if hes wicked (5 page)

“For a while.” He frowned when the child began to look a little distressed.

“I stay here. I live here. Leo and Cohee are my fambly.”

“Ah, I see. Wel , they always wil be, for they are your godparents.” Julian ignored the looks of surprise the Wherlockes hastily hid.

“Why did you go away?”

It took Julian a moment to understand the question, to realize that the child had obviously been told some tale to explain his lack of parents. “I fear I

was lost for a while.”

Anthony nodded. “And Cohee founded you.”

“Yes, she did. She is also working very hard to make me better.”

“She cannot find Mama. Cohee said Mama was swal owed by the Pitahel Monster.”

Julian heard Edgar choke back a laugh. He saw Leo scowl at Chloe. Chancing a peek at her himself, Julian found her looking ridiculously

innocent. Yet again, he felt the oddest urge to laugh, something he had not felt like doing for a very long time. The Pitahel Monster, indeed, he mused.

Chloe Wherlocke obviously did not temper her opinions much.

“It made me sad for Mama,” Anthony said, “but I gots Cohee and that makes me happy.”

“I am sure it does.” The bond between his son and Chloe was going to cause a problem or two, Julian decided. “She has taken very good care of

you.”

Anthony nodded. “She lubs me e’en when I am naughty. But I am a good boy. I have pretty hair.”

Chloe ignored the way al three men frowned at her and she smiled at Anthony. “Very pretty hair indeed.”

“Yes, wel , I think this has been a long enough visit for now, young man,” Leo said. “Your father needs his rest.”

“I wil take the boy to his nurse,” Edgar said.

“I have to kiss Papa first,” Anthony said.

“Careful.” Leo quickly stopped the child from scrambling onto the bed, holding him up so that he could give Julian a kiss on the cheek. “Very

good.”

The moment Leopold set Anthony back down, the boy hurried around the bed to Chloe. He climbed up onto her lap, kissed her cheek, and

wrapped his arms around her neck to hug her. Julian caught the child looking at him and recognized a surprisingly adult look of chal enge. His pleasure

over how easily Anthony had accepted him as his father dimmed just a little. Anthony might not cal Chloe Mother, but it was very clear that the bond was

there and set hard.

“Godparents?” both Wherlockes said the moment the door shut behind Anthony and Edgar.

“Why not? You have certainly fulfil ed the role for these past three years,” Julian said. “I might as wel make it official.” He scowled at Chloe. “Of

course, al this pretty hair nonsense must cease.”

Chloe rol ed her eyes. “He is just a little boy. Time enough to turn him into a manly man.” She looked toward the fireplace and mumbled, “A manly

man with pretty hair.”

“Does she practice how to be irritating?” Julian asked Leopold.

“Nay,” replied Leopold. “It comes quite natural y, I fear.”

Chloe gave both men a look of disgust and then asked, “Are we to plot our plots now?”

“Ah, wel , the foremost plot had already been set in motion,” said Leopold. “His lordship remains hidden, giving rise to the belief that he is dead.

He needs to heal and regain his strength.”

“A bit thin, but what about his coachman?”

“He was unconscious, if you recal , and too far away to see the attack. We found the carriage, and put it and the coachman out on the heath. My

men stood watch to make sure no harm came to the man until he was discovered. We scattered enough blood in the carriage to cause the ones who

found it to cry murder.”

“A cry Beatrice and Arthur took up?” Julian asked even though he already knew the answer.

“I fear so, and quite loudly as wel ,” replied Leopold. “The first cast of the die has been made. Now you must do your best to heal and get strong.”

“I am not real y capable of doing much else right now, am I.”

“Do not sound so disgusted with yourself. It was but three days ago that you were attacked and stabbed—twice. You are capable of thinking,

however, m’lord. After another day or two of rest, I wil put your mind to work on al the information I have gathered.”

“Information but no proof?”

“Proof has been a little difficult to grasp. I have not been able to get too close or to search any of your properties.” Leo made himself comfortable

at the foot of the bed just as Edgar returned. “Your servants provide only a rumor or two. The most tel ing thing is that it is not loyalty that stil s their tongues concerning Lady Beatrice and Sir Arthur. It is abject fear.”

“And I have offered them no hope of freedom from that, have I. First because I was so besotted and bewitched and then because I was so caught

up in my own misery.” Julian felt utterly disgusted with himself. “Melvin worked in the stables at Colinsmoor,” he added softly. “I was told that he quit, went to find his fortune in the Colonies.”

“I believe it is cal ed America now,” Leopold said and smiled briefly before growing serious again. “Melvin is undoubtedly dead. He probably found

out something and they knew he would warn you. Unfortunately, we cannot find this pit Chloe heard of or anyone to speak of it. They do not speak openly

of Melvin, either.”

“The midwife also disappeared after the babies were exchanged,” said Chloe.

“Are any of the rest of my family in danger?” asked Julian.

“Your mother and sisters are safe enough,” Leopold replied. “They are not a threat to what your wife and uncle want. Your younger brother Nigel is

being protected. Not so difficult as he is with our army in Canada. I sent word to a relative there once this deadly game began, and your brother is

constantly guarded. However, I recently got word that he tires of the military and foreign climes. He is considering sel ing out and coming back home,

something he wil do when and if he gets news of your death. That makes it even more imperative that we cease this waiting and act.”

“You seem sure your relative can protect Nigel, yet, if my uncle believes I am dead—”

“Do not worry. My relative can stil protect him and wil continue to do so even if your brother decides to sel out and journey home. Once he is here,

we can watch out for him if my relative decides to return to Canada. This particular Vaughn, a cousin, has a true skil for sensing who is a threat.” Leopold shrugged when Julian looked skeptical. “’Tis the truth. Trust me. Even someone who is simply in a foul humor wil have difficulty approaching your brother.”

Julian did not argue but was not ful y reassured, either. Within a few moments he was too weary to participate in the conversation even though it

concerned keeping him alive. Soon the Wherlockes politely withdrew but Edgar lingered at his bedside. Julian gave his old friend a tired smile.

“You
can
trust them, you know,” Edgar said.

“I would be a low churl if I did not,” Julian said. “Not only do I owe them for the life of my child as wel as my own, but they have watched o’er my

family whilst I wal owed in drink and whores.”

Edgar patted Julian on his uninjured shoulder. “Do not flay yourself with guilt. Such betrayal as you have suffered can make a man crazed.”

“It made me a useless, self-pitying fool. S’blood, but I am done with that. As Leopold said, ’tis time to end this game.”

“Yes, for that child’s sake if naught else. A bright lad.” Edgar rubbed a hand over his slightly prominent chin. “Anthony might cal Miss Wherlocke

Cohee, but, wel , it wil be difficult to part them, I fear.”

“I know.” Julian barely smothered a yawn. “It wil also be difficult to explain how it is I suddenly have an heir.”

“Not when we defeat your enemies and the truth comes out. It wil , you know. For the boy’s sake, it must.”

“True. The scandal wil sorely hurt my mother and sisters. And now, they wil grieve for me, believing I am dead.”

“Better that than you, Nigel, and that child dying. Rest. You wil need al of your strength for the fight that lies ahead. Soon Leopold and I wil present you with al the man and I have discovered about Beatrice and your uncle.”

“God help me, how could I have been such an idiot, such a blind fool?”

“Beatrice’s al ure is the sort that utterly bewitches a man, blinding him to the evil in her heart. Even I felt it. And no, I do not believe your uncle is so blinded. In truth, I believe he and Beatrice are a mating of like souls.” Edgar winked, his blue eyes bright with amusement as he stood up and headed out

the door. “Soon they wil get what they so richly deserve—swal owed by the Pitahel Monster.”

Julian was surprised to find himself smiling as he careful y shifted his body into a more comfortable position. He realized he had not real y lied to

his son when he had told the boy he had been lost. In many ways it was the cold, ugly truth. Grief, bruised pride, and a deep sense of humiliation had

taken him to a very dark place, but he was free of that now. He bore scars, wounds he feared would never heal, but he was ready to face his troubles now.

He had a son to protect, a child to raise, and that gave him a sense of purpose he had not felt in a long, long time. As sleep dragged him into its folds, he wondered why the image of an impudent woman with inky blue eyes lingered in his thoughts.

“Damn them,” Julian muttered as he let the last of the papers Leopold had given him fal into his lap and slumped against the pil ows. After a ful

night of sleep he had thought himself strong enough to face even more hard, ugly truths, but he was not so sure of that now. “Do you think it was al planned from the very beginning? That I was naught but a pawn from the start?”

“That is a possibility,” replied Leo as he straightened up a little in the chair he had set next to Julian’s bed. “I am sorry to get so personal, but was

your wife a virgin?”

“I think not.” Julian felt himself blush faintly. “I was not vastly experienced when I married and had never bedded down with a virgin. Would probably

never have done so even if the opportunity had been there. I saw no glory in dishonoring some foolish, naïve innocent. As for Beatrice, things I have

learned since make me believe she feigned al of her innocence. A woman at one particular brothel entertained me with the tale of how she made quite an

impressive amount of money by pretending to be a virgin until she was past an age where it was believable. The tale of how she enacted that lie again

and again reminded me very strongly of Beatrice on our wedding night. I was sorely tempted to ask the woman if she had ever taught her tricks to a lady,

to my wife, but I could not. S’blood, but I real y did not wish to hear her answer,” he added softly.

“Of course you did not. Eminently understandable.”

“Oh? Eminently cowardly might be more accurate.”

“Perhaps, but a cowardice most men would share. Betrayal had already sent you crawling through brothels. You did not need to hear of yet

another one. In your place,
I
would not have wished to hear the answer, either. However, that does make me think my suspicions are correct, that your uncle chose Beatrice, that he wanted an al y as close to you as possible. Who better than a lover or a wife?”

“Who better indeed? These papers show that they also seek to put me in debtor’s prison.”

“Which neatly answers the question of
why
, does it not?” Leo said as he stood up and stretched before idly pacing the length of the room.

“I suspect it does.”

“From what I have seen and learned through careful investigation and observation, most of your lands and investments are intact and are careful y

tended. It appears the pair does realize that they need to do at least that much to keep their purses ful of your money. Other lands you own are not faring quite so wel .” Leo shrugged. “They have no interest in them and so they bleed them dry and invest nothing in them. Since the rumor that you are dead is

spreading fast and wide now, there have already been whispers seeping about saying that certain unentailed properties wil soon enter the market.”

Leo waited patiently as Julian indulged in a hearty, creative bout of cursing, then said, “There is no proof that you are dead, Julian, so it wil be very

difficult to dispense with your property too quickly.”

“And Nigel is my heir, not my uncle. I also changed my wil , leaving my wife a very smal annuity. I thought of leaving her nothing at al but decided

that would raise too many questions, the answers to which would be embarrassing for my family.”

“But before that, she had a healthy widow’s portion, I suspect.”

“She did and it included some property, but that property could not be sold without the new earl’s ful approval.”

“Who is in Canada. So, if your uncle could show that you gave him the right to act in your stead or made him the executor of your wil …”

“I never did such a thing, never gave him any rights or power at al . Of course, that does not mean that he could not produce some claim that he

had them.” Julian grimaced. “What would a little forgery matter to such a man?”

“True. He could also dispute your wil as it was made in the heat of anger or any other excuse he can think of. So we must conjure up some way to

put a spoke in his wheel.”

“Such as what?” Julian was beginning to think that Leopold Wherlocke had a very devious mind.

“Such as debts accrued during the year you were, wel , not quite yourself.”

“You mean whilst I acted the drunken debauchee,” Julian drawled, stil feeling the pinch of shame and embarrassment over his behavior of the last

year. “Unfortunately, I do not believe I have any outstanding debts, certainly not of the sort that could be used to grab fistfuls of any property I own.”

Leo sat on the end of the bed and leaned against the thick bedpost. “Nay, you do not, but that does not mean we cannot produce a few. Do you