Page 33 of The Lady’s Sweet Revenge (Safely in Scotland #3)

R eese’s muddled head was not up for the task of dealing with all the horrors of a day that had begun hours before him.

“Who has arrived?” Reese snapped as his blood went cold and his stomach twisted. Surely Merrick wouldn’t have the cods to waltz into Reese’s home as an invited guest.

“Lady Harlow’s brother and uncle have arrived, my lord.”

They had a plan for this. The whole house was ready for this moment. But they hadn’t anticipated that a killer would be arriving at the same time.

“You’re certain, we have a day at least?” Reese barked at the man across from him. If he had a day or two before Merrick showed up, he would have time to assist Harlow with her plans and still get her away from Slains Castle before Merrick arrived.

“At least.”

Turning back to a confused Mrs. Garrison he asked, “Have you told her yet?”

“Not yet. I came directly to you. She’s still in her room. I put our guests in the morning room as planned.”

“My mother?”

“Is in the drawing room.”

“Go assist Harlow and ready the house.”

When Mrs. Garrison left the room in a hurry, Reese turned back to Collins and shook his head.

“I hope to God you’re wrong and Merrick has given up on this plot. For if he hurts her, I will gut ye. This is not how honorable men keep the citizens of Great Britain safe, and you well know it. You stay here until I return. I must go wake the dead.”

Leaving the study, Reese slipped into the drawing room.

“There you are, Reese,” his mother said before looking up from her needlepoint. She tilted her head. “Are you well? You look dreadful.”

“It was a bad night.”

“Perhaps you’ve caught whatever ails Lady Harlow, for she is not well this morning either.”

His mother was likely more correct than she knew.

“I’m sorry, Mother, I haven’t time to discuss this. Her uncle has arrived.”

His mother’s eyes went wide with surprise before she nodded.

“I’m ready.” His mother had been given a small part in this scheme. She would no doubt play it to perfection. Her brother had been sent instructions as well. They could only hope his acting skills were convincing.

His mother rushed over to the corner to grab up a lace veil and drape it over her shoulders, covering her midnight blue gown in black.

When she looked the picture of grief, she took his arm so he could lead them off to the first scene of their play.

“Let us go greet our guests,” he said.

“This should be great fun,” his mother said.

He was glad someone was looking forward to this. Reese knew when all of this was over, there would be no reason for Harlow to stay with him. He didn’t know what would happen then.

*

Harlow was sitting by the window looking out at the back gardens and the ocean beyond. She’d dried her tears hours before dawn and had a plan to speak to Reese. She had just lacked the courage to go down to see him as yet.

It was after noon and she was still hiding out in her room, the gloom of the day directly reflecting her mood. She didn’t yet know what words to say to convince the man she loved that he was wrong and she loved him.

She thought it might be better to hide away in her room until she was certain his mood had improved. She knew from experience that giving her father time to calm down made his punishments easier.

While she didn’t expect Reese to punish her, she still needed him to be in a better mood than he’d been when he’d run off the night before.

At the swift knock at her door, she frowned. Mrs. Garrison had already brought a tray of food that sat untouched on the table by the door. Harlow hadn’t had an appetite that morning with all the worrying.

When the knock came again, Harlow wondered if it was Reese.

She stood.

“Come in,” she called.

When the door opened and Mrs. Garrison came in, Harlow had to work hard to hide her disappointment. But then she spotted the dress in the woman’s arms.

“They have arrived, m’lady. It’s time.”

Harlow jumped into action.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes. The earl and the countess have gone to the morning room to meet our guests. We must hurry so you can get out to the gardens.” They’d chosen to put her uncle in the morning room rather than the drawing room as it faced the other side of the house from the gardens.

After the gown was in place, Mrs. Garrison went to work on her hair and the rest of her disguise.

“These red eyes of yours are at least good for something. You look like death.” The woman tutted her disapproval. “The earl looked like a man in mourning before your uncle even arrived.”

“He did?”

“Aye. I don’t know what the two of you are so broken up about, but I hope when this is over, you’ll see to talking it out.”

Reese was upset? Mrs. Garrison hadn’t said he was angry.

“Yes. I promise we will do that. For now, though, I must terrorize the man who betrayed me until he wishes he’d never been born.”

“I pray I never earn your ire, m’lady. Ye are a fierce one, indeed.”

With a smile, Harlow hurried down the servant’s stairs and rushed out to the gardens.

*

As Reese escorted his mother into the morning room, the countess flew into hysterical tears.

“Too late! Too late! The poor dear has passed,” his mother wailed, and he would applaud her later for such a convincing performance. She quieted only slightly before slumping into the nearest chair.

Reese turned a concerned look to the men as he gave them the grim news. He didn’t know which brother had come, but he could tell the older of the two must be Edgar Polk. Reese reached out a hand.

“Welcome to Slains Castle, gentlemen. I’m sorry it couldn’t be under better circumstances. I am Lord Breckenridge.”

“Luke Haverston, and this is my uncle, Edgar Polk. I thank you for finding my sister.”

Luke was not so good an actor, for he was smiling instead of looking nervous or struck to hear his sister had died.

“Unfortunately, as my dear mother has said, it is too late. The lass passed peacefully nearly a week ago. I wrote, but of course, ye were already on your way here.”

“Oh dear,” Luke said and Reese wanted to pinch the man for not being more overcome. Fortunately, Edgar didn’t notice for he had crumbled onto the settee and began sobbing in earnest.

“This is all my fault,” he said over and over. Reese looked toward the doorway thinking Harlow would want to see the man’s evident pain at hearing her dead. But she was likely in position for the next step of their plan. Which meant Reese needed to get them to their places.

“Mayhap you would like to see where she is buried. I wasn’t able to have a stone carved with a name, as I didn’t know it. It is only marked with a cross for now. But it may give ye peace to see it.”

“Harlow, my lord. My sister’s name was Harlow.” Better. Luke was getting the hang of it now. “I would like to visit her grave and will see to the matter of having a proper stone cut.”

“Aye. This way.” Reese led them from the house, skirting the edge of the garden to the back corner where everything was prepared.

There in the graveyard, where his own father was buried, there was a pile of dirt with a large wooden cross stuck in the ground.

He and Harlow had had such a great laugh setting it up.

Walking over to the edge of the garden, he retrieved a few flowers and saw Harlow lurking behind a nearby tree. Even knowing it was powder and ash, he winced at seeing how close to death she looked. It was unsettling.

As he knelt to place the flowers reverently on the mound, he heard Polk gasp.

Looking at Luke, Reese silently reminded him with a stern glare to play his part well. It was no surprise the man was happy to be involved in a bit of mischief.

“She’s there!” Polk cried out as he pointed to where Harlow was standing in a flowing white gown they had rent at the ends so it was tattered and what she had called “specter-like.” Her eyes were rimmed in fireplace ash so they looked sunken into her pale white cheeks.

Her lips were stained red with berries as she slowly raised her arm and pointed directly at Polk.

“This is your fault, Uncle,” she spoke in a soft, eerie timbre.

“What is wrong, Uncle?” Luke said shaking his head.

“Do you not see her?” Edgar pointed as Luke looked to where the other man was pointing, not reacting to Harlow in the slightest. Either the man was getting better with his role or he was used to ignoring his sister.

“I don’t see anything. Do you want me to pick more flowers?” Luke strode over directly next to Harlow and fetched a few blooms, still acting as if he didn’t see her at all.

Harlow had said any one of her brothers would be up for such a role for they’d all played dead at some point in their youth. But it was another thing to see it.

“She is right there.” The man pointed. “Harlow.”

Luke spun around and then came closer to his uncle.

“Shh. There is nothing there. Relax. Harlow is with the angels now.”

Harlow stepped closer to Polk.

“You did this to me, Uncle. I loved you and you allowed those men to take me. You told them they could have me. To do whatever they wanted with me.”

“No!” he shouted. “I didn’t. I swear it. It isn’t my fault.”

Reese looked at Harlow, knowing she would not be pleased that the man was still not admitting what he had done. His hideous part in the scheme to use his own flesh and blood for money.

“Yes!” she screamed back. “Tell the truth. Tell the truth right now. I cannot leave this realm until I know why I was left to die.”

“God, forgive me. I didn’t know. I didn’t know he would do this.”

“Confess all!” Harlow shouted and took a step closer. She was not playing the part, instead she was allowing her anger to take over.

“I didn’t know,” he said again. “I didn’t know who he was.

He said I could help him and make a fortune.

I’ve never had anything of my own. My sister married your father and he has paid for everything I have since that day.

And while I was grateful, I hated it all the same.

” The man let his head fall in his hands for a moment.

“I wanted to have something of my own. I wanted to prove my own worth. So I said yes. But when he told me what he wanted me to do, I realized it would be treason. I was to go to a ball and steal documents from Lord Martindale’s study.

I found the documents he wanted. It was a list of all the agents of the Crown.

I knew I couldn’t trust a man such as Merrick with such a list. Instead of taking it, I tossed it into the fire. ”

“An honorable thing to do,” Luke whispered to Reese without Polk or Harlow hearing. Reese had to admit it was not as they’d originally thought.

“Tell the truth! I was taken. Why was I taken? Why was I tied up and taken to Scotland?”

“Leverage,” the man sobbed. “He knew I had seen the names. Even without the document I would know who they were and he planned to force me to tell him. When I didn’t, he lost a great sum of money from the French who were willing to pay for the list. The amount was more than I could pay back.

He told me he would be reimbursed for what he lost. I didn’t know what he intended until that day in the park when they took you. ”

“You told them they could keep me!”

“No! I never agreed to anything. If I’d known they planned to take you, to hurt you, I would never have let you go to the park. I love you, Harlow.”

“No, you don’t!” she shouted. “You didn’t do anything to stop them. You didn’t help me. You let them take me.”

She was crying now and the ash was running down her face. If Polk wouldn’t have been in hysterics, he might have noted that specters didn’t often have their face stream black like this. Of course, Reese had never seen a specter, so how was he to know for certain.

“I should have fought them. I should have stopped them. But there were so many—”

“You did nothing. You ran away like a coward and let them take me.” Her voice had calmed slightly, but was all the scarier for the steadiness of it. “You will pay for what happened, Uncle.”

With that she pulled a pistol from the billowing fabric hanging from her arms. Reese recognized it as being the one from his study.

When had she taken it? More importantly, why?

Ghosts didn’t have much need for firearms. She’d wanted to frighten her uncle into admitting what he’d done, and they’d done that. This was not what they’d planned.

“Is this part of it?” Luke asked at Reese’s side.

“Nay. We need to put a stop to this before she does something she’ll regret.”

“Good. Yes. You should go stop her,” Luke said with a nod as he took a step back and then another.

Reese shook his head and turned to tell Harlow to put the gun down, but before he could, a shadow stepped out behind her and another pistol came into view. This one in the hand of bloody Captain Merrick.