Page 64 of A Sense of Paradise
‘I see.’ Flora pinched the bridge of her nose as realisation dawned. ‘How can you be sure that it was the old marquess’s child?’
‘My father and mother had long since stopped sharing a bed. Father told me so himself.’
‘And naturally, you believed him. In which case, your father must have asked questions when your mother discovered her condition.’
‘She confessed that Felsham was her lover,’ Avery said shortly.
‘But I very much doubt if he forced himself upon her. If your father had lost interest and she had already supplied him with a legitimate heir…’ Flora shrugged. ‘It is not that unusual for a married woman in her situation to take a discreet lover. Nor is it the fault of the lover in question if the lady perishes in childbirth.’
‘I was twelve,’ Avery said, deaf to the voice of reason as he paced the length of the room, his arm slicing dramatically through the air. ‘Father was never the same after that. His moods were terrible and I bore the brunt of his anger. He lost much of his fortune in reckless pursuits and then turned to…’
‘To the sort of thing you do in order to find gratification,’ Flora said slowly. ‘That is where you learned that pain could be an aphrodisiac. Did your father indoctrinate you into his perversions?’
‘All I know is that Felsham ruined my family’s life and someone has to pay. All the time I thought he was dead it was justice of a sort.’ Avery closed his eyes and let out a cry of rage. ‘But ever since he returned, turning heads and carrying on as though nothing has changed, I haven’t known a moment’s peace.’
‘What the devil is going on here?’ A connecting door opened and Flora gasped when her father strode through it, his jaw set in a rigid line. ‘In the name of God, why did you bring my daughter here? I told you…I gave you specific orders…’
‘You have waited all this time to exact revenge?’
Everyone turned to see who had spoken; everyone other than Flora, who felt relief wash through her. She would know Archie’s voice anywhere.
Archie and Pawson found it suspiciously easy to gain access to the house. No one had accosted them when they drove their carriage almost all the way up to the front door. They left it beside a dilapidated conveyance, the horses between the shafts shuffling about as they wandered in search of grass. There were few servants, it seemed, and clearly no visitors were expected. They had literally just walked in through the front door when they heard Flora’s voice coming from the drawing room. Astounded, Archie’s first instinct was to charge in and rescue her.
‘What the devil is she doing here?’ he demanded in a loud whisper.
Pawson placed a restraining hand on Archie’s arm. ‘No idea, but Louis is in there, I recognise his voice, and so presumably Maurice is too. And Avery appears to be in the mood to explain himself. Who are we to stop him?’
‘I don’t think my sister should marry a man like you,’ a voice they didn’t recognise—a young man speaking in a heavy accent—stated vehemently.
‘Too late,’ Avery replied absently. ‘Her father has signed the necessary documents and anyway, we have already sealed the arrangement in the bedchamber. She cannot turn back now. She’s damaged goods.’
‘She can still renege.’
‘Oh, Flora!’ Archie threw back his head and groaned. ‘Why does she have to goad him? He’s a dangerous and unbalanced individual. We have to get her out of there.’
Pawson once again advised caution. ‘He will say more to her than he ever would to you. He wants to boast and to get all his pent-up resentments off his chest.’
‘You need Miss de Bois’s money, one assumes, to top up your own coffers and continue with your debauched behaviour, no doubt with my father’s collusion,’ Flora said in a haughty tone.
Archie heard Flora gasp and a door open. He recognised her father’s tone, and this time he wouldn’t be restrained.
‘You have waited all this time to exact revenge?’ he asked, pushing the door open and walking into the room. He glowered at Avery and then transferred his concerned gaze to Flora. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked.
‘Perfectly well, thank you. I knew you were on your way.’
Archie inclined his head, wanting her to know that he believed her. ‘As are Scotland Yard detectives. They have a pressing need to speak with you, Avery, about Yardley’s murder.’ Archie moved to stand beside Flora. Pawson remained at the door, solid, alert and heavily armed. The two men who had accompanied Avery into Bradenstoke now stood behind Flora’s father, clearly answerable to him.
‘They will have had a wasted journey in that case.’ Avery waved a dismissive hand. ‘I know nothing about it.’
‘That is for them to ascertain. What they know for a certainty is that you paid a man to give a false witness account. He gave the detectives a very accurate description of you.’ Archie gave a confident smile, dominating the room with his natural authority. Avery was a shadow of a man by comparison and, physical impediments notwithstanding, Archie would squash him as carelessly as he might squash a bug if it continued to irritate him. ‘And that, I fancy, will find its way into the newspapers and destroy you, much as you hoped to destroy me by the same means.’
Avery’s features turned puce with rage. ‘Damn you, Felsham!’
‘I also cannot help wondering precisely what they will find in the cellars here.’
‘What? How dare you!’ Latimer walked up to Archie and glowered at him. Archie remained unmoved, the hand resting on his sword stick rock steady. ‘This is a private dwelling.’
‘Leased for reasons of depravity,’ Archie replied, playing a hunch. ‘You were never going to be satisfied with demotion to a lowly parish. So you and Avery decided to continue with your exorcisms away from the prying eyes of the church. Perhaps you have even managed to persuade yourself that they do some good and that you are executing God’s will. Nothing about your behaviour would surprise me. They certainly pay well and you need to refill your coffers, given that you had to surrender all your ill-gotten gains when you were caught out last time. It was that or be defrocked—and we both know that the bishop preferred to avoid the scandal that would have created for the church.’
