Chapter 38Her heart skipped a beat. “So he did die.”She shook her head. “No. Commander Archer was a good leader, but cold.”Madison nodded her agreement, having reached that conclusion just by what Tiernan had revealed about his childhood. “I can imagine.”“She didn’t want the Federation torn apart by two heirs, and she said there was no room for co-leaders. A commander had to make the final decision with no one having the authority to question him.”Madison grimaced. “She was thinking all this as she held her babies?”Joan scowled. “No, dear. She found out in her second trimester she was having twins, so she had time to think and plan. When the babies were born, she never held the younger one. Instead, she had me take him to his father, and troops escorted them from Seattle-Archer, along with instructions never to return.” Looking disgusted, she shook her head. “The woman just sent away her infant without looking back, as though he was no concern to her at all.”Madison’s heart stu
Chapter 39She had reached no conclusion by the time Tiernan came back a little while later. Getting to her feet, she went to him to lean against her lover. “Do you have any idea who did this?”Tiernan hugged her tightly against him. “No, but I’ve asked Aidan to investigate. The shocking randomness of the crime makes no sense.”“Maybe it wasn’t so random,” said Madison, convinced of at least one thing. Joan’s secret had been the reason for her death. Drawing Tiernan over to a loveseat away from Catherine’s cold gaze, she put her arm around his shoulder and told him what she had learned as gently as possible.He sat in stunned silence for several minutes, before shaking his head. “No, that can’t be.”Madison understood his reluctance to accept it. “I’m sure she was telling the truth, Tiernan. Somewhere, you have a twin brother.” And someone willing to kill to protect his location. She didn’t voice that thought, not wanting to upset him further.His lips compressed. “How could she do it
Chapter 40“It used to be a bathroom,” said Aidan conversationally. “Joseph Archer was a bit eccentric and had a lot of unused rooms bricked off. He claimed it would reduce heating costs. There’s a shared bathroom down the hall.”Swallowing thickly, she turned slowly, not sure how to reply or even begin to justify her reasons for being here. “Uh…”He smiled, and it was full of gentleness. “It’s okay. I know why you’re here.”Madison couldn’t look away from the crossbow at his side. “Uh…”Aidan glanced down at it before setting it on the nightstand. “I’m not going to shoot you, Madison.”Relief surged through her. She had been wrong. Not about him being the missing twin, she was sure, but he clearly wasn’t the one who had killed Joan.Shaking his head, he said, “No, then they’d know it was me. It has to look like rebels.”Ice water coursed through her veins at his words, and she took a step back without thinking, running right into the brick wall. Her mind searched for a way out, but a
Chapter 41They stared at each other for a moment, hurt and confusion—along with a strong undercurrent of anger—in Tiernan’s eyes. “How could you do all this, Aidan?”Aidan shrugged. “I’ve already explained all that to Madison. Perhaps she can enlighten you, if you both survive.”Madison bit her fist as the men surged together, trading punches and kicks. They grunted in their exertion, and she honestly couldn’t tell who was winning for several minutes. It wasn’t until Tiernan managed to shove Aidan’s head up, his arm against his throat, that she saw a chance to help. Without hesitation, she grasped the pitcher on the dresser and slammed the pottery down on Aidan’s head. He slumped atop Tiernan a second later.Tiernan pushed him off, wincing as he got to his feet. He cradled his middle. “I think he broke a rib.”“Are you okay?”He nodded, though grimaced. “I’m glad you didn’t call out.”She frowned. “I didn’t? I just stood there frozen?” Shaking her head, Madison let some of her self-d
Chapter 42They didn’t have much more of a chance to talk until several hours later, back in their suite. She was curled against him on the spacious bed, providing what comfort she could. While she had stood by his side during the ordeal of removing Aidan’s body and explaining to his troops what had happened—and the need to ferret out all those loyal to his dead brother—she could only imagine how soul-wrenching it had been for Tiernan.It had been draining for her too, and she knew killing Aidan would haunt her nightmares for years to come, but now was not the time to have a cathartic release of emotion by discussing her role in his execution. That time would come after Tiernan had healed a bit first.At least she was sure he harbored no resentment toward her for killing Aidan. Tiernan had held her hand or kept her within touching distance throughout the time they had dealt with the aftermath. She’d had to bite her tongue not to counter him when he’d claimed responsibility for Aidan’s
Chapter 1Madison paused in the process of wrapping baling wire around the fence post, suddenly sure she could feel someone’s gaze on her. She looked up from her task, seeing no one in front of her in the rows of grapes. The hiss of a steam engine made her jump, and she spun to find the source. It was out-of-place, since there were only a few steam cars in the entire province, and none of her neighbors owned one.The sunhat she used to shield her face also blocked her view, so she swept it off with one hand, using the other to shove the sweaty locks of gold-red that cascaded downward up and out of her face. Cupping her hand over her eyes, she had enough shade to make out the insignia on the door of the car. Arching a brow, she wondered what the governor of their province was doing out this far from the center of the village. Tom Blaney had no reason to leave Graceport to visit the wineries in the outlying areas. It wasn’t tax time, and he didn’t seem to care much about the people livi
Chapter 2Her musings came to an end as they arrived at a building situated about a block from the impressive courthouse that served as Blaney’s headquarters. She recognized the three-story white building as the governor’s mansion, and it certainly seemed like one to her, having lived in a two-room house her entire life with two siblings and her parents.An elegant woman in a flowing purple dress waited on the marble steps. She flashed a bright white smile that contrasted beautifully with her black skin as she started down the stairs to meet them. The soldiers halted their horses, and the man she’d ridden with handed her down to the ground carefully.“Excellent, sergeant. I know Tiernan will be pleased you managed to find Miss Cole.” That bright smile, seemingly genuine, turned next to Madison. “It’s lovely that you could accept his invitation, Miss Cole.” She thrust out her hand in a motion that didn’t even allow Madison to think of refusing to shake it.“One doesn’t say no to the co
Chapter 3Cleo had helped her dress in an emerald green dress that displayed an alarming amount of cleavage. It was a beautiful gown, as was the white silk slip she wore underneath. She hadn’t protested when Cleo gave her sexy lace underwear to put on before the slip and had managed not to ask about a bra, figuring she wouldn’t be wearing any of the clothes long enough to need one.Midway through their preparations, a maid in a white uniform brought them a selection of cheeses and a bottle of local white wine. There was also a pot of tea, and Cleo poured her a cup without asking. With a doubtful sniff, she looked up at the other woman. “It smells strange.”Cleo nodded. “It’s not the tastiest thing ever, but a little stevia makes it better.” She spooned in a bit of green powder into her cup before drinking it in one long gulp.Shaking her head, Madison started to hand back the cup. “I’ll stick with the wine.”“Drink it, honey.”She regarded Cleo with mistrust. “Is it drugged?”Her frie