Rushton's groping hand found the chisel she had dropped.
Rushton raised the chisel in his fist as Gideon fell on top of him.
"I will kill you the way I killed your brother. You were supposed to marry my Deirdre. It is all ruined." Rushton screamed with rage as he drove the chisel toward Gideon's eyes.
Gideon put up his arm and blocked the blow at the last instant. He forced Rushton's hand to the stone floor and then he twisted his wrist until Rushton released the chisel.
Gideon straightened to a sitting position and slammed a huge fist into Rushton's jaw.
Rushton went limp and unconscious.
For a moment Harriet could not seem to get herself unstuck from the floor.
"Gideon." She raced toward him, throwing herself into his arms as he got to his feet. "My God, Gideon. Oh, my God."
He crushed her fiercely to him. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. Gideon, he killed her. He shot Deirdre."
"Yes."
"And he murdered your brother."
"Yes. Damn his soul."
"And he was the master thief all along. Poor Mr. Humboldt. We shall have to see that he is freed immediately."
"I will take care of it."
"Gideon, you saved my life." Harriet lifted her head to look up at him at last. He was holding her so tightly she could barely breathe, but she did not mind in the least.
"Harriet, I have never been more afraid in my life than I was a few minutes ago when I realized Rushton had followed you into the caves. Do not ever, ever put me through such an experience again. Do you comprehend me, madam?"
"Yes, Gideon."
His big hands framed her face. His tawny eyes were stark with emotion as he glowered down at her. "What the devil did you mean by leaving our bed this morning at such an early hour?"
"The tide was out and I could not sleep," she said gently. "I was eager to get to work."
"You should have awakened me. I would have come with you."
"For heaven's sake, Gideon, I have been going alone into these caves for years. They have never been particularly dangerous until now."
"You will never go alone into them again. Is that quite clear? If I am unable to accompany you for some reason, you will take a footman or someone else from the estate. You will not work here alone."
"Very well, Gideon," she said soothingly. "If that will make you feel better."
He pulled her close again. "It will be a long while before I feel better. I may never recover from the sight of Rushton holding a pistol on you. Good God, Harriet, what would I have done if I had lost you today?"
"I do not know," she said, her voice muffled against his chest. "What would you have done? Would you have missed me, my lord?"
"Missed you? Missed you? That does not even begin to cover how I would have felt. Damnation, Harriet."
Harriet managed to raise her head again. She smiled up at him, her heart soaring. "Yes, my lord?" And then her gaze fell on the cavern wall behind his shoulder. "Oh, my God, Gideon. Gideon, look."
Gideon released her and swung around in a split second, prepared for another battle. He frowned when he realized no one was standing in the cavern entrance. "What is it, Harriet? What is wrong?"
"Just look at him, Gideon." Harriet took two steps toward the cavern wall, transfixed by what she saw.
Rushton's pistol shot had dislodged a slab of rock which had sheared off the wall along a broad plane. The shards of stone had fallen away, revealing a fresh layer of rock.
Embedded in the newly revealed section of the cavern wall was a magnificent jumble of massive bones. Giant femurs, tibiae, vertebrae, and a strange skull lay nestled together. A section of a very long jaw showed, and in it Harriet thought she could see the outline of teeth that matched the one she had found earlier. It was as if the monstrous creature had settled down to sleep a long, long time ago, never to awaken.
"Just look at him, my lord." Harriet stared at the creature frozen in stone. She was filled with awe and an unparalleled sense of discovery. "I have never seen or read of anything like him, Gideon. Is he not a wondrous, great beast?"
Behind her, Gideon started to laugh. It was a roaring laugh that echoed off the stone walls.
Harriet spun around, startled. "What is so funny, my lord?"
"You, of course. And perhaps myself." Gideon grinned down at her, his eyes blazing with a fierce tenderness. "Harriet, I love you."
At that statement Harriet actually forgot about the beast in the cavern wall. She rushed back into Gideon's arms and she stayed there for a very long while.
The Earl of Hardcastle and his countess arrived for a visit at the beginning of fall on the same day as the latest issue of the Transactions of the Fossils and Antiquities Society.
The gardens around Blackthorne Hall were still in the midst of an explosion of early fall blooms. The hall sat tranquilly in the sun, the windows open to the sea breezes. There was a pleasant hum of activity in the big house and on the surrounding lands. A ball was scheduled for the following evening in honor of the Hardcastles' visit. Everyone for several miles around had been invited.
Gideon was at breakfast when the post arrived. He was helping himself to eggs at the sideboard and reflecting pleasantly on the fact that Blackthorne Hall felt like home again these days when Owl walked into the breakfast room.
Harriet spotted the journal on the salver in Owl's hand. "The Transactions have arrived." She leaped from her seat and dashed across the room to grab the journal before Owl could reach her chair.
Gideon frowned in disapproval. "There is no need to run, my dear. I have told you before that you must exercise caution these days."
Harriet's advanced state of pregnancy had not slowed her down very much. She still moved with enough energy and enthusiasm to exhaust a man. Of course, when she moved like that in bed, the result was an exceedingly pleasant exhaustion, Gideon reminded himself.
Nevertheless, he did not want her overexerting herself at this stage. She was far too precious to him.
He was having to keep a much closer eye on her than usual lately. Harriet had no notion of how a woman in her condition was supposed to go on. Just yesterday morning he had caught her attempting to go down to the caves by herself. It was not the first time.
She had made the usual excuse that everyone on the staff was busy. Gideon had been forced to lecture her severely. He envisioned a lifetime of such lectures.
"It is here," Harriet exclaimed as she whisked herself back to her seat and opened the journal to the table of contents. " 'A Description of the Great Beast of Upper Biddleton' by Harriet, Lady St. Justin." She looked up, excitement brimming in her eyes. "It is in print at last, Gideon. From now on everyone will know that the cave beast belongs to me."
He smiled. "Congratulations, my dear. Somehow I think everyone already knew that."
"I'm inclined to agree." Hardcastle exchanged a knowing look with his wife.