Edward Parks gave hi horse over to Epps, and though there was a smile on his lips, his eyes were hard and stern. “Lord, but Duncan came dashing in. I tried to catch up to him and never saw ought but the trail of dust he left behind. What’s to do, Epps?”

“I be stalled right well, Mr. Parks. He came in like the divil himself was a–thumping at his tail. He gave m’lad some whisker about his horse getting away with him.”

“He never did? Why, that old gelding could no more get away…well, well. I just think I’ll go up to the house and see what tale he has to tell me. Where are the Echworth women?”

“With Mr. Orson, shopping,” Epps answered. “Be careful, Mr. Parks, that Duncan is a bad fellow.”

“So he is,” Edward said as he started off.

“I’ll wager a monkey he’s been up to prime bobbery this morning,” Epps answered.

Ness had a unicorn curricle hitched for her drive to Montlaine. The horse she drove was prime and attentive to her signals, and she was well pleased with his pace. She grimaced to think how she looked with her day gown a proper mess, no gloves, no hat, and she was driving unattended and at an indecorous speed. The notion of it all made her laugh in the wind.

As she turned onto Montlaine drive, she slowed her pace. Oh, but she would have a tale to tell that would no doubt keep Mrs. Echworth and Sheila distracted from her hoydenish appearance.

She looked towards the stables and noticed a young groom walking a lathered roan and then she saw Epps waving off Edward Parks.

Oh no, it couldn’t be Edward Parks who had thrown the knife? What would be his purpose?

She steered her curricle towards Epps, reined in, applied the brake with the sturdy stick at her side, and smiled as Epps approached.

“M’lady…here now, careful coming down,” he said as he reached out his hand and helped her alight.

She took a moment to smooth out her gown and said sweetly, “Thank you, Epps…isn’t it?”

“Aye.” He ran his hand down the horse’s neck. “He be hot, m’lady. I’ll have him walked fer ye.”

“Thank you. I hope he won’t be too much trouble, as I see one of your lads already walking down Mr. Parks’ horse.” She hoped she sounded casual.

“Eh? Och now. That ain’t Mr. Parks’ horse.”

As Epps did not volunteer more, she could only assume the roan horse had been ridden by Duncan or Orson.

“Well then, I’ll just go up to the house. Thank you, Epps.”

* * *

Edward Parks was announced and Duncan, who was a bit more disheveled than usual, composed himself and put on a smile.

Edward came forward and Duncan bade him be comfortable as he poured coffee and handed it to him.

Parks took a sip and set it aside. “I believe we have something to discuss.”

Duncan eyed him. “Indeed, Orson tells me you have made an interesting proposition for us to consider.”

“Proposition? That is not what I would call it,” Parks answered him casually, and picked up his coffee cup and took another sip before putting it down and pushing it aside.

“No? Perhaps then I am mistaken. What is it you would call…your…er…offer?”

“Not an offer at all, Duncan. It was something of an ultimatum,” Parks said on a hard note.

“Indeed?” Duncan’s brow went up. It had been he, and not Orson, who had conducted that last meeting with Edward Parks. He remembered no threat had been issued. He had to wonder what had changed the man’s attitude.

“I don’t see that you have anything viable to…propose,” Duncan responded, taking a stand, his hands clasped behind his back as he considered cutting Parks’ throat. Hmmm, perhaps that could be easily arranged?

“Don’t you? You don’t give Sheila enough credit then. There is a great deal she wants, and I want it for her.”

“Ah, I see. Rest assured, I intend to take care of Sheila, and as the matter of Mary’s future is now in my hands, there will be enough to satisfy my family. Montlaine may have put a spoke in my wheel by appointing Lady Penrod her guardian, but it won’t serve for long.”

“And how is Mary’s future in your hands if Lady Penrod is her guardian and keeps her close?”

“Indeed, that is the case, but Mary will soon be off to school and in the meantime, there is a fortune soon to be declared ours. We await the court’s decision that Montlaine is indeed dead, and then we will have access, so if you need an advance, I think I can manage it.”

“And still I offer you a threat, an ominous threat, sir. You see, I know who it was who led the cult meetings. Sheila discovered you very early in your game. She only just confided in me the other day that we had a bargaining tool. We know about your switch with Orson. We know you were here playing your Satan games to make everyone think it was Montlaine. We know.”

Duncan was momentarily unnerved. However, he quickly recovered and snapped his fingers. “Sheila may know, you may think you know, but knowing and proving are two very different things, and Sheila will never go forward and accuse me. She is my sister and though she used you to bargain for more, she would never allow you to use what she told you.”

They were interrupted at this juncture by the announcement of Lady Vanessa Grey. Both turned their heads with some surprise as Ness didn’t wait in the hall but came hurriedly into the library.

Duncan stared at her and felt his passion arouse him in a way he was beginning to think he would never feel for any other. She was windblown but exquisitely beautiful. Her complexion was rosy. Her blue eyes so blue they held you in place while you looked into their depths. Her luscious lips set his groin on fire and made him hard. She had just witnessed a dangerous event, and yet...here she was, magnificent. She was like no other. He would, of course, have to tame her in the end. He would have to train her to obey him. At the moment, though, he found he couldn’t look away from her face, her full breasts, her fine and shapely hips. He watched as her fine brow arched. She knew he was looking her over and managed to ignore his behavior. She was the ultimate woman, made for him…the ultimate man.

She stepped towards him and glanced sideways at Edward Parks. He didn’t like that. Her attention should be on him. She was here, no doubt, to tell him of her harrowing experience and enlist his help. He was certain that was the reason for her sudden visit.

He was across the room, his hand outstretched, and when he touched her, it was all he could do to control himself. He wanted to rip her clothes off and had they been alone, he thought that was something he might have done. “My lovely lady. I have been thinking about you all morning and now, here you are. ‘Tis a dream come true. Is it possible you read my mind and came to me?”

“Scoundrel,” she said, and eyed him. “Do you suggest that I would come running to your bidding?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Edward trying not to chuckle.

“A fond hope, but it seems I am out,” he said, and smiled warmly. “Do sit, I will ring for some lemonade for you.”

Edward moved to stand beside her as Duncan went to the bellrope, but he could see the two just out of the side of one eye. What was Parks up to now? He could just hear the man, even though he spoke softly.

“All well at Penrod, my lady? You look a bit…”

“Harried? Indeed, I am. How kind of you to notice that I am not my usual self. All, I regret to say, is far from being well up at the Tower.”

Duncan strode towards her and frowned as he took her hands in his. She immediately withdrew them and he felt irritation spin through his blood.

“What can you mean?” Duncan said, believing he was doing a great job of looking innocent. “Is Mary safe?”

“Rest easy, sir, your cousin is quite safe, though we are not sure she was meant to be,” Ness said carefully.

“What are you saying, Lady Vanessa?” Edward said, looking distressed.

“It is rather complicated. You see, there is a young woman, a Bess Widdons, who came to see Mary and me this morning. I must say, word does get out quickly, for how could anyone have known she was going to be there? Or perhaps it was by chance she was discovered? At any rate, we took a stroll—the three of us, though I should have brought my horse pistol,” Ness said quietly, and for a moment looking into her eyes, he was certain she knew.

No. She couldn’t know. How could she know? He said, “Do go on.”

“My brother has a notion that Mary is in danger,” she said, and her gaze never wavered from Duncan’s face.

He felt something constrict in his throat. He sensed an underlining to her words, but he said, “Really? In danger from whom?”

“Why, from the townsfolk, of course,” Ness said innocently. “But never mind, what I am here to tell you is that someone did attempt to kill Mary this morning, though he took very bad aim and nearly caught Bess Widdons in the attempt!”

“My God!” Parks gasped.

“Precisely.” Ness nodded her head.

“This has gone beyond the limits!” Duncan said righteously.

“What is to be done?” Ness said, looking the damsel in distress.

Duncan eyed her. Something was off with Ness. He was certain she was concerned. He was certain she had come for a reason, but she was playacting. Ness couldn’t carry off the damsel in distress with him. He already knew that much about her. She was too self-resilient.

“Where is Mary now?” Duncan asked.

“I sent them with Richard up to the house, where they both shall remain guarded closely. My brother, I am sure, has all the servants and my cousin, Randall, on alert.”

“What is the sense in keeping this Widdons woman at the Tower?” Duncan asked. “You believe it is Mary who is in danger, not the Widdons chit.”

“My brother feels that the girl is overwrought from the ordeal and believes we should keep Bess safely at Penrod.”

“It is a wonder the blackguard missed his target,” Parks said, looking directly at Duncan.

“It was the veriest chance that he did. You see, something glinted in the woods and…”

“You saw Mary’s assailant?” Duncan asked, unable to hide the edge to his voice.

“No, only a glint of metal and a movement in the woods. I was raised in the country, and I was immediately suspicious, for I know the difference between a deer and a man. I pushed Mary to the ground and pulled Bess with us.”

“Brilliant girl,” Parks said. “Did you catch a glimpse of the devil?”

“As a matter of fact, I did, but unfortunately he was riding hard and kicking up a dust storm. I couldn’t make out who it was.”

“Could it have been a woman?” Duncan asked, throwing doubt into the equation.

“No, I don’t think so,” Ness said.

“A woman could fire a gun as well as a man,” Parks suggested.

Ness looked irritated at this but said, “Oh, but it wasn’t a gun that was fired.”

“What then?” Parks was surprised.

“A knife. A rather unusual one with a marble handle,” Ness said, and glanced at Duncan for only the fraction of a moment before she returned her attention to Parks.

Duncan felt a wave of unease. He was now nearly certain that Ness knew something more than what she was letting on.

Parks frowned and said, “I would be happy to escort you back now to Penrod, my lady, as I must confess a need to inspect the weapon that was used.”

“Yes, I think you should do that. You might recognize it, though I don’t imagine our villain would use a knife anyone would actually be able to trace back to him,” Ness said. “You will find my brother has it safeguarded.”

“Don’t you come with me?” he asked.

“No, I should only slow you down. I drove here using one of Lady Penrod’s carriages,” she said, and turned to give Duncan her full attention.

Duncan watched her interaction with Parks and was a bevy of agitation. Parks needed to die and his sister needed punishment for her part in this threat that Parks had offered earlier. However, he now had another problem. The Lady Vanessa.

“Come, Ness, walk with me. You and I have a great deal to discuss,” he said softly.

She hesitated, hating the touch of his hand as he took hers and put it through his bent arm, linking them. “A walk in the fresh air would be very nice, thank you. I find fresh air very beneficial when I am all to pieces.”

“And are you all to pieces now? I don’t think so. No. I think you are the sort that always knows just what to do in any given situation,” Duncan said.

“Am I? What makes you say so? For I must point out to you that you really don’t know me.”

She was right. As Duncan, he had only just met her. He would have to be careful. “Intuition, my dear. I know it is a gift attributed to women, but I have often found that impressions of another’s character are fostered by a sixth sense, which I suspect both men and women of high intellect own…some more than others.”

She laughed and allowed him to lead her through the garden doors. They passed neat flower beds, rows of orchards in with ripening fruit, and came upon a manmade pond resting between two large green willow trees. Here, he took her to a bench, where he saw her seated and then took up a position beside her.

* * *

Ness found his company repulsive.

She was sure now, more than ever, that he was their culprit. She was sure he was the one who had tried to kill Bess with his dagger. She was sure she was sitting next to Melony Fry’s murderer.

She maintained her composure throughout. After all, he couldn’t cause her harm, here at Montlaine. Parks knew she was here. His mother was no doubt due back soon. No. She was safe enough for the moment. So she listened to his idle, inconsequential chatter and attempted to look interested in the mundane conversation when he surprised her by asking, “Tell me, my dear, do you often go about the countryside in breeches at the dead of night?”

Ness eyed him. He had certainly taken her aback and worried her. Where had he seen her? Did he see her climb up the cliffside? Had she given away the love of her life to this murdering demon? She smiled and said as adroitly as she could, “Sometimes.”

He threw back his head and laughed. When he stopped and shook his head, he took her hand and she immediately pulled away from his touch. He chuckled and said, “That was a very good answer, my dear. Never lie when there is a good chance you might be caught at it. You are wondering, I am certain, how I came by my information?” He moved closer to her still. “Ah, but, my lady, my beautiful lady, you are all too beautiful to miss, riding across the moors on that fine grey of yours. Where had you been?”

“Meeting my lover clandestinely, of course,” she answered at once, her eyes challenging him. “Where else should I have been at such an hour?”

She smiled to herself. He had surprised her and now she had done the same to him. He went very still as he studied her, chuckled, and said, “Then I am ill with jealously and mean to do the devil in.”

“An excellent notion, for I was growing rather tired of the brute. These farmers’ sons are divinely built but lack good conversation, you see.”

He roared with amusement and pinched her cheek just a bit harshly, she thought.

“You almost make me believe that was what you were doing. Almost, I say.”

“It is what you thought—why then don’t you believe it when you hear it?” She lifted her brow and pursed her lips.

“You are enchanting. I don’t believe it because I cannot conceive of the picture of you in some farmer’s arms.”

“But I dressed the part. I had on breeches,” Ness objected, and smiled broadly.

“Oh, my love, if I thought any other man had won you for himself, I would most definitely put him in the ground,” Duncan said, and his dark eyes told Ness that he was telling the truth.

“Well then, you are spared the effort, for no man calls me his,” Ness said archly.

“What then were you doing?”

“The answer is so simple. I could not sleep and as I was wont to do at our country home, I got up and rode out in breeches that once belonged to my brother but have long been mine. You see, Duncan, I am a free soul. If I were a man, no one would give a brace of snaps whether I chose to take a midnight ride. It is infuriating to think that because I am a woman I must slink around. I do so enjoy the wind against my face when I ride Shadow, and summer nights were meant to be enjoyed just like that. ‘Tis so very simple. I am, at best, a most reprehensible creature. A sore trial to my parents.” Ness released an admirable sigh.

“If you were mine, you wouldn’t need to sneak off and if you wanted a midnight ride, I would accompany you. I would allow you anything you desire,” he said earnestly.

Ness lowered her lashes and then lifted them so her eyes met with his, just so her meaning was clear. “I don’t think you are the sort to allow me free rein. I am destined to be a veritable shrew, intolerable to any man’s peace,” she declared with a bright smile. “No, I should not suit you at all.”

He took her shoulders in his hands and he shook her roughly. “You will be mine. Mark me on this.”

She pulled out of his hold. “Ah, sir, are you making me an improper proposal?”

“Yes, for I mean to have you most improperly, but as my wife!” he declared.

“I think, Duncan, this has gone far enough. You know not what you are saying, and are carried away by the moment.”

“Vanessa, you will be my wife. I am not asking, I am telling you, and I always get what I want,” Duncan said on a very grim note.

She saw darkness in his eyes and for a moment felt anxious to be gone from his company. She lowered her head and took a step towards the stables. “It is time for me to go.”

“Perhaps, but I shall see you again, very soon,” he said on a low quiet note.

At that moment, all Ness wanted to do was return the curricle, mount Shadow, and ride for the viscount. She so needed him because she suddenly was clutched by fear.

She knew, but could not yet prove that Duncan was a cold-blooded killer. She needed proof. How was she to obtain it?

He walked beside her in silence as they made their way to the stables and she realized she was frightened by him, far more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.