Secret Pleasures (36 page)

“How would I know?
”
Darien watched Maddox stroll to the mantle, examining the artwork as if he had a vested interest in it.

“Were your orders to kill me?
”
He turned to Darien, took a sip of brandy
.
“Or perhaps you finally found the courage to eliminate your dear, old man?”

“If I wanted to shoot someone, Henry, you should know that
he
would be dead.
”
Darien rolled the empty glass in his hand
.
He’d love another drink, but he’d rather be on his way home to Ivy.

Maddox stiffened and stationed himself on the edge of the desk in the corner, strategically located behind Darien’s father’s chair
.
“Whatever the case may be, this morning’s little incident changes nothing.”

“I think it changes everything
.
Surely you see that Arianna is in love with Robert Fitzgerald,” Darien said to his father
.
Maddox obviously did not care one way or the other, as long as he got what he wanted.

“Love has no basis in these kinds of decisions.
”
His father leaned heavily on his chair
.
His often used words did not hold their usual callousness
.
Instead, he seemed almost defeated by them.

“Did you learn nothing from your experience with me
?
You cannot recklessly disregard people’s feelings and think there will not be repercussions.
”
Darien strode to the other side of his father’s chair
. 

“Of course we can.
”
Maddox retreated to the other side of his father’s desk
.
Sat in his father’s chair
.
“Oh, and if you think Ivy’s brat is yours, I hope to enlighten you before you make an ass out of yourself once again
.
Your son
has a love child at his hovel, Lord Westhaven
.
I wished to keep it from you until after the wedding
.
I have already sent a man to London to investigate.”

“You have no right to invade my home
.
How did you find out?
”
Darien stopped himself before he reached the desk
.
What was he going to do
?
Pull Maddox from behind it and beat him in his father’s study
?
Damn it to hell
.
Ivy would be furious with him either way
.
He should have acted surprised.

The earl turned to Darien, still clutching his chair
.
“Is this true?”

“Stay away from Ivy.” Darien directed his venom at Maddox,
intending to
ignor
e
his father’s question for as long as possible
.
“She’s none of your concern.”

“It’s my concern if she tries to pawn off her brat as yours and steal
s
the title from a rightful Westhaven heir.
”
Maddox stood and leaned over the desk as if the hunk of wood kept him from throttling Darien.

“As it is now, I’m the Westhaven heir.
”
Darien leaned across the desk, almost nose to nose with Maddox
.
“And once I marry Ivy, any son we produce will then be the legal heir
.
I won’t let you circumvent me, Maddox, so you might as well forget this wedding business.”

“Ivy has a child?
”
His father stood behind Darien, no longer willing to be ignored
.
“Is she claiming it to be yours?
”

Darien turned
.
“I love her
.
I always have. And I plan to marry her with or without your blessing.
”
Darien sighed, sure he was going to hate himself later for any of his confessions tonight
.
Ivy hadn’t actually agreed to any of this
.
“
However,
I prefer it to be with
your blessing
.”

His father stared at him a moment, then dropped his gaze
and
s
hook his head sadly
.
There was a small chair in front of the desk, probably used for a secretary or other underling
.
His father dropped his once large frame into it.

“Ivy Templeton is barren
.
I’ve been assured of that.
”
Henry sank into the plush armchair on the other side of the desk
.
“She’s trying to pass off some whore’s brat as her own
.
It’s a girl this time
,
but do you want her trying to sneak a bastard son as his heir
?
”

“I don’t care who my son’s heir is,” his father said to Henry.

“You had better care, my lord
.
The wedding will take place tomorrow.”

“I shall be there if you can get your daughter to agree.”

“And what shall you do about him?
”
Maddox pointed to Darien as if he were rubbish left by the former occupants
.
He’d be glad to clarify the situation for Maddox but was too intrigued by what his father would say next
.
It was as if Darien no longer knew the man.

“When my son-in-law, Major Fitzgerald, returns from his rounds with the search party, I shall have him find out if you have bothered my son, or his mistress
.
Then we shall see about continuing with this union
.
But I warn you, Henry, if Darien is troubled, I cannot keep our bargain.”

“I have waited nearly a decade, my lord
.
Done things your way, but time is running out
.
I will see my last daughter married to
the Earl of Westhaven
if it’s the last thing I do
.
Surely you do not want your illustrious reputation to be destroyed by a drunkard and a whore.”

All right
.
Time to show Henry Maddox out
—
through the window
.
His father stood and blocked Darien’s path
as if he knew he’d reached his limit
.
Darien nodded and hung back
.
Not because he feared his father, but because
the old man
wobbled on his feet
.
His father sat back down but scowled at Henry with all the more force.

“I shall not have you speak that way about my son in my presence
.
Leave us
.
I shall be ready for your summon
s
when all the arrangements are made for the ceremony.”

“Certainly, my lord.
”
Maddox stood abruptly, as if he suddenly realized he’d gone too far
.
“My apologies, Lord Blackmore.
”
Henry practically grimaced on his words
.
He gave them a curt bow and left the room.

“What in the bloody hell is it going to take to get you to see that this is a mistake?
”
Darien asked after Maddox had left with a slammed door to mark his exit.

“Duty is never a mistake, Darien, but I see that you will never understand that
.
Do you have a child?”

Darien turned away, finding he was unable to lie to his father in the face
.
“Possibly.”

“Ivy didn’t mention a child when she came to see me after the ball.
”
His father watched him
.
His gaze clear, penetrating, as Darien remembered from his boyhood.

“She came to see you
?
I find that almost impossible to believe.
”
Darien cocked his head, studied his father
.
His father never bluffed
.
He never had to
.
He always had the winning hand.

“The day after you announced your engagement
.
Did you know of the child then
?
Is that why you decided to marry Ivy?”

“Melody is a girl.
”
Dread began to build in his gut, though he tried to convince himself there was nothing his father could do or say to keep him from Ivy again. “It’s not uncommon for illegitimate children to become a part of a nobleman’s household
.
Melody can’t inherit, so I don’t see the harm.”

“You never see the harm, Darien, but I do
.
So Ivy has agreed to marry you?”

“Why would she not
?
Ivy loves me.
”
Darien did know that much was true
,
and he’d be a fool to forget it a second time.

“Perhaps, but she’s practical
.
Did she tell you of the money I paid her to keep you out of trouble until the Maddox girl and I have wed?”

Darien could not stop the slight shake of his head and took a telling step back.

“Ivy will never be accepted in society as your wife.
”
The satisfied look on his father’s face told him Darien need not answer his previous question
.
“Henry will make sure of that
.
But if you want my blessings, you have them
.
Just be careful, Darien
.
I do not wish to see you fall apart again.
”
His father pushed out of his chair
.
Darien was too shocked to speak.

“Why
?
Why did you pay her to be with me
?
How much?”

“Fifty thousand pounds
.
That is what she asked for.
”
His father strode to Darien, looked him in the eye
.
“I am sorry I have not been the father you needed.
”
His father gripped his shoulder
. 
“
If you’ll
excuse
me, I need to lay down
.
You appear as if you could use some
rest
as well.”

His father limped from the room and into the adjoining bedroom
.
The sun still lingered
high in the sky, a few rays breaking through
damp grey
.
In the entirety of his life, Darien had never known his father to lay abed
during
the day. To his dismay,
Darien found he no longer had the energy to hate his father
.
A more recent betrayal took precedence.

***

Darien walked into the
quiet
house and almost laughed
.
A wild, crazy howl curled in his throat
,
but he dared not let it out
.
He could not be that big of a fool a second time in his life
.
There was no fire in the hearth
.
No signs of life except the fully furnished empty place where his life used to be.

He climbed the stairs and paused by the bedroom door
.
A baby coo echoed in the quiet room
.
Ivy would not leave the child, whomever it belonged too
.
She did love Melody
.
That could not be a lie or Ivy was the greatest actress he’d ever witnessed
.
She could have had a career on stage, but then again, duping him on a regular basis was so much more lucrative.

He shoved open the door and it slammed against the far wall
.
Melody erupted into wails.

Ivy
, dressed for travel,
sat in a chair she had carried up from the kitchen
.
She appeared to be poised at the window, waiting, watching
, Melody in her arms
.
No doubt she
’d
witnessed his arrival
.
Her trunk lay on the neatly made bed
.
She wore her hat and gloves
.

“How is he?” she said, not turning
her head to look at
him, just staring out the window.