Guardian Angel - Garwood Julie. Страница 77

given a packet of letters by my father. Just two days later, Father was killed. Harry took me away on his ship then. He saved the letters, and when he felt the time was right, he gave them to me. I read them of course, then showed them to Nathan. My brother was working with Colin at the time, and he confided in him. Now then," she continued in a brisker tone. "As Caine has probably told you, both Colin and Nathan were… attacked. The villains thought they'd done them in, and… Pagan decided to let the hired thugs return to London to report their success."

"A sound decision," Richards interjected.

"Yes," Jade said. She turned to frown at Caine. "The plan was very simple. Pagan snatched a physician

to take care of the injuries, and it had been decided that when Colin was well enough to travel, he would tell his brother, Caine, about the letters and ask his assistance."

"What happened to sour this plan?" Richards asked.

Jade frowned at Caine again. "He soured it," she announced. "Pagan had been made the scapegoat for Nathan and Colin's deaths, as you know, and Caine decided to seek vengeance. His timing couldn't have been worse. The remaining members of the Tribunal couldn't take the risk of Caine finding the pirate

and having a talk with him. So Caine had inadvertently put himself in danger."

"It wasn't inadvertent," Caine interjected.

She shrugged. "Colin had made Pagan promise not to tell Caine anything. His brother knew Caine

would… charge right in, you see, and Colin wanted to explain everything. In truth, I do believe Colin wasn't thinking the thing through, but he was in terrible pain at the time and he seemed obsessed with protecting Caine. Pagan agreed, just to placate Colin."

"And where do you fit into this scheme?" Lyon asked.

"Nathan is my brother," Jade answered. "I returned to England and went to stay at his country estate. There were several of Pagan's men with me. They took turns watching out for Caine. Several attempts were made to get him, and it was then decided that I would find a way to get Caine away from his hunt. Two days before I was supposed to leave, a series of incidents took place. On the first morning, when I was taking my usual walk, I came upon three men digging up my parents' graves. I shouted, for I was in

a rage, you see, over what they were doing. I drew their notice, of course. One of the villains shot at me. I ran back to Nathan's house to get help."

"Weren't Pagan's men still guarding you?" Richards asked.

Jade shook her head. "They were all needed to keep Caine safe. Besides, I had Nathan's butler, Hudson, and the other servants to assist me."

"And then what happened?" Lyon asked.

"It was too dark for the servants to go to the graves. It was decided to wait until morning. That night,

the house was pillaged," she continued. "I slept through, however, and never heard a sound. Even my bedchamber was turned upside down."

"You must have been drugged," Richards announced.

"I can't imagine how it was done if I was drugged," Jade said. "The following morning, I rode one of Nathan's mounts back to the graves to see if any evidence had been left. Nathan's butler, Hudson, was having a difficult time believing me, you see, and I wanted to convince him. As it turned out, I never made it to the graves. The villains were obviously waiting to intercept me. They killed Nathan's horse.

I went flying to the ground."

"Good Lord, you could have been killed by the fall," Richards said.

"I was most fortunate, as I only sustained a few bruises," she explained. "I went running back to the house, told Hudson what had happened. He sent men to chase after the villains. When they returned, they told me they couldn't find any evidence of foul play. The horse had vanished. I'm not certain how that was accomplished. Caine said it would take more than three men to lift it into a wagon and cart it away."

She paused to shrug, then continued. "1 decided to go to London with all possible haste and immediately ordered the carriage made ready. Yet, as soon as we'd traveled down the first hill, the coachman shouted that there was a fire. We could see the smoke. I returned to the house just in time to witness the full fire. Poor Nathan's house was gutted to the ground. I then ordered Hudson and the other servants to go to Nathan's London residence, then once again set out for my own destination."

"And where was that?" Lyon asked. "Were you also going to Nathan's town house?"

Jade smiled. "No, I was going to a tavern called the Ne'er Do Well. I had a plan, you see, to get Caine away from his hunt."

Lyon nodded.

"1 don't understand," Richards interjected. "What exactly was this plan? Caine isn't one to be easily fooled, my dear."

"I'll explain it all later," Caine interjected. "Let her finish with this now."

"On the way to London, the carriage was waylaid. I was hit on the side of my head. The blow made

me sleep, and when I awakened, I found that the carriage had been torn apart. I was able to squeeze through the window after I'd widened the frame with the heel of my boot."

"And then?" Richards asked-

"I walked."

"All the way to London?" Lyon asked.

"No," Jade answered. "Not all the way. I was able to… borrow a horse from a way station. It was unattended. The owner was probably inside having his supper."

Jade finished her accounting a few minutes later. She never mentioned the fact that she was Pagan,

and Caine assumed he would have to be the one to tell Sir Richards and Lyon.

Just what was her game? Lord, by the time she'd finished her recitation, she was dabbing at the corners

of her eyes with Richards' handkerchief.

The director was obviously shaken by her explanation. He leaned back in his chair and shook his head.

"Do you know who the other members of the Tribunal are?" Jade asked him.

"No."

"But you knew Hammond, didn't you?" she asked. "I understood that the two of you started out together."

"Yes, we started out together," Richards agreed. "Yet after a number of years, my dear, we were each given a different division within the War Department. Hammond had so many young men under his direction back then. He ran his own section. I met quite a few eager young saviors, but certainly not all

of them."

"We have several telling clues," Lyon interjected. "It shouldn't take us long to find out the truth."

"The first letter was signed by a man named William. They hadn't been assigned their operative names yet. Hell, that's the most common name in England," Caine added. "How many Williams work for the War Office?"