Fear Familiar Bundle (111 page)

"It could be anyone, William. I have to tell you something about Kevin. And Sophie. And about a MacEachern baby."

William took her arm. "Let's go for a ride, Mary. At least that way we'll know no one can overhear us."

"Let me get the port and pestle from my room. I want to seal the liquor in something and get this package ready to go before I let it out of my sight."

As they walked to her room, she told him of her findings and her suspicions. "Odorless, as far as I could tell. Yellow in color. Remember the night Familiar went wild? You fed me fresh berries in the bath."

"I well remember that night." He couldn't stop himself from touching her arm. The feel of her warm, smooth skin was easy to remember.

Mary ignored the flush of heat that sprang from his touch. "You put your custard down on the floor and didn't eat it."

"I had other things on my mind."

She couldn't help but smile at the memories he evoked. "Yes, well, Familiar ate your custard. That's when he had his fit, or whatever you want to call it."

"You're right!" He twisted the knob of her bedroom door and pushed it open. "You're absolutely right. And my attacks have come after eating, as you said a while back."

"Or after drinking. The night we were going to hear your friend play, you drank port while I went to change. In an instant, you reverted. I know there's nothing wrong with you, William. It's just a matter of figuring out who's trying to do this to you."

"I hate to admit it, but I believe you're right about Clarissa and Chancey. If I had to pin the guilt on anyone right now, I'd say them."

"The only trouble with that theory is that there are other people who have access to your food. Chancey and Clarissa weren't around every time you've had trouble." Mary didn't want to look at him.

"Who are you thinking of?"

"Abby. John." She sighed. "Kevin, and Sophie. Kevin has reason to believe he's your half-brother. That's more of a claim to Mayfair even than Erick. And Sophie may be reluctantly helping him."

"My half-brother? This must be some kind of joke. I've known Kevin since he was born."

"He isn't Abby and John's son. His mother, who claimed that he was your father's child, abandoned him. Apparently she worked in the house in some capacity. Abby and John took him in. All this time he's believed he was their natural son, but they told him recently, so that he could stake his claim to a portion of Mayfair after your father died."

William looked up and down the corridor. "This is incredible, Mary. Don't tell me any more until we get out of here. This place has ears, you know."

"I have to talk with you about something Chancey told me." Mary was determined to clear the air once and for all. "This is important, to us."

William put his finger to his lips. "Later. Now grab your riding boots, and I'll get the port and pestle."

"Beside the bed," Mary directed as she entered her room and went to the bureau to get her riding gear. She'd wait until they were mounted, but they
were
going to talk.

"Mary?"

The question in William's voice made her look up from the search for her right boot. "What?"

"There's nothing on the bedside table. Except a book."

"But I…" She dropped everything and walked to the bed. The small bedside table was still bathed in the glow of the lamp, but its polished surface was bare of everything except her book.

"I put it right there."

"Did you lock your door?"

She shook her head. "I didn't think. I didn't expect to go to sleep." William had been standing at the end of the hallway while they'd been on the phone. No one could have slipped past him.

William's face was white. "I think it might be best if you went with Sophie back to Edinburgh," he said slowly.

She could see the tension in him and understood the fear. "No, William. I won't be run off."

"If this person is creeping into your room, standing over you while you sleep, I can't protect you. There's nothing here at Mayfair I value more than you. I won't let anyone harm you."

"And no one can hurt me as much as you can." She grabbed his hand. "Chancey told me about the terms of your inheritance. That you must have a male heir within two years. Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Could we talk about this outside?"

"Just tell me when you were planning to tell me."

"I had hoped never to tell you. Now let's get outside." He took her arm in his left hand and her boots in his right.

They'd made it as far as the stable yard when Erick flagged them down. "William, Darren was looking for you. He said it was urgent. He was headed around the west side, and he seemed terribly agitated. You'd better go find him. He might have finally had enough and killed his wicked mother."

M
ARY SWUNG INTO
the saddle with more confidence than she'd expected to feel. As she'd saddled and bridled Shalimar, she'd listened to every nuance of Kevin's voice. He was as kind and gentle as he'd always been. William had gone with Erick to find Darren, so Mary was going to have it out with Chancey— horsewoman to horsewoman.

"I think I'm going for a ride. Alone." She forced a confident smile.

"Is that a good idea?" Kevin's worry was instant. "I'll come with you if William is too busy."

"I'm going to ride to Chancey's. I'm sure she'll be glad to show me more of the area." She watched for a reaction, but the only thing she saw was concern.

"Chancey isn't the most trustworthy companion," he said. "It would be better if you let me, or one of the grooms, take you around. You won't be calling on the gentry— " he lifted an eyebrow "— but you could see the country."

"I want to prove to Chancey that she can't frighten me." It was the truth, but Mary also wanted to test another theory.

"I think you've proven that, Mary. It would be a shame to snap your neck to make a point with the likes of Chancey."

No matter how she tried, Mary couldn't believe Kevin was a man who would stoop to any underhanded activities. Not even for an inheritance worth a fortune. But she'd heard him! He and Sophie.

"Perhaps to you, Kevin, but not to Chancey, or Clarissa, for that matter. Well, I'm going to serve notice to her and anyone else who endangers me, William or Mayfair. There will be a terrible price paid. I don't intend to give up William, or his heritage, without a bloody struggle."

"Spoken like a true MacEachern," Kevin said. He slapped Shalimar's rump. "Off with you, then. Sow your warnings on the women of Kelso." He grinned. "I fear it's barren ground you plough, but you must try it for yourself. Chancey and Clarissa will both make a hard end. Clarissa has been walking that road since Darren was born, and it looks as if Chancey will follow. But warn them if it makes you feel better." He turned and walked back into the barn, his back straight and his posture untroubled.

"Blasted inscrutable Scot," Mary said under her breath as she turned Shalimar toward Chancey's and the challenge that hung in the wind between the two women.

William had reluctantly given her directions. He'd been unhappy with her decision to go, and her insistence that she was going alone. What had to be said, though, was between only the two women. She'd heard another side of Sophie, and it had shocked her to learn that someone she'd known for so many years could have a hidden facet to her personality. Mary was discovering that she, herself, had a strength and aggressiveness that she would never have guessed at. It came into play only when William or their future together had been assaulted. Chancey, deliberately and with malice aforethought, had done just that.

Sensing the renewed determination in Mary's seat, Shalimar lengthened her trot, stretching into a gait that smoothly covered the distance.

The day was bright, even though it was chill, and Mary found herself enjoying the ride. The borderland of Scotland was incredibly beautiful, a long, rolling land that lent itself to crops and pasture. Vistas of green dotted with sheep were broken by bands of hardwoods and cut with the fast flow of small streams. Large estates were set back in ancient trees, a reminder of a way of life when the very rich owned most of the entire country.

Chancey's house was old stone covered in a thick ivy on one side that gave it a look of sensual disorder. It was a modest size, but wonderfully built and decorated. Behind the house was a barn with four stalls and plenty of room to store the hay that would hold the horses through the winter.

Shalimar's hooves rang on the stone drive, and Mary kept a tight rein on the mare as she tried to look through the barn. There was a quiet, a stillness, to the place that made Mary suddenly ill at ease. She had the distinct sensation that someone was hiding, watching her.

"Chancey!" She called the woman's name and waited. There was no answer. In the barn, the horses shifted, and one neighed a greeting to Shalimar.

"Shall we?" Mary asked the mare. She rode up to the open door of the barn, noticing how thick the stone walls were. Chancey's place was old, historic, and it was kept in beautiful order. Funny, Mary had never thought to ask if it was an inherited home or one that Chancey had purchased on her own. In fact, Mary knew little about the woman. Did she work? It was an interesting thought. Mary considered the types of work Chancey would be suited for— in her opinion. Nothing she came up with was very flattering.

She had already dismounted when she noticed that the horse calling to Shalimar was saddled and tied outside the barn beside a large tree. Inside the barn, four horses shifted back and forth over the stall doors. Chancey's horses, or at least a full barn of them, were already in. Who did the fifth horse belong to?

The fact that Chancey had company struck Mary, and she felt a twinge of regret and a big spurt of relief. If Chancey had a guest, then she couldn't possibly take Mary up on her offer to go for another ride. That was the relief. But it would also interfere with Mary's plans to try to question Chancey. A third party would be a definite handicap.

But it would be interesting to see who had ridden over to pay a visit to Chancey. Another horsewoman, no doubt, Mary thought grimly as she found a halter, slipped it over Shalimar's bridle and tied the mare.

Kevin had been adamant about never tying a horse with the bridle reins. He'd explained at great length how even the best trained horses could become frightened or excited and pull back. When that occurred, the bit could damage the horse's mouth, or the leather reins could snap and the horse would be free, possibly running into even greater dangers in unfamiliar territory.

The halter Mary found hanging beside the door on a wooden peg was forest green, a color theme that was repeated, she saw, in the blankets and leg wraps of the horses. A brass plate had been engraved with Chancey's name and address. "Nice touch," Mary said as she made sure her knot was secure. "Be good, Shalimar. I'll be back."

She didn't hear the step behind her, but she caught sight of the moving shadow just as she was turning to walk to the house. She tried to step aside, but she saw the blow coming at her before she could really shift out of the way.

"Stop!" she managed to yell just as a fist crashed into the side of her head. The blow was a glancing one, but it made her ear ring and knocked her to the ground. For a moment she felt as if the world swayed dangerously around her. Then her vision cleared, and she forced herself to her hands and knees and started crawling toward the door.

The sound of running footsteps led into the bright sunlight. In a matter of seconds there was the sound of hooves striking the stone exit.

At the sound of frantic hooves on the cobbled drive, Chancey came out the side door of the house, her expression plainly amazed. When she saw Mary crawling out of the barn on her hands and knees, she ran over.

"Mary, did you take a spill? Was that your horse running down the drive?"

"No, to both questions." Mary sat down and looked down the drive, hoping to catch a final glimpse of the man who'd struck her. "Who was here?"

"Here?" Chancey looked around. "I don't know. I mean, no one, to my knowledge. Did you see someone?"

"This isn't a game." Mary started to stand, but the dizziness washed over her again. "Someone was here. His horse was tied at your barn. He hit me."

Chancey stooped down and put a palm on Mary's forehead. "No one was here, but you must have taken a nasty spill."

"Chancey, his horse was tied at the barn."

"
A
horse might have been tied here, but no one was visiting me. I've been in the house all day waiting on a call from a breeder over near Melrose. I've not left the house and I haven't had a single visitor."

Head throbbing, Mary forced her eyes to stare directly into Chancey's. The other woman never flinched.

"Help me to my feet, please," Mary said.

"Maybe you should consider giving up horses," Chancey said as she braced herself to pull Mary to her feet. "Every time I see you, you're on the ground, smashed and broken. I suppose I can safely assume you and William haven't started a family yet."

"I didn't fall," Mary said as she got her balance and shook free of Chancey. "My horse is
tied.
Do you understand? And my state of pregnancy is none of your business. That's exactly what I came to tell you."

"You'd better hope possession by ghostly spirits isn't hereditary." Chancey grinned. "What will you do if William locks you in the turret until you conceive? Actually, I'm shocked that he's going to marry you until he knows you're pregnant. If I were him, I wouldn't take the chance that you might not conceive."

"My mother was one of fifteen children, and I have eight brothers and sisters. We're a prolific family. I'm certain William looked it all up before he popped the question."

"Well, you aren't much for staying on your feet, but you have a bit of wit about you," Chancey said, completely unabashed. "Come in and I'll make you a cup of tea. I suspect you came to ask me to go riding, but I can't leave the phone and I don't think you're up to it now. That's a bad knot over your ear."

Mary put up her hand and felt the bump swelling beneath her fingers. It was terribly sore. If she and William didn't get to the bottom of what was happening at Mayfair, they'd both need skull reinforcements.