“Aye, but why this interest in the ring, madam?” His voice betrayed an aroused suspicion. The idiot Ralston had taken on that one piece and insisted upon it for payment.
“There is another thing I would ask.” Shanna tried to shift the topic to one less sensitive. “How is it that you came to know that John Ruark was my husband? You were obviously the one who told Ralston.” She tipped her head and mused aloud as he gave no sign of an inclination to answer. “Many people knew parts of the secret, but few knew of the marriage between John Ruark and myself. I cannot guess who—”
A coldness coursed in Shanna’s veins, and she went to the window to draw aside the heavy drape, blinking as the bright sunlight invaded the room again.
“There was only Pitney—and Milly. As I trust Pitney, it had to be Milly. Poor Milly, she was with child…” Shanna’s voice slowed, and she stared openly at Gaylord. “Ruark could not wed her, and she must have gone to—” Her jaw sagged as it all came together.
“You!” Shanna choked out in horror. “And Milly! You killed her, too!”
Shanna began to realize her own danger as Gaylord’s eyes narrowed and his face set. She knew she must flee and darted suddenly toward the door. Gaylord caught her easily, his long, bony fingers locking firmly around her arm. With a snarl he flung her backwards, and she sprawled upon the bed. His tall form towered over her, looming ominously as if he would throw himself down upon her. Her mind screamed for Ruark to hasten back.
“Aye, Milly!” the knight sneered. “And do not fancy yourself above a like fate, so hold your tongue, my lady.”
He withdrew a heavy quirt from beneath his coat and slapped the butt suggestively against his palm. Shanna recalled the long welts on Milly’s body and remembered Attila’s nose and could find no desire to sample the same for herself. Obligingly she held her tongue.
Gaylord began to pace the floor restlessly, never leaving Shanna a clear path to the door, and carefully staying within a pace or two of her. He raved as he walked.
“That common bitch! Daughter of a fishmonger! Ha! She got herself with babe and saw me as a fine catch.” He whirled on his heels and waved the riding crop. “But she changed her mind. Aye, that she did! She whimpered for mercy and vowed she would say nothing. I made sure of it.”
Shanna was nauseated with the vision of Milly trying to dissuade the knight, pleading for her life beneath the cruel blows. She sat on the edge of the bed and tried to quell the sickening fear that gripped her. The man was insane. He would kill on a whim. No doubt he had murdered the girl in London as well because she had proven a hindrance to him. And the thought came to Shanna that should he become convinced she was also a threat—
She could not let herself dwell on that. She must say something to distract him.
“My father will—” she began haltingly.
“Your father!” Gaylord’s nostrils flared as he glared at her, and his face became a twisted mask of rage. “Lord Trahern!” he mimed angrily. “A commoner! Son of a thief! How I hated to beg for his money. Him! A merchant cheating the gentler breed of its rightful wealth, taking their homes and lands because they could no longer meet his outrageous demands. Worthy lords and peers reduced to groveling at his feet for a tuppence. Good men with plans that might sway the fate of all of England coming to a common merchant to beg for funds.”
Shanna’s ire rose in defense of her father. She would not allow a murderer to slander him. “My father cheated no one! ‘Twas their own lack of good sense that brought them to grief.”
“My uncle would argue the point.” Gaylord took haughty offense. “He was ordered by the court to surrender the family estate for his debts. I believe your father now calls it his country house. But you defend him, my dear Shanna, when you have woes of your own. You know far too much for me to allow your freedom.”
He paused thoughtfully for a moment and scratched his chin with the end of the quirt.
“What am I to do? I need your father’s money, but I cannot let you free to spread your tales.” He came to stand near her. “Then there is your curiosity about the ring. Tell me why it was so quickly noticed?”
He put his foot on the bed and rested an elbow on his knee, bending low to stare into Sharma’s face. She shrugged and answered as innocently as she could.
“ ‘Twas only that it seemed richer than his means would allow.”
Gaylord sucked on his teeth and sighed, “Madam, I have little time for pleasant banter and even less patience.”
As Shanna opened her mouth to reply, his hand lashed out in a savage swipe. The force of the blow hurled her back on the bed, and Shanna’s head reeled as she struggled up to an elbow and touched her numbed cheek.