Andrews Brothers 01 - The Ruse (22 page)

Hours later, the coach stopped
for the night at another inn and the passengers climbed out for a much needed
rest. The front room was a drinking establishment. Men gathered around the bar
while the women hurried upstairs and stowed their belongings.

Chadwick, traveling alone,
followed the women. Baggage arranged in his room, he entered the hallway with
the sole purpose of going downstairs and enjoying a bite of supper away from
his previous companions.

A warm hand clasped his forearm.
Surprised, he lifted his gaze to peer into the lovely eyes of Lady Margaret.
Candles burned at each end of the hallway. The light struck her face and he
found himself wondering why he ever considered her a horrible traveling
companion. He looked down at her hand and imagined taking it to his lips and
kissing it.

“May I speak with you?”

He cocked a brow and pointed at
his chest.

“Yes. May I speak with you? In
private?”

He shrugged and blinked rapidly.
She glanced around to make sure no one watched before she roughly jerked him
into her room and shut the door.

“I am in dire need of assistance.”
She paused and when he didn’t speak she continued. “My escort, Mr. Malcolm, is
a terrible gambler.” Chadwick’s heart raced. “Every establishment we’ve
visited, he places my coin on the table only to come back with a lighter purse.”
She wrapped a strand of hair around her finger and her eyes grew larger. He
felt as if he were swimming in their vast depths; only the notion of coin kept
him focused. “My father is a strict man with little patience and I fear when he
discovers Mr. Malcolm has lost our funds, he will exact punishment from me.”

Chadwick leaned against the wall
and crossed his ankles. “Lady Margaret, forgive me but I don’t see how I can
help you in this situation.”

“Oh, but you can. I’ve made great
study of you on this journey and I can tell you are interested in the coin
around my companion’s waist.” Chadwick felt heat gather across his neck but he
made no indication of agreeing. She continued, “I thought if you would pluck
the coin from his person, then he wouldn’t be able to gamble it away. That is,
if you would just take it and keep it safe until we continue, then I know my
father would be grateful, as would I.”

Chadwick massaged his forehead.
Could this unworldly young woman actually be asking him to steal from her
escort? It was too good to be true.

She twisted her hair again. “I
can offer you assistance. I know where he keeps the coin when he is not wearing
it beneath his belt. I will create a diversion so you may enter his room and
confiscate the bag from him. Tomorrow morning you can place it back in his
things and he will believe he misplaced it all along.”

Chadwick drummed his finger
against his temple. “And what happens if he calls the manager and has him
search the inn? What if the coin is found in my room or on my person?”

Lady Margaret gnawed her bottom
lip then lifted her finger in the air. “I will convince him he misplaced the
money and that I’m sure it will turn up.”

“And he will believe you?” He
forced himself not to roll his eyes at the young lady’s obvious innocence.

“Of course, implicitly. I can be
very convincing when I want to be.”

Chadwick expressed no doubt of
that. “And what is in this for me?”

“As I said, my father would be
extremely grateful.”

With the promise of coin,
Chadwick agreed to hear the rest of her plan.

“I will keep him busy eating and
you will sneak into his room. You should find a trunk there. It is small, so
don’t be fooled into thinking it isn’t important. Lift it up and look
underneath; rap it with your middle knuckle three times. The latch will release
and you will see a bag. Take it, hide it. Then in the morning, during
breakfast, reenter his room and return it. Once we reach our destination I will
reward you. Simple.”

Too simple
, thought
Chadwick. Even knowing something would go wrong, he agreed and left her room.
Soon afterward she descended the stairs and engaged Mr. Malcolm in conversation
over supper. Entering the man’s room was easy. A box, the size of his two fists
placed together, sat next to the bed. Following Lady Margaret’s instructions, he
thumped the bottom. The lid popped open and a heavy, jingling canvas bag fell
into his open palm.

****

Brigitta moved her chair to the
fire and stared at the roaring flames. When the wood diminished and the flames
lowered, she threw on another log until they shot upward once more.

In the red mist, she watched her
entire life for the past couple of weeks play out. At the end of the memories,
she wondered if women were still executed for bigamy.

Pacing, she moaned. What was she
going to do? Luke had known she was married. She remembered the conversations
about staying married to Chadwick and helping the villagers. Why had he
pretended to be the baron and tricked her into marrying him, perhaps condemning
her to death or at the least disgrace? Nothing made sense.

The fire died again and instead
of adding more wood, Brigitta strode from her room, past the footmen guarding
her door, and toward the library. Along the hallway branched off the portrait
gallery. Each magnificent painting included a plaque with the individual’s name
and date of birth.

Stroking the gilded frames,
Brigitta was surprised to reach the current family members. At the end were two
almost identical paintings. She gasped. The names read
Chadwick Andrews
and
Luke Andrews, Baron of Stockport
.

How can this be?

Horrified, she fled to the
library. There had to be a book, one that told about the family. Something,
anything that explained what she’d just witnessed.

For frantic hours she drew books
off the shelves and perused the contents. But she found no family Bible with
lists of marriages and births, nor a book of the peerage. Her gaze grew fuzzy
and she rubbed the bridge of her nose. When she didn’t find what she sought,
she pulled the bell rope and waited.

A servant girl unknown to
Brigitta skidded to a halt and studied the floor. “My lady?”

“I have questions.”

The girl nodded.

“I want to know the history of
the Andrews family.”

“My lady? I don’t understand.”

“I want to know all about Luke
and Chadwick. Their relationship. Who is the elder and who is the younger? Is
there a feud between them? I want to know everything you know about them.”

“I–I—” The young girl stuttered
and looked back at the door as if plotting her escape.

Frustrated, Brigitta said, “Go.
Just get out!”

The maid skittered from the room,
and Brigitta fell into a chair and cradled her head. Why hadn’t she asked more
questions when she’d had the chance? Why had she married Chadwick without proof
he was the baron?

She ran her hand through her
hair. What was she going to do?

****

The maid ran past him, a wail
upon her lips. Instead of stopping her, Luke hurried to the library’s open
door. Inside, Brigitta cradled her head in her hands and his heart sank.

“Brigitta?”

She lifted her gaze and in her
eyes he saw revulsion and anger.

“How could you!” She rose, threw
herself at him, and pummeled his chest.

He grabbed her hands and held
them captive above his heart. She fought until spent, before giving up and
laying her head against his chest. She cried. He patted her hair and the
racking sobs diminished to only tears. His heart felt like it twisted. If only
he could explain.

“Brigitta—”

She pushed backward, swiped her
face, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Who are you?”

He reached for her but she
continued to back away and he dropped his arm. “I’m your husband.”

Shakily, she pointed at him. “You
are not my husband. Or maybe you are, I–I don’t know.”

He opened his mouth, but she
continued. “What was your goal? Are you trying to hurt your brother by taking
me away from him? Or, or, are you trying to get me killed? If Rector Morgan
finds out I married you, too, then he will come for me and I will burn! That
man doesn’t like me, he has never liked me. All he needs is one reason to get
rid of me. Do you understand? One reason.” She ran at him again and this time
he took the punishment. “Why? Why did you do it? Tell me!”

Luke’s heart broke at her pain.
He again opened his mouth to explain. It was past time she knew the truth and
he was going to tell her all of it. It should be him. Once everything was out
in the open, then they could live happily ever after.

The door flung open and crashed
into the wall with a loud thud.

Too stunned to move, he froze as
red-coated officers converged on them. Roughly, strong arms pulled them apart.
They wrapped Brigitta’s hands behind her back and pushed her into the hallway.

“Wait! What are you doing?” he
yelled, fighting to follow, but soldiers restrained him.

“My lord, I would warn you not to
struggle. What we do, we do for your own good,” said the colonel.

“What are you talking about?”
They released him. Desperate, he jerked his coat, twisted between them, and ran
for Brigitta. An officer tackled him.

He lifted his head, spit dirt
from his teeth, and groaned as the carriage vanished from view.

****

Brigitta was shoved into the
carriage. The vehicle jerked into motion and she peeked through the curtained
window as Luke fell to the ground. Tears filled her eyes but she swiped them
away, refusing to give Rector Morgan the satisfaction.

Violent trembling threatened to
assail her and she leaned against the leather seat and clenched her fists in
her lap. She asked, “What are you doing here?”

“You know why I’m here.”

She said, “Actually, I do not.”

He frowned, appearing worried,
but didn’t speak.

“Where are you taking me?” she
asked.

“Why my dear, I’m taking you to
the Assizes to stand trial and be executed.”

Brigitta’s heartbeat increased. “Executed?”

“But of course. Surely you did
not think you could stand in front of so many and word not reach me. You’ve not
only married Chadwick, but now you’ve attempted to marry his half-brother,
Luke, the real baron.”

She swallowed.

Rector Morgan shook his head. “Dear
sweet child, I don’t know what the ghostie did to you. Perhaps the rumors are
true and you’ve lost part of your memory. But the truth is that now you are
married to two men. And I will not allow the world to know that I was complicit
in such an action.”

****

The rest of the harrowing ride,
Brigitta remained silent. For an hour, her heart beat so loudly in her ears, she
couldn’t hear another word spoken by the rector.

This couldn’t be happening. What
had Luke done to her?

The carriage hit a rock and she
jumped, bumping her head against the side window. Again the carriage jolted,
harder this time. The rector pulled the curtain aside and yelled, “What is
going on up there?”

The driver didn’t answer and the
rector yelled again. This time he pulled the curtain back farther. When he
looked out, he gasped. Brigitta peered past his shoulder. No one sat in the
driver’s box. He dropped the curtain and his eyes widened as if they’d pop from
his head.

Brigitta’s heart thumped wildly
at his terrified expression.

The carriage door flung open and
a masked man, standing on the carriage step, poked his head inside, rocking so
hard with the bouncing he seemed no more than a blur.

“Get out!” he yelled.

But the carriage careened along
the road at an outlandish speed. Stunted trees and rocky outcroppings flew past
as the galloping horses thundered along. “How can we? The carriage is moving too
fast,” replied the rector, a look of horror covering his wrinkled brow.

“I want you out!” the masked
desperado shouted.

The rector scrambled up from his
seat and the carriage slammed into a hole. The masked man’s head flew upward,
struck the door frame, and he fell backward out of sight.

Brigitta lifted a side curtain
and stared horrified as they careened toward the section of road that ran along
the top of a sheer cliff. On one side a rock face protected them, but on the
other, the out-of-control carriage faced a deadly drop.

****

Furious, Luke went toe to toe
with the colonel, breathing fire into his face. “I do not understand what is
happening but I demand my wife be returned to me.”

The colonel crossed his arms. “While
I appreciate the hospitality you’ve afforded us, my lord, the rector informed
us Brigitta is not your wife.”

Luke frowned, leaned even closer,
and said, “I don’t care what you’ve heard. I want Brigitta back.”

“The rector is having her tried
for bigamy.”

“What!”

“My lord, we are sorry she fooled
you, but the fact is the lady has been married before.”

“I know that! I know the entire
thing. My butler faked her wedding to my half-brother, Chadwick, so they could
make money to run the estate.”

The officer narrowed his eyes.

“Chadwick used her frequent
displays of temper to raise funds. When I realized what was going on, I
struggled with what to do. Then I chanced upon an opportunity to speak with
Brigitta and I fell in love.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Chadwick left
and Roland took off after him. While they were gone, I received a special
marriage license from the Archbishop and I planned the wedding with Brigitta.
Now she is truly married to the baron.”

Consternation overwhelmed the
colonel’s smug complacency. “Are you saying the first wedding was a fake?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“The rector said she had married
more than once.”