David nodded, and the men separated.
* * *
As she reached the great hall, Katherine stared in wonder not at the constable and his men but at Brice and Alex in shackles.
“Are you Katherine St. Pierre?” the constable asked.
Her urgent reply echoed throughout the hall. “Yes, and you must go immediately to the back corridor. There’s been a dreadful accident. A woman needs your help.”
“In good time,” the officer replied. “Come here please. There are some questions I need to ask concerning these two. This one,” he pointed at Alex, “says you will be able to straighten things out for us.”
As she drew closer, Katherine looked past the constable to Alex. Although he would have a black eye in the morning, he didn’t look as if his fight with Brice in the wine cellar had injured him much, and she was relieved. She turned her attention to the officer. “Constable…”
“Reed, ma’am, Constable Reed.”
She nodded and continued, “Constable Reed, before I take the time to answer your questions, please allow me to go to my sister’s bedside. I’m anxious to see if she’s out of harm’s way.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he replied gruffly. “Mr. Fleming here told me of the incident, and I sent a man up to check on her. Tho’ the doctor is still with her, I’m told she’ll be just fine.”
Katherine breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“This won’t take long,” the constable continued. “The sooner I get your statement, the sooner I can get to the other concern you mentioned. Then we can take these murdering devils off to gaol.”
Alex violently lashed out at the men holding him. “I’m not a murderer! I haven’t broken any laws! Ask her!”
Only too willing to help him, Katherine declared, “He’s right, Constable. He’s not a murderer. Brice confessed to the death of our man servant, as well as to the murder of Sir Robert and Angelique Belwood in America. Alex hasn’t killed anyone.”
As he entered the hall, Garth heard her. Anger overcame his shock at hearing that Brice had killed his father. He pushed past the guards and the constable, and, lunging at Brice, grabbed him by the throat. With his hands and feet shackled, there was little Brice could do to defend himself.
“Sir!” Constable Reed cried, Garth’s action taking him by surprise. “Stop him!” he yelled to his officers.
“You murderer!” Garth roared, tightening his grip on Brice.
Realizing that he could easily kill Brice and then hang for murder himself, Katherine cried, “Garth, no!” and pulled on his arms to try to make him let go.
Constable Reed and his officers finally overpowered Garth and freed Brice from his grasp. Brice lay on the floor coughing and sputtering, trying to catch his breath.
“No good will come of that now,” the constable said as he frowned at Garth. “He’ll hang for his crimes, that’s a certainty, so there’s comfort to you.”
Garth pulled himself free from the officers that had restrained him. “I’ll admit that my father’s death didn’t pain me much, as there was little love lost between us, but to learn that it was murder is beyond comprehension and tolerance!”
Katherine took hold of Garth’s arm in an attempt to calm him. “Brice will soon pay for his deeds. And it seems foolish to go on hating your father now. He’s already paid for his actions against us.”
Looking at Katherine’s pale, scared face, he said quietly, “It’s not so much Brice that I’m furious with but myself. I’m sorry. I left you women here alone with him, and you were almost killed as a result. I shouldn’t have gone. I had a suspicion that Alex and Brice were in league with one another and, just thinking that, I should have stayed to keep you safe.”
“But you’re wrong. You’re wrong about Alex,” she quickly informed him. “Brice would have killed me in the wine cellar had it not been for him.”
“Is that true, Mr. Fleming?” the constable asked.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! Brice tried to kill us both!”
Constable Reed rubbed his chin as he looked from Alex to Katherine. “You’re sure about that?”
She nodded.
“Well, then…” he removed the key from his belt and unlocked the shackles on Alex’s hands and feet.
“Thank you,” Alex said snidely, rubbing the red flesh on his wrists.
“I don’t know how I could have misjudged you so, Alex,” Katherine said, placing her hand upon his arm in an offer of friendship.
A weary smile crept over his soiled face. “You weren’t wrong all together,” he admitted. “I did want the jewels, and for the reason that Brice stated, I was trying to steal them. But I didn’t kill anyone nor have I tried in any way to harm you.” He looked to Garth. “And I’m sorry about what happened between us. I know that I usurped your place beside Sir Robert, but I only did so because my father ordered me to. He was dying and knew that our estate would have to be sold, leaving me and my mother without any means of survival. So he told me to accept willingly all that your father gave me.” He looked away and said again, “I’m sorry.”
At first Katherine wasn’t sure that Garth had heard Alex for he didn’t move, and he didn’t answer. She raised her eyebrows in question just as Garth responded.
“I’m sorry, too. It wasn’t your fault that my father acted as he did. But…” he let the thought remain unsaid that Alex seemed overly eager, actually pleased, in doing his own father’s bidding and taking for himself what was rightfully Garth’s.
From the corner of her eye, Katherine suddenly saw a movement at the top of the stairs.
“Selina!”
