Guardian Angel (40 page)

“I wasn't aware he'd misplaced it.”

“I wasn't either, until he mentioned it to me,” she replied. “Besides, they're only men, after all.”

She took a deep breath, then let Sterns open the door for her. She stood just inside the entrance, her head bowed, her hands folded together in front of her.

Sterns was so surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor, his mouth dropped open.

When Caine called out to her, she visibly jumped, as if his command had the power to terrify her, then slowly walked into the study. The one called Richards bounded to his feet first. He was an elderly man with gray hair, a gentle smile, and a round belly. He had kind eyes, too. Jade acknowledged the introduction by making a perfect curtsy.

She then turned to greet Lyon. When he stood to his full height, he fairly towered over her. “It is good to see you again, Lyon,” she whispered, her voice little more than a faint shiver.

Lyon raised an eyebrow in reaction. He knew she was a timid creature, but he thought that she had gotten over her initial reaction to him the first time they'd met. Now, however, she acted afraid again. The contradiction puzzled him.

Caine was sitting behind his desk. His chair was tilted back against the wall. Jade sat down on the edge of the chair adjacent to the desk, her back ramrod straight. Her hands were clenched in her lap.

Richards and Lyon both resumed their chairs across from her.

Caine was watching Jade. She appeared to be terribly frightened. He wasn't buying it for a minute. She was up to something, he decided, but he would have to wait until later to question her.

Richards cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. His gaze was centered on Jade when he said, “I cannot help but notice, my dear, how worried you seem to be. I've read the letters your father saved, but before I ask you my questions, I want to make it perfectly clear that I don't hold you in less esteem because of your father's transgressions.”

She still looked like a trapped doe, but she managed a timid nod.

“Thank you, Sir Richards,” she replied in a bare whisper. “It is kind of you not to blame me. I was worried that you might condemn me.”

Caine rolled his eyes heavenward. Richards, a man rarely given to showing any affection, was now clasping Jade's hands. The director looked like he wanted to take her into his arms and offer her solace.

She did appear to be very vulnerable. Caine suddenly remembered that that same expression had been on her face when she'd stared at him in the tavern. She'd appeared vulnerable then, too.

What was her game?

“Neither one of us condemns you,” Lyon interjected. He, too, leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “You have had a difficult time of it, Jade.”

“Yes, she has,” Sir Richards agreed.

Caine forced himself not to smile. Both his superior and his friend were falling under Jade's spell. He thought Lyon should have known better. After all, he'd met Jade before. Still, her manner now, added to his earlier thought that she was terribly timid, obviously convinced Lyon that she was sincere.

“Are you up to answering a few questions now?” Richards asked.

Jade nodded. “Would it not be better to have Nathan answer your questions? Men are so much more logical. I'll probably make a muddle out of it.”

“Jade.” Caine said her name as a warning.

She turned to give him a tremulous smile. “Yes, Caine?” she asked.

“Behave yourself.”

Richards turned to frown at Caine. Then he returned his attention to Jade.

“We'll ask Nathan our questions later. If it isn't too painful to recount, please tell us exactly what happened to you from the moment you arrived in London.”

Jade nodded. “Certainly,” she agreed. “You see, this all begins with the letters. My Uncle Harry was given a packet of letters by my father. Just two days later, Father was killed. Harry took me away on his ship then. He saved the letters, and when he felt the time was right, he gave them to me. I read them of course, then showed them to Nathan. My brother was working with Colin at the time, and he confided in him. Now then,” she continued in a brisker tone. “As Caine has probably told you, both Colin and Nathan were . . . attacked. The villains thought they'd done them in, and . . . Pagan decided to let the hired thugs return to London to report their success.”

“A sound decision,” Richards interjected.

“Yes,” Jade said. She turned to frown at Caine. “The plan was very simple. Pagan snatched a physician to take care of the injuries, and it had been decided that when Colin was well enough to travel, he would tell his brother, Caine, about the letters and ask his assistance.”

“What happened to sour this plan?” Richards asked.

Jade frowned at Caine again. “He soured it,” she announced. “Pagan had been made the scapegoat for Nathan and Colin's deaths, as you know, and Caine decided to seek vengeance. His timing couldn't have been worse. The remaining members of the Tribunal couldn't take the risk of Caine finding the pirate and having a talk with him. So Caine had inadvertently put himself in danger.”

“It wasn't inadvertent,” Caine interjected.

She shrugged. “Colin had made Pagan promise not to tell Caine anything. His brother knew Caine would . . . charge right in, you see, and Colin wanted to explain everything. In truth, I do believe Colin wasn't thinking the thing through, but he was in terrible pain at the time and he seemed obsessed with protecting Caine. Pagan agreed, just to placate Colin.”

“And where do you fit into this scheme?” Lyon asked.

“Nathan is my brother,” Jade answered. “I returned to England and went to stay at his country estate. There were several of Pagan's men with me. They took turns watching out for Caine. Several attempts were made to get him, and it was then decided that I would find a way to get Caine away from his hunt. Two days before I was supposed to leave, a series of incidents took place. On the first morning, when I was taking my usual walk, I came upon three men digging up my parents' graves. I shouted, for I was in a rage, you see, over what they were doing. I drew their notice, of course. One of the villains shot at me. I ran back to Nathan's house to get help.”

“Weren't Pagan's men still guarding you?” Richards asked.

Jade shook her head. “They were all needed to keep Caine safe. Besides, I had Nathan's butler, Hudson, and the other servants to assist me.”

“And then what happened?” Lyon asked.

“It was too dark for the servants to go to the graves. It was decided to wait until morning. That night, the house was pillaged,” she continued. “I slept through, however, and never heard a sound. Even my bedchamber was turned upside down.”

“You must have been drugged,” Richards announced.

“I can't imagine how it was done if I was drugged,” Jade said. “The following morning, I rode one of Nathan's mounts back to the graves to see if any evidence had been left. Nathan's butler, Hudson, was having a difficult time believing me, you see, and I wanted to convince him. As it turned out, I never made it to the graves. The villains were obviously waiting to intercept me. They killed Nathan's horse. I went flying to the ground.”

“Good Lord, you could have been killed by the fall,” Richards said.

“I was most fortunate, as I only sustained a few bruises,” she explained. “I went running back to the house, told Hudson what had happened. He sent men to chase after the villains. When they returned, they told me they couldn't find any evidence of foul play. The horse had vanished. I'm not certain how that was accomplished. Caine said it would take more than three men to lift it into a wagon and cart it away.”

She paused to shrug, then continued. “I decided to go to London with all possible haste and immediately ordered the carriage made ready. Yet, as soon as we'd traveled down the first hill, the coachman shouted that there was a fire. We could see the smoke. I returned to the house just in time to witness the full fire. Poor Nathan's house was gutted to the ground. I then ordered Hudson and the other servants to go to Nathan's London residence, then once again set out for my own destination.”

“And where was that?” Lyon asked. “Were you also going to Nathan's town house?”

Jade smiled. “No, I was going to a tavern called the Ne'er Do Well. I had a plan, you see, to get Caine away from his hunt.”

Lyon nodded.

“I don't understand,” Richards interjected. “What exactly was this plan? Caine isn't one to be easily fooled, my dear.”

“I'll explain it all later,” Caine interjected. “Let her finish with this now.”

“On the way to London, the carriage was waylaid. I was hit on the side of my head. The blow made me sleep, and when I awakened, I found that the carriage had been torn apart. I was able to squeeze through the window after I'd widened the frame with the heel of my boot.”

“And then?” Richards asked.

“I walked.”

“All the way to London?” Lyon asked.

“No,” Jade answered. “Not all the way. I was able to . . . borrow a horse from a way station. It was unattended. The owner was probably inside having his supper.”

Jade finished her accounting a few minutes later. She never mentioned the fact that she was Pagan, and Caine assumed he would have to be the one to tell Sir Richards and Lyon.

Just what was her game? Lord, by the time she'd finished her recitation, she was dabbing at the corners of her eyes with Richards' handkerchief.

The director was obviously shaken by her explanation. He leaned back in his chair and shook his head.

“Do you know who the other members of the Tribunal are?” Jade asked him.

“No.”

“But you knew Hammond, didn't you?” she asked. “I understood that the two of you started out together.”

“Yes, we started out together,” Richards agreed. “Yet after a number of years, my dear, we were each given a different division within the War Department. Hammond had so many young men under his direction back then. He ran his own section. I met quite a few eager young saviors, but certainly not all of them.”

“We have several telling clues,” Lyon interjected. “It shouldn't take us long to find out the truth.”

“The first letter was signed by a man named William. They hadn't been assigned their operative names yet. Hell, that's the most common name in England,” Caine added. “How many Williams work for the War Office?”

Jade answered his question. “Actually, there were only three in Hammond's files.”

Everyone turned to look at her. “Pagan read the files,” she whispered. She blushed, then added, “It was necessary. There's William Pryors, William Terrance, and William Clayhill. All three worked for your department, Sir Richards. Two are still alive, though retired from duty, but William Terrance died four years ago.”

“You're certain of these facts?” Lyon asked.

“How did Pagan get to our files?” Richards was obviously disconcerted. “By God, no one can get through our security.”

“Pagan did,” Caine said. He took over the conversation then, explaining in more detail how the pirate had set out to protect him. He told them about Colin's and Nathan's near miss with the sharks, too. When he was finished, no one said a word for a long while.

Jade was gripping her hands together. It wasn't a pretense now, but the memory of the sharks that made her so agitated.

“Three eager young men, bent on saving the world,” Richards whispered. “But the lust for power became more important.”

Jade nodded agreement. “Did you notice, sir, that the first letters were signed with the wording, ‘for the good of England,' but as time went on, and they grew more and more bold, they changed the wording?”

“I noticed,” Sir Richards muttered. “ ‘For the good of the Tribunal' was how they signed their notes,” he added. “And that does say it all, doesn't it. There can be no misinterpretation here.”

“Her father was killed by the two others when he refused to go along with their plans, and then Hammond was murdered,” Caine said.

Richards nodded. “We must find the other two,” he muttered. “Lord, there's so much to take in.” He let out a weary sigh, then said, “Well, thank God Pagan seems to be on our side. When I think of all the damage he could do with those files, my blood runs cold.”

“Oh, Pagan's very honorable,” Jade rushed out. “Most thieves are, sir. You mustn't worry that the information will fall into the wrong hands.”

“Did that bastard read my file?” Lyon demanded.

Caine didn't answer him. He didn't think there was any reason to share the truth with his friend. It would only upset him.

“The very fact that there were sharks in those waters,” Richards whispered, changing the topic. “Do you realize the courage it must have taken . . .”

“Have you finished your questions?” Jade interrupted.

The director immediately reached out and patted her hands again. “We've exhausted you, haven't we, my dear? I can tell how distressing this is for you.”

“Thank you for your consideration,” she whispered. She stood up and didn't protest at all when Richards embraced her.

“We'll find the culprits, I promise you,” he said.

Jade hid her hands in the folds of her gown, then walked over to Lyon. He immediately stood up. She leaned against him. “Thank you, Lyon, for helping us. Please give my love to Christina. I cannot wait until I can visit with her again.”

She turned back to Richards and hugged him again. “I forgot to thank you as well,” she explained.