Without taking his eyes off his wife, Richard said, ‘There’s nothing I’d like more, Aunt Honoria, but I’m not quite sure how.’ He was now very pale, but remained cool. ‘But I am sure that it’s no joke. She means what she says.’ His voice changed as he spoke. ‘These are very serious accusations, Alexandra. Do you really believe them? They can’t possibly be justified, you know.’
‘Oh, indeed they can! I have all the evidence I need for that! And now Rawdon is safe, I intend to make you pay for what you’ve done.’
Lady Honoria turned to Mark Rawdon. ‘Sir Mark!’ she said forcefully. ‘Haven’t you any influence with her? Say something! Do something! I can’t believe she seriously means to shoot anybody, but pointing a gun like that is dangerous. Tell her to stop acting like a fool, to put it down. Make her listen to you!’
‘Don’t do it, Lexi!’ said her cousin. ‘You’ve got what you wanted—Rawdon will survive. Surely you don’t need to do anything as mad as this? It’s not necessary any more.’
‘It is! It’s more necessary than ever. He’s my husband, Mark! Do you imagine I could live with such a villain?’ She lifted the pistol, and the tension in the little room rose again.
‘Wait, Alexandra! Wait!’ Richard spoke urgently, but still without fear. ‘Give me just one moment. As the condemned man I could surely be allowed one moment to put my case.’
‘To plead your innocence, perhaps?’ Lexi’s lip curled.
‘Yes, dammit! I am innocent!’
‘You did not shoot my brother?’
‘No, I did not!’
Lexi went on relentlessly, ‘You did not play cards with my father? Gamble with him? You did not win everything he owned? Ruin him?’
Richard hesitated. ‘He was ruined before I began the game, but, yes, I did play him for what…what was left. And I won.’ Lexi gave a sob and her hand tightened round the pistol. Lady Honoria and the Canon both made a movement of protest.
‘Keep still, all of you!’ Richard spoke sharply. ‘I absolutely forbid anyone to interfere! This is between Alexandra and myself.’ He held Lexi’s eye as he went on deliberately, ‘I did what I had to about your father. I wanted to save him, not ruin him. If he had not died so suddenly, I would have proved it. To him, and, if necessary, to you.’
‘Not very convincing! I made you return my father’s lands to Mark. If I hadn’t, they would now all be yours, swallowed up in the Channings estate. Rawdon wouldn’t exist any more.’ Her voice rose angrily. ‘Good God, Deverell! What sort of man are you? Wasn’t Channings big enough for you? Did you have to take Rawdon as well?’
With a touch of steel in his voice, Richard said, ‘You didn’t make me give anything back, Alexandra. It was all freely given as a wedding present to you. You chose to pass it on to your cousin.’
‘Not so freely! I had to marry you to get it!’
‘Are you saying you wouldn’t have married me otherwise? I find that hard to believe. You seemed willing enough when I asked you.’
‘That was before—’ She stopped and swallowed. ‘Before I found out what you’d done. After that, nothing but the thought of saving Rawdon could have reconciled me to it.’
If possible, Richard grew even paler. ‘I…see…’ Then, after a pause, he went on, ‘But, as you have said, Rawdon is saved. Whatever I did or didn’t do, surely it’s been put right again?’
‘Put right again? You drove my father to his death! And there’s still my brother to be paid for!’
‘I’ve told you,’ Richard said steadily, ‘Johnny’s death was an accident.’
‘Oh, I could believe that! But accidentally or not, you shot him, Deverell, though you told everyone he had shot himself. Why else would you have tried to cover it up afterwards? You are a liar and a coward, Richard Deverell. I know that, even if the world doesn’t.’
Richard grew white about the lips, and Lexi held the gun up more threateningly as he took an involuntary step forward.
Lady Honoria shrieked, ‘No! No! Please God, no!’
After a momentary pause her nephew was once again cool as he said, ‘If that was true, I would deserve everything you say of me. But it isn’t. I wasn’t even there when Johnny died. If I had been, it—’ He stopped for a moment, showing for the first time a hint of strong emotion. His jaw tightened, then he went on, ‘If I had been there it wouldn’t have happened. I’d have saved him. But he was alone when he died.’
His voice carried conviction, and for the first time Lexi hesitated. But after a moment her confidence returned and she said flatly, ‘I have proof. Very good proof.’
‘Then show me! Come, Alexandra, where’s your sense of justice? Tried, convicted and condemned, all in one breath? Is that to be my fate?’
The pistol did not waver, though Lexi’s voice rose in despair. ‘I loved you, Richard! My father loved you. Johnny was your friend. And you betrayed us all! You lied and cheated people who had trusted you all their lives! You don’t deserve to live.’
Richard’s voice was still measured, still calm. He said drily, ‘My dear girl, try for once to think of the consequences before you act! At the moment you are convinced of my guilt. But what if you’re wrong? Suppose, just suppose, you shot me now, and discovered later that I was innocent after all. How would you feel?’
Lady Honoria broke her silence. ‘Of course you are innocent, Richard! How can you treat this so calmly? Look at her! She does mean what she says! The girl has gone mad!’ Her elderly voice trembled as she pleaded, ‘Alexandra, you can’t do this! You mustn’t shoot Richard, he’s a good man. He’s certainly been more than good to you! He wouldn’t lie to you, nor anyone else. Your brother’s death was an accident—we all know that. The army said so. And Richard says he wasn’t even there when it happened, so how could he have had anything to do with it? As for your father—’
Lexi wasn’t listening. She stood, her burning eyes fixed on Richard, holding the pistol in an unwavering hand. Richard intervened. Still not taking his eyes off his wife he said, ‘Thank you, Aunt Honoria! I don’t think you’ll manage to convince my bride I’m not a villain. She’s so certain of it that she won’t even hear any arguments in my defence. But perhaps she’ll listen to this.’ Holding Lexi’s eyes, he went on, ‘Alexandra, I agree that there has been some villainy at work against the Rawdon family. When your father died I thought there would be an end to it. It seems I was wrong. Shooting me won’t solve the problem, I assure you. I am not the man responsible. But, if you give me time, I’ll find out who was.’
‘There wasn’t anyone else, Deverell!’
‘I swear there was!’ Richard’s quiet insistence had some effect, and as Lexi still hesitated he went on, ‘Look, I’ll make you an offer. Show me what you have by way of proof. Tell me why you are so convinced that I betrayed my best friend and all his family—people—’ He stopped, then went on, ‘People who had meant so much to me. Then give me six months. Six months to prove you wrong about Johnny’s accident. Six months to find out who or what ruined your father.’
‘That at least was you! You’ve already confessed.’
‘No, I did not. You weren’t listening properly. I did my best to stop the damage and failed. Let me prove to you that I’m telling the truth. I’ll make a bargain with you. Put your gun away. If, at the end of six months, I can’t prove everything to your satisfaction—whatever it is—I’ll save you the bother of shooting me. I’ll do it for you, I swear.’
Canon Harmond and Lady Honoria spoke together. ‘Lord Deverell,