An Unexpected Pleasure (The Mad Morelands #4)(103)

“Julian Coffey is the one who stabbed Dennis and left him bleeding,” Theo replied. “Not I.”

“That’s a lie,” Barchester snapped.

“No,” said a voice behind them, and they all whirled around. Dennis was standing in the doorway. “No, Da, it is not a lie. Theo did not kill me. I am here and alive, as you can see. But Julian Coffey did his best to kill me. And tonight he intends to kill my daughter, unless we stop him.”

There was a moment of blank silence. Megan’s father and sister stared at Dennis, their faces paling visibly. Barchester looked almost as astonished. None of them could say a word. Theo spun around.

“Blast it, Den, Barchester could go to Coffey,” Theo told him.

“Not if we tie him up,” Dennis retorted. “I could not just hide there and let this go on.”

Dennis strode toward Frank and Deirdre. “Da. Dee. It’s me. I swear to you that Theo did not try to kill me. I came here because I trust Theo more than anyone else.”

With an inarticulate cry, Deirdre threw herself into Dennis’s arms, and Frank wrapped his arms around both of them. Andrew Barchester continued to look at the man as if he had been poleaxed. Theo circled around the group, positioning himself so that he was between Barchester and the door.

Finally the Mulcaheys released Dennis and stepped back, smiling and wiping away their tears. Frank turned and sent a sharp look at Megan. “You knew about this, and you didn’t tell us?”

“No! No! I was sure that Theo did not kill Dennis, but I did not know he was alive until just a few minutes ago, when he walked in the door,” Megan hastened to assure her father.

“I don’t understand,” Barchester said faintly. “Dennis…how…what…?”

“Why are you dressed that way?” Frank Mulcahey put in, puzzlement seeping into his happiness.

“I will tell you. I’ll explain everything. Let’s go in and sit down.”

Theo gestured toward the closest room to them, which turned out to be what the Morelands called the French salon, a large formally decorated room with an ornate marbled fireplace and furniture in the style of Louis XIV. The group shuffled into the room, with Theo carefully bringing up the rear. He closed the double doors behind him and, as they did not lock, stood with his back to them.

Everyone else sat down on the sofa and chairs in the center of the room, then turned expectantly to Dennis. He started his story again, telling them how Julian Coffey had tried to kill him, then had left him for dead.

“Are you sure it was Julian?” Barchester asked, frowning. “I mean, if he had on a mask…”

“It was Coffey,” Dennis told him flatly. “I spoke to him. I recognized his voice. It could not have been anyone else. The villagers did not speak English, and Theo was flat on his back with a fever out in the main cave. Besides, I have spoken to him several times since then. Obviously he wanted you to continue to think that I had died. That Theo had killed me. But Julian has known for years that I am still alive.”

He went on to describe Coffey’s continuing thefts from the village, though in a somewhat abbreviated version, leaving out much of what he had told Theo and Megan about the people of his village. He was interrupted frequently by exclamations and questions. When he reached the end, detailing his frantic trip to rescue his daughter, his father jumped up with a loud oath.

“That murderin’ bastard!” He glared at Barchester. “Have you no sense, man? Has this fellow Coffey pulled the wool over your eyes? Or are you in league with the devil?”

“No! I—I promise you!” Barchester looked shaken. He stared around the room at the others. “I had no idea! I cannot believe it. Julian is—he seems to be a great man. He has helped me, helped all of us. He has—I thought he had powers that no ordinary man could, that he was…sent.” He looked at them pleadingly. “He has talked about tonight, of course, how special and important it is. He—he even spoke of the possibility of sacrifice. In the past we have brought objects of value to give to the gods—gold and diamonds and things of that nature.”

Frank Mulcahey let out a snort. “Ah, you’re a green one, aren’t you? Gifts for the gods, in a pig’s eye. Gifts for Coffey.”

“He healed Lord Cavendish of pneumonia,” Barchester told him stiffly.

“And how did Lord Cavendish die?” Theo put in harshly. “Your great man Coffey told Dennis that he helped the old man along at Lady Cavendish’s request.”

“What?” Barchester’s eyes widened and he looked from one to the other. “No! That is impossible. Cavendish was old. Ill. It was a blessing that he finally died.”

“A blessing to Lady Cavendish,” Megan responded dryly.

Barchester turned to Dennis. “Are you sure? He told you that?”

“Yes. He told me a great deal about what he was doing. He is proud of the way he has deluded all of you into thinking he is all-powerful. The worst thing, though, is that now he is beginning to believe his own nonsense.”

“Oh, my God.” Barchester sank his head into his hands. “What have I done?” He raised his head and gazed at Dennis bleakly. “He said the gods required blood. But he intimated that it would be an animal. A goat, like the Incas used. Surely he cannot mean to kill a child!”