Dark Whispers

Page

Prologue

The pirate saw it evident in the delicate curves of her face, those ink-black eyes, and knew the precise moment he broke her heart. Despite the fury that gripped his insides in an icy fist, tightening as she blatantly refused to deny his accusations, her anguish hit Rochester with the force of a physical blow. She remained motionless; not even a whisper of sound came from her skirts. The dark ringlets of her hair lay silently against her shoulders. It was enough to fuel the fires of his wrath further.

How could you think such a thing of me? She finally spoke,her onyx gaze fixed on her husband only a step above.

Deny it then. He reached for her wrist, the fine bones meager in his large hand, and he knew his grip was painful. Damn it all, Annabelle. The entire village is laughing at me as you carry on behind my back. Tell me what you have been doing roving about in the shadows with that man!

Her eyes betrayed despair behind a shimmering wall of tears before she dropped her gaze to the wooden stairs between them. You cannot let it be, can you? Her whisper bore a sorrow that made the dark of the stairwell desolate.Your suspicion has consumed your soul and you refuse to trust anyone. She looked up at him through her lashes, great tears rolling down her cheeks. Not even the one who loves you more than anything in this world.

I had you followed, Annabelle, Rochester said through his teeth. I was told you spent more than one afternoon in his company. Always after telling me you were going elsewhere.

The sound that erupted from her throat was a bitter semblance of laughter. She tugged on her wrist. Let me go.

You are my wife.

I’ll not tolerate your treating me this way. You’ve been made an easy mark for those resentful villagers who manipulate you with their embellished tales, if not flagrant lies. She put all her weight into pulling at his grip. Let me go.

It was unexpected. His hold was firm, but she fisted her hand and gave her arm a twist. The moment she broke free, the sudden chill of awareness washed over Rochester. He felt the slap of dreadful premonition at the same time he met her eye and saw the understanding reflected in her gaze.

Her fall was graceful. Her feet never touched a stair. Silken skirts rustling melodically against the backs of her legs, her hair lifted as she plummeted toward the ground. Her arms spread out, one hand reaching for the rail but never making contact with the wood.

Warren. His name parted her lips without question, with no particular tone. As if she were only breathing it to do so.

No! He was already moving down the stairs, running at a haste that put his own life in danger. Even as he followed Annabelle down, he knew he was too late.

She hit the small table at the foot of the stairs, the half-burned taper atop it toppling to the floor. The candle flame caught the thick Persian rug, the same on which Annabelle landed with a hollow thud. There was a faint snap as the fragile bones of her neck broke.

Warren landed on his knees beside her, drawing his wife’s limp body into his arms. Her eyes, vacant and wide, were at odds with the warmth that still clung to her body. Flames rose around them; Warren could feel them closing in and catching his shirt. He ignored the pain, the scent of burning flesh. Holding her to his chest, the pirate waited for the fire to consume them both.

1

The apartment was filled with the muted sounds of sobbing, the air thick with grim awareness. Disbelief had departed only a short while before, leaving behind quiet shock and sorrow.

The door opened without a knock and with no surprise the family in the front room looked at the man who entered. He was one of them, if not by birth, then by the friendship that bordered on that of a father and son with the man behind the closed door down the hall.

Wilhemina Ferguson managed a small smile as she disentangled herself from the two grandchildren clinging to her skirts. She used one hand to brush back the tangled gray hair that had come undone from its knot and held out the other to the newcomer.

Benedict.

Horror unlike any he had ever felt burned inside Benedict Bradbourne. It had begun pounding at his insides since Wilhemina’s oldest son had come for him. He refused to look at the others in the room, loathed seeing the faces of the children and grandchildren so haggard with loss. He did not take Wilhemina’s hand when she touched the back of his. Her fingertips were so cold he chose to ignore them as he did her children’s grief.

Where is he?

Our bedchamber. It shan’t be long. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she pressed a closed fist to her mouth. In a moment she composed herself to say, I think he’s been waiting for you.

Benedict had to control the workings of his throat as he strode down the hall that seemed longer than it had ever been before. He paused outside the closed door and squeezed his eyes tightly closed. Images of Garfield Ferguson played across his mind’s eye: those of him as a middle-aged man welcoming young Benedict and his siblings into his home, laughing through a mouthful of fish and chips, and cupping Benedict’s shoulder with a rough palm as the adolescent told of his mother’s death and recounted the trials of keeping what was left of his family together despite an unstable and often jailed father. As the man’s fiery hair became tinged with gray and Benedict developed the strong shoulders and independence of manhood, the images contorted to those of the two men crouching down behind an overturned wheelbarrow, Benedict keeping a band of thieves occupied with erratic bursts from his pistol as his mentor crept through the back door of the jeweler’s shop and then charged at the three like a rampaging bull—taking the crooks down just that easy. When those exciting memories gave way to thoughts of the pride in the old man’s eye when Benedict had his first commendation pinned to the front of his uniform, the earnestness as he insisted the younger man take part of his wages to care for his sisters—money the young man knew Ferguson could use for his own family—the man in the hall let his eyes open immediately to make the memories disappear.

The door opened into a silent room. Only one candle was lit, sending off brief flickers of light from the table near an opened window. Ferguson was a great mountain beneath the bedclothes, mostly in shadows. Benedict’s gaze focused immediately on the man’s large chest, and it took so long for it to rise and fall that the younger man began to worry he was too late.

Then Garfield said, his voice uncharacteristically weak, Donna’ beat all, lad? His brogue was worse than usual and Benedict doubted a man not from his home country would even understand the other. All these years a tackling crooks and playing with me pistol an’ I git done-in by a footpad.

Benedict approached the bed, sat stiffly in the chair still warm from Ferguson’s wife. The old man was pale, his skin the same color as the thick mustache and beard covering a good portion of his face. Benedict scanned his longtime friend, starting at his balding head and moving downward. A muscle in his jaw went taut when he saw the dark stain spreading across the blankets over the lower part of Ferguson’s belly.

Knife wot got me. Being at death’s door did not dampen the man’s ability to read the other’s mind. A dagger or sheave mayhap.

Where?

Not far from the office. I didna’ even see ’im comin’.

Benedict saw Ferguson frown, his heavy brows drawing together. His eyes darted across the ceiling as if searching for something.

The younger man looked at the floor between his feet then lifted his gaze to the hand lying limp atop the bedclothes. He reached for it.

Thank you, he said. For everything you’ve done for my family.

Ferguson coughed and laughed at the same time. Ye did well by yer sisters, especially considering what ye come from. Ye would have done it even without an old codger like me in yer life. The old man sighed. I am proud to have known ye.

Benedict met the other man’s eye. You are my best friend.

An’ yer mine. Benedict watched with a clenched jaw as a tear streamed down from the corner of Ferguson’s eye and into the pillow beneath him. When the younger man looked up again, his eyes were closed.

Benedict sat for a long moment with his teeth pressed tightly together before he removed his specs and brushed angrily at his eyelids with the heel of his hand. He was rising from the chair to tell Wilhemina her husband was gone when a fiercely strong hand reached out and grabbed his coat.

Benedict’s gaze flew to Ferguson’s face and he saw with surprised wonder that the old man’s eyes were opened wide and brilliantly cognizant. It was a familiar expression. The same Ferguson wore every time he understood the working of a crime, the sudden realization that brought a series of events together.

His head turned and he said to Benedict, The watch. The bastard was after me watch.

2

It was late, almost closing time, when the stranger entered the shop. He was tall, had a good two feet on the man standing behind the counter, counting up his sales for the day. He blended almost entirely with the dark outside until the door swung closed behind him—clad in black breeches and stockings, a long black coat, with a heavy scarf draped across the lower half of his face. A tricorn hat was pulled low over his brow and the newcomer made no move to remove it indoors, though he did touch its brim when passing the woman who had been perusing the books of poetry stacked on a far table. The heavy metal braces that encased the woman’s legs made a nerve-wracking creak as she turned to inspect another set of books.

The man behind the counter winced impatiently at the sound before saying, Good evening, sir. Green-brown eyes shifted in his direction. The name is Christian. Welcome to my store.

The stranger said nothing, but walked on quiet heels toward the counter. He had a stiff gait, keeping his shoulders square and his arms straight at his sides.

I don’t believe we’ve done business before. Christian tilted his head upward, squinting in an effort to make out anything besides the other man’s pale cheeks and straight nose.

The stranger shook his head and cleared his throat. I’m looking for a book.

You’ve come to the right place, my good man.

I shall be the judge of that. The stranger’s voice was low in his throat, nearly inaudible behind the wool of his scarf. His gaze roamed the walls lined with books, the lids of one eye drawn slightly together. It is a volume by a Madame Winifred Lacey.

Ah . . . Christian grinned. "The notorious Book for Lovers."

You have it, then.

Oh, yes. One copy left in the back. I keep it hidden so as not to alarm those with fragile faculties. He nodded in the direction of the woman who had opened a volume of poems. Christian leaned over the counter and whispered, Man to man, I’ve read Madame Lacey’s book and sorely wish my own wife was capable of perusing a few pages without having a fit of the vapors. She could learn a thing or two about doing more than laying stiff between the sheets. Christian laughed.

The stranger did not and the bookseller sobered quickly.

I’ll get the book then.

Do.

When the proprietor of the bookstore disappeared into the back room, the woman who had been looking at the poetry books without really seeing any of them lifted her gaze. The stranger at the counter turned to meet her eye.

The woman with the poetry books couldn’t help it. She forced her attention toward the table and lifted a palm to stifle a laugh.

Would you believe a woman was in here earlier today, Christian huffed as he reappeared at the counter, with the audacity to try to buy this book?

Is that so? The stranger accepted the book with slim fingers encased in black leather gloves.

Mrs. Emily Paxton, if you can believe that. Christian had no eyebrows, so it was the pink skin of his forehead that bobbed up and down. The Queen of Ice herself. He did not see the stranger’s hand falter in removing a purse, nor the drawing together of tawny brows. I did not give her the book, of course. I don’t give a bloody damn about her reputation as a ball-breaker or how much money she had to offer. A book like this is not meant for the eyes of a woman.

The stranger ran a gloved finger over the elegant script engraved into the book cover, the name of the author. The fact she was a woman had somehow escaped the book vendor’s notice.

It just isn’t suitable for women’s eyes. Their constitutions are too weak, you know.

The stranger only stared at Christian.

The woman who had been at the poetry table moved slowly, fluidly despite the braces encumbering her legs, toward the exit.

The stranger in dark clothes almost made it to the door where the woman was tugging on her gloves before the silence was broken.

Christian watched the man come to a halt, saw the woman at the door glance backward with a worried little frown. Then the stranger’s head turned toward Christian. His eyelids were drawn together as he stared at the shopkeeper.

Your wife may be the one to benefit, Mr. Christian.

I beg your pardon?

From your perusal of Madame Lacey’s infamous book. Perhaps it is not her fault, you see, she is so lackluster beneath your sheets. The stranger’s eyes crinkled at their corners, as if he were smiling.

The two women sat in companionable silence as darkness crept up to the open terrace. The outside nook of the elegant café would have been crowded were it not so close to winter. As it were, there was a distinctive chill in the air and a slight breeze that played about the hems of the women’s skirts, as if toying with the idea of creeping underneath.

The two offered the oncoming stranger a brief glance, both noting his dark attire and the scarf that fluttered about his neck and over the lower half of his face. They might have dismissed the individual in the black stockings and breeches at that single look were it not for the large book he carried against one thigh.

Emily Paxton and Isabel Scott were struck with incredulity at the same moment, though Isabel showed hers in a shocked gasp and the other woman in only a slight lift to one sable brow.

What’s a pair of beautiful ladies like yourselves doing out alone at night? Familiar eyes sparked with mirth above the scarf.

Harriet! Isabel hissed, eyes wide as she took in the trousers that fit snug to the other woman’s legs.

Harriet removed her hat as she dipped into a bow. At your service.

Isabel rushed to her feet, pushing her spectacles up higher on her nose as she scanned their surroundings. Theirs was the only outside table occupied, but the inner clientele of the restaurant was visible. With an emotion akin to horror, she eyed the aging dowagers in their layered pearls and the plump gentlemen that accompanied them.

What on earth are you about? She did not look at Harriet as she lectured through her teeth. You will be ruined if anyone sees you like this.

Harriet felt the edges of her mouth curl even higher. She was touched that her friend thought that a woman who barely had enough funds to survive was so significant to London society.

I should think no one will even bother looking this way, Emily said between calm sips of tea, unless you continue making a scene, Isabel.

The other woman flushed and shifted back toward her chair.

Harriet gallantly pulled it toward her.

Isabel, appearing utterly nonplussed, swallowed deeply from her glass of lemonade.

Emily turned toward the woman dressed as a man as she took her own seat. We took the liberty of ordering you a tea with a dollop of cream.

And brandy? Harriet reached for the delicate cup.

And brandy. Emily nodded once.

Thank you.

Isabel carefully set her glass atop the pale linen tablecloth. She peered at the woman in the tricorn hat over the rims of her specs. Harriet.

Isabel.

Would you kindly explain why you are walking about London in men’s breeches?

I’d have thought you knew. Harriet noticed the plate of scones at the middle of the table. Emily said she was certain Mr. Christian would not deal with a woman on a matter of business, especially not concerning a novel reported to go into details of sexual acts. I knew I had to do something extraordinary to obtain the book Lady deVane so kindly prepaid us to obtain for her. Especially if the piggish man would not give over to Emily, a force to be reckoned with.

Thank you, Emily said. Though her lips moved only to form the words and her features were impenetrable, her eyes glimmered. She pushed the plate of scones nearer to Harriet.

So you dressed like a man, Isabel was saying, "pretended to be a man to deal with Christian?"

Exactly.

Isabel gaped at Harriet and then Emily. She shook her head when she realized neither woman grasped the oddness of their situation.

You acquired the book, Emily said.

Harriet, still chewing a sweet date scone, dropped the pastry onto her plate and lifted the book from her lap.

Well-done, Harriet. Emily removed a square of white cloth from her reticule and proceeded to wrap the book carefully in it. When passing on a book of sexual tales to an aging duchess, a little decorum was to be expected.

Not to be a prude—Isabel was frowning now, well aware she was a prude and unconcerned over the matter—but I cannot imagine what might have happened had you been found out.

I’d like as not be thought a lunatic. Harriet rolled her eyes in an imitation of madness.

Do not make me laugh, Harriet. Isabel smoothly changed her giggle into a muffled cough. I am upset.

Emily’s brows drew together. Isabel is right. It was dangerous for you to go alone.

I wasn’t alone, Harriet explained. Abigail accompanied me.

Excellent. Emily was appeased.

Isabel, still wide-eyed, downed the last of her lemonade in one swallow. It was the closest she ever came to hard drinking.

Harriet, who had already finished her tea, set her cup aside and forced herself to push away the last of the scones. I thought you were to meet with the duchess in Hyde Park. Why did your note say to come here?

A man was attacked a few days ago while walking the park.

Isabel sputtered, lifting a napkin to her mouth to stifle the sound as her eyes watered.

Emily was removing another book from a bag that had been sitting beneath the table. It was a bungled robbery, I’m sure. Still, I did not want anyone going near the place at night.

Harriet watched Emily as she flipped through the pages of the book then set it atop the table. She wondered if Mr. Christian or anyone else who dared to call her the Queen of Ice behind her back knew how she watched over her friends. Emily looked up and caught her stare.

Happy birthday, Harriet.

The other woman blinked in the shadows of her hat brim. Her gaze dropped to the book being pushed her way. It was the latest novel by Randal C. Shoop, her favorite author of tales of unhappy spirits and their desperate pursuits of revenge from beyond the grave.

My birthday was yesterday. She reached for the book, eager already to read the third story in a series about a dashing ghost hunter who solved the crimes of those dead and buried.

We regret we couldn’t have been with you and Augusta to celebrate. Isabel momentarily forgot the fact her friend was wearing trousers.

We had a wonderful time by ourselves. Harriet spoke fondly of the woman with whom she had lived for the last four years. We went to a play, though I think her Mr. Darcy purchased our tickets. Abigail was at the town house on our return. She gave me a lovely valise and Augusta had wrapped together a very nice journal and a set of quills. Harriet accepted both gifts with delight, though she never traveled and had nothing so interesting in her life occur that she felt the need to record it in a diary.

All that and a book assured to be a good read. Harriet grinned, lifting the book off the table. What more could I ask for?

A small envelope fell from between the pages and into her lap.

When her brows drew together in puzzlement, Emily spoke, looking as if she were holding back a smile. There is more, Harriet. We were to have given it to you with the valise and quills, but it hadn’t yet arrived.

I can imagine—Isabel giggled—Abby and Augusta were quite worried that you would not understand their gifts.

Setting the book aside, Harriet opened the envelope and removed from it parchment as thin as onion peel. The writing across the paper was in great swirls and elegant curves.

It is a letter welcoming you to the estate of the widow Lady Dorthea Cruchely.

It took, Emily said as Harriet skimmed the letter, "quite an investigation to find for you the best sort of haunt.

After much consideration we decided this would be the best place to enjoy your holiday. If the spirits rumored to visit the place do not make an appearance, at least you will have a chance to enjoy the countryside. I personally made certain those individuals also partaking in Lady Cruchely’s peculiar brand of entertainment would be as respectable as yourself.

Thank you very much. Harriet smiled politely.

You’ve no idea what we’re talking about, do you? Emily asked.

You’re sending me away?

The corner of Emily’s normally straight mouth twitched again. She signaled the server for more drinks before speaking. Dorthea Cruchely allows visitors to her estate on a semi-annual basis. It is more than rumored that those permitted to be present to see them are engaged in the company of specters, spirits, and the like. At, of course, a minimal fee.

Isabel smiled politely as the server took away their empty glasses and cups before leaning in close to whisper, The estate is said to be the most haunted in all of England. Apparently many souls have yet to be laid to rest about the manor.

The gift is from all of us, Harriet, Emily said. Even Isabel contributed.

In truth, Isabel admitted gravely, I’ve always worried about your interest in those awful tales of murder and mayhem and spirits from beyond the grave. She brightened. But that is only my opinion.

Well, that means a lot. Harriet was forced to press her lips together to keep from laughing out loud. So this explains the valise and journal.

We did not think you had a bag and it was Augusta’s idea that you might like to record your adventures on paper.

Harriet looked from her friends to the paper still open in her lap and felt her heart flutter strangely in her chest. How different her life would have been if she had never met the other owners of the Precious Volumes Book Shoppe. Her voice was uncharacteristically solemn as she said, This is the nicest gift anyone has ever given me.

Then it is fitting, Emily said, because you are one of the nicest women I’ve ever known. She did not smile as she reached for her cup.

Harriet, who once held in her possession a naked statuette of a woman and riffled through men’s undergarments without hesitation, flushed bright pink at the compliment.

3

Benedict!

It had been a long time since he’d heard his name shouted in such a manner. On the occasions before, it had most often been to call him in for dinner or to enlist his support in extracting the children from some sort of mischief their mother could not handle. Though that had been more than ten years before, he knew as he paused stepping into the carriage it was Wilhemina Ferguson calling to him.

He peered down the lane and saw her running, a large basket bouncing against her middle and one of her youngest grandchildren clinging to the back of her skirts. Whereas the aged woman had sweat-dampened features, the tot wore some sort of chocolate ooze down her chin and across her cheeks.

I was afraid—Wilhemina came to a breathless stop—I would not make it in time.

Is something wrong? Benedict stepped down from the carriage steps.

No. I only wanted to bring you a few provisions for your journey.

Provisions, Benedict knew, to the Ferguson family included great amounts of sugar and spices and other delicacies reserved for special occasions. It was perhaps one of the reasons he could chase down a thief in the time it had taken Garfield to run less than a dozen steps and have to stop, gripping his knees and wheezing.

I had some. The child had released her grandmother’s skirts, leaving behind brown handprints that matched the smudges on her dress.

I didn’t know you were leaving town until this morning, Wilhemina continued, so I didn’t have much time to bake. There’s a meat pie or two, some fruit, and chocolate scones.

I had some of those! The child beamed, exposing teeth and tongue coated in a thick layer of goop.

I can see that, Phoebe, Benedict said.

Phoebe—Wilhemina pointed to a hedge in front of Benedict’s town house—is that a particularly green and slimy frog over there?

The girl’s blue eyes went wide with joy and she dashed over to the shrubbery, dropping to her knees with as little concern for decorum as she had for keeping tidy.

Now, then. Wilhemina lowered her voice, pressing the basket into Benedict’s hands. Are you certain this is what you must do?

Benedict nearly dropped the basket, not expecting it to weigh almost as much as the woman who had carried it from her home to his. I have nothing else, he said.

She looked at him, thin pink lips pursed. I worry about you going alone. What if you do find something that pertains to Garfield’s death?

Don’t worry. He said the words he had heard Garfield say to his wife a hundred times before.

She made a face then shook her head. Benedict, I sincerely hope you do not find anything at that estate. I hope you spend the next week or so lounging in bed until well past dawn and staying up late playing cards with a gent or two. She reached up with a weathered hand and touched his cheek. Garfield would want you to be happy, not spend all your free time searching for whomever took him from us.

This is the last link I have to that bloody watch. He spoke through his teeth, though his anger was not directed at the woman who was like a mother to him. I cannot ignore it and let a killer get away.

I know, Wilhemina whispered, and dropped her chin to stare at the ground. I so wish you had better things than murder to occupy your mind. She looked up at him through her lashes. A wife perhaps, and one could always use a few little ones.

Benedict restrained a groan. It was amazing how the woman could even now turn the conversation to marriage and family, or lack thereof.

Grammy—Phoebe bounded over, hands now caked in chocolate and dirt—I couldn’t find no frog. But I did get this! She opened a palm to proudly