He staggered wildly as he backed, grotesquely outlined against the roiling sky.
Thompson reached forward and locked a huge hand on Oscar's shoulder. "You don't understand-"
"It's you who don't understand. I'm not going to pay-not when there's nothing there" Appleby laughed wildly. "I've already paid with the last five years of my life."
"You took the lives of three others." Lucifer pitched his voice over the rising wind.
"They got in my way!" Appleby yelled. He edged back, eyes darting this way, then that. "If they hadn't, they'd still be alive-it was their fault"
The last word was swallowed by a thunderous, murmurous shussssh.
Everyone froze.
Then Thompson pulled Oscar back. In the trees, Phyllida clutched Flick's arm. "Oh, no."
Appleby didn't understand. He stood on the cliff's edge, staring wildly from one shocked face to the next.
"What?" he asked. "Wha-"
The ground beneath him disappeared; one instant he was there, then he was gone.
Lightning flashed, but it was tons of earth hitting rocks, crashing into the sea, that provided the thunder. The wind gusted hard, forcing them to hide their faces until the buffeting eased.
They looked up the slope. The new cliff edge cut through the middle of the knoll's top.
Both Lucifer and Demon turned and walked back into the trees. Phyllida went wordlessly into Lucifer's arms, hugging him tight, inexpressibly thankful for his warmth, for the solidity of the arms that locked about her, for the feel of his jaw against her hair. "Will he be dead?" she finally whispered.
"That cliff's at least six hundred feet high. I don't think there's any alternative."
Others wanted to be certain. They started off through the trees, Sir Jasper and Oscar bringing up the rear.
"The cliff path Oscar's band uses is safe," Phyllida explained. Together with Flick and Demon, she and Lucifer trailed the band. They reached the windswept outcrop where the path started. Most of the group were strung out below, heading down.
A series of lightning flashes out over the Channel provided sudden illumination. Everyone stopped and searched. Then there were shouts of "There!" Arms pointed.
From within the protection of Lucifer's arms, Phyllida looked down. The body of Lucius Appleby lay spread-eagled, facedown on the black water. There was no sign of movement, of life. Distance hid the damage undoubtedly inflicted by the rocks and the waves. As they watched, the body lifted on the swell, then whirled and was drawn out, toward the dark sea.
The light faded. Night closed in, blacker than before.
Lucifer's arms tightened around her. He bent his head and pressed a kiss to her temple. "It's over," he murmured. "Come, let's go home."
To her surprise, he took her back to the Grange. Demon and Flick didn't come in; at Lucifer's request, they took his and Phyllida's horses with them when they rode on to the Manor. Everyone gathered in the drawing room. Phyllida, still in breeches, organized drinks and sustenance to chase away the lingering chills, both of the elements and of the evil that had been Lucius Appleby.
There were many exclamations and much shaking of heads, but a sense of ending, of relief, of rightness, prevailed. The threat that had disturbed the peace of Colyton was gone.
In the instant Phyllida fully realized that truth, she sought Lucifer's eye and smiled; she was no longer surprised they were here. At last she had her peaceful life back-the serenity and security of the village were restored. She was safe again. The only thing they'd lost was Horatio. And in his place, they had Lucifer.
Her eyes followed him as he moved through the room, exchanging words-the right words, she was sure-with Oscar, Thompson, and the other men. Life turned, changed, and moved on. Fate sometimes moved in mysterious ways.
Gradually, the crowd departed, at peace again. By tomorrow morning, the tidings would be spread throughout the village, the great houses, the farms and cottages.
Phyllida stopped beside Lucifer. Gazing out at the darkness of the back lawn, he drained his glass, then looked down at her. His gaze roved her face, then returned to her eyes. "There's a question I've been wanting to ask you, but it can wait until tomorrow." He hesitated, then handed her his glass. "I'll call in the morning."
Phyllida opened her eyes wide. "Does that mean you're going to leave me to walk back through the wood alone in the dark?" When he frowned at her, she smiled and patted his arm. "I'm coming home-to the Manor."
He blinked, then cast a glance at Sir Jasper, shaking hands with Cedric, the last of the others to leave. "Much as I might wish that-"
"It's got nothing to do with your wishes," she informed him. "You forget-all my things are there."