"It was an accident." Rushton's eyes bulged wildly. "I did not mean to kill her. She kept screaming that she was going to run off with her lover. I grabbed the pistol from the wall. I only meant to threaten her with it. But it… Something went wrong. She should have obeyed her father."

"You belong in Bedlam."

"Oh, no, Lady St. Justin. I am not mad. Indeed, I am very sane." Rushton smiled. "And very clever. Who do you think organized the ring of thieves that was using this cavern?"

"You?"

Rushton nodded. "I knew all about these caves. I had to have money, you see. Deirdre was dead and could no longer secure my future by marrying into wealth as I had planned for so long."

"So you eventually found another source of income?"

"When I put my mind to the problem I realized there was treasure aplenty in the drawing rooms of London. And it was so easy to take. At first I merely helped myself to the odd trifle and sold it quickly before it was even missed. But then I saw the opportunity of much larger profits. It would take time and I needed a place to store the goods. I remembered these caves."

"But St. Justin broke up your ring of thieves."

"Because of you," Rushton said coldly. "You ruined my new plans just as Deirdre ruined my old ones. You married the man who should have married my Deirdre. You saved him from the punishment he was made to suffer by Society's verdict. You ruined it all."

Rushton raised the pistol.

Harriet's mouth went dry. She took a step back, although there was no place to run. If his first shot missed, she just might be able to make it to the cavern entrance before he could reload or catch her, but she knew there was little likelihood of escape.

"Killing me will accomplish nothing," Harriet whispered. She took another step back. She had heard that pistols were quite unpredictable except at very close range. The farther away she was from Rushton when he pulled the trigger, the greater the odds that the first shot would miss.

"On the contrary," Rushton murmured. "Killing you will accomplish a great deal. I shall be avenged, for one thing. And as your husband will take the blame for your murder, my sweet Deirdre will also be avenged."

"You killed your daughter, not St. Justin."

"Because of him. It was his fault," Rushton snarled.

"People will never believe my husband killed me," Harriet said. "St. Justin would never hurt me, and everyone knows it."

"No, madam, they do not know it. It is true he is now in favor in Society's eyes. But when you are found dead in these caves, people will ask if the Beast of Blackthorne Hall has reverted to his old ways. They were quick enough to turn on him six years ago. This time will be no different."

"That is not true."

Rushton shrugged and raised the pistol higher. "They will say he probably thought himself a cuckold. What woman would not turn to a lover if she were obliged to face the scarred face of the Beast of Blackthorne Hall every night?"

"He is not a beast. He was never a beast. Do not call him that." Harriet threw the mallet at Rushton in blind anger.

Rushton sidestepped the mallet. It clattered against the stone wall of the cave. He turned swiftly to aim the pistol once more and his finger began to squeeze on the trigger.

"Rushton." Gideon's voice roared through the cavern, ricocheting off the walls.

Rushton whirled around and fired the pistol in one motion. Gideon had already stepped back into the passage, putting the cavern wall briefly between himself and the bullet.

"Gideon," Harriet shouted.

The bullet struck rock, shattering a section of stone on the wall of the cave. Even as the debris crashed to the floor, Gideon launched himself through the entrance and collided with Rushton.

Both men went down with a sickening thud and rolled together on the stone floor. Harriet watched in horror as Rushton's groping hand found the chisel she had dropped.

Rushton raised the chisel in his fist as Gideon fell on top of him.

"I will kill you the way I killed your brother. You were supposed to marry my Deirdre. It is all ruined." Rushton screamed with rage as he drove the chisel toward Gideon's eyes.

Gideon put up his arm and blocked the blow at the last instant. He forced Rushton's hand to the stone floor and then he twisted his wrist until Rushton released the chisel.

Gideon straightened to a sitting position and slammed a huge fist into Rushton's jaw.

Rushton went limp and unconscious.

For a moment Harriet could not seem to get herself unstuck from the floor.

"Gideon." She raced toward him, throwing herself into his arms as he got to his feet. "My God, Gideon. Oh, my God."

He crushed her fiercely to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. Gideon, he killed her. He shot Deirdre."

"Yes."

"And he murdered your brother."

"Yes. Damn his soul."

"And he was the master thief all along. Poor Mr. Humboldt. We shall have to see that he is freed immediately."

"I will take care of it."

"Gideon, you saved my life." Harriet lifted her head to look up at him at last. He was holding her so tightly she could barely breathe, but she did not mind in the least.

"Harriet, I have never been more afraid in my life than I was a few minutes ago when I realized Rushton had followed you into the caves. Do not ever, ever put me through such an experience again. Do you comprehend me, madam?"

"Yes, Gideon."

His big hands framed her face. His tawny eyes were stark with emotion as he glowered down at her. "What the devil did you mean by leaving our bed this morning at such an early hour?"

"The tide was out and I could not sleep," she said gently. "I was eager to get to work."

"You should have awakened me. I would have come with you."

"For heaven's sake, Gideon, I have been going alone into these caves for years. They have never been particularly dangerous until now."

"You will never go alone into them again. Is that quite clear? If I am unable to accompany you for some reason, you will take a footman or someone else from the estate. You will not work here alone."

"Very well, Gideon," she said soothingly. "If that will make you feel better."

He pulled her close again. "It will be a long while before I feel better. I may never recover from the sight of Rushton holding a pistol on you. Good God, Harriet, what would I have done if I had lost you today?"

"I do not know," she said, her voice muffled against his chest. "What would you have done? Would you have missed me, my lord?"

"Missed you? Missed you? That does not even begin to cover how I would have felt. Damnation, Harriet."

Harriet managed to raise her head again. She smiled up at him, her heart soaring. "Yes, my lord?" And then her gaze fell on the cavern wall behind his shoulder. "Oh, my God, Gideon. Gideon, look."

Gideon released her and swung around in a split second, prepared for another battle. He frowned when he realized no one was standing in the cavern entrance. "What is it, Harriet? What is wrong?"

"Just look at him, Gideon." Harriet took two steps toward the cavern wall, transfixed by what she saw.

Rushton's pistol shot had dislodged a slab of rock which had sheared off the wall along a broad plane. The shards of stone had fallen away, revealing a fresh layer of rock.

Embedded in the newly revealed section of the cavern wall was a magnificent jumble of massive bones. Giant femurs, tibiae, vertebrae, and a strange skull lay nestled together. A section of a very long jaw showed, and in it Harriet thought she could see the outline of teeth that matched the one she had found earlier. It was as if the monstrous creature had settled down to sleep a long, long time ago, never to awaken.

"Just look at him, my lord." Harriet stared at the creature frozen in stone. She was filled with awe and an unparalleled sense of discovery. "I have never seen or read of anything like him, Gideon. Is he not a wondrous, great beast?"