Page 99 of His Improper Lady

“Of course. I had to. You were stirring it all up. Poking your nose into everything. Dragging the Morelands into this. They’re fools, just as he was. All the Morelands are soft. Now you’ve turned them against me. Against Gregory.”

“I haven’t—”

“Don’t lie to me, you little doxy. I know you’re a thief. I know you stole Alistair’s will. Falk told me you did.”

“I don’t have your blasted will!” Desiree shot back. “Falk’s lying.” Was lying. Desiree stumbled to a halt, her eyes widening. When had Tabitha spoken to Falk?

“Oh, I know he’s always been a liar, but not about this.” Tabitha smiled. “Having a gun aimed at a man tends to bring out the truth.”

Tom’s fingers bit into Desiree’s arm. “You shot Falk?”

“That wretched little man!” Tabitha said bitterly. “He wanted more money! Can you imagine?”

“He was blackmailing you?”

“Yes, of course he was.” Tabitha sounded impatient. “That’s always what the little worm did, isn’t it? He took Alistair’s money for years.” She snorted. “As if I didn’t know about Alistair’s harlot! I was the first person Falk came to, peddling his dirty information. After all, the scoundrel had been my family’s footman.”

“Falk used to be a servant?” Desiree said, astonishment momentarily distracting her.

“Until he stole our silver tea service.” Tabitha sent her a look of scorn. “No doubt you’re familiar with that sort of thing.”

“But, my lady, why was Falk blackmailing you?” Tom asked, pulling Tabitha’s attention back to him.

“That’s none of your business,” Tabitha snapped. She frowned. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m Tom Quick, Lady Moreland,” Tom said. “We met not long ago at the duke’s house. I work with Con Moreland.”

“The man that fool Blackstock wrote to? Of course! You must have helped her take the will.”

“We don’t have the will.” Desiree knew it was dangerous to antagonize Tabitha, whose hand and eye remained remarkably steady and cool despite her rambling, hysterical words, and it was clear Tabitha would not believe Desiree’s denial. But Desiree saw a way to keep the woman talking...and maybe even get them out of this situation. She went on, sending a sly note into her voice, “But if we did have it, why in the world would we give it to you?”

“You insolent little whore! You will give it to me.” Tabitha waggled the gun at Desiree, her face flooding with red.

“How do you intend to make me? If you kill me, you’ll never get the will. It isn’t as if I had it on my person.” Desiree felt Tom squeeze her arm, and she tensed, readying to move. “If you kill me, you’ll never know where the will is. When it will pop up. Or where. Now, perhaps we could talk about price.”

“You think you can bargain with me?” Tabitha screamed and took a step forward, extending her gun hand.

Tom shoved Desiree away with one hand, and she went with it, diving into a somersault. With the other hand, Tom slammed the front door shut and threw himself after Desiree. Tabitha fired, and he heard the bullet thwack into the door as Tom leaped to his feet and followed Desiree, who was already halfway across the room, running to the side window.

Desiree vaulted through it, and Tom swung his leg over the sill and jumped out after her just as Tabitha burst into the room. He hit the ground running, and Desiree heard another gunshot crash into the window frame behind them. Tom caught up with her, and they raced forward, zigzagging to throw off Tabitha’s aim.

Tabitha and her revolver were between them and their vehicle, so they took off in the opposite direction, running along the edge of the cliff. It was a terrifyingly sheer drop to the beach far below, but they had to find a way down. Up here in this flat, open countryside, they were much too easy a target. As if to prove Desiree’s point, there was another blast from the gun.

The beach at least offered big rocks to hide behind, and surely a middle-aged woman would not be able to pursue them quickly, especially given the rickety state of those stairs down to the sand. More than that, Desiree had a growing certainty that she must go to the ocean. The miasma of pain and fear lay all over the area, but it had not been centered in the house they had just left. A force was drawing her like a magnet, propelling her onward. Downward. She wasn’t sure whether she was being called to danger or safety, but she knew she had to reach what beckoned her.

Ahead of them, Desiree saw a cleft in the land where the edge of the cliff had fallen in, cutting a V shape into the ground. Instead of running around the newly formed edge of the cliff, Desiree ran straight toward it and flung herself flat on the ground to peer over the rim. The cave-in had created a less sheer path down to the sand and pebbles. It would have to do.

Opening her senses to guide her, Desiree turned around and slithered backward over the edge. Above her, Tom let out a groan and dropped down to the ground to climb down after her. Desiree moved as quickly as she could, finding niches and outcroppings in the rock that shimmered in her mind, and guiding Tom from below as best as she could manage. Desiree slipped and slid down a few feet before she managed to grab a limb of a scrubby bush that had somehow survived the slide of rocks and dirt. Leaves and bark scraped her palm as her hand slipped down the branch, and the bush pulled partly out of the dirt, roots dangling. But she dug in her toes and clung to the wall, and the shrub held.

She drew a shaky breath and looked up, redirecting Tom to the right. She edged over, finding an outcropping of rock, and continued down the cliff. Above her, Tom slipped but found his footing on a boulder, sending a shower of little stones and dirt down around her. Desiree ducked her head and continued her descent.

The incline became less steep as they approached the bottom of the cliff, until they were able to stand up and run the last few feet to the flat ground. To the right, a stretch of sand ran up to an enormous black boulder that jutted out to the water’s edge, blocking their path. Tom glanced in the other direction, but Desiree grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the wall of rock. “No. This way.”

“But she’s on the cliff. She can’t shoot that far.” Tom looked at the lone dark figure standing at the cliff’s edge.

“Trust me.”

Tom did, turning and hurrying with Desiree toward the dark wall of rock. Behind them, there was a shout, then a loud grinding noise, and they looked back. Tabitha stood in the open wooden lift, holding on to a rope as the box slowly descended the cliff.