Wolf of Arundale Hall (22 page)

Sleep claimed her and she fell into restless nightmares.

Chapter Twelve

A hand clenched in his fur and Joshua didn’t want to move away from that touch. It was her touch. His mate’s. The scent of her drowned out the smell of the other, the enemy that attacked him in the night. He nuzzled her hand, reveling in her closeness.

He had to change back. The Beast had to be caged, but the energy it took was beyond him. Surprisingly, the wolf part of him didn’t fight him, as if realizing that Joshua would be helped better by his human form. Just as it had also known Joshua needed the wolf part to fight that other creature, one like him.

Back in his human skin, the pain in his shoulder increased. His gasp made his wife start away. “Joshua?” She stood up and leaned over him, concern etched on her features.

“You saved me,” he stated and grabbed her hand. Too weak to pull her down, he tugged as hard as he could and she sat beside him.

“What happened?” she asked him.

“Another wolf. Killed Melinda. I don’t know why.”

“Was it Perry? Or Lord Everret?”

God, he wished he knew. He met his wife’s gaze. “I don’t know.”

Elizabeth’s hands twined together. “You sent Jaimison after Perry.”

Joshua nodded.

“And he was here, in Arundale, when I found you.”

Joshua swallowed and closed his eyes as he nodded.

“So Perry is here.” Her lips pursed. “We have to save him, Joshua. If he killed Melinda, he had a reason. Even if he was a mindless animal, he wouldn’t have murdered her.”

Joshua winced at her “mindless animal” comment. It was one of the things he hated about the change. He
was
mindless. The only things that mattered to the Beast were his mate, his territory and his stomach. The fact that occasionally higher thought was allowed to function didn’t change that truth.

“Sarah,” he said, his mouth still dry.

Stricken, Elizabeth stood up too suddenly and Joshua saw her face turn white. “Oh God. Sarah. Would Perry have killed her? Like Melinda?”

“Sit down,” he said as loudly as he could and Elizabeth sat. “Wait for Jaimison.”

“I hate waiting,” she said sullenly.

This made Joshua smile. He tugged on his wife’s hand and got her to lie down with her head on his good shoulder. “I wonder why. I love you. It was the only thing that saved me. I wanted to see you, to hold you again.”

Silent tears dampened his shoulder and she buried her nose in the crook of his arm. “I love you, too, Joshua.”

Finally she dropped off to sleep, but Joshua stayed awake, his mind turning over every scrap of the fight he’d had with the other wolf. He’d bloodied him, that was certain. The wolf would have a wound on his right haunch. That would make this Beast easier to find.

A knock at the door a little while later startled Elizabeth and she scrambled into the chair as Joshua said, “Come in.”

Jaimison looked exhausted and the man behind him was a complete stranger. Joshua sat up, but Elizabeth was there to keep him in bed. “It’s Dr. Angus MacDonald. He saved you last night.”

Joshua eyed the newcomer. He’d heard of the doctor, since Dr. MacDonald had studied the other bodies, but he’d not met the man. His thick brown hair was a mess and his green eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed as if he could handle himself in a fight. And he was young, which surprised Joshua.

“What did you find?” Elizabeth said, getting right to the point.

“The bite marks on Melinda were different from your husband’s.” He cleared his throat. “He didn’t kill Melinda. I noted that Lord Arundale has all four of his canines. The killer only has three. That is clear from the marks on the body.”

Elizabeth waved her hand. “I already knew Joshua didn’t murder her. What else did you find?”

Joshua smiled. He loved her so much. What had he done to deserve her? Nothing. Not a damn thing. But he was going to keep her anyway.

“This.” Jaimison held up a medallion about the size of a tuppence, hanging on a chain. It nagged at his memory. Where had he seen it before?

“I’ve seen that necklace,” Elizabeth said with a frown. “I can’t remember who had it.”

“Was it Perry?” Jaimison asked.

“No. It wasn’t someone I knew well. And not Lord Everret either. But who else?” She gazed helplessly at Joshua.

“Could there be another Beast of Arundale out there?” Dr. MacDonald asked. “After all, Lord Everret is the bastard son of William Arundale. Couldn’t there have been another?”

“I don’t know,” Joshua said honestly. “My father died when I was twelve. That’s not something I would have known about.”

“You said the wolf wasn’t Lord Everret,” Elizabeth said. “The only alternative is Perry. And I won’t believe it.” She said the words confidently.

“Where is Perry, Jaimison?” Joshua asked.

“I followed him to London, but when he caught a whiff of Miss Sarah he hightailed it for home. I tracked him to Lord Everret’s and left him to it, knowing he’d come home when he was ready.”

“You have a man there.” Joshua knew how Jaimison worked.

The man nodded. “Waiting for when he comes out. Then he’s to follow Mr. Arundale wherever he goes.”

“And Sarah?” Elizabeth asked.

“I brought her here, Lady Arundale. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” she said.

Joshua threw the covers off. “Where’s my boots?”

“I dinnae think so,” the doctor said and pressed Joshua back with a surprisingly strong push. “You are in no shape to deal with errant brothers or wounded wolves. You let your man here handle it.”

“But—”

“But me no buts. Stay.” The doctor glanced at Elizabeth. “That goes for you too. You’ll have to trust us with your secrets.”

“Everyone will think I killed her,” he said thoughtfully, remembering his public argument with her at the party.

“Perhaps, but we’ll find out the truth,” Jaimison said.

The two men left and Joshua convinced Elizabeth to sleep. When she’d fallen into a deep slumber, he slipped from the bed and dressed. It wasn’t Jaimison’s job to find the wolf that had killed Melinda. It was his.

He winced as he bent to put on his boots, but he kept going. Down the stairs, Gerry jumped up from a bench in the front hall. “Uncle Joshua!”

“What is it, Gerry?”

The boy seemed panicked. “It’s Sarah. She made me promise to give you a message before she left. I’m really scared,” he whispered.

“What’s the message?”

“She said to tell you that this is her fault and she’s going to fix it.” Gerry’s gray eyes were glistening. “Uncle Joshua, I think Sarah’s in trouble.”

Joshua put a hand on his shoulder. “I think so too. Don’t worry. I’ll find her.”

He only hoped he wasn’t too late.

This had something to do with Sarah’s past but he didn’t know enough about her. Asking Elizabeth was out of the question. Besides, Sarah had lied to his wife. Who would know?

Lady North.

The last thing he wanted to do was ask that woman. But his grandmother might be Sarah’s salvation.

He called for a carriage. There was no way he could ride his horse. “Ride hard and fast, man. To North Hall.”

The carriage’s progress made his shoulder wound ache, but he gritted his teeth and prayed for strength.

He reached his grandmother’s estate and called for her. When the older woman appeared in the hall, she didn’t seem surprised to see him. “Joshua,” she said in a cold voice.

“Tell me about Lady Sarah, Grandmother,” he said, getting right to the point.

Her dark brows rose. “This is the way you greet me? You’ve been home for a fortnight and you’ve not paid your respects yet—”

“Grandmother, you began this. If another person dies, the blood is on your hands.”

Her dark eyes glittered. “So. The Beast has finally killed someone. As I always thought it would.”

Joshua sighed. “Grandmother, what have you done?”

“I?” The older woman lifted her hand and waved away his accusation. “I have done nothing. The Beast of Arundale is a killer and I have always warned against it. Ever since it killed my daughter.”

“That’s a lie,” Joshua said flatly. “My mother died in a carriage accident with my father.”

Her nostrils flared and she tightened her lips. “If she had never married him, never had you and your brother, she would have been safe. They were going to one of those dens of iniquity, those accursed brothels.”

“They were married and free to do as they wished within the bonds of their marriage. Why judge them?” He shifted impatiently. “Why did you send Sarah to kill Perry? What have you started?”

A thin, horrible smile lifted his grandmother’s lips. “I taught her how to tempt the monster. I told her how the curse couldn’t be passed on to innocent children. She agreed to end the suffering of the Arundale men by making sure they would never breed.”

“How?” he demanded. “What did you convince her to do?” He wanted to shake the woman but he kept his hands at his side.

“What difference does it make? She didn’t do it.” His grandmother’s mouth twisted in disgust. “She felt sorry for your dissolute brother and your silly wife. I warned her that her presence at Arundale Hall was all that was needed to make the Beast appear.”

Joshua stared at this woman who shared his blood. “You knew. She’s Perry’s mate and somehow you knew. How? Even Perry doesn’t seem to know, but you did.”

His grandmother tipped her chin. Her eyes gleamed with triumph. “I guessed. Do you think after watching my daughter succumb to the Beast’s spell, and then little Elizabeth, that I wouldn’t discover who was the next victim?” She laughed. “It wasn’t difficult. Sarah is Perry’s mate and he will kill for her without even knowing why. In fact, he already has.”

“No, Grandmother,” Joshua said sadly. “You think Perry has killed a rival for Sarah, don’t you?”

“Hasn’t he?” she asked in a confident tone.

Joshua shook his head. “No. Whatever you’ve begun has killed Melinda. She might have been a foolish woman, but she didn’t deserve the death you created for her.”

“It was that monster,” insisted his grandmother.

“It was your interference.” He stepped closer and the woman shrank from him. “You kept those diaries from us, knowing they held vital information to help us survive. You hoped we’d stumble, die as killers. But we survived. So you sent Sarah to my wife to betray our family.”

He shook his head. “You must have read those diaries, Grandmother. You must have known the Beast only kills when it’s aroused without a mate.”

“It was wicked,” she snapped. “Those things she did, that he made her do.”

“What bothered you most? That he made her do things you considered evil? Or that they were happy?” He stared at her. “All your life you’ve spread misery. I believe that it will come back to you.”

Enraged, Lady North thrust her face into his. “Do you? Well, not before I destroy Arundale. Your father,” she snapped. “He was a carouser, an evil man. How many of his little bastards are scattered all over England?”

Joshua froze. “Only one, I believe.”

Her laugh was harsh. “Oh? How little you know. But I will win in the end, for I know where all the cursed are. All of them.”

“Where has Sarah gone?” he demanded.

“To deal with the devil,” his grandmother answered. Then she turned her back on him and walked away.

He stared after her, his mind reeling. Clearly, there was another Arundale bastard. How the hell was he supposed to figure this one out?

Whoever this man was, he had to tame the Beast somehow and Marcus’ place would be necessary. Perhaps Marcus knew more than he was telling.

Somehow, Joshua knew time was running out for all of them, but especially for Sarah.

No one greeted Joshua when he rode up to the front of Marcus’ house. That was strange. The house was quiet, eerily quiet. Joshua found the front door ajar and sensed a trap. He allowed the Beast out of its mental cage and his senses sharpened, smelling the animal that had attacked him the night before.

His ears picked up sounds inside the house, but they were faint and hard to hear. All his instincts screamed that this was dangerous. Joshua backed away from the front door and refused to step over the threshold.

Without hesitation, he partially shifted, controlling the transition so that he could use his claws and enhanced senses. He sprinted around the perimeter of the dwelling, seeking another entrance, another way into the lower levels of Marcus’ house.

His head snapped up when he heard a blood-curdling scream followed by a heart-wrenching howl. Joshua didn’t wait. He threw his body through one of the back windows, ignoring the cuts from the glass that sliced through his skin.

He used his sense of smell to quickly seek out the occupants. When he crashed through the door to the basement rooms, his shoulder began to bleed again. He could smell the blood. Another muffled scream led him to the right room.

The sight that awaited him made his blood freeze. Sarah’s body was striped with wounds and she had blood on her face. Restrained in chains on the wall was Perry, the Beast mostly in evidence. Behind Sarah, naked and partially changed into a Beast, was Lord Applegate.

In a flash, Applegate was all wolf, sharp teeth and muscle. Joshua was forced to shift, to allow the Beast to take over. They growled at each other, mindless and aggressive.

Joshua was weak but Applegate had been wounded when they fought too. Where the hell was Marcus? He spotted a prone form in the corner, almost shrouded in darkness. Derek, Marcus’ lover, had been ripped to shreds in a bloody mess. Marcus had tried to protect Derek. Was he dead?

Applegate attacked, his teeth seeking the wound on Joshua’s shoulder. Joshua twisted away and snarled at the other wolf. He slipped on the bloody floor and Applegate attacked, his claws digging into Joshua’s flesh.

Applegate was half man, half wolf, his smile both feral and evil. “You should be dead. I thought you were. But it doesn’t matter. One by one, you will die. I am the only Beast of Arundale.”

“You’re a murderer. No Arundale male kills without a good reason.”

“Melinda thought to gain Arundale through me. But she was no wolf mate. She was an imposter.” Applegate snapped his jaws at Joshua’s leg and missed when Joshua tore away from his hold.