China went through the motions of playing bride and hostess, but the next two hours passed in a blur. She felt physically ill if she allowed her thoughts to dwell too long on Justin, but it was difficult to think of much else. When she was not being chatted up by sweaty, round-faced men who reeked of garlic and arrogance, she was watching her new husband flirt with every woman present. A word or a smile had them fluttering and blushing and she could not help but remember that first visit to the vicarage when he had allayed her fears and convinced her that he was honest and sincere in his emotions.
At the first opportunity, she melted out of the stuffy, overcrowded room and fled along the gallery, past the glowering portraits of the Cross ancestors. When she was around a corner and out of sight, she stopped and sagged against the wall, a hand pressed over her midsection as she fought to catch her breath. It was not until she heard angry voices coming from a partly opened door that she realized she was standing outside Ranulf's study.
"Escaped! How the hell did the bastard manage to escape!"
"I don't know how, Sir. But there had to have been twenty, thirty of them to overrun the guards. We must have missed one of the crew this morning in the round-up and he managed to contact Savage before we were able to locate him."
China held her breath and risked a peek through the crack of the door. Ranulf stood at his desk, his face mottled red with fury. Chambers stood opposite, visibly nervous being the bearer of such news.
"Jason Savage." Ranulf spat the name with a venomous snarl. "How long ago?"
"An hour, no more. They attacked on the dock before Meech could transfer him onto the ship."
China gasped softly. Escaped! Justin was free!
"It was not an easily won victory," Chambers continued, "but they had surprise on their side. Several of the guards were injured and three of Meech's crewmen fell. One of the guards seemed to think Justin was shot in the fracas--perhaps even killed--but there was too much confusion for him to be absolutely certain."
Ranulf cursed. "I had him. I had them all, by Christ, in the palm of my hand. I should have had him shot myself and tossed overboard in the harbor. Dead? I doubt it. He's like a cat with nine lives. I won't believe he is finished until I see the body with my own eyes."
"We still have the Reunion under our control," Chambers said. "We have the inn on Gracey Street watched, and I have taken the liberty of placing armed guards around Braydon Hall...discreetly, of course. Where else can he go?"
"Savage has managed to elude the law--and me--for years. I warrant they could be halfway to Falmouth by now and have another ship under their feet by week's end."
China heard the clink of glass on glass as Ranulf poured himself a brandy.
"Damn and blast, I never should have let anyone talk me into using Justin as bait to catch Savage. I should have known Jason Savage would see right through the ploy and rise to the challenge of besting me again. I should have disposed of Justin months ago, by God, and worried about Savage on his own. Now they are both slipping out of my grasp."
"All might not be entirely lost, my lord," Chambers said.
"What do you mean?"
"You still have the girl. Will Justin leave Portsmouth without her?"
"She means nothing to him. She was a diversion. A pawn. A means of getting under my skin. She has served her purpose...to him as well as to me. Now that we are legally wed, I have full control over her fortune. The foolish little bitch actually thinks she still has some leverage over me, but she will soon see she lost it the moment she said 'I do'. No. The only clear advantage we may still have is that Justin is an escaped prisoner. A murderer. No one will question the necessity of shooting him on sight. If there were guards wounded in the fray, the militia will throw in as well, and--"
"May I ask what you are doing?"
China whirled around, her heart leaping up into her throat. Mrs. Biggs was standing behind her, spidery thin hands folded in front, her expression as stern as a bulldog.
"Is there something you needed, Lady Cross? Your guests are all asking for you."
Before China could answer, the door to the study was yanked open. Sir Ranulf glared first at the housekeeper, then at China. "What is going on here?"
Mrs. Biggs arched an eyebrow. "I do beg your pardon, my lord. I did not mean to disturb you, but I came upon Lady Cross listening at the door and thought perhaps--"
"Listening?" Ranulf's eyes locked steadily on China. "You must be mistaken, Mrs. Biggs. I sent for my wife only a few moments ago."
He reached out and grasped China's arm before she could make any move away.
"Thank you Mrs. Biggs. Would you be so kind as to wait here a few moments? I may wish you to carry a message to our guests; my wife appears to be growing anxious to spend time alone with me."
Mrs. Biggs nodded assent as Ranulf drew China into the study and shut the door firmly behind. The viselike grip on her arm did not relent until she was dragged across the room and thrust down into a chair.
"Well, well. Eavesdropping, were you? And did you hear anything of interest?"
China stared at him with open hatred. "I heard enough. Enough to know you had no intentions of setting Justin free."
"Set him free?" Ranulf considered the words a moment before he laughed. "I would sooner set a mad dog free in a crowded cathedral."
"Then it was all lies. There were never any documents for me to sign, no waivers you were offering in proof of your sincerity. You tricked me into marrying you."
"I prefer to think of it as having taken the necessary precautions to ensure your co-operation for a little while longer."
"My co-operation?"
Ranulf lifted the snifter of brandy and swirled the contents a moment before taking a deep swallow. "Your feigned ignorance is beginning to wear thin, my dear. You must have known Jason Savage was not on board the Reunion this morning. Chances are you knew where he was and, had I not been vigilant, you would have run again at the first opportunity to warn him. In hindsight, of course, we might have been better off letting the hounds follow the scent of the bitch and let you lead us to him, rather than waiting for him to come to us."
"You mean rather than using Justin as bait?"
"Your self-righteous disdain is becoming tiresome, China. You would do well to keep it in check lest I remind you that you rutted your virginity away on the same bed a thousand penny whores used ahead of you."
"Better there than in your bed," she countered evenly. "As for ignorance, my lord, yours is unsurpassed. You have been blinded by your own greed. You had Jason Savage all along. You had him here, in your house, in this very room. You had him in irons the moment you had the shackles put on Justin's wrists and ankles."
Ranulf's hand tightened on the glass and it took almost a full minute before the tension eased enough that the snifter was not in danger of shattering.
"A nice try, my dear," he murmured. "But you forget, I have met Jason Savage before. I sat not five feet away from the man at the tribunal that convicted Captain Trimbel and sentenced him to hang. I came face to face with Savage after the trial when he swore he would get his revenge for the lies perpetrated against the captain of the Scorpio."
It was China's turn to smile. "Nevertheless, Justin is the man you seek. He bought the Scorpio at auction and renamed her the Reunion. He has been captain these past six years since the real Jason Savage died at sea."
Ranulf's face blanched. The veins in his neck and temples corded and throbbed like blue snakes. "I don't believe you. It isn't possible for him to have masqueraded as Jason Savage for six years without someone uncovering the ruse before now. It is a trick. A stupid and futile attempt at a trick."
"No, Sir." China stood up, her gaze level and steady on his. "Unlike you, I have an aversion to deceit. Ask your Judas if you do not believe me. He has known about the masquerade all along...but then again...he obviously had his own reasons for keeping it secret from you, else why would he have felt the need to murder Bessy Toone."
Ranulf's expression altered completely. "Bessy Toone? What does she have to do with this?"
China studied his face, but there was nothing to see aside from genuine surprise and shock. "Bessy was Jason Savage's mistress. Justin's mistress. That was why his gold chain and coin were found in her room, and that was how he knew you were being blackmailed and that you would be carrying a large sum of money home on the night you were robbed. She was his mistress and his spy. Everything you confided to her in the throes of passion, she shared with him."
Ranulf swung out hard and fast, the slap catching China on the side of her face and sending her reeling sideways. He dropped the brandy snifter, ignoring the crash and shattering of the crystal, and reached for a fistful of China's hair, pulling her up straight and swinging back with his free hand to slap her again.
"Where is he? Where is the bastard?"
"I don't know," she gasped.
"Lying bitch!" He raised his hand again, and this time the signet ring he wore left an ugly gash across her cheek as he backhanded her, then shoved her viciously back. She stumbled blindly against a small table, knocking it to the floor, then tripped and sprawled heavily beside it.
"Where is he?"
China's cheeks were stinging from the pain of the blows, her senses were reeling, and when she tried to push herself upright, she cut her hand on a sliver of broken crystal.
Ranulf stalked closer, his forehead beaded with sweat, the corners of his mouth flecked with foam. "Where...is...Justin?"
"I don't know," she gasped. "It hardly matters if I did, because he will come looking for you, and when he finds you, he will kill you."
"Someone will die this night," Ranulf promised hoarsely.
He leaned down, his hands balled into fists, and China cried out, throwing both hands up in front of her face to ward off the expected blows. The first slapped her hands away, the second was hard enough to knock her head to the floor and render her unconscious.
To Mrs. Biggs, standing out in the hall, the sound of breaking glass followed by China's scream was simply too much to bear. She flung open the door and took in the scene with open-mouthed shock.
"What, in the name of all that's holy, is going on in here?"
Ranulf drew several panted breaths and slowly recovered his senses. He straightened and flexed his hands open, using one to wipe the sweat off his brow.
"Have my wife carried up to her rooms then lock her inside," he hissed. "I don't want her to see or speak to anyone--anyone! Do I make myself clear?"
Mrs. Biggs nodded, stunned. "But the guests, my lord. The party...?"
"If anyone asks, tell them the bride and groom were eager to commence their honeymoon."
Ranulf signaled to Chambers and the two men strode out of the room. Mrs. Biggs remained motionless, still too shocked to fully absorb what had happened. The gash on China's cheek was bleeding profusely and she finally knelt beside her, pressing a clean linen handkerchief over the wound.
"What in thunderation is going on here?" Eugene Cross appeared in the doorway, a drink in hand, a frown creasing his brow. "Everyone shouting and slamming doors. I just saw Ranulf and I swear he--" the thought was bitten off when he saw China. His jaw dropped and he rushed forward. "Good God. What happened? Is she hurt? Did she fall? Is that blood?"
"Please help me Mr. Eugene. Lady Cross has...fainted. She fell and cut herself and...and she fainted."
"Fainted? Cut herself? Then where the deuce has Ranulf gone? Should he not be here tending her?"
Mrs. Biggs was clearly torn in her loyalties. "Please Mr. Eugene. My lord asked that Lady Cross be taken to her rooms."
Eugene looked down again. This time he noticed the clear handprints that stood out red and angry on China's pale cheeks.
"He was extremely agitated," Mrs. Biggs added.
"So I see. Very well. We shall do as he says for now, but damn him, he had best have a good explanation for this when he gets back. Where has gone, anyway?"
"I do not know, Mr. Eugene, but Chambers was with him. Shall I fetch a footman?"
"No. No, I can manage. The chit is light as a feather anyway." Eugene seemed to remember the drink in his hand. He finished it with a loud gulp then set the glass aside. He lifted China gently and followed Mrs. Biggs out of the study and down the hall toward the servant's stairwell.
When they arrived at China's bedroom, Mrs. Biggs hastened inside and drew back the covers on the bed. The cut on her cheek had started to bleed again and Eugene scowled. "Fetch me some clean cloths and a basin of water."
Mrs. Biggs opened her mouth to protest but shut it again. "Yes, sir."
"You had best go downstairs again and tell the guests something before they lay out a search party."
Mrs. Biggs twisted her hands. "My lord gave clear instructions that I was to lock Lady Cross's door."
Eugene cast a wry glance over his shoulder. "Does it look as if the young lady requires locking up?"
"I have my orders Sir."
"Oh very well. Lock us both inside, if you must. But hurry with those cloths and water, the girl is bleeding all over my cuff."