The Desires of a Countess (35 page)

That caught Simon’s attention. “Ginny is sick?”

He had prayed the reports from men along the road
had been wrong. After all, Ginny hadn’t seemed ill when she’d come
to see him a few nights before. What had happened? If that bastard
had done something to her…

“Well, just the usual morning sickness. I’m sure you
remember from the first child.” She smiled at Jack as he rolled
over in his sleep.

“The-first-child.” Simon raised his face to look at
the woman, but she seemed perfectly serious. She believed Ginny was
carrying a baby. His baby.

Swallowing hard, Simon stepped back from the bed.
She could be. His child could very well be growing inside of
her.

“I’m certain you’ve been worried.” Mrs. Wilding
leaned over. “Mr. Dennison wouldn’t want me to tell you this, but
Lady Westdale has been desperate to write you, but he wouldn’t let
her.”

Simon clenched his teeth. “Wouldn’t he?”

The woman nodded. “You two must not get along.”

“Where is Mr. Dennison right now?” he asked as
calmly as he could manage.

“I’m not certain, though your wife went for a walk
down by the stables.”

Noah was at the stables questioning the people
there. Relief washed over him. Surely the siblings would find each
other. Ginny would be safe until Simon could reach her side. Once
there, he never intended to leave again.

“Thank you. Will you continue to
watch my son while I go find her? I’m sure we’ll straighten
everything out with her
brother
when I do.”

The woman’s face lit up with happiness at his
request. “Of course. The little boy is just a lamb. I’d be pleased
to stay with him while he naps.”

Simon pressed a bit of coin into her hand with a
smile, then hurried from the room. If he was lucky, Ginny had
already found Noah and was safe. If not, then she was still at the
mercy of Dennison. And so was his child.

His child.

If the woman’s guess was right and Ginny really was
breeding, Robert had put his child in danger as well as Ginny and
her son. He would pay. Simon would see him transported for what
he’d done. Dennison might be a magistrate, but Simon had some
connections of his own, and he had a feeling Noah and Audrey had
even more.

He ran as hard as he could to the stable. He was
about to burst through the partly opened door when he heard voices.
One was Ginny’s, but the other was a man’s.

And it wasn’t Noah.

Simon flattened against the wall and drew the pistol
he’d stuffed in his waistband. As much as he wanted to burst inside
and sweep Ginny out of danger, he needed to analyze the situation
first.

When he peeked inside, he was horrified to see Ginny
on her knees in the dirt, cradling Noah’s bleeding head in her lap
as Dennison stood with his back to the stable door, brandishing a
nasty bludgeon.

Dennison tapped the stick against
his palm. “This is the club
I
killed Henry with.”

***

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ginny said
as she gently laid Noah’s head on the dirt and tried to get up. She
needed to be able to run if Robert started swinging his weapon
again. “I killed Henry. You saw me from the window, you told me
so.”

Robert laughed. “We all have our
little secrets. You have yours, but I have mine, too. And mine is
the most delicious one of all.
I
killed my brother that night.”

The man had lost his mind. Not that he’d ever been
that stable to begin with, but now he was completely gone.

Ginny shook her head. “Robert, I was there. Henry
turned on Jack so I hit him over the head with the fire poker. He
fell.”

Ginny winced as the memory returned but managed to
push it away. She had to stay focused on the madman before her, not
get lost in memories of another.

“Yes, let’s retrace the steps of that night, shall
we?” Robert said as he smacked the club against his palm over and
over. Each solid thwack made Ginny shiver with fear. “You struck my
‘beloved’ half-brother over the head with the fireplace poker. Then
what happened?”

Ginny swallowed. As distasteful as it was to relive
the horror of that night over and over, the more time this took,
the more likely it was someone else would come into the stable to
save her and her brother. Her only choice was to play along.

“After I hit him and he fell, I gathered up Jack and
ran from the room. I went to Ingram and we sent for Harriet.”

“You were quite hysterical. I remember how much you
screamed when he fell.” Robert smiled. “I think you terrified
yourself more than you surprised him by finally fighting back.”

“How can you take pleasure in this?” she asked with
a shake of her head. “If you claim to love me, how can you look at
my pain and find it amusing.”

“Life is pain and pain is amusing.”
Dennison shrugged. “But we’re talking about
your
story right now, so let’s get
back to it. What happened after that interfering bitch Harriet
arrived?”

Ginny ground her teeth as she took a few long
breaths. Finally, she felt strong enough to continue. “I told
Ingram and Harriet what had happened. It took a while because I was
crying. Ingram suggested Henry might not be dead from just one
blow, so we went to the parlor together to check on his
condition.”

Dennison leaned on a stable door like he was
discussing sport in a gaming hall. “Was there anything different
about the room when you came back?”

Ginny’s mind spun. She was too terrified to have
this sick conversation. “I don’t know.”

He frowned. “Yes, you do. And if you don’t think of
it soon, I’ll start in with the club again. Your brother is quite
defenseless, I don’t think he’ll survive many blows. Your husband
learned that.”

Ginny took a step to protect Noah, but Dennison
waved the club at her to wield her off. “What was different about
the room, Virginia?”

“I don’t know!” she shrieked before she regained
some control. She covered her eyes with her hands and tried to
think. “H-Henry was on his back.”

“Yes, but you’d hit him from behind and he’d fallen
forward, hadn’t he?” Robert shot her an evil smirk.

She nodded slowly. “I-I thought perhaps he had
turned over during his last moments of life.”

“Wrong.” Robert said with a laugh.
“Now let me tell you what
really
happened that night.”

Ginny blinked back tears and nodded. Just a few more
moments. Surely someone had to come soon.

“After you left the room, I snuck inside. Henry was
already coming around and he was furious. He told me in great
detail how he planned to kill you.” Robert frowned. “I looked at
him with his perfect life. A life he couldn’t even be grateful for.
And I knew he would never appreciate it or you. When he turned his
back to make himself a drink, I hit him as hard as I could with a
big piece of wood I’d found in the yard.” He held up the stick with
pride.

She stumbled back a few steps. “You
killed him?” she whispered. “
You
really killed him?”

Robert nodded. “But my first blow
only stunned him. My brother always did have a thick skull. He
rolled over to face me and I choked him to death. I wanted him to
see that it was me who took his life.
All
of his life.”

She reeled back as a fresh wave of nausea threatened
to bring her to her knees. But this sickness wasn’t because of the
child that might grow inside of her, this was because of the truth
she finally understood. For months she’d tortured herself as she
relived the murder over and over. That dull thud of the poker as it
had struck Henry’s skull had woken her in the night from her
nightmares. It had haunted her every time she’d dared to enter the
parlor where Henry had died.

Though she’d known she had no choice but to defend
Jack, she had hated that she was a killer. And now she knew she
wasn’t. Her relief was immense, but faded just as quickly as it had
come. What good was it to have her named cleared if she didn’t live
long enough to celebrate it?

Robert laughed. “It’s a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?
Trying to adjust to a new truth so many months after you were sure
you murdered your own husband. My, how you must have tortured
yourself.”

She glared at him but refused to say anything. She’d
given him enough pleasure through her pain. She refused to give him
any more by responding to his vileness.

“I must say, I was impressed by your cover-up of
what had happened.” Robert shrugged. “I was certain you would
immediately send for me and confess the whole bitter truth. I even
planned to ‘save’ you from the consequences. I thought that would
endear me to you. But then I got your message that Henry was
missing. From that moment, I knew there was a deviousness to you
that would fit with me very well.”

“Oh, you are a disgusting man,” she burst out. “I
covered up the truth to protect my son.”

“And yourself.”

Throwing up her hands, she cried, “Why are you
telling me this? Why not just let me go on forever believing that I
killed my husband and could be caught any day?”

“You want to know why I’m telling you now?” Robert
grabbed her arm to yank her closer. His eyes flashed with strong
emotions and his grip was hard as steel on her flesh. “Because I
want you to know just how far I’ve already gone to have you. If
I’ve killed my own flesh and blood to make you mine, do you really
think I’d ever give you up? No matter what, Virginia, you will be
my wife or by God, I’ll be sure no one else will have you.”

She wrenched her arm away and tried to control her
trembling and the wild cadence of her heart.

“Then take me away. Leave Noah here.” She took in a
shuddering breath. “Leave my boy here.”

She hated saying those words, but if no one would
come to set her free from this man, she wanted at least one of her
children to be safe from him. Noah would take care of Jack and
raise him in the love of her family.

As for Simon’s baby, she would have to find some
other way to protect his child.

Robert laughed that bitter, loud laugh again as he
walked over to Noah, who was beginning to groan his way back to
consciousness. “No, I’m afraid that just won’t do. You see, your
brother knows too much. I cannot allow him to live and continue to
hound us until he takes you away from me. I won’t let that
happen.”

“No,” Ginny shouted as he raised the club.

“Say goodbye,” Robert ordered.

“Stop or I’ll shoot you where you stand,” came a
voice from the doorway. A familiar voice.

Ginny pivoted and found Simon standing in the
stable, his pistol drawn and pointed squarely at Dennison’s
chest.

“Don’t tempt me, Dennison,” he snarled. “I’ve been
waiting to rip you to shreds for a long time.”

Ginny’s heart rushed to her throat at the sight of
him. He looked tired and angry as he glared at her captor, but he
was there.

“Simon,” she breathed.

“I’m here and I won’t ever let this bastard hurt
you,” Simon promised as he took slow, steady steps into the
stable.

Robert turned to glare at Simon. “Webber, you should
have learned your lesson when I blackened your eye.”

“A couple sucker punches could bring any man down,
couldn’t they?” Simon said with a small smile. “If you’d fought
fairly, you never would have had the chance to bruise me. But it
isn’t in your twisted nature to play fair. You blackmail a woman
you pretend to love. You kill your own brother to steal his life.
You’re a coward, Dennison, plain and simple.”

He had come within a few feet of them and tossed a
side-glance her way. “Is Noah badly hurt?”

“No,” Ginny said as she glanced down at her brother,
who was now rubbing his head as he tried to open his eyes.

“He’ll probably hate that I saved his life.” Simon
said with a laugh.

“I’m sure.” Ginny smiled with relief. She was safe.
Again his eyes slid to her. “And the baby?”

Her breath caught in her throat. He knew about that,
too.

“I’m not sure, but he or she seems to be fine.” She
shook her head. “I promise you, I didn’t know about our child when
I left, Simon. In fact, I tried to get the innkeeper’s wife-”

“I know.” His eyes softened. “I know.”

“You’re having his child?” Robert whirled on her
with hatred in his eyes. “His bastard child?”

“Robert,” she began, but before she could say
anything more, he pulled the club back again and began to swing it
toward her.

“If I can’t have you, no one will,” he roared.

Ginny screamed as she put up her hands to block the
blow, but before she felt the crush of the wood against her skull,
Simon depressed the trigger and a shot cracked through the air.

Robert crumpled to the floor with a look of anger
and surprise on his face. “Bitch,” he breathed. On his last gasp of
air, he reached out toward her.

With a sob, Ginny dodged his grip and stumbled
toward Simon. He caught her in his arms as the pistol hit the dirt
at their feet.

“It’s over now,” Simon whispered as he ran his hands
over her shoulders and back and through her hair.

Pulling away, Ginny kissed him as hard as she could.
“Are you hurt?”

“Me?” He stared at her in disbelief. “What about
you?”

“I’m fine.” She smiled and didn’t even bother to
wipe away the tears that streamed down her face. “If I’m with you,
I’ll be fine.”

“I know neither one of you is asking,” Noah said
from the ground at their feet. “But I feel like hell.”

Ginny laughed as she reluctantly pulled from Simon’s
arms to drop down to her brother’s level. “How’s your head?”

“Awful, thank you.” He sent Simon a
pained smile as the other man pulled him to his feet. “God, I don’t
think anyone knocked me unconscious in over ten years of spying.
And one idiot magistrate with a billy club, a
billy club
for God’s sake, brought me
down.”