Grasso, Patricia (38 page)

Keely did smile then. Through Roger and his money-making scheme, she saw the image of what her husband must have been like as a boy. Keely supposed she really ought to help him out of his predicament.

"How did you spend the uninvested gold piece?" she asked.

"I bought an aphrodisiac."

"What's that?"

Roger blushed but answered, " 'Tis a love potion to make a woman
desire
me."

Now it was Keely's turn to blush. Holy stones, was that the only thing the males of the species ever sought? Apparently, the queen had been correct. Men
did
think with their pricks.

"Blushing is unnecessary," Roger told her, sounding like an experienced man of the world. "After all, love-making is a natural part of life."

Keely rolled her eyes. "From what is this love potion made?" she asked.

"The apothecary said there are many different kinds," Roger answered. "I purchased brains of partridge calcinated into powder and swallowed with red wine."

Keely gulped back the nausea rising in her throat. "Did it work?"

Richard flicked her a wicked grin. And
that
effectively answered her question.

"Who was the lucky lady?"

"A gentleman never kisses and tells."

Trying to discourage the boy's immoral endeavors, Keely hid a smile and turned her head. Not ten yards away stood double rows of hedges. Her gaze drifted past them and then returned to a gleaming object that lay beneath one of them. It appeared to be a blade reflecting the newly risen sun.

"What is that over there?" she said, standing.

Keely crossed the short distance between the bench and the hedges. Roger followed two steps behind her.

Keely screamed and fell to her knees. Hidden between the rows of hedges lay the lifeless body of a woman.

While Keely covered her mouth and gagged dryly, Roger shouted, "Help! Guards!
Murder!"

Within mere seconds, pandemonium ensued. The palace guards arrived on the run. Close behind them followed curious nobles and servants.

At their captain's order, several guards held the gathering crowd at bay. Two others dragged the woman's body from between the hedges.

Keely nearly swooned at the sight of Lady Jane's battered face. Standing beside her, Roger put his arm around her shoulders and held her steady against his legs.

The captain of the guard stepped forward to inspect the body. A hushed silence fell over the crowd, the only sound being whispered words relaying the dead woman's identity.

"Lady Devereux?"

Keely looked up at the captain.

"Do you recognize these?" he asked, holding his hands out.

Keely stared in surprise at what he held. Both the jewel-hilted dagger and the gold button bore her husband's insignia. Keely tried to speak, to refute what she was seeing, but no words came out of her mouth.

"Lady Jane was Basildon's mistress, wasn't she?" the captain asked baldly.

"My husband keeps no mistress!" Keely cried. "Hurting a woman is beyond the earl's capabilities. Besides, he passed the night in our bed."

"Queen Elizabeth will decide where and how Basildon entertained himself last night," the captain said coldly. He turned his back and walked away.

Stunned, Keely dropped her gaze to the woman's battered face. She knew without a doubt that Richard was incapable of so vile an act. Whoever poisoned Merlin had murdered Lady Jane and left Richard's belongings beside the body.

"Beware the blacksmith..."
Megan's dark prophecy came rushing back to Keely. But, who was the blacksmith?

Basildon. Basildon. Basildon.

The angry murmurings of the crowd echoed in Keely's ears until she slumped against Roger in a dead faint.

Keely sat on her husband's lap in the chair in front of the fireplace in their chamber. Resting her head against his shoulder, she stared into the hearth's hypnotic flames and pondered her marital dilemma. Though she would never be accepted into this English society, Keely now knew she could never return to Wales and leave her husband behind. Not in this hour of his need.
Not ever.

" 'Twas a gruesome sight," Keely told him, her voice no louder than a horrified whisper. "Her face was battered, and a huge welt circled her neck."

"Hadn't her throat been slashed?" Richard asked.

"No, she'd been strangled with that necklace you gave her," Keely answered, her voice cracking with raw emotion on the word
strangled.

"Dearest, clear your mind," Richard soothed, planting a kiss on the crown of her head. "Reliving the murder scene can hardly be healthy for the babe."

"Whoever poisoned Merlin meant to dispatch you," Keely said. "I'm afraid he found another way to get rid of you."

"So you've figured that out too?" The ghost of a smile touched Richard's lips. "You're too smart by half, dearest."

" 'Tis good of you to notice," Keely replied. "Do you have any idea who'd want you dead?"

Richard sighed. "Any number of courtiers would like to see me vanish permanently."

"If we'd walked Merlin through Devereux House the day after our wedding, this would never have happened," Keely said.

"Probably not, but we'd be knee-deep in horse shit."

Keely gave him an unamused look. "Perhaps if we cast the sacred circle, the Goddess will share her wisdom."

"Why don't you kiss me instead?" he teased.

"Be serious," Keely snapped, irritated by his lack of concern.

"Easy, dearest. A dagger and a button prove nothing," Richard said. "Besides, Elizabeth knows her personal finances will suffer if she executes me."

"The blacksmith murdered Jane," Keely said abruptly. "Do you know who he is?"

Richard looked confused.

"Whatever Megan saw came to pass," Keely explained. "On her deathbed, she told me: 'Walk among the powerful, but find happiness where the birch, the yew, and the oak converse. Trust the king who wears a flaming crown and possesses the golden touch. Beware the blacksmith.'

"Queen Elizabeth is the powerful one," she continued. "The birch, the yew, and the oak converse together in your garden. And you are the king who wears the flaming crown."

Richard grinned. "I'm an earl, sweetheart, not a king."

"All of England calls you Midas."

Richard lost his smile. A grain of truth lay in what she said. Perhaps her mother had possessed a special talent to foresee future events. A few rare people did enjoy such a gift. But if that were true, who could the blacksmith be?

"When we visited the Tower, Queen Anne's spirit also warned, 'Beware the blacksmith,' " Keely went on. "My mother warned me again on Samhuinn. If only—"

A knock on the door interrupted her words.

"They've come for you!" Keely cried, her voice rising in panic as she clutched her husband.

Richard wrapped his arms around her and called out, "Who's there?"

The door opened slowly. Willis Smythe peered into the room and asked, "May I come in?"

Richard stared at his former friend for a long moment. Then he nodded permission to enter.

Secure in her husband's embrace, Keely flicked a troubled glance at the baron. Looking at him disturbed her peace of mind. With his blue eyes and his black hair, Smythe was handsome enough, but that aura of untimely death still surrounded him like a shroud. Keely felt in her Druid bones that the baron's demise was fast approaching. What appeared to be a misty black cloud hovered over his head.

"How can I help?" Willis asked, standing near the hearth and facing them. Concern etched itself across his darkly handsome features. "Is there anyone you'd like me to question?"

"I have no idea with whom Jane was involved," Richard replied.

Willis nodded. "Is there aught I can do to ease matters?"

Richard shook his head. Smythe had been his closest friend since they'd fostered together at Burghley's. Remorse for distrusting Willis coiled around Richard's heart.

"I heard that Jane was strangled with her own necklace," Willis told them, his voice low.

"Keely told me," Richard replied. "I believe whoever poisoned my wife's horse also murdered—"

A knock on the door interrupted his words. Keely gasped. Richard and Willis snapped their heads around to stare at the door.

Duke Robert and Lady Dawn burst into the chamber. Both Richard and Willis relaxed. Keely released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Keely rose from her husband's lap and flew into her father's arms. Richard stood and shook his father-in-law's hand.

"Oh, my poor dears," Lady Dawn gushed. "What an unfortunate misunderstanding!"

"Elizabeth is meeting with her advisers," Duke Robert told them. "Dudley is bent on convincing her to lock you in the Tower."

"No! They can't!" Keely cried.

"Now, dear. Becoming upset won't help," Lady Dawn said, giving her a comforting hug.

"I have faith in Elizabeth's judgment," Richard said.

"Dudley paints you to be a demented monster. He's insisting you tried to poison Keely and then strangled Jane," Duke Robert informed them. "Burghley is arguing that anyone could have murdered Jane, especially a jealous husband who wearied of his young wife's infidelities."

"One of her lovers could have done it," Willis added.

"Whoever killed Jane stole my dagger and insignia button," Richard said. "Cold-blooded design spawned the deed, not passionate outrage."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Everyone turned to stare in horror at the door as if the wooden structure had suddenly become a deadly dragon. Keely threw herself into her husband's arms in an effort to protect him from whatever lay beyond the door.

"Basildon!" the Earl of Leicester called from the corridor. "By the authority of Her Majesty, I charge you to surrender yourself to the Crown's justice."

Richard nodded at his father-in-law. Duke Robert stepped forward and opened the door.

Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, swaggered into the room. Behind him walked Lord Burghley, who appeared distinctly unhappy.

"Remain in the corridor," Duke Robert ordered the queen's men.

The soldiers looked at Dudley, who glanced over his shoulder and nodded at them. Duke Robert closed the door.

"Quite a little gathering," Dudley remarked with a smile of immense satisfaction.

"I assume I'm to accompany you to the Tower," Richard said blandly. "Give me five minutes to pack a few necessities."

Dudley nodded his permission.

"Papa, do something!" Keely cried. People died in the Tower, and she refused to let its gray stone walls swallow her husband and trap him there with those tormented souls for all of eternity.

"Dearest, help me pack," Richard said, putting his arm around her shoulders and drawing her across the chamber.

" 'Tis an outrage," Duke Robert insisted. "Richard never killed anyone."

"For safety's sake, Elizabeth has decided to detain him," Dudley replied. "If he's found innocent, Basildon will be released."

"Never fear, Ludlow. Richard will receive fair treatment," Burghley said. "Walsingham and I intend to investigate this case personally. Richard's dagger appearing at the crime scene is too neat for belief. Why, even Leicester could have done the deed and planted false evidence there."

"I find that theory unamusing," Dudley drawled.

With his satchel packed, Richard turned to his wife. He pulled her into his arms, and his mouth swooped down to capture hers in a lingering, heartbreakingly desperate kiss.

"Have a care for the babe," Richard whispered.
"Por tous jours."

"For always," Keely promised, reaching for her dragon pendant. "Wear this, and the power of my mother's love will protect you."

Richard stayed her hands. "You wear it, dearest. My mind will rest easy knowing you're safe."

"Make haste," Dudley snapped.

"I will accompany you to the Tower to verify my son-in-law's safe arrival," Duke Robert said.

"I'll go along too," Willis piped up.

Richard gave Keely a last quick kiss and then turned to leave. Flanked by Dudley and Duke Robert, he quit the chamber.

" 'Tis a terrible mistake!" Keely cried, starting for the door. "I must speak with the queen." At that moment, she would have braved a thousand haunted Long Galleries in order to free her husband.

Gently but firmly, Lord Burghley grasped her forearm and prevented her from leaving. Keely tried in vain to break free of his hold.

"Rash action is always unwise," Burghley scolded her, though not unkindly. When she stilled, he said, "Elizabeth will refuse you an audience. In fact, she has commanded me to charge you to return to Devereux House immediately."

"How will I discover the villain's identity?" Keely asked.

"Never fear, child. I shall take care of it," Burghley answered. "The truth will out."

Keely cast him a doubtful look and announced, "I know who murdered Jane."

Burghley stared at her in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"The blacksmith did it, but I cannot figure out who he is."

"Explain yourself."

"On her deathbed, my mother prophesied that I should beware of the blacksmith," Keely told him.

"My daughter-in-law is very spiritual," Lady Dawn interjected. "Her mother had the second sight."

"The sight?"
Burghley echoed, shaking his head in disapproval. Their incredible silliness boggled his logical mind.

"I believe
blacksmith
is a nickname or a description of the person," Keely added.

"Thank you for your help, Lady Devereux," Burghley said, patting her arm. "I will certainly ponder your words."

He turned to leave, but Keely's voice stopped him at the door. "My lord, when may I visit my husband?"

"By the queen's order, there will be no visitors" came his reply.

Keely burst into tears. Lady Dawn led her to the chair in front of the hearth and forced her to sit down, just as May and June raced into the chamber.

"I'll get you something to eat while your women pack," Lady Dawn said.

Keely shook her head. "Hunger eludes me. I'll eat when I reach Devereux House," she said.