"You may as well come down now, you little bitch. There is only one way this can end." There was a terrible sexual excitement in Bryce's voice now.

Harriet ignored him. Her goal was the large stone sitting on top of the last cabinet in the aisle, the one that contained the fossil impression of a large, spiny fish. She prayed the stone would not be too heavy for her to lift.

Bryce never guessed her intention. It probably did not occur to him that a woman would resort to such a means of defending herself or that a woman would be strong enough to do so even if she tried.

But Harriet had been digging fossils out of solid rock for years. She had spent hours wielding a mallet and chisel. She knew she was no weakling.

She grabbed hold of the chunk of stone and hurled it down at Bryce's blond head just as he reached up to grasp her ankle.

At the last instant Bryce realized what was happening. "Damn you, no." Bryce's yell was choked off as he tried to leap back out of the way.

But he was too late. He barely managed to avoid the full impact of the heavy stone. As it was, it caught him a glancing blow on his head and bounced heavily on his shoulder before falling to the floor with a crash.

Bryce stumbled and went down. He lay very still, his eyes closed. Blood leaked from under a lock of blond hair that curled over his forehead.

A terrible silence filled the shadowed room full of bones.

Harriet stood on top of the cabinets, gasping for breath. Her heart was pounding and her hands were trembling. She stared down at Bryce, unable to think clearly for a moment.

Then she forced herself to scramble down from the top of the cabinets. She was afraid to go over to Bryce. She did not know if he was dead and she did not want to find out.

But she needed the key to get out of the chamber.

Harriet took several deep breaths and approached Bryce's still form very cautiously. When he did not stir or open his eyes she dropped to her knees beside him and reached into his pocket for the key.

Her fingers closed around the heavy iron object. She withdrew it quickly. It felt cold in her hand. Bryce still did not move. She could not tell if he was even breathing.

Harriet waited no longer. She ran to the door, inserted the key into the lock, and opened it.

She was free.

She dashed up the stairs to the ground floor and found everything shrouded in shadows. The heavy drapes on the front windows had been drawn against the late afternoon sun.

The door of Mr. Humboldt's private study opened. A stooped, heavily whiskered figure loomed in the doorway rather like a large spider. The figure scowled ferociously at her. "Here, now, you ain't the cook with my supper. What the devil are you doing here? All the visitors are supposed to be gone by now."

"I was just on my way."

"What's that? Speak up, girl." He cupped his ear.

"I said I was just on my way," Harriet said loudly.

He waved her off impatiently. "Go on, get out of here. I've got important work to do. Much too late for any damn visitors. If it wasn't for the fact that I need the money to buy more fossils, I would never let anyone at all into this house. Bunch of amateurs and curiosity seekers. Fools, the lot of 'em."

Humboldt turned around and stomped back into his study. He slammed the door behind him.

Harriet realized she was trembling. She brushed what dust she could off her skirts. When she opened the front door of the museum and stepped out into the street she saw Beth waiting for her near the carriage. The girl was laughing at something the coachman had just said. The lad who had taken the admission fees was with them. All three of them turned to look at her.

"Ready to leave, ma'am?" The coachman asked politely.

"Yes, I am." Harriet marched to the carriage. "Let us be off. I am late enough getting home as it is."

Beth's eyes widened at the sight of her dusty yellow gown and pelisse. "Dear me, ma'am, yer lovely dress is ruined. All those dirty old bones and such. I should have brought along an apron for you to use."

"Never mind, Beth." Harriet seated herself in the carriage. "Kindly hurry. I am anxious to get home."

"Yes, ma'am."

The lad who had taken the tickets stared at her. "What happened to the other gentleman? The one who said he wanted to study fossils in private?"

Harriet smiled coolly. "I have no notion. I did not see anyone else about when I left."

The lad scratched his head. "He must have come out when I wasn't lookin'."

"I daresay." Harriet gave the signal to the coachman to be off. "I am certain it is none of our concern."

Twenty minutes later, Harriet was handed down from the carriage in front of Gideon's townhouse. She still could not decide how much to tell her husband.

On the one hand she wanted to throw herself into his arms and tell him everything. She needed to talk to someone about the dreadful events in Mr. Humboldt's Museum.

On the other hand, she was terribly afraid of what Gideon might decide to do. He would not let such an affront to his wife pass without vengeance.

Gideon was lounging in the doorway of the library when Harriet walked into the hall. He smiled at the sight of her dusty clothes.

"From the dirt on your gown, it would appear you had a most enjoyable time at Mr. Humboldt's Museum, madam."

"It was a very interesting experience, my lord. I cannot wait to tell you all about it." Harriet's fingers shook as she stripped off her gloves.

She realized she was experiencing some sort of physical reaction to the awful events in the museum. Her whole body felt unnatural. She could not seem to stop the fine, almost invisible shivers that were rippling through her.

Harriet walked straight past Gideon into the library. His perceptive eyes rested thoughtfully on her face and his indulgent smile vanished. He closed the door of the library and turned to confront her.

"What has happened, Harriet?"

Harriet turned toward him, struggling for words. She felt torn apart by her body's reaction to the violence. She could no longer control herself.

With a soft cry she ran to Gideon and threw herself against his solid frame, seeking the comfort of his reassuring strength.

"Oh, Gideon, the most terrible thing has happened. I may have killed Mr. Morland."

Chapter Sixteen

It was not easy getting the whole tale out of her. Gideon summoned his patience and held Harriet close while she gave him a disjointed explanation that involved forged fossils, a stone with a fish embedded in it, and Bryce Morland.

It was Morland's name that sent cold rage surging through Gideon.

"So I threw the stone down at him." Harriet lifted her head from Gideon's shoulder. "And it struck him. There was blood, Gideon. A lot of it. And then he fell to the floor and I cannot be certain, but he may have hit his head on the cabinets. When I went to get the key out of his pocket he did not move. Gideon, what are we going to do? Do you think I will hang for the murder of Mr. Morland?"

Gideon controlled his fury with an effort of will. "No," he said. "You most certainly will not hang for murder. I will not allow it."

Harriet's shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank you, my lord. That is very reassuring. I have been so worried." She grabbed the huge white handkerchief he held out to her and blotted her eyes. "Will we be obliged to go abroad to avoid the scandal, do you think?"

"No, I do not believe that will be necessary." Gideon's gut twisted. Morland had gone too far this time.

"Thank goodness." Harriet sniffed into the handkerchief. "I would hate to have to go abroad at this particular moment. I am so anxious to get back to Upper Biddleton so that I can continue my work. And I expect it would be rather difficult for you to supervise your family's estates from abroad."