The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie(36)

“Were either of them friends of yours?” Beth asked him.

“Are you persecuting the family to avenge their deaths?” Fellows looked surprised. “No, I never knew them. The ladies in question were well above my class.” “But someone you cared about was hurt by the Mackenzies.” His look told her she was right. “They’ve hurt so many, I doubt they’d even remember.”

“And because of this slight, whatever it is, you want to blame Ian for the High Holborn murder.”

Fellows reached out and clutched Beth’s elbow. “Ian killed her, Mrs. Ackerley. You mark my words. He never should have been let out into the worlds—he’s completely mad, and I intend to prove it. I will do anything to prove he murdered Sally Tate and Lily Martin, and I’ll lock him away forever. He deserves it.”

His face was red with fury, his mouth shaking. The anger went deep, nursed for years, and Beth was suddenly consumed with curiosity. What on earth could the Mackenzie family have done to a police inspector to make him so determined to destroy diem?

She heard shouting and looked behind her to see the tall bulk of Ian Mackenzie running toward them. He had a walking stick in his hands and rage in every step. The wind carried lan’s hat to the ground at die same time he dropped the stick and jerked Fellows away from Beth.

“I told you to stay away from her.”

“Ian, no.”

Last time, Ian had shaken the man and pushed him off. This time, lan’s strong hands closed on his throat and didn’t let go. “Leave her alone, or I’ll kill you.”

“I’m trying to save her from you, you filth.”

Ian roared, his rage so bright that Beth backed up a step. “Ian.” Mac Mackenzie sprinted across the grass and grabbed his brother’s arms. “Curry, help me, damn you.” A lean, wiry man wrapped his hands around lan’s huge arm, but it was like a small dog trying to drag down a tree. Mac was shouting in lan’s ear, but Ian ignored him. A crowd began to gather. Upper-class Parisians out for their morning stroll, nannies with their children, and beggars alike moved closer to get a look at the mad Englishmen brawling in the middle of the park.

Mac spewed foul language as he pried lan’s hands from Fellows’s neck. Released, Fellows fell to his knees, then hauled himself up again, trousers stained with wet grass. His throat was red, his collar ripped.

“I’ll have you,” Fellows snarled. “By God, I’ll have you swinging for the hangman before you know where you are.” Foam flecked his lips. “I’ll destroy you, and I’ll put my heel in your brother’s face when he begs me for mercy.”

“Fuck you,” Ian screamed.

Beth pressed her hands to her face. Katie stared, openmouthed, as Curry and Mac laced their arms around lan’s middle and dragged him away from Fellows. lan’s face was purple, tears tracking his cheeks. He coughed as Curry jerked a fist against his breastbone. “You have to stop, guv,” Curry said rapidly. “You have to stop or you won’t breathe sweet air anymore. You’ll be back in that hellhole, and you’ll never see your brothers again. What’s worse is I’ll be stuck in there with you.”

Ian coughed again, but still fought, like an animal not understanding it had been caught. Mac stepped in front of Ian and grabbed his face.

“Ian, look at me.”

Ian tried to pull away, to do anything but look his brother directly in the eye.

“Look at me, damn you.”

He swiveled Ian’s head, forcing Ian’s eyelids open until finally, Mac’s eyes and Ian’s met.

Ian stopped. He gasped for breath, tears shining on his face, but he stilled, staring, mesmerized, into Mac’s eyes. Mac’s hold on him softened, and Beth saw that Mac’s own eyes were wet. “That’s it. You’re all right.” His grip on Ian’s cheek turned to a caress, and then Mac leaned forward and kissed Ian on the forehead.

Ian’s breath was hoarse and audible. He dropped his gaze and looked away across the park, seeing no one. Curry still had hold of his arms. Ian shook him off, then turned his back and started toward the carriage that had stopped in the lane.

Its coachman was standing on the ground, holding the horses and looking agitated. Beth guessed that Ian and Mac had been riding by, and Ian had leapt from the coach when he’d seen Beth with Fellows.

She realized then that Mac and Ian both wore rumpled evening dress, Ian in the same suit he’d worn the night before. They weren’t up early; they were still returning from the night’s revelries.

Ian never looked at Beth. Curry retrieved Ian’s hat from the ground, dusted it off, and strode after him. Mac turned to Fellows, his eyes like cold copper. “Go back to London. If I see you again, I’ll thrash you until you can’t stand.”