Once Upon a Diamond (36 page)

 “You’re going to kill them all,” Tristan continued, “Robert,
Matthew, then take over their shipping line. If the family is wiped out, you
inherit everything, is that it?” 

The man lifted the pistol higher. “Ah, like I said, you’re
a smart one, my lord. Knew that the first time I saw you. In fact, I think
you’ll have to go first.”

Fear slammed into Tristan when he caught Kate’s mutinous
expression. He had no doubt what she was planning. She was going to try to put
herself between him and the pistol! Hadn’t she learned anything from the inn?  

It all happened in a matter of seconds. Kate leapt
toward Mr. Travis. The gun exploded. Tristan sprung toward his wife, trying to
throw her body away from the blast.

Mr. Travis stood there laughing, pulling out another
pistol. “One dead. One to go.”

Dead?
 

Horror speared Tristan’s heart. He thought he had thrown
Kate away in time. But she lay on the floor, unmoving.

“Look at that!” The man laughed, pointing at Tristan’s
chest. “That’s her blood, not yours.”

Tristan drew in a sharp breath at the red splotches spread
about his torso. Surely, it was his blood on his body. He had been nicked. Kate
had only swooned.

“Mother!” Edward’s sudden shout from the doorway sent
Tristan’s mind spinning. Too many people. He couldn’t let anyone else get hurt.

But
he was too late.

His
mother was moving toward Mr. Travis. “I won’t let him kill you, Tristan. I
won’t!”

Mr.
Travis pivoted toward the lady and pulled the trigger. At the same time, Tristan’s
mother lunged, plunging a letter opener into the man’s chest. Mr. Travis
staggered back and fell to the floor with a deadening thud.

Tristan
rushed toward his mother. A circle of blood was spreading over her chest. “Mother,”
he cried, lifting her to the sofa.

She
put a hand to his cheek and closed her eyes. “I did...love...you,” she murmured.
“N-n-not...enough...”

Confused, Edward knelt down, holding the lady’s hand. “I
heard a shot, then saw Mother standing there. What the devil is going on? She
killed Mr. Travis with a letter opener and he shot her? She’s dead, Trist!
Dead!” 

Tristan hurried toward Kate. “She saved me, Edward. In
the end, Mother saved me. Mr. Travis was the villain. We just didn’t see it.” 

Tristan bent over his wife lying on the floor like a rag
doll. Her eyes were closed and dark lashes swept over a pair of chalk white
cheeks. “Kate?”

 “KATE!" 

Edward hastened to Tristan’s side. “The devil! I didn’t
see her, Trist.”

Swallowing the terror that stuck in his throat, Tristan
patted Kate’s cheek. “Come on, sweetheart. Speak to me.” 

By then, a handful of servants had gathered by the door.

Tristan leaned over to pick up Kate’s limp form. A warm,
sticky liquid touched his hands. Blood. Warm blood oozed from her head. “Noooooooo!”

Edward cursed when he saw the blood on Kate’s body. He
immediately ordered one of the servants to fetch the doctor. One of the maid’s
gave Tristan a cloth which he pressed against Kate’s bleeding head.

A second later, Tristan let out a heart-wrenching sob. “Oh,
God, don’t let her die. Don’t let her die. Not her too!” 

During those next few minutes, the powerful earl whom
the ton had said was as cold as the diamond he sought, buried his face in his
wife’s red-stained neck and prayed like he had never prayed before, exposing
his heart and soul to the Creator he had long forgotten.

It
was morning when the doctor finally left. Tristan and Robert had kept vigil in
Kate’s room the entire night. Hope sprang in Tristan’s heart. It seemed the
pistol ball had only grazed his wife’s head, and she had fallen against the end
table, aggravating her wound.

The
doctor had told both Robert and Tristan that when Kate awoke, she would have a nasty
headache, and as for other complications, which were very possible, the Lord
only knew.

“I’m
sorry, Robert.” Tristan frowned as he walked toward the window where dust motes
danced in the sunlight. “I should have done something sooner. She was trying to
save me, you know.” 

Robert
had been devastated to discover his trusted friend had caused so much evil. “Not
your fault, my boy. I should have known about Bartholomew.” 

Tristan and Robert turned their heads as Kate murmured
in her sleep.

“Kate?” Tristan moved to her side, squeezing her hand. “How
are you feeling, sweetheart.” 

Her eyes were closed and her lips quivered. “My head
aches like the time…I p-pilfered the entire champagne bottle…at Matthew’s t-twenty-first
birthday party.” 

Robert’s laugh was shaky. “Well, at least your injury
didn’t affect your humor. The blow to your head was a close call, but you’ll be
feeling better in a few days.”

Kate winced as she raised her hands to touch her
bandaged head. “Mr. Travis?”

Tristan leaned down and rested his palm against her pale
cheek. “He’s dead. My mother died trying to save me by killing the man with a
letter opener.”   

Kate opened her eyes and a tear trickled down her cheek.
“I saw her with the letter opener. I was hoping she would stay away from the
line of fire. I’m sorry, Tristan. She did love you.”

Tristan nodded, still feeling the guilt over his
mother’s death. But the blankness of Kate’s stare bothered him.

“Open the drapes, Papa. Or is it still night? How long
have I been here? You don’t have to keep it so dark in here. I am not so
fragile.”

Tristan jerked his gaze to meet Robert’s wary expression.

Kate’s father raised a hand to stifle his outburst. “Katherine,
darlin’, the sun’s shining through the window. Can’t you see it?”

Kate slipped her hands from Tristan’s. “No! I can’t see
anything!” She panicked, fumbling for the covers. “I can’t see! Tristan? Papa? I
can’t see!”

“No,” Tristan whispered.

No!
 

He squeezed his eyes shut, and felt as if a knife had jabbed
his heart. His wife was blind. Blind because of him. Because he hadn’t moved
fast enough.

He mouthed the word doctor to Robert. Kate’s father
nodded and strode from the room.

“It’s probably only temporary, sweetheart,” Tristan said
as calmly as he could. “Things like this happen. Heard about it in the war. Nothing
to worry about.” 

Liar! he thought. It could be forever. But he couldn’t
let her know how much her condition shook him. She was alive. That was all that
mattered.

“Papa?” 

Helplessly, Tristan watched the tears stream down her
cheeks. “He’ll return, sweetheart. I’m here now. Don’t worry. I’m here.”

“B-but
I can’t see,” she sobbed. “I can’t see anything.”

Tristan
brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
Why couldn’t it have been him?
 
 

Three days later Kate still lay in bed. Her sight was
slowly returning, but she refused to let Tristan know. He had never loved her,
yet he was willing to sacrifice himself for her just as he had when he had been
forced to marry her.

She had felt like a fool when he told her of his work
with the Foreign Office and his mission under Secretary Lord Castlereagh to
return the diamond to India.

She had recalled the countess mentioning something
before the shooting, but Kate hadn’t understood until Tristan had explained it
to her. England had needed the diamond returned to its rightful place for
political reasons. Tristan had returned the gem to Whitehall days ago and his
search was finished.

It hadn’t been a senseless quest after all. And now Tristan
had been given a fresh start. The diamond was behind him and many of the
questions involving his upbringing had been answered. His childhood had been dreadful
with a mother who had felt blackmailed to conceal her love. Kate had told Tristan
all his mother had told him, about his father and the diamond.

In some way, she knew he had felt a better about his
life. He actually felt sorry for his mother. It was then Kate knew for certain
that he needed to start anew - without her.

He deserved to love the woman he married, not feel sorry
for her too. But because he was a gentleman, he would never go back on his word
and dissolve their union. She would have to do it for him. His stupid honor
weighed heavily on her heart. She had to face the fact that he didn’t love her.

“Papa, I want to go home.” She sat up, placing her
teacup to her mouth. “I refuse to be a blind wife, fumbling around every
corner, seeking help every minute of the day.” 

It wouldn’t matter, but Tristan doesn’t love me. And I
love him so much it hurts.

“Nonsense, Katherine Josephine,” Robert snapped. “Your
husband doesn’t see it that way. I’m certain he loves you for who you are,
sight or not.”

“But I wish to go home.” She was adamant. “Tristan will
not have a blind wife. I won’t have it, Papa. I won’t.” 

He doesn’t love me, Papa. I’m leaving because he doesn’t
love me, not because I’m blind. Can’t you see that?

“The doctor said your blindness was probably only
temporary.”

 “Temporary? Even if that were true, it could be weeks,
months or even years before I can see. I won’t put Tristan through it. He
deserves better.”

Tristan didn’t love her and no amount of sight would
change that.

“But he loves you more than life itself, darlin’. This
is foolishness. Plain foolishness. Don’t let Mr. Travis ruin your happiness. I’d
shoot the man myself if he were still alive.”

What was her father thinking? Being blind was her way
out of this marriage. Tristan married her out of and honor and stayed married
to her out of pity. Oh, he was attracted to her physical attributes, but it had
never been love.

“I’ve made up my mind, and I want you to promise me that
you will not interfere in this matter. Please, let me do it my way. Promise me,
Papa.”

“But confound it! This is ludicrous, Katherine!”

“Promise me. Please.”

“Very well. I promise. But that doesn’t mean I approve.”

Kate heard her father’s heels slap the floor as he left
the room. She brought her hands to her face, fighting back tears. If she stayed
married to Tristan, the pain of him not loving her would eventually destroy her.
She had to leave as soon as possible.

 “What the devil do you mean you want to leave?” The fury
in Tristan’s voice made Kate flinch. She was clad in her dressing gown, resting
in a wing chair beside her bed while the heat of the afternoon sun stroked her
skin.

She kept her head tilted toward the floor, not wanting
him to know that her sight was returning. “I want to leave. That’s it, plain
and simple. You do understand English, don’t you? That is the language of your
country?” Her voice hovered on the edge of sarcasm, hiding the ache in her
heart.

He moved next to her, blocking out the sun’s warm rays. “Well,
you can’t leave. I won’t allow it. Blast it! You’re my wife!”

She let out a pitiful laugh. “I doubt many would believe
that.”

He stalked closer and knelt before her, his voice
softening. Her skin tingled at the very nearness of him. “I want you to be my
wife in every sense of the word. I can’t let you go, Kate. I won’t let you
go.” 

He brought her hand to his lips. “The doctor said you’re
recovering nicely. Soon you may be able to see. We can travel to Bath, have a
little honeymoon. Would you like that, sweetheart? I’ll never leave your side.”
His kiss moved intimately up her arm, making her dizzy.

She pulled back at his touch. A touch that made her
desire him as a wife wants her husband. Over the past few days, she had avoided
his advances, saying she needed time to recover. But for his sake, she had to
forge on.

 “I don’t love you anymore,” she declared coldly.

She felt him go rigid and drop her hand. He rose. His
feet were planted a foot apart, like a soldier preparing for battle, or
possibly retreat. Again, she avoided his gaze.

“I don’t believe you.” His firm voice cut through the
brittle silence.

She bit her lip, afraid to look at him, afraid he would
know the truth. “It’s true. I don’t.” It was the hardest thing she ever had to
do. She had to let him go.

His
fist slapped the wall. “Well, blast and double blast! Guess what today is? It’s
your unlucky day. It so happens that I believe in our marriage and there’s
nothing you could say or do that would cause me to rid myself of you. I never
meant to say those things at the ball and you know it. We will have children
together and raise a family. I love you Kate and I know deuced well you love me
too!” 

I love you, Kate.
Without
a doubt, he didn’t mean it. She couldn’t believe him now.
And marriage?
He
didn’t know what marriage was after seeing his parents’ life.