The Countess Page 0,80

she whirled and blocked his entrance. "Dammit, husband, listen to me."

Richard stopped at once, eyes wide and mouth round with surprise. Daniel too was rather agape. However, Suzette and Lisa were both biting their lips to keep from smiling and Robert was grinning like an idiot.

"There she is," he said with a grin. "That's the take-no-nonsense Chrissy I grew up with." Expression turning solemn, he added, "You disappeared after marrying Dicky, and that worried me more than anything else."

"Me too," Suzette announced. "I couldn't believe it when you let Dicky treat you as he did. If one of us had tried it with you, you would have slapped us sil y."

Christiana sighed and merely shook her head. Now was not the time to explain that she hadn't lost this side of herself right away on marriage, that George had beat it out of her with insults and criticisms until she'd no longer had the confidence to stand up for herself. Instead, she turned her attention back to Richard. "We need to see to your brother before we head back," she said reasonably. "It seems sil y to have come al this way and not at least do that. Besides, we real y can't keep him any longer. Al the ice in London is not going to keep his presence hidden much longer."

Richard glanced toward the carriage roof and the chest there, and then sighed and nodded. "Yes, of course. We should . . . er . . ." He hesitated, and then cal ed the driver over. The man had moved around to the front of the horses to examine the beasts, but came at once and Richard ordered him to drive the carriage around the house to the family chapel. When he then started into the carriage, Christiana backed out of the way to al ow it. She settled on a bench seat, squeezing up into the corner to make room as Richard sat beside her. The others climbed in after to join them. It was rather cramped with the six of them in the cab, but no one complained and the carriage set off the moment Langley pul ed the door closed. It was a quick ride around the house, thank goodness, and the moment the carriage stopped they al piled out. The men lifted down the chest and then Richard paused to order the driver to take the carriage to the stables and change the horses for another journey. When the carriage started away, Daniel and Richard each lifted one end of the chest and carried it around behind the chapel. Christiana and the others fol owed, walking silently until they reached the family vault, a smal , low stone building. Robert then rushed ahead to open the door, revealing steps descending down into darkness.

"We should have thought to bring a torch," Daniel muttered, peering down the steps.

"We won't go far from the door," Richard decided as they started down the steps. "I'l have him moved to a proper casket later."

Christiana fol owed Robert down the steps, aware that Suzette and Lisa were on her heels. Her nose wrinkled as she glanced around the dark interior once they reached the bottom step. The weak early evening light cast a pale square on the floor, but it didn't light up much more than that. Judging by the smel s assaulting her, Christiana suspected that might be a good thing. Her imagination was supplying gruesome enough images of rotten, col apsing coffins and ravaged corpses. She didn't need to see the real thing.

"We'l put him here," Richard said directing Daniel to the very edge of the square of light coming through the doors. The two men set the chest down and immediately turned to head back out, but paused on seeing the others.

"Shouldn't we say something before we go?" Christiana asked uncertainly.

Richard paused and glanced uncertainly back toward the chest.

"It just feels wrong to simply dump him and hurry away," she said uncomfortably when everyone was silent.

"Oh, come on then," Suzette said and slid past her to move to the chest.

Christiana fol owed and took up position beside her and then waited as everyone else came to form a half circle around the chest. Suzette then clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Biting her lip, Christiana did the same, aware that the others were fol owing suit.

She heard Suzette clear her throat, and then her sister intoned solemnly, "Here lies George Cainan Fairgrave . .