Authors: Heaven
Bobbi Smith (38 page)
“And what’s this the maid’s been babbling about the crown? I’ve been sitting here cooling my heels, while you’ve been out gallivanting around the countryside. Tell me, my dear, what’s happened while I was away?”
“You first! Tell us how you got out of jail. Have you been here long?” She sat down while her father poured each of them a brandy.
As he gave them each a snifter and once they’d settled in, he started to speak. “It was terrible, Alex. The authorities came to the hotel and arrested me for Lawrence’s murder. Do you believe it?!”
“Knowing Philip and Robert, yes, I believe it.”
“They’ll be paying now that the truth is out.”
“You mean the authorities know they killed Lawrence?”
“Now they do, after the maid who knew that they were the ones who’d poisoned Lawrence finally came forward and told them what she knew.”
“She did?”
“Once she realized that Philip had only been using her, she was more than happy to implicate him and his brother. If they show up in London, they’ll soon be occupying my old accommodations.”
“They won’t be going back,” Winn offered.
“What’s that you say?” He glanced at Winn, his expression almost angry at the thought that the greedy duo wouldn’t be paying for their heinous crimes. “They can’t get away with this! I’ll help hunt them down myself!”
“No, Papa. There’s no need. They’re dead.”
A stunned silence followed her revelation. Then Enoch nodded slowly, as if satisfied that justice had been done. “I never celebrate anyone’s untimely death, but perhaps this time justice has been served.”
“It has,” Winn said with conviction.
“Now, tell me, young man. How did you come to be involved in this? Did you know Lawrence? And what’s this about your being a priest?”
Winn gave him a friendly smile as he accepted the brandy he handed him. “I knew Lawrence only in passing, but he was my uncle’s best friend. My Uncle Edward was the real Father Bradford, but he passed away just after Lawrence did. I was given my uncle’s things, and the book and letter from Lawrence were among them.”
“So there’s the connection,” he remarked thoughtfully. “But the maid said a priest had come by and that Alex was traveling with him.”
“Yes, sir. I took Uncle Edward’s place on the search because Lawrence had said in his letter that my uncle’s faith would serve him well. I thought I had to make the journey as a priest.”
Enoch suddenly saw the humor in the situation as he noticed how Alex and Winn were looking at each other. “It proved a challenging role, did it?”
“You’ll never know,” he groaned.
Alex laughed. “He made a wonderful priest, Papa, but I’m really glad he isn’t one.” She gazed at Winn adoringly. “Winn has asked me to marry him, and I’ve accepted.”
Enoch’s face lit up at this news. “That’s wonderful, child. Just wonderful!” He kissed her and went to shake Winn’s hand again.
“Papa, there is one thing more . . . About the crown . . .”
“Yes? Did you find it? Did you bring it back?” He was eager to know, now that they’d talked through all the serious news. He was ready to think about the crown again and ready to hear how the treasure hunt had gone.
“Well . . .”
“Don’t stutter or stammer. Just tell me whether you found it. That’s what Lawrence and I argued about the night he died, you know. He had finally admitted to me that he’d had the crown for years—even while we were on our dig. Needless to say, I was rather perturbed about the news.”
“Did you really fight?”
“It wasn’t really a fight, per se. I just exploded publicly, thinking about all the time, energy, and money we’d wasted searching for it, when all the while it had been in Lawrence’s private collection.”
“What happened that night?”
“We went back to his house to have a drink, and he promised to tell me where the crown was the next day. I made arrangements to meet with him, but the next thing I knew I was being arrested for his murder. Philip and Robert approached me in jail and asked me for the book, but I denied having it. They told me I was going to stay there until they had the crown.”
Alex shuddered as she accepted that her fears had been real. “I’m sorry, Papa. They came to me next and blackmailed me into going after the crown with Winn and Matt and promising to turn it over to them once we’d found it.”
“Matt?”
“Matt McKittrick. He was the other man Lawrence had left a clue book to. He went with us.”
“He’s a good man from what I understand.”
“Matt’s a very good man. We were married for a while,” she added cooly.
“You were what?!”
Alex laughed. “It’s part of our long story. Don’t worry. Everything’s fine now.”
Enoch relaxed again and took another sip of his brandy. “This is getting more and more interesting. Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
Alex told him of the Anthonys’ visit to the house and of their threats.
He nodded knowingly. “They would have done it, too.”
“I know. When they showed me your letters they’d intercepted, I knew there was nothing I could do but go along with them until I was sure you were safe.”
“And Winn and Matt didn’t know anything about it?”
“No. She carried the burden all on her own. I have to tell you, though, before they came to you, they tried to get my uncle’s book from me.” Winn quickly told him about his own confrontation with the greedy pair.
“It’s still amazing to me that a man as good and morally upright as Lawrence could have two such terrible offspring.”
“In the letter he wrote to my uncle, he says he thought that maybe the curse of the crown had been visited on his children. Perhaps he was right.”
“So, what of the crown?”
“We found it.”
Enoch looked avidly interested. “You did? Where is it? Did you bring it back? I want to see it.”
“You can see it, but we don’t have it with us. We left it where we found it.”
“Why? After all that work, why would you just up and leave it?”
“Because it’s in a place of perfect love, just as the curse says it should be.”
“It is?” He looked puzzled.
“Yes. It’s in a mission in Texas and it’s on a statue of the Virgin.”
Enoch stared at them in amazement. “Lawrence took it to a church . . .” Then as understanding dawned, he said, “Of course, of course, it all makes sense. If Lawrence came to believe that the curse really did exist, then he would have turned to the church. There is no more perfect love. Certainly, I’m coming to believe that mankind isn’t capable of it, try though we might.”
“I think there’s hope for the future, Papa,” Alex said dreamily as she looked up at Winn.
“I hope you’re right, child. I hope you’re right.”
Epilogue
London, Ten Weeks Later
Winn lay in his wide, soft bed with his bride sleeping quietly in his arms. This was their first night in London, and he was amazed at how good it felt to be back. He hadn’t thought he would miss his townhouse, but with Alex by his side, it was now their home.
Alex had charmed the staff when they’d arrived that day, and they already loved her for it. He knew they were going to be happy here. He offered up silent thanks for the joy she’d brought into his life.
It was hard for him to believe that everything had turned out so perfectly, but it had. They’d received a letter from Matt and Catherine before they’d left Boston, telling them of their marriage and of Matt’s decision to stay and work with Catherine at St. Joan’s. Sometimes life truly was worth living.
Winn looked down at his wife and marveled at how beautiful Alex was. He loved her with all his heart and soul, and he planned to spend the rest of his life making her happy. Unable to resist the sweet temptation she made, he kissed her awake.
Alex awoke to Winn’s kiss, and she responded eagerly to his advances. Though they’d been married for over six weeks, she still wanted him as desperately as she had that very first night. They came together in a blending of pure love that transcended all time. They were one, and they would love forever. He had found his heaven with her.
“Do you want children?” Winn asked later as they lay together, their limbs still entangled their hearts still beating as one.
“I would love to give you a hundred children,” she told him, rising up to press a soft kiss on his lips.
He chuckled. “One would be good for a start, but would you mind terribly if we named our first-born son Edward?”
Alex smiled down at him. “I think Edward is a wonderful name. I’d be proud to name my oldest son after your uncle. After all, he did help make you the man you are today, and I love you very much.”
Winn drew her down for a passionate kiss. “I love you, Alex.”
In heaven, Uncle Edward was smiling.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 1994 by Bobbi Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
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ISBN: 978-1-4201-3115-4
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