The Baron's Wife Read online

  Laura’s blood turned to ice. Her fight to stay alive in the sea had weakened her more than she realized. Robbed of her usual strength, Cilla’s grip felt like a strong man’s. Laura wished she could think, but fear for her baby clouded her mind. Nathaniel! He couldn’t go through this again.

  “How did Amanda die?” Desperate, Laura tried to distract Cilla as she propelled Laura out the back door of the cottage.

  “I asked her to pose nude for me after the baby came.” Cilla drew in a sharp breath and tightened her grip on Laura. “She sneered at me. Told me I was lewd. That I fancied women because no man wanted me.” She made a guttural sound low in her throat. “I walked with Amanda to the end of the lane; it was almost dusk. She remembered she’d forgotten her parasol, and because she tired easily, I told her to walk on, while I went to fetch it. I was halfway home when I realized both of us couldn’t remain at Wolfram. She didn’t deserve to live; she had so little regard for me. I stalked her from behind the trees until she walked by the cliff.”

  Cilla looked at Laura blindly, as if she gazed inward. “She rubbed the small of her back as she stared out to sea.”

  The tender image of a pregnant woman filled Laura with compassion. Fear for her own baby tore at her heart. “If you tell me she stumbled and fell, we’ll say no more about it!”

  “Nice try, Laura. Do you think I’m stupid?” Cilla held Laura’s long hair in a brutal grip, while she stroked the edge of the knife over Laura’s throat, as if it was Amanda’s throat laid bare. “Killing her was easy after Simone.”

  Her hair felt as if it was being ripped from her skull. Laura bit down on a scream and forced herself to sound calm. “Simone?”

  “My French lover. She fell to her death down a flight of stairs.”

  “You killed her too?” Laura’s voice choked over the words.

  “Simone deserved it.” Cilla sounded unmoved by her devastating pronouncement.

  Laura had to keep Cilla talking. “Why?”

  “She cheated on me with a man.”

  “Let me go, Cilla. We can talk about this.”

  Cilla merely tugged harder and dragged Laura off her feet. They moved beneath the loggia. With the sharp edge of the knife nudging her throat, Laura was afraid to fight her. “It was you in Amanda’s bedchamber,” she gasped. “Dressed as a man.”

  “Amanda often invited me to her room in the early days. She gave me a key and showed me the secret passage. I wore a man’s clothes then too. Amanda thought it was amusing.”

  “Where is the secret passage?”

  “Has Nathaniel not shown you?” She clucked her tongue. “It lies behind the large tapestry in the upper corridor near your bedchamber. Steps lead down to one of the storerooms near the sea door. When Nathaniel was away, I slipped inside often. I couldn’t stay away even after all her things were gone.”

  “Those coral beads were hers.”

  “She owed me.” Cilla pushed Laura along the path toward the cliff edge. “I doubted anyone would notice a small thing of little value. But you’re smart, Laura. Too smart for your own good.”

  “You wanted something to remember Amanda by. Once she was dead, you had nothing.”

  Cilla growled like a wounded animal. “Shut up.”

  “You tried to drown me.”

  “I didn’t plan to kill you,” Cilla said, her matter-of-fact tone oddly pitiless. “But you saw me in Amanda’s bedchamber.”

  “It was dark. I didn’t know it was you.”

  “No. When no one came to accuse me after you turned up safe and sound, I knew I was in the clear. You fool! I was going away. I wouldn’t have tried to hurt you again. But now I must.” She dug the knife in, and a sharp pain stung Laura’s throat. Warm blood trickled down her neck beneath her collar. “How did you survive the sea? You told me you couldn’t swim. I was amazed.”

  Laura swallowed. “The tide washed me onto the causeway.”

  “The tide won’t help you this time.”

  “Cilla!” Laura cried. “You won’t get away with it. Nathaniel knows I’m here.”

  “I’ll tell him it was an accident. Why would he suspect me? We are friends, and I have a perfect reason to leave Wolfram. I’ll be gone in a matter of days.”

  The sheer drop was only a few feet away. It was now or never. The prick of the knife had brought Laura to life. Cilla would not be dissuaded. She was intent on carrying out her awful threat. At the prospect of a grim death like Amanda’s, Laura’s determination to stay alive hammered at her. She wanted her baby. She wanted her life with Nathaniel. What would become of him if he lost her too? She gathered the last of her strength and shoved away from Cilla. The effort brought Laura to her knees. Cilla bent over her and struggled to regain her grip.

  “Orsino! Sebastian!” Laura yelled.

  The dogs bounded around the corner of the cottage. Cilla laughed and shook her head. “Useless animals. Nathaniel chose them for their looks. As he chose his wives.”

  Looming over Laura, she raised the bloody knife.

  With a growl, Sebastian ran at Cilla. The dog leapt up and struck her on the chest. Cilla went reeling. Sebastian showed his teeth, ready to spring again.

  “Get away, you stupid animal.” Cilla slashed at the dog but missed. The knife flew out of her hand and soared through the air. She stepped back, all her concentration focused on catching it.

  Laura watched in horror as the grassy cliff edge gave way beneath Cilla’s feet. For one long moment, she teetered there, disbelief registering on her face, her hands grasping at air. Then with a shrill cry, she was gone.

  “Oh my God,” Laura cried.

  Sobbing, she touched the cut on her throat, her fingers coming away sticky. The dogs whined, unsettled by the smell of blood, and milled around her.

  “Good dogs!”

  Laura climbed shakily to her feet. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she edged as close as she dared. The white-crested waves pounded the base of the cliff and surged in a cloud of spray, eddying around the jagged rocks. She searched the deep green water for some sign of Cilla, but there was nothing. Worried that the dogs might get too close to the edge, she stumbled away, calling them to heel.

  Laura stumbled from Cilla’s garden, as the pain at the back of her throat turned to racking sobs. Still disturbed, the dogs danced around her, tripping her up as she lurched along. She fought to compose herself and could only think of Nathaniel. She needed him to hold her close.

  Fearing she would faint, it took her ages to reach the house. Nathaniel was with Rudge in his study. He looked up from his desk and paled. She put a hand to her throat and found it drenched with blood. Her collar was soaked.

  Nathaniel shoved away from his chair and ran to her. “Rudge, get the doctor and send for the constable.”

  She gazed into his grim face. “Cilla…”

  “Don’t talk, Laura.” He pulled her into his arms.

  Chapter Thirty

  After Doctor Owens had assured Nathaniel that Laura was fine, and he’d seen the doctor out, Nathaniel returned to her. There was such relief in his face that her tears blurred her vision. Shadows crept into the room. Beyond the window, dusk had fallen. Laura watched Nathaniel smartly pull the curtains, as if to put an end to the horror. He lit candles around the room and then came to sit on the bed.

  “Don’t worry so.” Laura straightened a lock of his hair as he leaned over her. “You were right, darling. The dogs did protect me.”

  “Dear God!” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It never occurred to me. I knew Cilla was eccentric, as artists can be, but murder…” His voice shook, his eyes troubled. “She killed Amanda.”

  “I believe she was quite mad.”

  Nathaniel looked so exhausted that she caught her breath. “I brought her here, like a cuckoo in the nest, and she repaid me by killing Amanda and the baby.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “She almost killed you. If she had…”

  “But she didn’t. And it’s over.”

  She
had gasped out the whole story as they waited for the doctor. He’d immediately sent Hugh to the police to help organize the retrieval of Cilla’s body.

  Laura needed to be positive and strong. For the three of them. She stroked back his hair. “Darling, the pall hovering over Wolfram has gone. We can look positively toward the future.”

  He bowed his head, his shoulders shaking.

  A wave of fierce protectiveness consumed her. The past would not destroy their happiness. She had the means to right all wrongs. “I asked the doctor not to tell you, but he’s confirmed that I’m pregnant, and there’s no sign of any damage done.”

  “Laura!” Nathaniel raised his head, his gray eyes alight with hope.

  She smiled. “Yes, my darling.”

  He searched her eyes. “How much I have wanted this.”

  “You guessed?”

  His grin pulled at her heart. “No. But I did allow myself to hope when you seemed to be eating for two.”

  “Despite everything, I’m in surprisingly good health. This baby wants to be born.”

  Nathaniel held her hand in his warm one. “Perhaps the good Lord has taken pity on

  me.”

  “So He should. You’ve suffered enough.”

  He entwined his fingers with hers and gripped her hand tightly as if she was about to float away. “If Cilla hadn’t died, I might have dealt with her myself.”

  “Hush.”

  “Oh, I can hate with great ferocity, I’ve recently discovered.” He stroked her hair back from her brow. “As well as love very deeply. But you’re right. We must look toward the future.”

  “While we’re discussing the future, there are three things I’d like to address.”

  He smiled. “Anything, my love.”

  “Can we have the secret passage in the corridor bricked up? I think I’ve had enough excitement for a lifetime.”

  He kissed her palm. “I will have it done immediately.”

  “I would like to have some say in the choosing of the new butler and the housekeeper.”

  “Let’s make it a mutual decision about the butler, shall we? You may certainly choose the housekeeper. You’ll have the house in tiptop order in no time.”

  “And won’t Mother be pleased.” Laura chuckled. “She will insist on a visit once she hears I’m increasing.”

  He arched a dark eyebrow. “You’ll invite her?”

  “Oh yes. It will give me great pleasure to gain her approval at last.”

  Nathaniel laughed. “You’re a dutiful daughter at heart, Laura.”

  Laura screwed up her nose. “It seems I am.”

  He tilted his head. “You mentioned another request?”

  Laura gazed into her husband’s smiling eyes. “Next time you go to parliament, I wish to go to London with you.”

  He raised a brow. “Why do I suspect you have a reason?”

  “My father writes of the setbacks women fighting for equal rights have suffered. While I don’t intend to join Emmeline Pankhurst and her sisters, I’d like to become involved in the movement again.”

  “Next you’ll be wanting a political career.”

  She studied him. “Would you mind if I did?”

  “Do you know, Laura, I don’t think I would.” He laughed. “I’ll even purchase a house in London. We must celebrate.” He pulled the cord. “Perhaps not sherry. Would you like some tea?”

  “Oh yes, please.”

  “I need to tell the staff that you’re well. Mrs. Madge is very worried.”

  Alone in her chamber, a fragile light shone into the room. Tonight Laura was sure it was only moonlight and not some ethereal manifestation dancing along the wall.

  But just in case, she said softly, “Rest in peace, Amanda.”

  About the author

  Thanks for reading The Baron’s Wife. My love of Victoria Holt’s wonderful Gothic novels inspired me to write it. I hope you enjoyed it. An honest review is always appreciated.

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