Devils Bride

His chin resting in her hair, Devil nodded. 'It helps. It's the final nail in our would-be-murderer's coffin.'

Honoria tried to look at Devil's face, but he held her too tightly. 'You're sure who it is?'

Devil sighed. 'Beyond doubt.'

Three minutes later, their clothes precisely correct once more, the duke and duchess of St. Ives headed back to Grosvenor Square.

Chapter 24

Vane was waiting in the library when Honoria and Devil entered. He searched their faces, then relaxed.

'The end is nigh.' Devil handed Honoria to the chaise, then sat beside her.

Vane sat in an armchair. 'What happened?'

Devil gave him a severely edited account, proffering only the note Honoria had received. 'The one I got was in the same hand.' Vane studied the note, then frowned. Devil suggested: 'Look at the writing itself, not the style.'

Vane's face cleared. 'The nib! He always uses those wide nibs so his writing looks heavier. We've got him!'

'Yes, and no. Everything we've discovered is circumstantial. Given what I've remembered today-'

'And my news, which I've yet to tell you,' Vane cut in.

'Put it together,' Devil continued, 'and the murderer's identity's obvious. Obvious, however, isn't proof.'

Vane grimaced; Devil's expression was bleak. Honoria glanced from one to the other. 'But who is it?' When they looked at her blankly, she nearly ground her teeth. 'You haven't told me yet.'

Devil blinked. 'But it was you who told me. You were the first to put it into words.'

'I thought it was Richard, remember? You both told me I was wrong.'

'Well, you were,' Vane said. 'It isn't Richard.'

'You suggested the murderer was my heir.' Devil waited until Honoria looked his way. 'Effectively, he is.'

Honoria's eyes flew wide. She glanced at Vane, then looked back at Devil. 'But… You mean George…?'

'George?'

'Father?'

Devil and Vane stared at her. 'Why George?' Devil asked. 'He's not my heir.'

'He's not?' It was Honoria's rum to stare. 'But Horatia told me he's a bare year younger than your father was.'

'He is,' Vane corroborated.

'Great heavens!' Honoria's eyes couldn't get any wider. 'How many Cynster skeletons are there? Is George another Cynster like Richard?'

'You've missed a vital point-George and Arthur are twins.' Devil caught Honoria's gaze. 'Arthur's the elder twin-and no, it's not him either.'

'Charles?' Honoria's expression blanked, then hardened. 'How…' For a full minute, words failed her, then her eyes flashed. 'How cowardly.' She met Devil's eyes. 'He killed his younger brother.'

'Half brother,' Devil corrected. 'As he used to be very quick to point out. He's also now tried to kill me.'

'Several times,' Vane put in.

'He's also tried to kill you.' Devil reached for Honoria's hand.

'And it now looks like he's killed his previous man, Holthorpe.'

Devil and Honoria looked at Vane. 'What did you discover?' Devil asked.

'Circumstantial evidence still, but I've had all the shipping lists checked-no Holthorpe embarked for America, or anywhere else. Holthorpe never left England.'

Devil frowned. 'Let's start at the beginning. Tolly left Mount Street the evening before he died. As far as we can tell, he headed home on foot. His lodgings were in Wigmore Street, so he'd walk past here. According to Sligo, he called in and learned I'd gone up to the Place. He continued on in good spirits-'

'And stopped in to see Charles,' Vane said. 'Around the corner in Duke Street.'

'Given Holthorpe's disappearance, that seems a reasonable assumption.' Devil's frown grew. 'Presumably Tolly learned something, possibly overheard something-something that told him Charles was planning to kill me. Let's take that as read-what would Tolly do?'

'Tax Charles with it,' Vane replied. 'Tolly wouldn't have paused to think of any danger-he was too open and honest and naive to imagine others might be less so.'

'We'll presume Charles didn't recant, so Tolly left.'

'Probably saying enough on his way out to seal Holthorpe's fate.' Vane looked grim. 'The next morning, as soon as he could, Tolly left for the Place.'

'But Charles took the faster route-we know he did. We didn't find anyone who could place Charles near the lane when Tolly was shot, but we did exhaustively prove no one else was in the area. No other gentleman arrived from London that day.' Devil glanced at Vane.

'Right. So Charles shot Tolly-'

'That's what I'd forgotten. The button on Tolly's coat.'

Vane looked puzzled. 'What about it?'

Devil sighed. 'The shot that killed Tolly was nothing short of perfect-the only reason he didn't die immediately with a hole through his heart was because one of his coat buttons'-Devil glanced down at the buttons on his coat-'like these, only larger, deflected the shot.' He met Vane's eyes, then glanced at Honoria. 'Charles's one real talent is that he's an exceptional marksman.'

'Particularly with a long-barreled pistol.' Vane nodded. 'All right-so we have Tolly dead. Charles 'arrives' at the Place then plays the grieving brother the next day.'

'Very convincingly.' Devil's face hardened.

'He must have got one hell of a shock when he realized Tolly had lived long enough to talk to you.'

Devil nodded. 'But he kept mum and saw it through, Tolly's funeral and all.'

'But then came the biggest shock of all.' Vane looked from Devil to Honoria. 'Charles learned you were going to marry Honoria.'

Honoria frowned. 'Actually, no. Not then. I put him off.' When Devil looked his question, she grimaced. 'He came to see me in the summerhouse after the wake. He offered to marry me in your stead, assuming I was concerned over protecting my name.'

'He what?' Devil stared at her.

Honoria shrugged. 'I told him I'd no intention of marrying you or anyone.'

'He believed you,' Vane said. 'He was taken aback later, at Mama's ball, when Gabriel and I suggested you'd changed your mind.'

'Hardly surprising.' Devil glanced at Honoria. 'He'd stopped us in the park not long before and you as good as assured him you were off to Africa in a few weeks.'

Honoria shrugged again.

'And that,' Vane said, 'was when the attacks on you started.'

'Your phaeton accident.' Honoria paled.

Devil squeezed her hand. 'An impulsive first attempt. I was very busy after that, then came our wedding.'

Honoria shivered. 'I just remembered-Charles warned me on our wedding day that I shouldn't have married you.'

Devil drew her against him. 'While we remained at the Place, he didn't attempt anything.'

'Too dangerous,' Vane said. 'Too likely he'd be spotted there.'