His Fatal Legacy, page 5
‘Perfect, and I insist you stay for dinner.’
‘Oh, we will.’ Ginny ran her hand up Robert’s arm, the lasciviousness in the older woman’s eyes shocking Jane. ‘We’ll look forward to it,’ she said in a breathy purr.
Jane supposed she couldn’t blame her for admiring a man as beautiful as Robert when she’d been saddled with the wheezy windbag beside her.
‘As will we,’ smiled Robert, enjoying his revenge. ‘I can’t wait to tell my parents.’
‘Why did you invite them back?’ said Jane when the Romers had gone. ‘Your parents can’t stand them.’
‘That’ll teach them to dump their children on us and swan off.’
‘That’s not fair. They deserve some time alone together. You can’t punish them for that.’
‘I’m not punishing them, but I admit I will enjoy seeing their faces when they find out. Oh, don’t fret,’ he added when she opened her mouth to argue further. He took her face in his hands. ‘It’ll be fine, I promise.’
He silenced her with a kiss.
‘Robert,’ she said when he pushed her back onto the couch and buried his face in her neck. ‘We can’t do that here.’
He raised his head to look into her eyes. ‘Why not? We must snatch every opportunity to make our baby.’
‘We might have already succeeded. Time will tell. We should go to bed if we want to do that,’ she added when he started pushing up her skirts.
‘We don’t have to be confined to a bed, you know. We can do it in other places.’
‘But we never have.’
‘Then it’s time we started getting more adventurous. What’s the problem?’ he pressed when she still looked uncertain. ‘The children and the servants are in bed. No one will see us.’
She gasped when his hand slid under her skirts, her eyes rolling shut with pleasure.
‘Let’s try something different,’ he said. ‘Mother once told me the secret to maintaining a healthy marriage is the element of surprise, keeping things fresh.’
Jane’s eyes flew open. ‘I do hope you don’t think our marriage is going stale after two months?’
‘No, of course not. That’s not what I meant at all.’ An impish smile spread across his face. ‘Besides, doesn’t this feel a bit naughty?’
‘Yes,’ she smiled back, feeling wicked just for admitting it.
Hazel walked into the drawing room and gasped when she saw Robert and Jane together on the couch. Despite how he’d frightened her earlier, she couldn’t take her eyes off his beautiful, muscular body. Judging by the noises Jane was making, she was enjoying his attentions, her bare thighs wrapped around his waist. In fact, the only thing she was wearing was her beloved sapphire pendant.
Robert lifted his head from his wife’s neck, those black eyes of his burning. When he saw Hazel watching them, his face split into a grin. Her presence didn’t seem to deter him in the slightest because he didn’t miss a stroke, Hazel fascinated by the way his hips moved. He looked sinuous, like a snake.
Recalling how he’d been earlier, when she’d seen the real man, she turned and left, quietly closing the door behind her. Robert turned his full attention back to his wife, who had noticed nothing.
6
The two nights away alone with her husband had done Amy the power of good and she returned to Riverwood ready to face Robert. When their carriage rolled to a halt outside the house, he was waiting to greet them with Jane and the children.
‘Hello, darling,’ smiled Amy, kissing her eldest son’s cheek. It was the first time in weeks she’d managed to go near him without replaying in her head the moment he’d murdered Hobbs. ‘I hope the children behaved for you?’
‘They’ve been as good as gold,’ he replied, winking down at Lydia, who beamed up at him.
‘Jane, sweetheart,’ said Amy, turning to kiss her. ‘Thank you for watching over them.’
‘I enjoyed it,’ she replied. ‘They’re wonderful children.’
‘Any problems?’
‘None whatsoever.’
‘Excellent.’
‘How was the trip? Did you enjoy it?’
‘It was lovely,’ smiled Amy, linking her arm through Jane’s and walking with her back to the house. ‘I feel so much better.’
‘Oh, good,’ she smiled, pleased.
‘Mother seems much improved,’ Robert commented to Henry.
‘She does,’ he replied. ‘She just needed some quiet time.’
‘So she doesn’t know about Edward’s body in the crypt then?’
‘No, she does not,’ said Henry, glancing around to make sure no one had overheard, but the children had already returned to their games and Amy and Jane were out of earshot. ‘Why on earth are you bringing that up now?’
‘I’m wondering when you’re finally going to do the right thing and tell her that the body of the man who tortured and almost killed her is resting in the grounds of her own home.’
‘As I’ve already said, I’ll tell her when the time is right. You’ve seen how much improved she is after weeks of being miserable. I will not ruin that.’
‘The longer you leave it, the worse it will get. You have to tell her.’
‘I see what this is – we came here without letting you know and you don’t like it, then you got even angrier when we went away for a couple of nights and you’re bringing this up to try and get your own back.’
‘Nonsense.’
‘No, it’s not, but I’ll tell you what I will do – if you reveal my secret, I’ll reveal yours.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Robert, panicking a little as he thought about the two maids he’d attacked.
‘I wonder what Jane would think of you if she found out you’d killed three people?’
Robert’s skin turned white. ‘You wouldn’t.’
‘Why not? A sweet, innocent girl like her wouldn’t take news like that very well.’
‘She wouldn’t believe you.’
‘She would when both I and your mother told her.’
‘Jane didn’t believe either of you when you tried to tell her I was a monster and she won’t believe that either.’
‘So you’re saying your wife didn’t think there was anything strange about that night?’
He hesitated before saying, ‘No.’
‘What about the cuts and bruises to your body after that brutal fight? Did she not comment on those either?’ He smiled when Robert failed to reply. ‘You’d lose her forever, but I guarantee Amy and I would overcome our particular crisis. So please, go ahead and tell your mother, make her feel miserable again, but if you do, I will tell your own wife some home truths.’
‘You know, Henry,’ said Robert, standing nose to nose with him, ‘one day, I will get the better of you and when that day comes, my mother will see you for what you really are.’
‘And what is that? The man who has done nothing but love her from the moment he met her. I’ve never hurt her like you have. Do you know why we took this holiday? Because you broke her heart and she needed a little bit of time away to put herself back together again, and you couldn’t even give her that, so don’t you dare start making threats. You should be going down on your knees before me and thanking me.’
‘What?’ he spluttered.
‘I helped her recover. I will always be there to help her pick up the pieces after you’ve smashed her to bits again, because you will. I read in the papers about those two attacks on those maids in the city.’
Robert’s face turned to stone. ‘It wasn’t me.’
To his surprise, Henry’s expression softened.
‘It makes me sad how far we are from each other now. I loved you like my own son and I still do. It’s true,’ he added when Robert snorted. ‘I admit I’ve been hard on you, but I’m afraid for you. Continue on this path and you will end up like Edward and Matthew. I don’t want that for you. They were too far gone but I still think you can be saved.’
Henry watched a struggle take place within his stepson as his hard front briefly disintegrated, revealing the scared boy beneath. ‘I don’t know what to do, Father,’ he whispered.
‘Are you coming in for tea?’ Amy called to them.
‘Yes, in a moment,’ replied Henry before turning back to Robert. ‘We’ll talk again this evening, when Amy and Jane are in bed. I’m sure that, between us, we can come up with a solution.’
Robert nodded and ran an agitated hand through his hair. ‘I do hope so. I don’t want to hang.’
Henry clapped him on the shoulder. ‘I won’t allow that to happen. Now let’s join our wives.’
‘Yes, all right,’ he replied, smirking at Henry’s back, all trace of scared innocence wiped from his face. It really was too easy.
The rest of the day passed in relative peace. Amy even managed to enjoy herself in her older son’s company. Those two nights away from everyone had given her the breathing space she’d needed to recover from the trauma. It was only striking her now how much it had affected her. If she’d continued on the path she’d been on, she would have succumbed to another fever and she might not have had the strength to fight it off.
Amy retired early to bed, feeling happy and at peace. Jane went up not long after her. The children were already asleep, exhausted after a day of playing, leaving Henry and Robert to talk before the drawing room fire. Despite the warmth of the day, the nights were still cold.
‘So, Father,’ opened Robert. ‘Do you want to start or shall I?’
Henry tore his gaze from the flames, cradling a glass of whisky in his pale, slender hand. ‘Why don’t you start?’
‘All right,’ he said, taking a deep breath. ‘You’re right, I did attack those maids.’
He’d expected censure, but Henry merely sighed. Clearly this news hadn’t surprised him.
‘It’s a compulsion I can’t control,’ continued Robert. ‘It rises inside me and possesses me completely. I’m helpless against it.’
‘I can’t decide if you’re the victim of some disorder or just plain evil.’
‘I am not evil,’ Robert replied passionately.
‘Edward was. I could see it so clearly inside him. It always amazed me that no one else could, not even your mother, who is one of the most astute people I know. I don’t see the same thing in you, although I’ve no doubt you’re capable of the same atrocities.’
‘Was Matthew evil?’
‘Part of him was, but there was still something good inside him. I will be forever grateful to him for saving your mother’s life, even if she was only in Edward’s house because of him, so I can’t bring myself to think entirely badly of him. Have you heard of Julius Koch?’
The sudden change in topic puzzled Robert. ‘No.’
‘He’s a German psychiatrist who studied the psychology of criminal behaviour. I’ve been reading about his work, it is rather fascinating. He says that some individuals are compelled to commit crimes. Koch coined the word psychopath, which means suffering of the soul. Does your soul suffer, Robert?’
‘You’re being rather melodramatic, aren’t you, Father?’ said Robert, with a roll of the eyes.
‘Not at all. It made me wonder if psychiatric help might cure you of this impulse.’
Robert shot to his feet, knocking over his chair. ‘So that’s your game – you want to have me locked up in a lunatic asylum.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, of course I don’t.’ Henry’s expression hardened. ‘Don’t stand there glaring at me with those black eyes, they do nothing to intimidate me. Sit down and let’s talk like reasonable human beings.’
Robert huffed out a breath, righted his chair and slammed himself back down into it. ‘Are you suggesting dragging me to Germany so this Koch can prod and poke me?’
‘Not at all. Besides, he retired last year but there is someone in Edinburgh…’
‘Already you’re plotting to have me locked up. Well, you can’t, Father. I’m my own man now. You no longer control my destiny.’
‘Will you please let me finish? And keep your voice down, we don’t want Jane and your mother overhearing. That’s better,’ he said when Robert remained silent. ‘Dr Campbell is a respected physician and psychiatrist with very nice offices at Morningside Place.’
‘Morningside Place? That’s where the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum is.’
‘Yes, it is. Campbell is Physician Superintendent there, but he also sees private patients, most of them very wealthy, who never set foot inside the hospital. I feel he could be the one to help you. He specialises in people with your… inclinations.’
‘And if I tell him what I’ve done, he’ll have me locked up.’
‘You don’t tell him what you’ve done, you’ll only tell him that you’re having disturbing fantasies.’
‘Isn’t lying to the man who’s supposedly going to help me counterproductive?’
‘Better that than being arrested and hanged, which will happen if you continue with your activities. The police aren’t fools. One day, they will catch up with you.’
‘I’m far smarter than any dolt of a policeman.’
‘Arrogance like that leads to a downfall. I’m trying to help you, Robert, and this is the only way I can see. Koch believes mental aberrations such as yours can be treated.’
Robert swelled with fury. ‘I do not have a mental aberration.’
‘What would you call it, then? Because it’s certainly not normal. You should also stop visiting that brothel. It’s not very respectful to Jane. How would you feel if you gave her the pox?’
‘How do you know I’ve been going there? Have you had me followed? You have, haven’t you?’ he thundered when Henry failed to reply.
‘Unless you want your wife and mother to overhear this sordid conversation, lower your voice.’
‘It was Knapp, wasn’t it? You had the odious creature follow me.’
‘I set him to watch you after I read about the first maid you attacked in the city. I had hoped marrying Jane would settle you down, but sadly it didn’t. Unfortunately, he wasn’t shadowing you when you attacked the second maid. How I wish he had because he could have saved that poor girl. He really was furious with himself for that. I shudder to think what he’d do to you if he caught you attempting to attack another woman. Not even I would be able to stop him. You’re a physically powerful man but you couldn’t stand up to Knapp, as you well know. It’s one reason why you hate him so much.’
Robert was so shocked he was unable to speak. He thought back over the last few weeks, attempting to recall any sense of being followed, but there was nothing. It could all be a bluff on his stepfather’s part. Henry already knew he frequented Vivienne’s establishment. He could be trying to scare him into behaving, but Henry wasn’t one for blind bluffs. He always made sure he was on very solid ground before making any tactical move and he had the means to pay an army of people to follow him for the rest of his life.
‘I hope you understand I don’t enjoy this,’ pressed Henry when Robert remained silent. ‘You’re your own man now, married with your own home and fortune. I shouldn’t have to keep watch over you any more. I feel, if you could rid yourself of these proclivities, you could be very successful. You invested your money as I advised and you’re making an excellent living. You have a good head for business despite your youth and you could have a wonderful life with the woman you love. Don’t let your darker half destroy all that.’
Finally, something his stepfather said spoke to Robert, and when he looked at Henry, it was without wrath. ‘I want that life, Father. You don’t know how much.’
‘Then talk to Dr Campbell. It can’t hurt. I swear you won’t be locked up. This will be a friendly chat in his very nice office, just the two of you. If you prefer, I can accompany you.’
‘Will Knapp be there?’
‘Most certainly not.’
‘And there won’t be any orderlies waiting to cart me off?’
‘I swear on your mother’s life no one will attempt to have you committed and you will be free to leave at any time.’
Robert knew Henry would not make such an oath unless he meant it down to his very bones. This could be a way to get back into his stepfather’s good books. There was also the possibility that Dr Campbell could cure him, then he could finally live a normal life with Jane. Together they would fill their house with lots of children and he would make an enormous fortune for them to inherit. He would buy a vast estate like Alardyce and become a laird. It was a nice future and he wanted it.
Hope rose in Henry’s breast as he watched his stepson consider his offer. For the first time since Robert had attacked Daisy and this nightmare had begun, he looked like the boy he used to be. For once, his dark eyes weren’t full of slyness and conceit, they were bright and hopeful. The goodness in him hadn’t been entirely swallowed by the darkness. He just prayed this help hadn’t come too late.
‘All right, Father,’ Robert eventually said. ‘I’ll see your quack, but one whiff of treachery and I’ll leave and I won’t go back.’
‘I wouldn’t do that to you or your mother.’
Robert nodded. ‘I know.’
‘Good. Well, I’m glad that’s settled. You’re doing the right thing, for yourself as well as the rest of the family.’ Henry drained his whisky glass and set it on the table. ‘Now, I’m off to bed. Goodnight, son.’
‘Goodnight, Father,’ replied Robert, turning to gaze into the flames as Henry left the room, wondering if he could be saved or if he would be consumed by the wildfire that raged inside him.
7
Robert decided that now he was finally getting back into his parents’ good books and his mother was once again relaxed in his company, he would deter the Romers from visiting. He sent them a note telling them not to come because the children were ill with something contagious. He knew it would keep them away, as they had a morbid fear of illness. All day, he fretted that somehow they wouldn’t get the note or would ignore it and come anyway, but thankfully they were a no show and he relaxed.
He and Jane stayed at Riverwood for another two days, which passed peacefully, and the family enjoyed each other’s company. Then it was time for them to return to Edinburgh for the fancy dress ball.
‘Oh, we will.’ Ginny ran her hand up Robert’s arm, the lasciviousness in the older woman’s eyes shocking Jane. ‘We’ll look forward to it,’ she said in a breathy purr.
Jane supposed she couldn’t blame her for admiring a man as beautiful as Robert when she’d been saddled with the wheezy windbag beside her.
‘As will we,’ smiled Robert, enjoying his revenge. ‘I can’t wait to tell my parents.’
‘Why did you invite them back?’ said Jane when the Romers had gone. ‘Your parents can’t stand them.’
‘That’ll teach them to dump their children on us and swan off.’
‘That’s not fair. They deserve some time alone together. You can’t punish them for that.’
‘I’m not punishing them, but I admit I will enjoy seeing their faces when they find out. Oh, don’t fret,’ he added when she opened her mouth to argue further. He took her face in his hands. ‘It’ll be fine, I promise.’
He silenced her with a kiss.
‘Robert,’ she said when he pushed her back onto the couch and buried his face in her neck. ‘We can’t do that here.’
He raised his head to look into her eyes. ‘Why not? We must snatch every opportunity to make our baby.’
‘We might have already succeeded. Time will tell. We should go to bed if we want to do that,’ she added when he started pushing up her skirts.
‘We don’t have to be confined to a bed, you know. We can do it in other places.’
‘But we never have.’
‘Then it’s time we started getting more adventurous. What’s the problem?’ he pressed when she still looked uncertain. ‘The children and the servants are in bed. No one will see us.’
She gasped when his hand slid under her skirts, her eyes rolling shut with pleasure.
‘Let’s try something different,’ he said. ‘Mother once told me the secret to maintaining a healthy marriage is the element of surprise, keeping things fresh.’
Jane’s eyes flew open. ‘I do hope you don’t think our marriage is going stale after two months?’
‘No, of course not. That’s not what I meant at all.’ An impish smile spread across his face. ‘Besides, doesn’t this feel a bit naughty?’
‘Yes,’ she smiled back, feeling wicked just for admitting it.
Hazel walked into the drawing room and gasped when she saw Robert and Jane together on the couch. Despite how he’d frightened her earlier, she couldn’t take her eyes off his beautiful, muscular body. Judging by the noises Jane was making, she was enjoying his attentions, her bare thighs wrapped around his waist. In fact, the only thing she was wearing was her beloved sapphire pendant.
Robert lifted his head from his wife’s neck, those black eyes of his burning. When he saw Hazel watching them, his face split into a grin. Her presence didn’t seem to deter him in the slightest because he didn’t miss a stroke, Hazel fascinated by the way his hips moved. He looked sinuous, like a snake.
Recalling how he’d been earlier, when she’d seen the real man, she turned and left, quietly closing the door behind her. Robert turned his full attention back to his wife, who had noticed nothing.
6
The two nights away alone with her husband had done Amy the power of good and she returned to Riverwood ready to face Robert. When their carriage rolled to a halt outside the house, he was waiting to greet them with Jane and the children.
‘Hello, darling,’ smiled Amy, kissing her eldest son’s cheek. It was the first time in weeks she’d managed to go near him without replaying in her head the moment he’d murdered Hobbs. ‘I hope the children behaved for you?’
‘They’ve been as good as gold,’ he replied, winking down at Lydia, who beamed up at him.
‘Jane, sweetheart,’ said Amy, turning to kiss her. ‘Thank you for watching over them.’
‘I enjoyed it,’ she replied. ‘They’re wonderful children.’
‘Any problems?’
‘None whatsoever.’
‘Excellent.’
‘How was the trip? Did you enjoy it?’
‘It was lovely,’ smiled Amy, linking her arm through Jane’s and walking with her back to the house. ‘I feel so much better.’
‘Oh, good,’ she smiled, pleased.
‘Mother seems much improved,’ Robert commented to Henry.
‘She does,’ he replied. ‘She just needed some quiet time.’
‘So she doesn’t know about Edward’s body in the crypt then?’
‘No, she does not,’ said Henry, glancing around to make sure no one had overheard, but the children had already returned to their games and Amy and Jane were out of earshot. ‘Why on earth are you bringing that up now?’
‘I’m wondering when you’re finally going to do the right thing and tell her that the body of the man who tortured and almost killed her is resting in the grounds of her own home.’
‘As I’ve already said, I’ll tell her when the time is right. You’ve seen how much improved she is after weeks of being miserable. I will not ruin that.’
‘The longer you leave it, the worse it will get. You have to tell her.’
‘I see what this is – we came here without letting you know and you don’t like it, then you got even angrier when we went away for a couple of nights and you’re bringing this up to try and get your own back.’
‘Nonsense.’
‘No, it’s not, but I’ll tell you what I will do – if you reveal my secret, I’ll reveal yours.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Robert, panicking a little as he thought about the two maids he’d attacked.
‘I wonder what Jane would think of you if she found out you’d killed three people?’
Robert’s skin turned white. ‘You wouldn’t.’
‘Why not? A sweet, innocent girl like her wouldn’t take news like that very well.’
‘She wouldn’t believe you.’
‘She would when both I and your mother told her.’
‘Jane didn’t believe either of you when you tried to tell her I was a monster and she won’t believe that either.’
‘So you’re saying your wife didn’t think there was anything strange about that night?’
He hesitated before saying, ‘No.’
‘What about the cuts and bruises to your body after that brutal fight? Did she not comment on those either?’ He smiled when Robert failed to reply. ‘You’d lose her forever, but I guarantee Amy and I would overcome our particular crisis. So please, go ahead and tell your mother, make her feel miserable again, but if you do, I will tell your own wife some home truths.’
‘You know, Henry,’ said Robert, standing nose to nose with him, ‘one day, I will get the better of you and when that day comes, my mother will see you for what you really are.’
‘And what is that? The man who has done nothing but love her from the moment he met her. I’ve never hurt her like you have. Do you know why we took this holiday? Because you broke her heart and she needed a little bit of time away to put herself back together again, and you couldn’t even give her that, so don’t you dare start making threats. You should be going down on your knees before me and thanking me.’
‘What?’ he spluttered.
‘I helped her recover. I will always be there to help her pick up the pieces after you’ve smashed her to bits again, because you will. I read in the papers about those two attacks on those maids in the city.’
Robert’s face turned to stone. ‘It wasn’t me.’
To his surprise, Henry’s expression softened.
‘It makes me sad how far we are from each other now. I loved you like my own son and I still do. It’s true,’ he added when Robert snorted. ‘I admit I’ve been hard on you, but I’m afraid for you. Continue on this path and you will end up like Edward and Matthew. I don’t want that for you. They were too far gone but I still think you can be saved.’
Henry watched a struggle take place within his stepson as his hard front briefly disintegrated, revealing the scared boy beneath. ‘I don’t know what to do, Father,’ he whispered.
‘Are you coming in for tea?’ Amy called to them.
‘Yes, in a moment,’ replied Henry before turning back to Robert. ‘We’ll talk again this evening, when Amy and Jane are in bed. I’m sure that, between us, we can come up with a solution.’
Robert nodded and ran an agitated hand through his hair. ‘I do hope so. I don’t want to hang.’
Henry clapped him on the shoulder. ‘I won’t allow that to happen. Now let’s join our wives.’
‘Yes, all right,’ he replied, smirking at Henry’s back, all trace of scared innocence wiped from his face. It really was too easy.
The rest of the day passed in relative peace. Amy even managed to enjoy herself in her older son’s company. Those two nights away from everyone had given her the breathing space she’d needed to recover from the trauma. It was only striking her now how much it had affected her. If she’d continued on the path she’d been on, she would have succumbed to another fever and she might not have had the strength to fight it off.
Amy retired early to bed, feeling happy and at peace. Jane went up not long after her. The children were already asleep, exhausted after a day of playing, leaving Henry and Robert to talk before the drawing room fire. Despite the warmth of the day, the nights were still cold.
‘So, Father,’ opened Robert. ‘Do you want to start or shall I?’
Henry tore his gaze from the flames, cradling a glass of whisky in his pale, slender hand. ‘Why don’t you start?’
‘All right,’ he said, taking a deep breath. ‘You’re right, I did attack those maids.’
He’d expected censure, but Henry merely sighed. Clearly this news hadn’t surprised him.
‘It’s a compulsion I can’t control,’ continued Robert. ‘It rises inside me and possesses me completely. I’m helpless against it.’
‘I can’t decide if you’re the victim of some disorder or just plain evil.’
‘I am not evil,’ Robert replied passionately.
‘Edward was. I could see it so clearly inside him. It always amazed me that no one else could, not even your mother, who is one of the most astute people I know. I don’t see the same thing in you, although I’ve no doubt you’re capable of the same atrocities.’
‘Was Matthew evil?’
‘Part of him was, but there was still something good inside him. I will be forever grateful to him for saving your mother’s life, even if she was only in Edward’s house because of him, so I can’t bring myself to think entirely badly of him. Have you heard of Julius Koch?’
The sudden change in topic puzzled Robert. ‘No.’
‘He’s a German psychiatrist who studied the psychology of criminal behaviour. I’ve been reading about his work, it is rather fascinating. He says that some individuals are compelled to commit crimes. Koch coined the word psychopath, which means suffering of the soul. Does your soul suffer, Robert?’
‘You’re being rather melodramatic, aren’t you, Father?’ said Robert, with a roll of the eyes.
‘Not at all. It made me wonder if psychiatric help might cure you of this impulse.’
Robert shot to his feet, knocking over his chair. ‘So that’s your game – you want to have me locked up in a lunatic asylum.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, of course I don’t.’ Henry’s expression hardened. ‘Don’t stand there glaring at me with those black eyes, they do nothing to intimidate me. Sit down and let’s talk like reasonable human beings.’
Robert huffed out a breath, righted his chair and slammed himself back down into it. ‘Are you suggesting dragging me to Germany so this Koch can prod and poke me?’
‘Not at all. Besides, he retired last year but there is someone in Edinburgh…’
‘Already you’re plotting to have me locked up. Well, you can’t, Father. I’m my own man now. You no longer control my destiny.’
‘Will you please let me finish? And keep your voice down, we don’t want Jane and your mother overhearing. That’s better,’ he said when Robert remained silent. ‘Dr Campbell is a respected physician and psychiatrist with very nice offices at Morningside Place.’
‘Morningside Place? That’s where the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum is.’
‘Yes, it is. Campbell is Physician Superintendent there, but he also sees private patients, most of them very wealthy, who never set foot inside the hospital. I feel he could be the one to help you. He specialises in people with your… inclinations.’
‘And if I tell him what I’ve done, he’ll have me locked up.’
‘You don’t tell him what you’ve done, you’ll only tell him that you’re having disturbing fantasies.’
‘Isn’t lying to the man who’s supposedly going to help me counterproductive?’
‘Better that than being arrested and hanged, which will happen if you continue with your activities. The police aren’t fools. One day, they will catch up with you.’
‘I’m far smarter than any dolt of a policeman.’
‘Arrogance like that leads to a downfall. I’m trying to help you, Robert, and this is the only way I can see. Koch believes mental aberrations such as yours can be treated.’
Robert swelled with fury. ‘I do not have a mental aberration.’
‘What would you call it, then? Because it’s certainly not normal. You should also stop visiting that brothel. It’s not very respectful to Jane. How would you feel if you gave her the pox?’
‘How do you know I’ve been going there? Have you had me followed? You have, haven’t you?’ he thundered when Henry failed to reply.
‘Unless you want your wife and mother to overhear this sordid conversation, lower your voice.’
‘It was Knapp, wasn’t it? You had the odious creature follow me.’
‘I set him to watch you after I read about the first maid you attacked in the city. I had hoped marrying Jane would settle you down, but sadly it didn’t. Unfortunately, he wasn’t shadowing you when you attacked the second maid. How I wish he had because he could have saved that poor girl. He really was furious with himself for that. I shudder to think what he’d do to you if he caught you attempting to attack another woman. Not even I would be able to stop him. You’re a physically powerful man but you couldn’t stand up to Knapp, as you well know. It’s one reason why you hate him so much.’
Robert was so shocked he was unable to speak. He thought back over the last few weeks, attempting to recall any sense of being followed, but there was nothing. It could all be a bluff on his stepfather’s part. Henry already knew he frequented Vivienne’s establishment. He could be trying to scare him into behaving, but Henry wasn’t one for blind bluffs. He always made sure he was on very solid ground before making any tactical move and he had the means to pay an army of people to follow him for the rest of his life.
‘I hope you understand I don’t enjoy this,’ pressed Henry when Robert remained silent. ‘You’re your own man now, married with your own home and fortune. I shouldn’t have to keep watch over you any more. I feel, if you could rid yourself of these proclivities, you could be very successful. You invested your money as I advised and you’re making an excellent living. You have a good head for business despite your youth and you could have a wonderful life with the woman you love. Don’t let your darker half destroy all that.’
Finally, something his stepfather said spoke to Robert, and when he looked at Henry, it was without wrath. ‘I want that life, Father. You don’t know how much.’
‘Then talk to Dr Campbell. It can’t hurt. I swear you won’t be locked up. This will be a friendly chat in his very nice office, just the two of you. If you prefer, I can accompany you.’
‘Will Knapp be there?’
‘Most certainly not.’
‘And there won’t be any orderlies waiting to cart me off?’
‘I swear on your mother’s life no one will attempt to have you committed and you will be free to leave at any time.’
Robert knew Henry would not make such an oath unless he meant it down to his very bones. This could be a way to get back into his stepfather’s good books. There was also the possibility that Dr Campbell could cure him, then he could finally live a normal life with Jane. Together they would fill their house with lots of children and he would make an enormous fortune for them to inherit. He would buy a vast estate like Alardyce and become a laird. It was a nice future and he wanted it.
Hope rose in Henry’s breast as he watched his stepson consider his offer. For the first time since Robert had attacked Daisy and this nightmare had begun, he looked like the boy he used to be. For once, his dark eyes weren’t full of slyness and conceit, they were bright and hopeful. The goodness in him hadn’t been entirely swallowed by the darkness. He just prayed this help hadn’t come too late.
‘All right, Father,’ Robert eventually said. ‘I’ll see your quack, but one whiff of treachery and I’ll leave and I won’t go back.’
‘I wouldn’t do that to you or your mother.’
Robert nodded. ‘I know.’
‘Good. Well, I’m glad that’s settled. You’re doing the right thing, for yourself as well as the rest of the family.’ Henry drained his whisky glass and set it on the table. ‘Now, I’m off to bed. Goodnight, son.’
‘Goodnight, Father,’ replied Robert, turning to gaze into the flames as Henry left the room, wondering if he could be saved or if he would be consumed by the wildfire that raged inside him.
7
Robert decided that now he was finally getting back into his parents’ good books and his mother was once again relaxed in his company, he would deter the Romers from visiting. He sent them a note telling them not to come because the children were ill with something contagious. He knew it would keep them away, as they had a morbid fear of illness. All day, he fretted that somehow they wouldn’t get the note or would ignore it and come anyway, but thankfully they were a no show and he relaxed.
He and Jane stayed at Riverwood for another two days, which passed peacefully, and the family enjoyed each other’s company. Then it was time for them to return to Edinburgh for the fancy dress ball.
