Page 89 of An Affair at Stonecliffe

“Mmm. A bit. I think he was very shaken by what happened.”

“I was scared.”

“I know, sweetheart; so was I. But you were a very brave boy. I’m proud of you.” She smiled, thinking of how ferociously he had attacked Diggs. He should have run as she’d told him, but she could not but love his loyalty and courage.

Gil hugged her tightly for a moment, then flopped back down onto the bed, yawning widely. “I’m tired.”

“I should think so.”

She watched him as he yawned again and struggled to keep his eyes open. No doubt he was still groggy from the sleeping draught Diggs had given him. In his excitement he had managed to fight it off, but now that he was exhausted from struggling with Diggs, the drug was pulling him back to sleep.

Noelle stroked his forehead as his eyes fluttered closed. She stayed for a few more minutes to make sure he was fast asleep. She didn’t want him to wake up and find her gone, but she had to talk to Mr. Thompkins and make some sense of what had happened.

Rising, she tiptoed across the room, pausing to give a last look back at Gil, then slipped out the door, closing it softly behind her. She found the lawyer sitting on a stool at the rough wooden table in the outer room. He had apparently recovered his composure, for he was reloading his pistol. A matching pistol lay on the table before him. It surprised her that he had brought a pistol, let alone two.

But, then, perhaps he was well accustomed to guns; his shot at Diggs had been on target. She had assumed it was more luck than anything else, but perhaps he was an excellent marksman. Clearly, she had an inaccurate image of the man.

He saw her and immediately rose to his feet. “My lady. Pardon me—I—it seemed it might be wise to be prepared.” He gestured toward the pistols lying on the table. “Please, come, sit down. You must be quite shaken after such an ordeal.”

She smiled faintly. “I am, thank you.” She took the chair he offered. “Mr. Thompkins, I’m afraid I still don’t understand exactly why you’re here. How did you know Diggs had taken us? You said you went to Stonecliffe?”

“Yes. After you left, I could not stop thinking about what Mr. Thorne had said. I couldn’t understand why Mr. Dunbridge had asked me not to reveal it to Mr. Thorne. I could see that the two of you thought Mr. Dunbridge had done something wrong. And the way you rushed out of there...well, it made me wonder. So I looked at the other copy of the trust, and I realized that there was, well, a very disturbing pattern of deaths among the descendants of the trust’s creators. There are only a few of them still alive, and that seemed very long odds, given their ages.”

“Yes, I know. That is why Mr. Thorne and I have been looking into the matter. It was clear that my son was the next target. I must say, it would have been helpful if you had told Carlisle the truth when he asked you.”

“I know. Obviously I should have. It’s no wonder you are upset. But I had no idea what was going on. And Mr. Dunbridge had explicitly told me not to tell Mr. Thorne. Tonight I realized that you must think it was Mr. Dunbridge who had done away with all the others.” He shook his head. “But that was such a ludicrous idea—I’ve known Nathan Dunbridge for years, and I cannot imagine that he could do such a thing. Then when I learned that he had been killed—”

Noelle gasped. “He’s dead?”

“That man Diggs shot him. Did you not know?”

“Yes, I know, but he was still alive when we left. Carlisle had gone for the doctor.”

“I doubt he would have tried very hard to find him,” Thompkins said bitterly.

“What?” Noelle’s eyebrows soared. “What do you mean by that?”

“It is Carlisle Thorne who’s behind all this, not Mr. Dunbridge.”

“No. You’re mistaken.”

His face softened with sympathy. “No, my lady, I’m afraid I’m not. I suspected very strongly that it was Mr. Thorne, not Mr. Dunbridge; that’s why I went to Stonecliffe. I felt I must warn you and Mr. Dunbridge—although I suppose Mr. Dunbridge must have already had some idea of the danger. That must have been why he told me not to reveal the truth to Mr. Thorne.”

“That’s nonsense. How can you think that Carlisle was behind it?”

“Because he clearly lied to you, to me, to everyone. He pretended that he didn’t know about the trust, but he had talked to my father about it. I looked at my father’s records. He took meticulous notes of every meeting. Mr. Thorne came to see him about it after the earl died. They discussed it in full. I know it’s hard for you to accept, but it’s the truth.”

Noelle gaped at him, stunned. It was more than hard for her to believe it; it was impossible. “No. That can’t be true. When we get back to the house, Carlisle will explain it all.”

“How can there be any other explanation? Why would Thorne have lied about the trust all this time if he were not guilty?” Thompkins asked reasonably.

“I don’t know, but—”

“There’s only Mr. Snowden and Gilbert left in his way now. Who else would benefit?”

“Snowden. Or it really was Nathan, but he was killed in the process.” She frowned. “No, that wouldn’t work. But—”

There was a noise outside, and Noelle jumped to her feet, turning toward the door. An instant later, the door crashed open.