The Secret Kiss of Darkness (28 page)

‘There, there, miss, it’s over now. Everything’s going to be all right. The little girl will be fine and you too. There now.’ The kind voice went on and on, but Kayla paid no attention. How could everything possibly be fine? After what Caroline had done, Wes would definitely never want to marry again. And Nell would hate Kayla for causing her mother’s death. Kayla might even be put on trial for manslaughter. There was no future for her here now. None at all.

‘Father? Father, please don’t leave me yet.’

Jago cracked open first one eyelid and then the other, his vision swimming for a moment before he was able to focus on the young man sitting on a chair next to his bed. ‘Water,’ he croaked, his voice rasping. It was no wonder, he thought, since it felt as though his throat had been scored by nails, leaving it burning and sore.

‘Here, let me help you.’

Jago’s head was lifted and a cup held to his lips. He drank half the contents, the liquid blessedly cool even though it hurt to swallow. He blinked and looked at Wesley again.

‘You shouldn’t be in here. Might be catching,’ he said.

Wesley shook his head. ‘No, the physician said you brought this on yourself by going out in the boat on such a freezing night. What were you thinking? You should have left it to others. Now you have bronchitis or maybe even congestion of the lungs.’

Wesley knew what Jago and the others did, but had learned to turn a blind eye ever since Jago had pointed out how his clandestine outings helped the poorer members of the community. The boy had grown up a caring landowner, but even his best efforts weren’t always enough. The smuggling was still a necessary evil.

‘I’m not too old yet,’ Jago protested. ‘They needed me. Oversee things.’

‘You were already ill, Aunt Sophie told me.’ Wesley stood up abruptly and started pacing by the bed. ‘I thought you were dying last night.’

Jago heard the anguish in his son’s voice and it sent a warm glow through him to know the boy cared. He and Sophie had two other sons now, but this one was special, even though he’d never openly show any preference. He frowned as something niggled at the back of his mind, then it came to him and he turned startled eyes on Wesley.

‘What did you call me before?’

Wesley stopped and flung himself onto the chair again. ‘Father,’ he said, sending Jago a challenging look. ‘I called you Father.’ When Jago didn’t reply, he added defiantly, ‘Well, I’m not blind, you know. I do own a mirror.’

Jago had to smile at that, but soon grew serious again. ‘I told you your grandfather was Sir Philip Marcombe, the man who sired me,’ he said, but Wesley glared at him.

‘I’ve seen his portrait and all the others. No one in the family has ever been this dark. Only you. I thought perhaps if you were dying, you’d admit the truth.’

Jago closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. ‘Stop telling me I’m dying because I’m not.’ He opened his eyes and looked at Wesley. ‘And I would gladly admit the truth, so long as it stays between you and me.’

‘Why the secrecy? Are you ashamed of me? You’re a bastard yourself, why should it matter to you?’ Now that he’d been reassured Jago wasn’t in imminent danger of dying, Wesley seemed to feel free to give vent to his anger.

‘Come now, boy, haven’t I taught you to use your brain? Think about it. What would have happened if I’d told the world? You’d have lost Marcombe Hall to that toad Henry and you’d have been nothing but the son of an innkeeper.’

‘I wouldn’t have cared. I’d never have known, would I?’ Wesley was still scowling.

‘Ah, but you’re forgetting one thing. Your mother would have been branded a whore, albeit she wasn’t around to hear it. Would you have wanted that?’ Wesley looked like he was about to say something he might regret and Jago held up a hand. ‘No, she didn’t deserve it. And I’ll tell you why.’

Despite the burning in his throat he told Wesley the truth about his mother and the husband who had ill-treated her. The boy was nearly eighteen, old enough to know about the murder, even though Jago could see it shocked him. When he’d finished his tale, he lay back against the pillows and fought for breath.

‘Now do you see? I couldn’t let my brother win, even in death. If I’d acknowledged you, it would have been a victory of sorts for John.’ He put a hand on Wesley’s arm. ‘But you must never think for a moment that I’d have been ashamed to own you as my son. And if it had ever been necessary, I would have done it.’

Wesley nodded and put his own hand over Jago’s, gripping it tightly. ‘I understand, Father. Thank you for telling me.’

‘I always intended to, but I thought to wait. I see now I was wrong.’

‘No, you’re almost always right.’ Wesley smiled. ‘You’d just better be right about recovering too, because I’m not letting you leave me yet, do you hear?’

‘Never fear, son. I’ll be with you for a while yet.’

The lighting on the ward was subdued when Kayla woke up and she gathered it must be late at night. Her head felt woolly now, rather than painful. They must have given her a sleeping pill or strong painkillers. Perhaps it had been for the best. The worst of the shock had worn off and she could think rationally again. She knew that technically she wasn’t responsible for Caroline’s death, the woman had brought it on herself and it had been an accident, but she still felt terrible about the whole event. She should have left it to the professionals, or Wes, who would have known how to deal with Caroline. Instead, she had let her anger rule and her attack had been the catalyst for disaster. Would Nell ever forgive her for causing her mother’s death?

She sighed and turned her head on the pillow. Her gaze encountered a pair of very blue eyes and for a moment her heart gave a leap, but then she saw that it wasn’t Wes or Jago. It was Alex.

‘Shhh,’ he whispered. ‘There’s someone keeping guard outside.’

‘What? Why?’ For a split second she wondered if she would be charged with manslaughter after all, but Alex soon put her right.

He managed a small smile. ‘I’m a prisoner, remember? They fished me and Nell out of the water, but because of the knife wound they had to bring me here before taking me into custody. I guess these were the only two beds available tonight, or they would never have put me next to you, I’m sure.’

‘What were you doing, Alex? Was it drugs? Smuggling?’

‘Yes.’ He sighed and stared at the ceiling. ‘I don’t know how I could have been so stupid, but someone persuaded me it would be easy money. A friend of Caro’s, who made it all seem like a doddle. She’d helped him before and they’d never got caught. They told me all I had to do was go out with my yacht, rendezvous with another boat and give them the stuff which was delivered to us here earlier in the week. Then everything else would be taken care of and I would get a cut. It seemed a piece of cake. And I desperately needed to pay off some debts. Caro and I had been living way beyond our means for quite some time.’

‘Well, you probably would have pulled it off if it hadn’t been for Wes. He must have come after me through the secret entrance and heard you and Caroline.’

‘Secret entrance? So that’s how she got in and out. I did wonder …’

‘You didn’t know about it?’

‘No, I never went with her at night. I knew she sometimes went to the Hall, but I thought she just stood outside or something. She wasn’t always … rational.’

‘You mean she was off her head?’

He gave her a rueful smile. ‘Yes, most of the time and it was getting worse. I think she’d gone onto the serious drugs rather than just antidepressants or whatever, but I only did a bit of cocaine myself.’ He shuddered. ‘No more though. Never again.’ He shook his head. ‘So she found the secret entrance, huh? I’ll be damned. Wes and I looked for that when we were kids. Never found it.’

‘It’s at the back of the wardrobe in my room, or what used to be Caroline’s room.’

‘That explains it. I thought she still had a key to the house. In fact, she told me she did.’ He rubbed his face as if it was all too much to take in.

‘Lucky for me that Wes went for help instead of trying to rescue us on his own as I did.’ Kayla gave him a considering look. ‘Are you angry with Wes for calling the police or coastguard or whatever they were?’

‘Hell, no! I would’ve done the same thing. He was only thinking of Nell and you, I’m sure. He usually doesn’t care less what I’m up to. My biggest mistake was to get involved with Caro. I just wanted to get back at Wes somehow, thought it would annoy him, and she could be quite … uhm, tantalising when she wanted to be. Guess I was flattered she wanted me rather than my brother. Hah! What a moron. I’m afraid she had me under her spell for a while, and I didn’t see her bad traits until it was too late.’

‘You’d never hurt Nell, would you?’

‘No way! I love her so much myself, it never occurred to me her own mother could ill-treat her. I never quite believed Wes’s stories, but I should have listened to him.’

‘Yes, it was strange. I wonder why she was like that?’

‘Jealousy, pure and simple. Caro couldn’t stand not to be the centre of attention. She’d been Wes’s world, but when Nell came along she had to share his affections. Caro didn’t do sharing. Never had – she was a pampered only daughter and all that. And, of course, drugs played a big part. She was definitely on something tonight, I saw it in her eyes. Nell’s better off with Wes, I’m sure of that.’ He turned to her again. ‘I would have taken you both back, you know. Especially after that gagging business. I’d never have sailed to France or done anything else Caro wanted. Do you believe me?’

‘Yes.’ Kayla closed her eyes. She felt completely drained of energy. ‘So what will happen to you now?’

‘Oh, I’ll go to prison, I expect. But it’s what I deserve, so I’m not complaining.’

Kayla smiled. ‘That’s an unusual attitude. Most criminals wouldn’t agree with you.’

‘No, I suppose not. I think I’ve just finally grown up and now I’m going to take my punishment and go on from there. You can be damned sure I’ll never do anything this stupid again.’

‘I’m glad to hear it. Let’s get some sleep now, Alex. My head is starting to hurt again. I promise to come and visit you if I can.’

‘Thanks. Sleep well, then.’

When Kayla woke the following morning Alex was gone and so was the guard. She was glad they’d had their nightly conversation though. It made her see him in a whole new light. And despite everything, she had a feeling he’d be all right now, no matter what sentence he had to serve first.

She asked the doctor how Nell was doing, and was assured the little girl would be fine. ‘She’s had a shock, to be sure, but children are remarkably resilient, you know. Her father is with her now.’

‘Right. I’d better not disturb them then.’

She waited all morning, but Wes didn’t come to see her and her spirits plummeted ever further. Maybe he couldn’t bear to be near her after what had happened. The thought depressed her no end. After a final check-up she was discharged in the afternoon and took a taxi back to Marcombe Hall. A distraught Annie was waiting for her, and it took quite a while to calm the woman down and explain everything that had happened.

‘Oh, goodness, to think it would come to this,’ Annie wailed. ‘I always knew there was rivalry between the brothers, but not to this extent. And that Caroline! Oh, poor, poor little Nell …’

In the end Kayla pleaded a headache and went to her room, unable to cope with any more wailing, and she was still there in the early evening when Wes returned from the hospital. He knocked on her door and tiptoed in when she called, ‘Come in.’

‘Kayla. How are you?’ He sat down on the side of her bed. She thought he looked pale and drawn, which was of course natural in the circumstances. Kayla wanted to pull him close and comfort him, but held back. She was still unsure what he thought of her part in the drama.

‘I’m fine thanks. Just a headache, but the doctor said it would probably hurt for a few days and then disappear.’ She looked away. ‘Is Nell okay?’

‘Yes, thank God. She’s still a bit shocked, but they keep her sedated most of the time and whenever she wakes up she seems better each time.’ He ran a hand through his hair in a tired gesture.

‘I’m glad. I’m sorry to have caused her pain, but it was an accident, I swear.’

‘Oh, it wasn’t your fault. I’m sure Nell will understand. It will just take time for her to come to terms with all this. And me. To think that Alex, my own brother … He should have come to me for help. I can’t believe he didn’t. Although to be fair, I did tell him I’d bailed him out for the last time.’

Kayla desperately wanted him to take her in his arms and hold her, but he sat unmoving and gazed into space. The silence stretched between them.

‘Maybe you’d better get some sleep,’ she finally suggested, and he nodded and stood up as if in a trance.

‘Yes, I have to admit I’m a bit tired. We’ll talk more later.’ And without a backward glance he left the room. Not through their private connecting door, but through the one which led to the corridor. Kayla took this to mean that their intimacy was at an end, and as soon as the door closed behind him she rolled into a tight ball of misery and let the tears flow. How long she cried for she had no idea.

Wes stumbled towards his own room, too weary to be able to think straight. He’d been awake all night and all day, keeping watch by his daughter’s bedside until he knew for sure she was going to be all right, and it had taken its toll on him. He was completely drained, both physically and mentally.

As he undressed and fell onto his bed there was a thought nagging at the back of his mind, something to do with Kayla. But he was too tired to reason it out at the moment, too tired to do anything except sink into blessed oblivion.