An English Lord's Love Affair

Chapter 10.1.2. A More Perplexing Problem

   Benedic slid his hand along the wall and pressed the lever concealed behind a rough stone alongside the fireplace. The dark passageway loomed before him, empty and uninviting. This was what he had become. A creature of the darkness who must scurry and hide while his enemy feasted at his table, made love to his mistress, planned to spend his fortune.

   He stepped into the passageway, allowing his vision to adjust to the stale airless gloom. He reached into his waistband for his pistol, a precaution last the dark provide any unpleasant surprises. He had become as skittish as a virgin since his "murder." A gun gave him a measure of security.

   His fingers curled bot around not around the pistol's smooth ebony handle but the unbearable softness of a woman's chemise.

   The undergarment had fallen out of the window as Benedic made his furtive escape. Not wishing to get his charming if unwilling hostess into trouble, he had stuffed the chemise into his waistband before leaving the grounds. God knew the woman would land in enough trouble on her own.

   He examined the delicate fabric. A treasure to drag to his lair? He smiled a little. Not that he required anything to remind him of Charlotte. His body provided a painful enough of his desire for her.

   It seemed he was not as dead as he had hoped.

   He began to descend the impossibly cramped stone stairs that led into a tunnel beneath the house. There he had spent countless hours sitting in the candlelight, studying the cryptic message that was all he had left of his brother.

   It had to be vital. Benedic was desperate to solve the code, having come up against a wall in his own inquiries.

   It was Sebastian's servant who had served off Benedic's suspicions, writing through other British soldiers to reveal that his master had been meeting men in secret in Nepal in the weeks preceding his death.

   Hoping to learn more, Benedic had personally corresponded with the British resident of Nepal and later General Overton. He had journeyed to London several times to meet the Board of Control, the company's court of directors, and those in contact with Lord Magor, the British commander in chief in India.

   They could not help him beyond reading the official report: Chasing Gukha warriors into the hills, his brother and Bernard Brumidge had been ambushed and then thrown into an inaccessible ravine, the prey of wild animals and the elements.

   By this time a lurid possibility had entered Benedic's mind: his own uncle and Sebastian's commanding officer had ordered the ambush in Nepal. Benedic did not know exactly when or how he had begun to suspect the truth. But he did remember that his late mother had never liked Edward, and had warned her husband more than once that he could not be trusted.

   The fact that Colonel Sir Edward Winslow's had been in Kathmandu on official business at the time of the ambush did not prove his innocence. There were always renegade warriors for hire in that part of the world if a man offered enough money.

   A noise from behind him drew Benedic out of his thoughts. A low whine that was not quite human. He reached for the pistol, then stopped.

   The heavy object that butted up against his leg was not a threat. Nor was the cold nose that brushed his hand. He turned swiftly, dropping to his knees in grudging welcome. It was his favorite dog.

   "Ares," he said. The big hound sat before him in anticipation of a romp in the woods, his eyes glistening in the dark.

   "You should not be here," Benedic said roughly. "I cannot take care of you. There isn't room."

   Nor could he take the risk of returning the dog to the house just now, in the middle of the night. Sir Edward liked to read into the late hours.

   "Ares," he said in vexation. "What am I to do with you?"

   He straightened and turned back to the stairs. The dog shadowed him as if the matter were settled.

   Benedic's mind had returned to a more perplexing problem. He needed that note back in his possession, no matter what risk he must take to retrieve it.

   Even more dangerously, perhaps, he would need to visit Charlotte Brumidge's room once again.

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