Julie Garwood - Castles

Caine was thankful Nathan had taken his side. "I'm damn well going to kill him just as soon as I find out who he is."

Colin shook his head. "You can't kill anyone," he announced in exasperation. "You're going to have to be reasonable about this, Caine. Sending flowers isn't a crime. He's probably just some young pup caught up in an infatuation."

"It's fine for you to be reasonable, Colin. Jade isn't your wife."

"I would still be reasonable if the flowers had been sent to Alesandra," Colin argued.

Caine shook his head.

"Tell us his name, Jade," Nathan demanded.

No one was paying any attention to Alesandra. She was thankful for their inattention. Her mind raced with speculations. She'd shaken her head when Colin had guessed it was just a young man caught up in an infatuation.

"Yes," Colin asked Jade then. "Who sent them?"

"He signs all his cards Your Secret Admirer," said Alesandra.

Everyone turned in unison to stare at her. Jade's mouth dropped open.

"Isn't that right, Jade?"

Her sister-in-law nodded. "How did you know?"

Nathan leaned back in his chair. "There's more to this than admiration, isn't there?"

No one said a word for a long minute. Alesandra suddenly remembered the package Flannaghan had told her had been delivered. She tried to go and get it. Colin wouldn't let her move. He tightened his hold on her shoulder.

"I believe the man might have sent something to me," she explained. "There's a package in the foyer."

"The hell he did. Flannaghan!"

Colin roared the summons. Alesandra's ears started ringing. Flannaghan came running. He had the package in his hands, indicating he'd been listening to the conversation. He all but tossed the thing to Colin.

Alesandra reached for the package. Colin's glare changed her mind. She leaned back against the settee and folded her hands. Colin leaned forward to attack the box. He ripped the bow off, muttering under his breath, then tore the lid free and looked inside. Alesandra peeked around her husband's shoulder to see what was there. She got a glimpse of the ornately painted fan before Colin slammed the lid back down on the box.

"Son of a bitch!" Colin roared. He repeated the shameful blasphemy a second time. Nathan, Alesandra noticed, nodded each time the foul words were said. Apparently those were his sentiments as well.

Colin held the notecard in his hand and glared at it.

"Aren't you going to be reasonable about this?" Caine challenged.

"Hell, no."

"Exactly," Caine muttered.

"One more and you'll have enough for a lynch mob," Jade announced. "Will you look at our husbands, Alesandra? They're blowing this all out of proportion. Such jealousy is unfounded," she added.

She expected Alesandra's agreement and was therefore surprised when her sister-in-law shook her head.

"Colin and Caine shouldn't be jealous," Alesandra whispered. "But they should be worried."

"How did you know what was signed on the card?" Nathan asked. "Have you received other gifts?"

Colin turned to look at her. His expression was chilling. So was his tone of voice when he said, "You would have told me if you'd received any other gifts. Isn't that right, Alesandra?"

She was thankful she could agree with him. Colin's fury was actually a little frightening. "Yes, I would have told you, and no, I haven't received any other gifts."

Colin nodded. He leaned back, put his arm around her shoulders again, and hauled her up tight against his side. She found his possessiveness a comfort now and didn't mind at all that he was inadvertently squeezing the breath right out of her.

"You know more than you're telling," Nathan announced.

Alesandra nodded. "Yes," she answered. "And I've been trying to get someone to listen to me for a good long while. I even asked Sir Richards for help."

She turned to frown at her husband. "Are you ready to hear what I have to say?"

Colin was a bit surprised by his wife's comments, of course, but he was astonished by her angry tone of voice.

"What have you been trying to tell me?"

" Victoria received letters and gifts from a secret admirer."

Colin was taken aback by that reminder. Alesandra had tried to explain why she was worried about her friend and he hadn't let her. He should have listened, he realized now.

"Who is Victoria?" asked Caine.

Alesandra answered him. She explained how she'd met Victoria. "After she returned to England, she wrote to me at least once a month. I would immediately write back, of course, and I did love hearing from her. She had such an exciting life. In the last few letters, however, she mentioned an admirer who was sending her gifts. She thought it all very romantic. I received her last letter in early September."

"And what did she say in that letter?" Caine asked.

"She had decided to meet the man," Alesandra answered. "I was appalled, of course, and wrote back to her right away. I advised caution and suggested she take her brother with her if she was determined to find out who her admirer was."

Alesandra started to shiver. Colin instinctively hugged her. "I don't know if Victoria received my letter or not. She might have already been gone by then."

"Gone? Gone where?" Jade asked.

"It was reported Victoria ran off to Gretna Green," Colin explained. "Alesandra doesn't believe that."

"There isn't any record of a marriage," Alesandra countered.

"What do you think happened to her?"

Nathan asked her that question, and until that moment she hadn't allowed herself to voice her true fear. She took a calming breath and turned her gaze to her husband's partner.

"I think she was murdered."

~

He paced the library in a rage. None of it was his fault. None of it. He had stopped. He'd ignored the craving, hadn't given in to the urge. It wasn't his fault. No, it was the bastard who was responsible. He never would have killed again… he never would have given in to the urge.

Revenge. He would show him. He would get even. He would destroy him. He would begin by taking away everything he valued. He would make him suffer.

He smiled in anticipation. He would start with the women.

Chapter 13

That statement got an immediate reaction. "Good God," Caine whispered.

"Could it be possible?" Nathan asked.

"I hadn't realized…" Jade whispered that remark and placed her hand over her heart.

Colin was the last to react and the most logical in his response. "Explain why you believe this," he commanded.

"Flannaghan, will you please go upstairs and fetch my list for me?"

"You have a list of reasons why you suspect your friend was murdered?" Caine asked.

"She has a list for everything."

Colin made that remark but she was pleased that he didn't sound at all condescending.

"Yes, I do have a list," Alesandra said. "I wanted to organize my thoughts about Victoria 's disappearance and try to come up with some sort of plan. I knew something was wrong as soon as I heard she'd eloped. Victoria never would have done such a thing. Appearances were more important to her than love. Besides, I don't think she would have allowed herself to fall in love with someone she believed inferior to her station in life. She was sometimes a little shallow-headed and a bit of a snob as well, but those were her only faults. She was also very kindhearted."

"He has to be someone in society," Nathan decided aloud.

"Yes, I think so, too," Alesandra agreed. "I also think this man begged her to meet him somewhere and that her curiosity led her to forget caution. She was certainly flattered by his attention."

"She must have been terribly naive," Jade remarked.

"So is Catherine."

"Catherine? What does my sister have to do with this?"