Callie gasped. “Who? One of your brothers? They have the most to gain.”
“That would be my best guess.” The knowledge was sour. He’d thought he finally had some real family, and now one or both of them were trying to kill him.
He’d worry about that when they were safely outside. He began descending again. Callie said, “I think I can walk on my own,” but she didn’t sound very sure.
“You can try when we get to level ground.” He repressed an oath when he accidentally lifted his head too high and banged it again. Carrying a not insubstantial weight while bending over was damnably tiring. But not too much farther now.
Finally he reached the dirt floor of the cellar, stumbling when there was no longer a step below him. The cellar was far too hot and smoke was swirling around them. Above they could hear the roar of flames and the sound of burned timbers collapsing.
When Callie wriggled out of the sling, she wavered beside him so he offered his arm for support. “How do we get out of here?”
“This part of the cellar is above ground level because of the way the hill slants. If we follow the wall around to the right, we’ll come to a doorway that opens onto the hill. We need to get outside before all the floors above us collapse.”
He could hear Callie swallow. “Then let’s get moving. I can walk if I hold onto your arm. Is there anything else I can do?”
“Hold your free hand out so we won’t walk into anything disastrous. Watch your footing, the floor is slippery.” He found the wall with his right hand and began moving along it, Callie in tow. From her tight breathing, he knew that she was hurting, but this was faster than carrying her and time was running out.
Behind them a section of flooring collapsed in flames. It was terrifyingly close, but did give them enough light for Gordon to see the door. “There, just ahead!”
He slid his left arm around her waist and half carried her the last dozen feet. He was panting with exhaustion by the time he reached the door. A massive wooden bar held it closed. With the strength of desperation, he wrenched it away. The door moved with great difficulty, but when he applied his full strength, it screeched open.
As soon as the way was clear, he caught Callie’s waist and pulled her through beside him. “We have to get away from the building as fast as we can!”
Even though Callie was limping badly, she moved with surprising speed. The fresh air on the hillside was a huge relief. He kept them moving away from the tower. Any moment now, any moment . . .
The interior floors collapsed behind them with a deafening roar, throwing blazing wreckage in all directions. At the first crash, Gordon pulled Callie down and covered her with his body, panting in great gulps as his lungs fought for breath.
Burning brands were falling around them, but the ground was cold and damp and nothing caught fire. Wearily he pushed himself to a sitting position. Callie sat up also and he pulled her close. In the distance, he heard shouts as people fought the fire.
As they gazed at the fountain of flames erupting from the tower, Callie said wryly, “You’re going to have to buy me a new wardrobe now. You’ll need one, too.”
He laughed a little, giddy with relief that they’d survived. “At least those horrible tapestries are gone.”
“They’re no loss, but I’m glad I’m wearing my topaz earrings.” She winced as another burst of flame spouted skyward. “This end of Kingston Court is definitely gone.”
Gordon shrugged. “As long as everyone got out safely, I don’t care. May it burn and be damned!”
“You didn’t deserve Kingston Court!” a voice snarled from nearby. “It’s your fault it’s burning, and you must have made a deal with the devil to have survived!”
He turned and saw his brother Eldon holding a pistol aimed directly at his heart.
Chapter 41
Gordon had known one of his brothers must have caused the explosion, but confirmation made him want to vomit. Forcing his voice to steadiness, he said, “I’m not the one who set that explosion, Eldon.”
He whispered to Callie, “Stay down and look limp and helpless, Catkin.”
“Not difficult!” she murmured with black humor.
Gordon stood slowly so as not to startle his brother into shooting. “Were you hoping that explosion would seem to be a result of burning coal seams? Surely someone besides me must have noticed the smell of gunpowder.”
“No one would have cared,” Eldon said with lethal coolness. He looked shockingly like their father. A crack of thunder added to the threatening Gothic atmosphere. “No one cared when I shot Welham and made it look like a suicide.”
Not suicide, not an accident, but murder. Given the events of this night, that all made sense now. Matching Eldon in coolness, Gordon said, “Well done! He was a nasty piece of work.” He put a note of admiration in his voice as he tried to buy time. The three of them were in a pocket of isolation here, but there were other people not far away.
Eldon was close enough that he didn’t need to be a good shot, unfortunately. Callie looked suitably dazed and helpless, but Gordon noticed that her left hand was exploring the damp earth as she stealthily felt around for a possible weapon.
Hoping she found something, Gordon edged away from her to keep Eldon’s attention on him. “Did you arrange Julius’s death as well? If he was riding drunk, it wouldn’t have been difficult to cause a fatal accident.”
