A Lady Never Surrenders Part 35

They hurried over to him, and Jackson knelt to examine his wound. "The bullet seems to have missed his heart," he told her. "He hit his head hard enough on the desk to knock him senseless, but if we can get him to a doctor he may still survive."

The captain's eyes fluttered open. "Is my wife-"

"She's dead," Celia said softly. "I'm sorry."

Before Rawdon could do more than moan, a swarm of officers entered the room.

"Fetch a doctor right away," Jackson ordered one of them, who immediately left to do so.

"She killed ... the Sharpes, you know," Rawdon said as Jackson shrugged out of his surtout and folded it to put under his head and shoulders in an attempt to make him more comfortable. "Before I could-"

"Lie still now," Jackson murmured. "The doctor will be here soon."

"No," Rawdon said. "I must speak while I can, in case..." He shot Celia a long glance. "Forgive me, my dear. I should never ... have risked your life." He gave a choked laugh. "I should have known she'd find out. She always finds out."

"How did she learn about your a.s.signation that day?" Celia asked.

"She ... overheard me and Pru in the nursery. Lilith had followed me there. I didn't find out until later, after she'd shot-" He swallowed hard. "I was the one to discover your parents' bodies in the hunting lodge. She was ... hiding in some closet-I don't know why."

"To avoid Desmond, most likely," Jackson murmured to Celia.

"When she heard me, she came out," Rawdon went on. "She knew I'd ... recognize the pistols as hers. I taught her to shoot when it looked as if she might ... be traveling abroad with me. I never dreamed she would..."

He dragged in a shuddering breath. "Anyway, she was ... hysterical. It took some time to get the story from her. She said ... she'd earlier threatened Pru to stay away from me."

Threatened her? Oh, yes, Jackson recalled-when Mrs. Rawdon seduced the young Stoneville. That had been the threat. If he remembered right, Stoneville had left the room while the women were still in there together. Perhaps Mrs. Rawdon had made an even more tangible threat then.

The captain went on. "But Pru went to the hunting lodge anyway, not knowing that Lilith knew of our ... a.s.signation. Lilith lay in wait for Pru. She said ... the pistols had only been meant to frighten her. But while they quarreled, your father came in ... and got between them. The gun went off, killing him. So she shot your mother ... in a panic."

Rawdon's eyes went cold. "I knew that was a lie. Since shooting Lewis ... had been an accident, she wouldn't ... have been prosecuted. But with the marquess dead ... your mother would be free to be with me. Lilith couldn't stand ... the thought that I might leave her. So she killed Pru."

The captain cast Celia a remorseful glance. "I wanted to turn her in ... but she threatened to accuse me ... of Lewis's murder. Who would gainsay her? Her word against mine."

Desmond could have revealed the truth, but the captain wouldn't have known that.

"Besides," he added in a voice of self-loathing, "Lilith had all the money. And I couldn't live ... without the money."

"So you covered for her." Celia swallowed. "She killed Benny, too, didn't she?"

"Benny?" He frowned. "That groom who came to see Elsie?"

"He was found dead on the road from Manchester," Jackson put in.

The captain closed his eyes with a groan. "I told her about him. She said ... she'd make sure he never talked. I figured she'd ... offer him money. She was always offering people money ... to keep silent." His eyes opened again. "Poor fellow barely knew anything ... worth worrying about. I told her that."

His gaze grew distant. "We should never have returned to England, but she said ... what good was money if she couldn't be part of society ... couldn't go to the London theater, couldn't..."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't have come back if I'd thought anyone suspected ... After nineteen years of nothing in the papers ... Even so, I insisted on going to Manchester first ... being circ.u.mspect while I ... tried to learn if anyone suspected anything. After Benny came ... she insisted we go see what we could learn in London."

"How did she know about me and Celia going to visit Mrs. Duffett?" Jackson asked.

When Rawdon looked blank, Celia explained to Jackson, "She had one of his servants spying for her. I thought I felt someone watching us all at the ball. The servant must have told her that night that you were pursuing leads the next day, so he and she came out to follow you that morning, but when she saw I was with you she took her chance to kill me. It was them pursuing us in the woods. She admitted it. I gather that she'd realized her husband was growing enamored of me."

Anger surged up in him again at that.

"She was always jealous," the captain said. "Always ... so ... d.a.m.ned ... jealous..." His voice fell to a whisper, and Celia bent close to listen while Jackson called out to his men, "Where's that doctor, d.a.m.n it?"

Jackson felt for a pulse. It was there, but the man needed help. Fortunately, the doctor arrived moments later, and Jackson turned Rawdon over to his care.

Then Stoneville and his brothers rushed in, along with Aunt Ada.

"You're all right!" she exclaimed as she raced over to grab Jackson. "Thank the good Lord!"

Meanwhile, Celia's brothers were taking turns squeezing the life out of her.

When the Sharpes were done satisfying themselves that Celia was fine, Stoneville turned to Jackson. "Look here, Pinter, if you don't mind, we'll take Celia back to Halstead Hall so we can set Gran's mind at ease while you're busy here."

Celia grabbed Jackson's elbow. "I'm not going without Jackson."

He covered her hand, holding it there. "We'll be along shortly. You three go on and let Mrs. Plumtree know we're well. After I arrange some matters here, Celia and my aunt and I will be right behind you. I can tell you everything then."

The brothers exchanged speculative glances, but didn't question his right to take care of her.

Thank G.o.d. Because now that he had her back, he wasn't letting her out of his sight for a very long time.

AS THEY APPROACHED Halstead Hall two hours later, Celia got choked up. She'd thought she might never see it again.

Jackson took her hand. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just so glad to be here." She gazed up at him. "With you."

His aunt pretended to be staring out the window, but Celia could still see her smile to herself.

Celia liked Ada Norris. She was the only person Celia had ever seen, besides herself, who could get away with teasing Jackson.

Certainly his men would never attempt it. Celia had watched with growing admiration earlier as Jackson had expertly taken charge of the scene after her brothers left. The other Runners followed his orders without question. They rounded up Rawdon's Portuguese servants and Mrs. Rawdon's henchman. They gathered evidence to use against the captain, a.s.suming he lived to be tried for Celia's kidnapping and his part in covering up the deaths of her parents.

And when they took Jackson's report about the shootings, they handled it carefully, allowing him to keep her out of it as much as possible, undoubtedly because of her status. Even after the Chief Magistrate arrived, Jackson's word that he would bring her to the Bow Street offices in a few days so she could answer questions was all that was required to have them finally allowed to leave the place with Celia and his aunt.

Now his carriage pulled up in front of Halstead Hall. Every member of her family was out in front to greet them, and as soon as Celia stepped down, chaos ensued. They were all laughing and crying and talking and hugging at once. Jackson stood back with his aunt, as if he understood that her family needed their own rea.s.surances that she was fine.

Then Gran hushed them all. "I have something to tell you, Celia," she said, her voice hoa.r.s.e with emotion. "From now on, your life is your own. If you want to marry, fine. If you do not want to marry, that is fine, too. Either way, you and your brothers and sister will all inherit." She cast an apologetic glance in Jackson's direction. "Mr. Pinter made it quite plain this morning that today's disaster would never have happened if not for my arrogant ultimatum."

Jackson winced. "About that, Mrs. Plumtree-"

"You were right, Mr. Pinter." She glanced around at her family as General Waverly came to stand beside her. "And you were not the only one who pointed out how wrongheaded I was. Isaac and Minerva tried to show me the error of my ways, too, as did all of you at one time. But until this morning, I was too stubborn to listen."

With a wan smile, she took the general's arm. "I told myself that I knew no other way to push you children past this hard part of your lives. But I see now that it was not my place to push you at all."

"Perhaps not, but we're glad you did," Oliver put in. "If you hadn't, we wouldn't have found out the truth about Mother's and Father's deaths." He looped his arm around Maria's shoulder. "We wouldn't have found our wonderful spouses."

"All the same," she said, "though it is too late to rescind my ultimatum for the rest of you, I can make amends by doing it for Celia." She stepped forward to kiss Celia's cheek and gaze tenderly into her face. "And one more thing, my dear. I never for one moment thought you incapable of finding a husband. Because any man would be a fool not to want to marry you."

The words healed the last of the hurt Celia had felt ever since Gran had laid down her demand. "Thank you, Gran," she whispered as she hugged her.

Then Jackson moved forward to stand before Celia. "Your grandmother is right." He dropped to one knee and took her hand. "My dear wonderful love," he said as he stared up into her face, "I realize I'm not allowing you time to enjoy your newfound freedom, but I can't help it. I'm a selfish man, and I can't take the chance of losing you again."

She beamed down at him, her heart in her throat.

He kissed her hand. "I don't care about your shooting, and I don't care about your fortune, and I don't care if we live in a hovel for the rest of our lives. As long as we're together, I'll be content. Because I love you, and I can't live without you. And I'd be honored beyond words if you'd consent to be my wife."

After everything she'd been through the past few days, she burst into tears. When alarm showed on his face, she squeezed his hands and fought to regain control enough to choke out, "Yes, Jackson, yes. With all my heart, yes!"

Love s.h.i.+ning in his face, he rose and kissed her amid a mix of wild cheers and laughter.

When he drew back, Gabe cried, "That's a much better kiss than the one you gave her when you won the shooting match!"

"And a much better proposal of marriage than the one you gave her yesterday morning!" Minerva chimed in.

"Leave him be!" Celia chided as Jackson went red about the ears. "He saved my life twice, figured out who killed Mama and Papa, and taught Gran some humility. We can't all be good at everything, you know."

Amid the laughter, he kissed her again, but her family didn't let that go on for long. It was cold outside, after all. Gran herded them inside to the great hall, where the servants had brought out refreshments. There, everyone had to take turns congratulating them and clamoring for all the usual details of how it had started and when it had become true love.

Once their curiosity was satisfied and they'd met Jackson's aunt, he and Celia took turns telling them what had really happened to Mama and Papa.

When they finished, Oliver said into the stillness, "So Father tried to save Mother?"

Celia nodded. "He stepped between Mrs. Rawdon and Mama. He gave his life for her."

"Then perhaps they did love each other a little, even at the end," Minerva ventured.

"I like to think it was more than just a little," Celia said. "That morning when I overheard them in the nursery, she seemed very uneasy with the captain. So I prefer to think that she persisted in going to the hunting lodge because she wanted to break things off with the captain in person. And I prefer to think that Papa went there to try to win her back."

She gazed at the family she loved so very dearly. "We can never know the truth of what was in their hearts. So what does it hurt to trust in a dream that could be just as true as the nightmare we've believed all these years?"

There was a long silence. Then Jarret said, "Hear, hear, sis. I'll drink to that." Slipping his arm around Annabel's waist, he raised a gla.s.s. "To Mother and Father and the love that might have been."

Everyone joined in the toast.

Much later, when the family had settled down into smaller groups and Jackson's aunt was having a long, involved chat with Gran, he drew Celia aside.

"There's one thing I'm curious about," he said. "Right before the doctor arrived this afternoon, Rawdon whispered something to you. What was it?"

Celia slid her hand into the crook of his elbow. "He said that when Mrs. Rawdon fired, she missed his heart because she loved him too deeply to go through with killing him."

"Do you believe that?" he asked, looking skeptical.

"No. I believe she might have missed him on purpose, but what she felt was obsession and jealousy, not love."

She nodded toward his aunt. "Love is when you endure pain for the sake of a beloved sister and husband, if that's what it takes to nurture the child of their illicit union."

Then she glanced at Gran. "Love is sometimes doing the wrong things because you're at your wit's end in knowing how to help your family."

He drew her into his arms. "Love is taking chances when every rational part of you screams, 'Don't risk it.' Because it's only when your heart has been ripped open that you get a chance to find the one person capable of making it whole."

With her own heart beating wildly, she smiled at him. "And you say you aren't poetic."

"Well," he said, with a glint in his eye, "perhaps a few of us can be good at everything."

And as he pulled her into a dark corner and kissed her with great sweetness, she acknowledged that at some things, he was very good indeed.

Epilogue.

On a cold but bright St. Valentine's Day, Jackson and his wife and aunt attended the wedding of Mrs. Plumtree to General Waverly in Halstead Hall chapel. Jackson was truly happy for the couple. She'd admitted shortly after his betrothal to Celia that she'd only threatened to disinherit her granddaughter to test his love. Since she unabashedly acknowledged her fault in the matter, he'd forgiven her. Indeed, they'd mended fences to such an extent that she insisted he call her Gran as the other spouses did.

Now, as they headed for the great hall, his wife and aunt began discussing gowns and flowers and things beyond his ken, but he didn't mind. The two ladies were always so lively. He'd never imagined he would enjoy having two magpies in his house, but he did, especially since they fussed over him a great deal.

In the end, all his fears about how well Celia would manage in Cheapside had come to naught. They had added a couple of servants and were making renovations to the house, but those were things he might have done on his own.

Best of all, having come from a large family, Celia seemed to like having his aunt around. And Aunt Ada was careful to give them some privacy often, going to visit various friends for days on end.

"Didn't Gran make a beautiful bride, Jackson?" Celia asked.

"Hmm? Yes. Beautiful." He covered her gloved hand with his. "Though not nearly as beautiful a bride as you were."

She smiled. "Flatterer."

"Not a bit. It's the absolute truth."

"You were a gorgeous bride," Aunt Ada agreed. "That veil with the rosettes..."

And they were off again, discussing gauze and ribbons and something called a furbelow. That last one sounded dirty, but he figured it probably wasn't, if they were discussing it with such enthusiasm.

The three of them entered the great hall, where the wedding breakfast was to be held. He gazed down into his wife's animated features and felt the usual clutch to his heart. Would he ever stop feeling it, this pleasure of knowing she was his? That she would always be his?

He'd been told that the feeling would mute over time, but he doubted that. Two months after his wedding, there were still days when he looked at her and felt as if he'd stumbled into a dream from which he'd awaken any moment to find himself bereft again.

"Mr. Pinter!" called a voice, and he glanced over to see Freddy Dunse, Lady Stoneville's American cousin, heading for him. He and Freddy had played a small part in bringing Stoneville and his wife together a year ago, almost to the day.

As Freddy reached them, Celia looped her arm through Jackson's and said proudly, "You have to call him Sir Jackson now, Freddy. He was knighted for solving Mama's and Papa's murders. And for saving me from the villains responsible."