Jacquie D’Alessandro - Seduced at Midnight

"Instead, your wife found out what happened. What you'd done. Found out you'd tried to cheat your friends and lost all the money she'd brought to the marriage. Between the disillusionment of discovering her husband's true character, the reality of social and financial ruin, and the heartbreak of losing your child, she killed herself."

Unmistakable anguish twisted the duke's face. "She was so young. So lovely."

"You loved her."

"I adored her. And she was mine . And they stole her from me. No one steals from the Duke of Eastling." Where his eyes had always seemed cold, they now burned with a combination of fervor and hatred. "If it wasn't for them pulling out of the deal too soon, none of it would have happened. I wouldn't have lost everything. I wouldn't have lost Amelia."

"So you made them pay," Gideon said softly.

"Yes." The word sounded ripped from his soul. "Damn it, yes. They had to pay. All of them. They owed me. I wanted them to feel the grief I felt. So I took from them what they'd taken from me."

"Women they cared for."

"Yes."

"And the jewels… they were merely to distract from the real crime of the murders. To make it seem as if the jewels were the real motive, that the victims were killed in order to gain their valuables. Very clever."

The duke inclined his head. "Thank you. Although one can never have too many jewels, and I needed the money I gained from selling them on the Continent. Those bastards deserved some financial setback. It would have taken me years to ruin them all financially, if I'd even been able to do so. But I could cause them grief like…" he snapped his fingers, "… that ."

"And Lady Julianne?"

A chilling smile curved the duke's lips. "I needed to marry an heiress. And quickly. Before word of my dire financial situation got out."

"What did you hope to accomplish by climbing up to her balcony and trying to enter her bedchamber?"

"That was merely to frighten her. To establish that someone was after her. So that when she died a few months from now, no suspicions would be cast in my direction. And she had to die. So that just in case anyone ever linked the crimes together, it would appear that the woman dearest to me was also murdered."

Gideon had to fight to tamp down the wave of fury that threatened to engulf him. "Making you a victim rather than the murderer."

"Yes."

"You knew after I questioned you this evening that I was suspicious."

The duke frowned. "Yes, and very inconveniently. Required me to think quickly."

"So you stole Haverly's watch, left the party, and hired Will and Perdy to kidnap Julianne and kill me. It's not difficult to find men willing to do your bidding if the price is high enough. Must have been a nasty shock when I returned with Julianne."

"Very unpleasant indeed," the duke agreed.

"You left Julianne by the French windows after your dance. Told her to wait for you there, while you fetched her engagement ring. Knowing that as soon as you made your false announcement of your jewels being stolen that chaos would reign."

"And I knew you'd be watching her," the duke said. He picked up his quill pen and twirled it between his fingers. "Knew you'd go after her."

He twirled the pen again, and it fell. As he bent down to pick it up, Gideon said, "She was the bait to lure me away, so the kidnappers could kill me. Because you suspected I was getting too close to the truth."

"It would seem I was right about that." In a lightning-fast move, the duke stood and raised a pistol, aiming it directly at Gideon's chest. In a heartbeat Gideon realized he must have pulled it from a drawer in his desk when he bent to retrieve his pen. "And now it seems I'm going to have to do myself what those incompetent fools failed to do. Put your hands on top of your head, Mayne."

Gideon slowly obeyed. "You realize you'll never get away with this."

"I don't see why not. I'll simply say we were talking when the hooded ghost murderer burst into the room through the French windows. In the ensuing scuffle you were, tragically, shot."

"No one will believe that."

"On the contrary, no one will doubt the word of the Duke of Eastling."

" I'll doubt the duke's word," came Charles Rayburn's voice from behind Gideon.

Gideon didn't turn around, but he knew the adjoining door between the duke's study and the library had just opened. And the magistrate had entered the study. Gideon knew Rayburn's pistol would be trained on the duke.

"I will also doubt the duke's word," came Matthew's voice.

"As will I," said Daniel.

"And me," added Logan.

Gideon knew they were all standing behind him. And he prayed none of them would get shot.

"We heard everything, Your Grace," Rayburn said. "All ofÛn s th us. It's over. Put down your weapon."

Hatred burned in the duke's eyes as he glared at Gideon. "This is all your doing. If not for you, no one would have known."

Gideon shook his head. "You would have been caught eventually."

" No. Haverly would have been blamed. If you hadn't ruined everything." A sick smile curved his lips. "I may have failed, but I'll at least have the satisfaction of making sure you don't see another day."

In the blink of an eye Gideon threw the knife he'd hidden up his sleeve. In the same instant both Rayburn's and the duke's pistol shots rent the air.

Julianne froze at the sound of pistol shots. For the space of two rapid heartbeats, she and her friends stared at each other. Then she stood so quickly she knocked over her chair and dashed toward the door, Sarah, Emily, and Carolyn close behind. She raced down the corridor, barely registering the sounds of running footfalls and anxious voices of the other guests pouring in behind them. All she could hear was her heart pounding in terror. Gideon… dear God, Gideon.

She knew, knew that those shots involved him. What if he were hurt? What if he were-

She couldn't even bring herself to finish the thought. He had to be all right. Had to be. Had to be.

A door just ahead opened, and the magistrate stepped into the corridor, quickly closing the panel shut behind him.

"We heard shots," Julianne said, stopping in front of him. She grasped his arm, her fingers digging desperately into his sleeve. "Gideon." His name burst from her lips on a hoarse, terror-filled whisper. "Where is Gideon? Is he-"

"Mr. Mayne is fine." His gaze touched on Sarah and Carolyn. "As are your husbands. Mr. Jennsen as well."

Julianne heard her friends gasp. "Matthew is in that room?" Sarah asked weakly, reaching out for Julianne's hand.

"And Daniel?" Carolyn whispered.

"Yes. And they are all perfectly fine."

Before he could say anything more, a crowd surged in behind them with shouts of, "What's happening?"

Mr. Rayburn held up his hands and demanded silence. Once the crowd quieted, he said, "All is well. There is no need for alarm. If you'll go back to the drawing room, I'll explain everything."

Amid much murmuring, the group turned around to do as the magistrate bade them. But Julianne again grabbed Mr. Rayburn's sleeve. "I'm not leaving this corridor until I see for myself that Mr. Mayne is unharmed."

"And our husbands," Sarah added. "And Mr. Jennsen as well."

"I'm afraid you can't go in there," Mr. Rayburn said in an undertone, nodding toward the door.

"Why not?" demanded Emily.

After making certain the crowd was far enough away that he couldn't be overheard, he said, "You have my word that Mayne and the others are unhurt. The duke, however, is dead."