“I confess that I grew weary of your kind hospitality and decided it was time to go home,” she replied to Amiel.
“My brother never truly succeeded in showing you your place, did he?”
If only I had the strength to punch him right in that sneering mouth of his, I could die happy, Arianna thought. “My place is right here,” she said, refusing to speak in French as he continued to do. “In Scotland. But dear old Claud learned his place, didnae he, Amiel? Ye taught him and his wife, didnae ye?”
“You thinkIkilled my own brother?” The man sounded shocked but there was the glint of amused satisfaction in his eyes.
“Aye, I do. Mayhap ye didnae dirty your own hands, but ye hired the ones who did. Grew tired of waiting for him to die, did ye? Did ye think no one would learn that he was truly married to Marie Anne? That no one would ken that Michel and Adelar are Claud’s legal heirs?”
“They will never be accepted as the heirs. My family will see them marked as the common-born little bastards they are.”
“Aye, they probably will, so why dinnae ye just wait for that to happen? Why this hunt for them? I was taking them far away so ye wouldnae e’en have seen them about while your parents worked to annul Claud’s marriage to Marie Anne. And to ally yourself with the DeVeaux? Ye will have your whole clan wanting to kill ye and spit upon your grave.”
“Foolish woman. Claud was right. You are not very clever. I could have waited but then I would have been no more than another Lucette, another titled, landed Lucette among dozens of titled, landed Lucettes. But, with only the gifting of a small piece of land to the DeVeaux, I have an ally all the other Lucettes fear.” He shrugged. “And the very full purse they plan to give me as well.”
“All that still doesnae explain why ye hunt the boys. It only tells me that ye have no loyalty to your own blood.”
She tensed when he clenched his hands into fists, but he did not hit her. It was clear that he suddenly wanted to boast of his cleverness. Arianna could not understand how the man could betray his whole family as he had done and she made no secret of the disgust she felt for him. She knew it was revealed on her face if only because of the way Amiel grew more furious the longer she looked at him.
“Ah, I forgot that you paid little heed to the reading of the will.”
“Hard to pay attention when one isnae e’en told about it.”
“Claud left the land the DeVeaux want to the boys. There is no way of changing that unless the boys die, for it was Claud’s land alone, to do with as he pleased. I was there when he wrote the will and convinced him to name me as heir should anything happen and the boys did not live into manhood.” He scowled. “I could not stop him from naming you their guardian, however. That was a disappointment.”
“For which ye slaughtered him and Marie Anne.”
“One of but many reasons.”
Arianna found it all hard to believe. Claud had finally done something worthy for his children and it had put a knife at their throats. It also surprised her that he had officially made her their guardian for it was unusual to name a woman one and Claud had never shown any faith in her ability to do much of anything right.
“And for that wee piece of land and a few coins, ye killed your own brother and Marie Anne, and now mean to kill two bairns who have ne’er done ye harm, your own nephews.”
“I told you that I did not kill my brother and his sow.”
“Nay, I believe ye. I believe that ye didnae bloody your own soft hands with the black deed of killing your own brother, but I do believe that ye put the sword in the hands of the ones who did.”
“The DeVeaux ...”
“Have kenned that Claud held that land for years and either didnae, or couldnae, do anything about it. Ye found a way to have it done or conspired with them to do it. Aye, I suspicion ye could stand before the king himself and claim innocence because ye didnae actually do the killing, but ye are guilty right enough. I am nay sure how ye think ye can do the same once ye kill the boys, though, since ye are hunting them down like dogs.”
“We are merely trying to retrieve my brother’s heirs, who were taken from their rightful place by the woman my brother betrayed. We feared for the safety of the children in the hands of that woman and it appears we were right to do so. Sadly, the children were murdered before we could save them.”
The smug tone of his voice, his obvious delight in the plan for how to explain the deaths of Michel and Adelar, chilled Arianna. Amiel did not care about blood at all. All he was concerned with was gaining riches and power, and if he had to start gaining that wealth by stepping over the bodies of two murdered children, he would do so without hesitation.
And, after the murder of the two boys, the rest of the Lucettes who had something Amiel wanted would begin to suffer. Arianna was certain that Amiel intended to reduce the number of landed, titled Lucettes until he was weighted down with their honors. The heirs would be the first to go for he would need to clear the path for himself. He apparently had the intention of being the last Lucette standing. It was a mad plan and one she doubted would work for a rapid decline in heirs to the various Lucette properties would soon draw a lot of attention. Unfortunately, a great many innocent Lucettes could die first.
“And do ye truly believe that the DeVeaux will sit back and allow ye to slowly grow more powerful than they are, to watch ye reap titles and lands until ye are a threat to them?”
“I but seek what Claud would have gained in time, and retrieve those riches which he would have foolishly handed over to ones not worthy of them.”
“Nay, I think ye want more. Much more. After all, ye just said ye were but one of far too many titled Lucettes and ye ally yourself with the deadliest of your kinmen’s enemies. Nay, ye have some mad plan to try and get it all.” She shook her head, forgetting how badly it would hurt to do so, and had to stiffen her stance to remain upright. “It is a plan that can only fail, Amiel. E’en if the king or your own kin dinnae guess the deadly game ye mean to play and stop you, the DeVeaux will.”
“As they all guessed how dear old Claud died?”
“Claud was but one mon. Now ye think to add two wee lads and follow their deaths with many others.”
“At this moment my only concern is for those boys. Where are they?”
