Page 69 of Captivating the Countess
“Or maybe an entity has and used her to push Bell,” Gerard suggested.
In response, Iona slapped a card on the table, expressing her displeasure at the supernatural event that had caused the duke’s salon to turn icy and Bell to speak while still awake.
Rain wanted to slap more than cards. His frustration level had reached new heights, even for him.
“My gift for reading objects seems to be only for ancient history.” Gerard recorded points on the scorecard. “I know the journals say it’s possible to read recent events on objects, but so far, I’ve not found that true. Perhaps if a killer threw a rock, I might read his anger on the rock, but we have no weapon.”
“We’re working on the Roman ruin we’ve found on the estate.” Iona followed her husband’s change of topic. “But even there, we can’t feel much. It’s as if the passion has to be very deep to sink into the stones for us to read.”
“So I should bring Bell to the drawing room and let people throw stones at her?” Rain gloomily paced the salon.
“Well, that would bring people together,” Bell said pertly.
Rain knew better. She was angry beneath that pleasant smile.
He desperately wanted to keep her safe with him, but he couldn’t if she was in danger from someone—or something—in his household. “Should I send you back to Wystan with your sister?”
“Wystan has more ghosts than here, I’m sure. It’s much older.” Bell laid out her winning hand as if she hadn’t a worry in the world. “See, I told you I’m much better at whist than chess.”
“You’re taking advantage of a sick old man,” the duke grumbled. “I should be given a handicap.”
Bell hooted inelegantly. “The way you gave me a handicap in chess? Besides, you are looking much better this evening. I think the diet Rain has set for you is helping.”
And they had Bell’s psychic ability to thank for the duke’s appetite returning. How could Rain possibly pay back all the good she had done? Even if he could persuade her to marry him, he couldn’t drop everything and run off with her. He had a bad feeling she wouldn’t be safe here, with his family and their ghosts.
Bell pushed from the table and stood. She wore a fairly conservative gold gown, but she appeared a radiant sun to him, and his longing to have his arms around her multiplied. He’d never be able to sleep in her bed as long as she was trapped in the duke’s suite.
As if she had spent this past hour making a decision, Bell caught his eye and spoke calmly, with only a hint of resignation. “I think the ghost has used every ounce of her strength to manifest, leaving her unable to speak much.”
Gerard quit shuffling the cards. Iona stopped pouring tea. Rain swallowed hard and refrained from interrupting. Bell so seldom put herself and her gift forward that it seemed imperative to pay attention.
“I think she wants us to all gather in one place so she can show us who the guilty party is. I may have to give a séance to help her.”
Rain could see how pale she was at the end of this announcement. “No, let me—”
She held up her hand. “As far-fetched as it seems, if the motive is as I surmise, you may be the next to be harmed. I cannot live with anyone else being hurt. I have to do this. And we need to prepare the room to catch our suspect.”
The room erupted in questions.
“You don’t haveto do this.” Rain held her so close, Bell could feel the beat of his heart. “They’re my bloody relations, not yours.”
The duke had gone to bed. Iona and her husband had left to set up the séance with Rain’s sisters. They were stealing these few minutes for themselves.
“I’m tired of staying quiet, and I can’t hide anymore,” she tried to explain. “I hated when I had to hide.” She didn’t think quite so clearly when Rain held her like this. “I want to sleep in my own lovely suite and go back to work playing with numbers and enjoying the company of your family. I refuse to be driven out by fear. I did that once, when I ran from my stepfather. I’m simply not doing it again.”
“Sending you away for your own safety isn’t the same.”
She shook her head. “We have two possible motivations for the attack, both rather far-fetched, which may mean if there is a culprit, they’re not very bright. For instance, one of the ladies eligible for your attentions may consider me a threat. As far as I’m aware, only Lady Pamela and Lady Dalrymple suspect me of being your paramour. They would have to be seriously foolish to believe you’d marry your mistress.”
“I’d marry you in a minute! And they cannot conceivably believe I’d marry them, even if they bludgeoned me to an altar,” he argued with a hint of humor. “But if anyone else believes their gossip...”
“As I said, the notion that I stand in the way is far-fetched but your titleisa motivation if someone is desperate enough. I cannot imagine Teddy even considering the responsibility of a title. He’s likely to inherit the fortune without the responsibility, so it would have to be a woman who thinks you’ll marry her, which makes little sense. A title without a fortune is an empty promise. Everyone must know you need a son to keep the trust, and Helen and Pamela are older than I am. It’s a gamble to think they might easily produce a son in a few short years. That would seem to indicate a younger lady with a reckless streak. I don’t think your sisters invited any such creature.”
“I’ll have a servant positioned near each female this evening, but I cannot think a séance will have them leaping up to confess. The whole notion is extraordinary,” he protested.
Bell leaned her head against his shoulder. “You’ll need a servant to stand beside every guest, including the male ones. But in my experience, it is money that brings out the worst in people.”
“Which brings us back to the damned trust,” he agreed, shoving his hand through his hair and leaving it deliciously rumpled.
