“No.” His breath ruffled her hair. “Not any longer. But seeing Brandon suffer, that is another matter. You’re right, darling, I am a cruel bastard. Would you have it any other way? Aren’t you trying to make Bran suffer also? Or don’t you hate him anymore for bringing you to the isolation of the folly? I thought you despised him for planting his seed in your belly, giving you a child you never wanted. Isn’t that why you told him Clara wasn’t his? Why else, if you didn’t want him to suffer for the pain he caused you?”
“I did,” she said softly. “I do. He never really loved me, not the way I wanted to be loved. Not the way he loves her.”
“That is more true than you know. Bran met Shannon at Glen Eden.”
Aurora’s head jerked up. “What?”
“It’s true. I overheard them speaking of it in the clearing not far from the riverbank. Do you recall Bran suffering a small accident shortly before you invited the Whittakers to dinner?”
Aurora frowned, thinking back. “The wolf? That was you Brandon was chasing?”
He nodded, laughing. A lock of his chestnut hair fell over his forehead. “A wolf? Is that how my esteemed brother explained it away? How careless of him. There hasn’t been a wolf that close to the folly in decades.”
“You took a terrible risk coming so close to the house, Parker. Anyone might have seen you. It’s fortunate that Brandon fell during his pursuit.”
“He didn’t fall, love; I struck him down. Don’t worry. He never saw me. He hasn’t any idea whom he was chasing. No doubt he invented the fall so as not to worry anyone. Who found him?”
“Shannon. And a good thing it is that she didn’t find you. I understand she went in search of Bran with two loaded muskets.”
Parker pretended fright, feigning a shiver. “How fierce she sounds. There can be no doubt you are sisters.”
Aurora looked at Parker curiously. “I never asked you when I met you on the other occasions. Did you know she was my sister when you sent me back to the folly?”
“No. I had seen her, of course. I made it a point to have a look at her when…when I learned Clara had a governess.” He felt Aurora’s stillness. She had caught his hesitation and knew he had almost given the name of his accomplice. He went on quickly before she could question him again. “I was quite bowled over by the resemblance—it gave me the idea of how to proceed on the matter of Brandon’s divorce—but it didn’t occur to me that she was your sister. I would have warned you if I had known. Perhaps you would not have been so willing to enter into my plan if you had realized a relationship existed between the two of you. I would have understood.”
“It doesn’t matter. She is like me…and not like me. It is difficult to explain.” Aurora fingered the buttons on Parker’s soft leather vest. “So, Bran met her in Glen Eden. I do not think I like that.”
“I was certain you wouldn’t.” Parker had calculated carefully, sure this last bit of information would secure Aurora’s commitment to help him. He had sensed her wavering earlier, and it would not do. Not do at all. He could not permit her to back away now, not when he had planned so carefully. She had done so well to this point, following his instructions nearly to the letter. If she had a fault, it was in her overzealousness to please him. He had cautioned her about the poison, and still she had been purposely careless in order to be convincing. The riding accident was poorly done, but he considered that more his fault; he hadn’t given enough thought to limiting the number of people who could be accused of the attempt. It was important to all his plans that suspicion be narrowed to one person, and that person be Brandon Fleming. “I regret to say that you may have been naught but a substitute for your sister.”
“Don’t you think that already occurred to me?” she asked tersely. “There was no need for you to rub my nose in it.”
Parker’s finger traced the line of her finely pared nose. “Oh, but what an attractive piece of work it is.” His eyes bore into hers, darkening, signaling an intention he had not yet named.
Aurora shivered lightly under his penetrating regard. Against her thigh she could feel the proof that he wanted her. “Tell me what I must do,” she said.
“Invite Shannon to accompany you on a ride. Take her to the area where Cody and Brandon will be hunting. I will do the rest. It is hardly more complicated than that.”
“Then there is something you don’t understand. Shannon doesn’t ride well. I doubt she will agree to come with me.”
“I have every confidence that you can convince her to go along.”
Aurora ran a palm along the smooth maple stock of Parker’s rifle. “You will use this?”
“Yes.”
“And how will you know us apart? At a distance it would be easy to mistake us. Our mounts have similar coloring.”
Parker reached around Aurora and picked up her riding hat. He waved the scarlet plume beneath her nose. “Does she wear such a fanciful creation as this when she rides? No? There, you see, you have nothing to worry about. I won’t mistake my aim.”
“And because of the previous attempts on my life, people will believe I was meant to be the victim.”
“Exactly. I will retreat to Belletraine. Brandon and Cody will have to make the explanations for her death. I do not think Bran will be contemplating divorce from his prison cell, do you? If he hangs, so much the better. The folly will be yours, and in turn, it will be mine.”
“I thought the folly did not matter.”
“It is only a bonus, Rory.” He touched the tip of the plume to her lips, studying her mouth as it parted. “Only a bonus.” He dropped the hat and lifted her, carrying her to the unmade bed.
Chapter 14
