"I
think you underestimate your daughter's love for you and her faith in you. Yes,
it will be a shock. And painful. But she knows you love her, Aidan, and even
when she discovers things about the past, she'll still have fairy dust to
hold."
"Fairy
dust?"
"She
told me about Caislean Alainn, and butterflies and gold flecks that clung to
her little hand."
"One
more of my accursed lies. God, I was so good at them."
"You
made magic."
"No.
I painted her illusions, while her real legacy waited outside these castle
walls. Shame, because of what her parents were; revulsion when she hears the
truth; and now, worst of all, some kind of animal who intends to use her
against me, to hurt her so he can destroy me. Most terrifying of all, I don't
know if I can protect her."
"You'll
do what you have to do, Aidan. Cassandra believes in you." Her voice
dropped low.
"I
believe in you. You have so much love inside you, I
know you'll find the strength to get through this. You'll find a way."
It
was a gift, the most precious one Aidan had ever received. "You almost
make me believe in myself," he said in a ragged whisper. "I haven't
for a very long time. Maybe... maybe I never have."
Norah
reached out to him, and he felt her arms close about him, her cheek pressed
soft against his bare chest.
He
felt as though he had bared his soul, and the need to bury himself in her love
became an obsession fiercer than he had ever known. Yet within that precious
gift lay the possibility of his own damnation. For if he failed Norah, failed
Cassandra this time, Aidan knew it would destroy him for all eternity.
"Aidan?"
She breathed his name, then paused for a heartbeat. "I love you."
The
words trembled between them, Aidan's throat parched with the need to whisper
them back to her, tell her. But all he could do was lower his mouth to hers,
trying with all that was in him to let his kiss reveal to her the words he
could not say.
When
he pulled away, she looked up into his face, so full of faith and hope and
determination and quiet courage. "Aidan, we'll find a way. Tell me where
to begin."
"Begin?
Christ, if I only knew. There are dozens of possibilities, and somehow I'm
going to have to look into every one. I'm going to try to track down any
information about the bastard Gilpatrick told me of. He may be dead, but there
might be some clue, some hint, some trail leading back to whoever told him
about the wagers. Then I intend to rake through my memory, list the worst
enemies I might have made. Men bested at the gaming table or on the dueling field.
Maybe a few I knew back in the war. The problem is, it will take time. And time
may be the one thing Cassandra doesn't have. There's no telling when this
sadistic bastard might strike again. No telling how desperate he might be. It
makes me insane, staring into every face, wondering... wondering if they might
be the one stalking Cass, stalking you."
The
sound of a knock at the bedchamber door made Aidan straighten and Norah pull
away.
"Lady
Kane and I are not to be disturbed," Aidan bit out roughly.
"Your
pardon, sir, but the gentleman insists on seeing Lady Kane. He says he'll not
leave until he does."
"Who
the devil—"
"It's
an English gentleman, sir. A fine one."
"Blast
it, if Montgomery is sniffing about again, I'll bloody his chin this
time."
"I
can't imagine it's Philip. He left for his estate in Sligo when the rest of the
guests departed last night." Norah rose, tidying her hair with distracted
hands, smoothing her gown. "I'll just run down for a moment."
"Like
hell." Aidan dragged on his shirt, then looped his arm protectively about
his wife, his eyes simmering with distrust, his muscles tense and wary, and
they both walked down the stairs toward the drawing room the servant had
settled the guest in.
Norah
opened the door, then stepped into the room. She stiffened and shrieked with
joy. In a heartbeat, she tore away from Aidan's grasp and flung herself into
the Englishman's arms.
"Richard!"
she cried out. "Thank God you have come!"
Aidan
stiffened as the stranger let out a ragged laugh, the sound grating against
already frayed nerves.
"I
couldn't stay away another moment," the man said, swirling her around in
his embrace. "I've been insane with worry, cursing myself a hundred times
a day for a fool because I ever let you go.
God,
Norah—"
"Another
heartbroken
suitor?" Aidan bit out.
Norah
turned a glowing face back to him, and he felt a crippling jab of jealousy.
"Aidan,
this is the person I love and trust most in the whole wide world." She
flushed. "After you and Cassandra, of course. My brother, Richard."
The
instinctive dislike he'd felt the moment he'd laid eyes on the man intensified.
Aidan's shoulders squared, his jaw hardening. "I see. So this is the man
who sent you off to wed a complete stranger."
"Aidan!"
Norah's soft protest was lost as color spilled up Farnsworth's neck onto his
handsome cheeks.
Fires
of shame and anger simmered in bright eyes. "No one is more ashamed of
that day's work than I am. I've blamed myself a dozen times a day, wondered if
she was safe... happy."
"I
am!" Norah insisted. "Oh, Richard, I—"
But
the man warmed to his diatribe, with all the passion of a parliamentarian
pleading a cause destined to swell his bank account. "When I discovered
your reputation, Kane— God, I all but went insane."
"It
seems to me my... reputation... should have been easy enough to unearth. The
mere mention of my name should have drowned you in tales of scandal and
debauchery."
"Aidan,
please! Richard did his best to help me. He only stumbled across tales of your
bravery in the war, and—"
Aidan
regarded the Englishman through narrowed lids, his voice soft. "I'm
certain tales of my heroism would be the first thing off the lips of the
society dragons. We all know how charitable the haute ton is, determined to
show everyone in the most favorable light."
Hurt
welled up in Norah's chocolate eyes, her sweet mouth curving in a silent plea.
Aidan felt like a bastard. Exhaustion, frustration, and very real fear left him
feeling edgy, goading him to lash out. And God knew, since Norah had been dumped
on his doorstep, helpless and friendless, completely at his mercy, he'd thought
more than once what he'd say the first time he met the brainless idiot who was
responsible for thrusting her into such possible danger.
And
yet it was obvious from every curve of his wife's sweet face that she had
affection for this brother, the one person in her stepfather's cursed household
who had offered her even the most simple kindness. Besides, Aidan's conscience
nudged him, had it not been for this heedless fool, this miraculous woman would
never have come to Rathcannon to change Aidan's life.
He
battled long seconds to rein in his temper, bracing himself by laying one hand
on Norah's shoulder. The feel of her warmth against his palm reminded him how
much he owed her. Offering this brainless stepbrother of hers a decent welcome
was little enough to give her in return. Yes, Farnsworth's arrival was
ill-timed: The blithering fool could hardly have chosen a more inappropriate
moment to make his appearance if he'd tried. But his visit might actually cheer
Norah and Cassandra. Help take their mind off the encroaching danger.
Aidan
heaved a sigh, a twinge shooting through his ribs. He cursed, low.
"Farnsworth, it's been a helluva night. I'm..." Aidan looked from
Norah to her stepbrother, fully intending to apologize for his churlishness,
but somehow he couldn't squeeze the words past his throat. Instead, he said
gruffly, "You're Norah's family. This is her home. Of course you are
welcome."
The
smile on Norah's face should have dazzled him. Instead, he fought the strange
urge to interpose himself between her and the man whose handsome features were
now wreathed in the most forgiving of grins.
Farnsworth
came toward Aidan with the slightest limp and extended his hand. Aidan gritted
his teeth and took it, giving it a brisk shake.
"Apology
accepted," Farnsworth said, with a sunny inflection that made Aidan want
to check his pockets to see if they'd been picked. "I don't blame you for
being indignant on my little sister's behalf. She was treated shamefully by my
father and by me."
"No,
Richard! You were so kind!" She turned to Aidan, her heart in her eyes.
"Aidan, Richard even met me at the docks before I left and made me a
present of trunks full of clothes, the loveliest trousseau any bride could ever
have wished for."
"Bah!
As if a few trinkets could obliterate the wrong I did you," Farnsworth
insisted. "I was a bumbling fool who might have blithely sent you off into
disaster. Norah, no matter how well intentioned I might have been, Kane is
right. It's only by the grace of God that you're safe, and... dare I say it?
Happy?" Tenderness oozed out of every scented pore as Farnsworth caught
her chin between his fingers and tipped her face up to him. "A blind man
could see that you've formed an attachment to your new husband. And yet I fear
there are shadows in your eyes. You know, you could never hide it from me when
you were troubled. Please, darling, let Richard help, if I may."
Aidan
could see the moment Norah's joy at her stepbrother's surprising arrival was
tainted by the memory of the tense time all at Rathcannon had suffered. She
nibbled at her lower lip, looking so delicate, so uncertain.
"Aidan
was just—just saying how dreadfully much he has to do. I'm certain that you
will be an absolute godsend, considering all that has happened," she
confided.
Aidan's
hands tightened into fists. The mere thought of this polished Englishman being
privy to Aidan's darkest fears made every nerve in his body sizzle.
"Norah, your brother has come to visit with you. There is no need to
distract him with matters that are none of his concern."
Farnsworth's
brows drew down over his straight nose. "That sounds rather ominous, Kane.
Is something amiss? If so, you may consider me at your service. After all, we are
brothers now."
Aidan
knew a swift need to snap out a denial, yet he leashed his tongue for Norah's
sake. "I... thank you for your offer. I will be sure to consider it should
I ever happen to need your aid."
"But
you were just saying how much there is to be done. Surely Richard can be of
use. I know he may seem a bit... a bit..." She hesitated, plucking
nervously at a fold of her gown, her cheeks coloring.
But
if she feared offending the fool, she needn't have. Farnsworth let out a
self-deprecating laugh. "Shallow? Scatter-brained?"
"That's
not what I meant to say at all!" Norah said defensively. "Perhaps...
impulsive."
"Ah-hah.
A more diplomatic way of saying scatterbrained," Farnsworth observed.
"Perhaps it
would
be better if Kane didn't entrust me with this
great dark secret."
"Don't
be ridiculous. It's not a secret." Norah turned to her brother. "Last
night Aidan's daughter, Cassandra, was nearly abducted from the castle
gardens."
Farnsworth
clapped one hand to his chest, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Abducted?
By brigands?"
"We
don't know for certain who made the attempt. We can only be glad it didn't
succeed."
"My
God, she's just a child!" Farnsworth exclaimed. "How old is
she?"
"Fifteen,"
Norah supplied. "Aidan went out in search of the men who did it, but
they'd vanished."
"But
why would anyone strike out at an innocent girl?"
"To
get to me," Aidan ground out.
Farnsworth
seemed to be struggling to digest that, outrage blossoming on his face.
"The villainous churls!" He groped for his cravat, shuddering.
"Of course, one does hear of such... such abominable things happening, and
yet—My God, it makes my skin crawl when I think of what the poor innocent girl
might have been subjected to. She could have been murdered. Raped."
"Farnsworth!"
Aidan snarled, the man's words stirring up all his own fears and nightmares,
every time he thought of how close Cassandra had come to being helpless, in the
power of maniacs bent on revenge. His stomach twisted, his chest constricted.
The
English fool stopped, casting a horrified glance at Norah, as if suddenly
realizing what had slipped from his unguarded tongue. "Forgive me. I
just... I cannot tell you what a shock it is to hear of such a thing."
"There
is more, Richard," Norah said. "It seems this monster has struck a
set of wagers—one about Cassandra, and—and one about me."
Farnsworth's
jaw set with determination and his arms crossed over his chest. "Exactly
what are you going to do about this, Kane?" There was challenge in the
words, a gauntlet flung down.