Page 67 of Choosing Her Earl at Last
“Yes, but I did not have money. As a criminal, I am free to pursue whatever I desire without the constraints of society. Freedom has its own power that surpasses title or birthright.”
“Who was the man that they found in the ruins? Clearly, it was not you, as we all believed,” Emmeline said, fearing the answer as much as she needed to know it was not someone that they all knew and loved. She racked her brain to remember if anyone she had known went missing around the same time, but could not think of anyone.
“It was one of my men. No one of consequence,” he answered, his voice completely devoid of emotion over the matter.
“Did you start the fire?”
Norman laughed. “I did. I find that fires are a wonderful way of hiding evidence of nefarious deeds. I have grown quite fond of it.”
A cold chill passed over Emmeline’s spine. “How could you do such a terrible thing?”
“It is quite easy once one sets oneself free of social mores.”
Emmeline thought back to the day when she had been told of his death. “Does your brother know that you are still alive?”
Norman smiled. “Of course he does. He has always wanted the title. It was a plan that benefited us both.”
“How did the authorities know to say that it was you who died instead of the man that was with you?”
“One of my men reported it to the authorities of the town that we were in. It was not difficult to convince them that it was me, with the addition of my signet ring placed on the body. My brother confirmed my identity via the ring when he came to retrieve the body.”
Emmeline shook her head. “Why did you marry me? I do not understand how I fit into all of this. I know that my father owed you money and that it was your idea to wed me in exchange for the debt. If you were in such need of money, why did you not find some other way to get it? I do not even understand how you came to be in such debt that you would resort to such tactics.”
“Your father’s antiquarian connections were of great benefit to my criminal activities. The upkeep of the estate had long since drained the family coffers dry, and I turned to less-than-legal means to fill the need. I found that I took a liking to it. It suited me. However, one cannot live this life forever without at some point coming face to face with either death, the law, orboth. Your father’s treasure is my way to security. With such a priceless treasure, I would be untouchable.”
Emmeline thought that he sounded like a delusional fanatic, but instead of spouting religious fervor, he was obsessed with money. She did not understand his reasoning at all.
“Why did you not choose a more reputable pursuit to increase your funds?”
“Such as marrying for money?” Norman asked with a wicked bite to his voice, his brows raised in accusation at her judgment.
Emmeline had to admit that he had her there. She had done that very thing to save her family. “Well, yes, actually.”
Norman shrugged. “I married you for similar reasons. It may not have gone as I had originally planned, but it had its advantages.” His eyes swept over her form in something akin to appreciation.
Emmeline shrank away from his gaze in revulsion.
Norman chuckled. “It would appear that I did you a favor disappearing from your life as you seem to find my true nature to be repugnant.”
“We are here,” Emmeline announced, ignoring his taunting.
The sticks that she had stuck into the ground in a makeshift wooden structure had remained.
“Dig,” Norman commanded, taking a shovel from one of his men and handing it to Emmeline. “Do not try anything,” he commanded as she took the shovel from him.
Emmeline considered her chances of survival if she were to hit him in the head with the shovel and make a run for the manor house, but decided against it as it would have left Rebecca vulnerable. Forcing the shovel into the ground, she pried the damp earth up and lifted it out to make a pile beside the edge of the sticks.
She repeated this over and over again until the edge of her shovel clinked against something metal beneath. Emmeline continued to dig and scrape away the remaining dirt between her and the treasure. Once the dirt was removed, she knelt down and lifted a chest made of wood and metal up out of the ground. Placing it on the grass, she tried the lid. The latch gave way with very little difficulty.
Inside the wooden chest lay a cloth-wrapped object. Lifting it up out of the chest, Emmeline took a deep breath to brace herself for whatever might lie within and unwrapped the fabric.
“A mirror?” Norman asked as he bent over it to examine what she had found. “Your father’s great treasure of immeasurable price was a mirror?”
The mirror was of no particular worth or beauty, but what Emmeline saw within the glass made the tears flow down her cheeks. Norman snatched the mirror from her hands and turned it over and over.
“It is worthless,” he declared. “Your father’s greatest treasure is a worthless mirror.”
“No, my father’s greatest treasure was his daughters,” Emmeline explained.
