Page 62 of Needs Must
‘No, I realise that. Harte will simply put the blame back on him and suggest that he’s lying to conceal the fact that he did the deed himself.’
‘There is only one way.’
All heads turned in Donna’s direction when she spoke, her tone of firm resolve edged with impatience. Cal bit back a smile, aware that the impatience in question would be attributable to the fact that he had not yet asked for her opinion. She probably wouldn’t believe him if he told her that despite his desperate desire to keep her out of things, he’d been on the point of inviting her to contribute.
‘Let me hear it,’ Cal said softly.
‘Well, it’s obvious.’ She sat a little straighter, looking stubbornly determined. ‘Aykroyd must tell Ian that he has found me but not the letters, which is no more than the truth. Ian won’t be able to resist coming down to speak with me in person and to demand the return of the letters.’
‘Out of the question!’ Cal cried.
‘I beg your pardon.’ Donna rippled her shoulders, bristling with indignation.
‘His lordship is right, lamb,’ Miriam said on an apologetic note. ‘We know what a dangerous man Ian is, and we know how worried he must be about the content of those letters. There’s no saying what he might do to you if he gets you here alone and you refuse to tell him where they are.’
‘He will not do anything because I don’t have the letters with me. They are in a safe place.’
‘That won’t prevent him from using physical violence to make you give them up,’ Cal said, worried about the level of fear that prospect generated within him.
‘Well, I am hardly going to confront him alone, am I?’ she replied impatiently. ‘I am sure that you can post men close enough to ensure my safety.’
Cal shook his head. ‘Even so, I am not prepared to risk using you as bait. A dozen things could go wrong.’
‘Oh, do stop being so protective!’ Donna was clearly all out of patience with Cal, her desire to get to the truth overriding every last vestige of common sense. ‘He will boast to me about his achievements if I play it right. Especially if he comes to Denmead Cottage, which we all believe is the location of a murder he got away with. He will want to know why, out of all the lodgings in England, I chose that particular one.’
‘True,’ Cal conceded, ‘but it’s still far too risky. There has to be a better way.’
‘Such as?’ she demanded in a combative tone.
‘I will think of something.’
Donna shook her head. ‘There is no better way, and well you know it.’ She sent him a defiant look. ‘We can do it my way, but your presence is essential, my lord, since there is absolutely no point in me goading Ian into admitting to his crimes unless you hear him make that admission. No one will take my word for it, any more than they will take Aykroyd’s, but you would be believed without question.’ She grinned at him. ‘There must be some benefits to being a belted earl.’
Jules cleared his throat in a redundant effort to conceal a chuckle.
Cal opened his mouth to override her suggestion but closed it again with no sound emerging. Annoying as it was, he could see the sense in her plan – but that didn’t mean he had to like it or approve of her recklessness. He could understand her need to get to the truth, if only to clear her own name and get to the truth regarding the death of a husband whom she claimed not to have loved but had nursed back to what she believed was good health.
Be that as it may, it would be most unwise to expose herself to the unpredictable machinations of a desperate man. She would not see it that way, though, and if he did not accede to her suggestion and put multiple layers of protection in place, she would likely go ahead and rashly confront the cove anyway.
‘Very well.’ Cal sighed, sending Donna’s maid a warning look when she stepped forward, clearly no respecter of his rank when it came to the protection of her mistress. ‘But we cannot have the confrontation take place in Denmead Cottage.’
‘I don’t see why not.’ Donna sounded more reasonable now that she had got her way. ‘He will certainly know where to come.’
‘It is too small for me to conceal myself,’ Cal protested.
‘Not at all. You can hear every word that is spoken downstairs if you are in one of the bedchambers,’ Donna replied. ‘That is one of the beauties of dwelling in such a small establishment.’
‘All well and good, but he’s bound to smell a rat,’ Jules said. ‘It has already been pointed out that your taking a lease on the very cottage where he committed a murder, Mrs Harte, is too much of a coincidence.’
‘And yet itisa coincidence,’ Donna said, so quietly that Cal barely caught the words. ‘It might make Ian suspicious, but it will certainly ensure that he comes,’ she added in a more normal tone, ‘if only because he will suspect that Jonathan told me about the murder. He did sometimes speak injudiciously when in his cups, and Ian will be aware of that. He might even go as far as to assume that I have documents to prove his involvement in poor Mrs Bagshott’s murder. Jonathan did make copious notes about absolutely everything. Anyway,’ she added, again lowering her voice to a whisper, ‘I made a promise to Esmeralda.’
‘Will he come, Aykroyd?’ Cal asked.
‘I agree with Mrs Harte. His curiosity and fear of exposure will get the better of him. He isn’t a superstitious man and won’t give credence to the idea that Mrs Bagshott’s restless spirit reached out to you, Mrs Harte. He will indeed think there is a more plausible reason for your being drawn to the cottage.’
Donna glanced towards Aykroyd with a look of astonishment, clearly not realising until that point that he had heard her breathe Esmeralda’s name. Or that he would be capable of interpreting her meaning even if he had. Aykroyd was a wily individual, but not without brains, Cal realised. He had lived on his wits for years and it wouldn’t do to underestimate him.
‘Very well then, I suppose we have no choice in the matter,’ Cal said.
