The Hellion and The Heartbreaker (36 page)

Biting her
bottom lip in nervous trepidation, she could only nod in response.

After
another moment of stunned silence, Colin spoke, his voice cold and hard. 
“I’ll kill him!”

“Colin no!
 
It wasn’t his fault,
you know that,” Scarlett asserted, tightly gripping her brother’s hand.

“For God’s
sake Scarlett, are you still trying to protect him, even now?”  His
expression was a combination of incredulousness and fury, his tone outraged.

“I told
you before that he wasn’t responsible for what happened between us.”

“Like
hell,” he scoffed.  “No matter what you did or did not do, it wasn’t as if
he didn’t have a choice in the matter.”  Colin rose angrily from the sofa,
the expression on his face murderous.  “Alec,” he muttered to
himself.
 
“Christ, I can’t believe this.”

“Colin,
listen to me,” Scarlett said, quickly rising from her own seated
position.  “The fact that it was Alec isn’t what’s important right
now.  What
is
important is that he knows that he is Oliver’s
father.”  Reaching out, she gripped his forearm.  “Colin, he said
that he intends to claim Oliver as his son.”

When Colin
entered the lobby of White’s later that night, his temper was near to
exploding.  Before leaving the house he had grudgingly given Scarlett his
assurance that he wouldn’t kill the miserable bastard he had once considered a
friend, however, he still had every intention of beating the hell out of the
rotten son of a bitch.

“Lord
Kenston, how are you this….”

“Is Worthe
here?”  Colin demanded, cutting off the proprietor’s polite greeting.

The man’s
composure faltered momentarily, but he quickly recovered himself.  “He is
upstairs, My Lord, second room on the left.”

Colin
strode swiftly toward the stairs, ignoring the greetings of several
acquaintances as he passed.  Taking the steps two at a time he quickly
reached the landing, nearly bowling over a hapless servant carrying a tray
laden with a bottle of whiskey and several crystal tumblers in his haste. 
With nary a word of apology nor a backward glance, he reached the door to one
of the private card rooms at White’s and burst through the opening, the heavy
wooden door crashing back against the wall in a thunderous bang.

The five
men seated around the table looked up in startled surprise as Colin entered,
Alec included.  Unfortunately, the fact that he had been drinking steadily
since his arrival at the club affected his reaction time considerably, and
thus, it took him a moment too long to realize the sudden jeopardy he was
in.  The other four men at the table immediately rose to their feet
however as Colin strode determinedly across the room, his face reflecting his
unmistakable rage.

“Get out!”
Colin said to the four astonished lords, his gaze riveted on Alec.  “This
is between him and me.”

Alec had
barely gotten to his feet when Colin reached him.  He had no time to defend
himself as Colin’s powerful fist connected with his jaw in a sickening
thud.  Rocked by the crushing blow, he barely managed to keep his footing
as he staggered back against the wall a few feet behind him.

The Earl
of Highgrove gaped at Colin, his expression horrified.  “Kenston, what the
blazes has gotten…”

“I said
get out,” Colin repeated without once taking his eyes from Alec, his harsh,
commanding tone brooking no argument.

“Worthe?”
the earl queried bravely in the face of Colin’s rage, looking to Alec for
acquiescence.

“Leave
us,” was Alec’s curt response.  He knew exactly what this was about.

A moment
later the men filed out, closing the door behind them, leaving Colin and Alec
alone in the room.

On the other
side of the closed door, the four men looked at each other in confusion, for it
was a well-known fact that Colin and Alec were longtime chums.  As the
sound of thuds, crashes, cursing, breaking glass and splintering wood filled
the hall, several others rushed to see what the commotion was about, their
expressions a mixture of curiosity and concern.  The Earl of Highgrove, a
friend and longtime acquaintance of both men, positioned himself in front of
the door and with the lift of his hand and a subtle shake of his head,
indicated that no one should interfere.

After
several tense minutes of listening to the unmistakable sounds of fighting from
within, the ruckus suddenly ceased.  The men hovering in the hall looked
to Highgrove and to each other questioningly, undoubtedly wondering if they
should do something.

Finally,
Highgrove cracked open the door and peered inside.  The room was in
shambles, but he quickly spotted the two combatants seated on the floor on the
other side of the room.  Assured that both men were still alive and
breathing, he quickly pulled the door closed.  Turning to the assembled
group, he waved them away, suggesting they give the two men some privacy to
sort out their conflict.  With a great deal of head-shaking and speculative
murmuring, the group slowly dispersed.

Inside,
Colin and Alec sat on the floor a few feet apart, their backs against the far
wall.  Alec’s shirt was torn and blood trickled from the corner of his
rapidly swelling lip.  His jaw was throbbing and he was certain his left
eye and cheek would be a lovely shade of bluish-purple by morning, though he
supposed it could have been worse.  Knowing Colin’s anger was justified,
he hadn’t put up much of a fight.  Instead, his primary focus had been
attempting to deflect the most potentially damaging of Colin’s blows, though in
his efforts, Colin hadn’t escaped completely unscathed.  Fortunately Alec
thought, assessing his own injuries, aside from a possible cracked rib or two,
he didn’t appear to have suffered any broken bones.  Carefully, he shifted
his position, groaning as a sharp pain shot up from his ribcage.

Colin
turned at the sound, clearly gratified that Alec was suffering.  “You’re
lucky I didn’t kill you, you son of a bitch,” he panted, struggling to catch
his breath.  Cradling his bruised hand in his lap, Colin carefully flexed
his fingers, eyeing his bruised and bloodied knuckles.

Alec knew
Colin well enough to know that he was serious, and met his gaze without
flinching.  “I know.”  His tone denoted his remorse, as well as his
internal torment.  He sounded like the miserable, dejected sod that he
was.

They sat
in silence for a time, their labored breathing the only sound in the room.

“Did you
know he was mine, before today?” Alec asked, finally breaking the quiet.

“Do you
think I would have waited until now to beat the hell out of you if I had?”

Despite
the gravity of the situation, as well as the pain radiating throughout his
body,   Alec managed a small, derisive chuckle.  “No, I suppose
not.”  Dropping his head back against the wall, he looked up at the
ceiling.  “I know you will find this hard to believe, but I
am
sorry Colin, more sorry than you can possibly know.”

Colin
snorted disgustedly in response.

“She
should have told me about him, Colin.”

Colin
looked at him in loathing.
 
“Perhaps she
should have,” he admitted.  “Then again, perhaps
you
shouldn’t have
fucked my sister!” he bit out harshly.

The
coarse, angry words hit Alec like another punch in the face.  Colin was
right; there was nothing he could say, nothing that could possibly justify what
he had done.  Therefore, he simply said the only thing he could say,
“You’re right, it never should have happened, Colin.  There is no excuse
for my behavior.  Believe me, I know that and I regret it more than you
can imagine.”

“Christ
Alec…” Colin began, shaking his head.

“For what
it’s worth, I have never forgiven myself,” he said, once again looking him in
the eye.

“Was it
only once?”  Colin asked point blank.

“Colin…” 
He didn’t have to say the words; his guilt-ridden expression said it all.

Colin
rolled his eyes upward, his jaw tightening.  “She told me she seduced
you,” he said with a derisive laugh.  “You, a rake of the highest order, a
bloody master of seduction, seduced by an innocent.”  The sarcasm in his
voice was unmistakable.

“I take
full blame for what happened, I assure you.” 

“As you damn well should!”
  Colin heaved a heavy sigh
then.  “However, as much as I would like to lay the blame solely at your
feet, I know my sister too well.  She has always been far too headstrong
for her own good.”  He paused for a moment before continuing.  “I
could almost forgive you for bedding her Alec.  Lord knows Scarlett has
long been accustomed to getting what she wanted.  But then to cast her
aside like she was just another one of your conquests, that is something I can
never forgive.”
 
His voice was hard and
uncompromising.

“It was
never my intention to hurt her Colin, I swear to you.”

“When
Scarlett told me she was with child I never,
ever
, imagined it was you,” he admitted, his tone utterly
disheartened.  “I begged her to tell me who the father was, but she
refused time and again.  She was protecting you.”  His bitter tone
reflected his scorn.  “You cast her aside like she was just another one of
your meaningless flings, and still she protected you.” 

Alec
watched as Colin visibly sought to control his temper, but it was clearly
difficult.
 
“I did what I thought was best for
Scarlett, for both of us,” he tried to explain.  “She deserved better than
me, better than this…” he lifted his hands in frustration, “this false,
hypocritical society we live in.  Damn it Colin, you know as well as I do
how things work.  Look at all of the married couples we know.  How
many of those unions have become nothing more than the bitter pairings of two
disenchanted people, people who seek their happiness in the arms of
others.” 

“Always
the cynic,” Colin scoffed.  “Now look where it’s gotten you, where it’s
gotten all of us.”

“If I had
known there was a child I would have married her, surely she knew that.”

“I’m sure
she did.”

“Then why
in the hell didn’t she tell me?”

“Do you
honestly think she would have wanted you to marry her, simply because of the
child?  To have forced you into something you didn’t want?  She knew
how you felt about her, about marriage.”
 
His hands clenched into fists.  “Apparently you made your feelings
very clear.”

Alec’s own
temper began to rise.  “And what of her feelings?  If you recall, it
was
she
who promptly fell in love with another man, a man she then
married, knowing she was carrying
my
child.”

Colin took
a deep breath.
 
“You know you cannot
claim him Alec, at least not publically.”

“I know,”
he admitted.  He knew what had to be done.  “We shall announce our
engagement immediately.”

“Ha,”
Colin laughed wryly.  “Even if I were to consent to such a thing, do you
honestly think Scarlett would agree to marry you, now, after all that has
happened?”

“We have a
child.”  The statement was matter of fact. 

He
snorted.
 
“And if she refuses, what
then?”

“I intend
to claim my son, one way or another.”

“Christ
Alec, you can’t possibly think to announce to the world that Oliver is yours?”

“Can’t
I?”
 
His tone was resolute.

“For God’s
sake, do you want everyone to know that he was born on the wrong side of the blanket?”
Colin demanded.  “And what about Scarlett, she will be ruined.”

“What
would you have me do, Colin, turn my back on my child, my own flesh and blood?”
he replied angrily.  “I won’t do it.  I have already lost three years
with my son, and I’ll be dammed if I will lose any more.  If she refuses
to marry me, what other choice will I have?”

“Bloody
hell.”  Colin looked away, and was quiet for a moment.  When he
finally turned back to Alec, his expression was still angry, but it was also
resigned.  “So what do we do now?”

Alec and
Colin met the surprised stares of their friends and acquaintances as they
walked down the stairs to White’s main lobby, smiling and laughing as if they
hadn’t just beaten the hell out of each other less than a half an hour
earlier.  Catching site of the proprietor as they reached the landing,
they immediately moved in his direction.  To his credit, the man’s
expression revealed not a hint of the tremendous shock and astonishment that
he, like everyone else must surely be experiencing as they approached side by
side.

Colin
spoke first, his tone almost jovial.  “I’m afraid that His Grace and I had
a bit of a disagreement earlier, but fortunately we have managed to resolve our
conflict,” he said, thumping Alec on the back good-naturedly.  “However, I
fear we have left one of your card rooms a bit worse for wear.”