What a Reckless Rogue Needs (29 page)

“Excellent idea, Angeline,” Margaret said.

The marquess’s eyes gleamed. “Clever, Lady Angeline.

“Well, I’m for bed,” the marquess said. “It has been a long day.”

Everyone else agreed. Soon, Angeline and Colin found themselves alone.

“If I didn’t know better, I would think they planned this,” Angeline said.

He cupped her face. “I’m sorry for the disturbing evening.”

“We weathered it,” she said.

He kissed her gently. “I have business in London, and I leave tomorrow.”

Angeline laid her head on his shoulder. “You’re planning to call him out.”

“Something must be done,” Colin said.

She was so afraid of losing him. “He may not even be there,” she said.

“Bellingham sent word. He is luring him.”

“Oh, God,” she said.

He wrapped his arms around her. “You’ve nothing to worry about,” he said. “All the plans are in place.”

“What if something goes wrong?” she said.

“It won’t,” he said.

“No, Colin. It’s not worth risking your life. Do you know what it would do to me if something happened to you?”

“I know this is hard, Angeline, but I promise that all will be well very soon. I won’t risk my life. I am my father’s only heir, after all, and I do want to live. There is so much I wish to share with you. When I return, I will be expecting your kisses.”

“Please be careful. I could not bear losing you.”

“All will be well,” he said. “I promise.”

She looked up at him. “I wish you would not go.”

“I know, but I will not rest until he is made to pay for what he did. When it is all over, I will return to you and demand kisses.”

The day after Colin left, the duke requested a meeting with Angeline after breakfast in the marquess’s study. Angeline’s stomach clenched. She’d missed her father so much and did not know what to expect from him. He had only spoken warmly to her that one time at Sommerall, and he’d ignored her for the most part afterward. She took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and walked inside the study.

Her father stood and made her a very formal bow.

“Angeline, my closest friend in all the world gave me a dressing-down. I am doubly ashamed of having failed you.”

“Papa?” His red-rimmed eyes alarmed her. “Are you ill?”

“No, but I despise myself for letting you down. I should have booted that bastard out of our house immediately. I let him take me in, and I could not even look you in the eyes because I failed you. If I had been a better father, he would not have hurt my little girl.”

She ran into his arms. “Papa, he played us both off each other. We didn’t know until it was t-too late.”

“I cannot change my mistakes, but I beg you to forgive me.”

“I love you, Papa,” she said. Oh, she had missed him so much.

“I also am ashamed because I made it seem that I favored Penny over you. I didn’t mean to do it. I just felt a responsibility to her. She was so lonely after you and your mother went to Paris. If not for your little sister, I think I might have gone mad. I missed you and your mother so very much.”

“We will be a whole family again, Papa.”

“I have much to mend,” he said, “but I would very much enjoy playing chess with you again.”

“Thank you, Papa. I would appreciate the distraction. I am very worried about Colin.”

“He will come home safe and sound,” the duke said. “I have it on the best of authority that he has someone he wishes to see as soon as this business is over.”

She hugged her father hard. “You have made me very happy.”

“Now, shall we play?”

She took his arm. “I do plan to trounce you.”

“I will give you no quarter, Daughter, but you may try.”

London

A
t precisely midnight, Colin strode into White’s Club. He knew who awaited him and where, for it was all set up in advance. His heart beat a little harder than usual, but he greeted acquaintances as he strode through the club. Many were watching, having been recruited into the inner circle. Someone with pretensions to honor was polluting the venerable club. That man would be publicly exposed and severely punished for crimes against the fairer sex.

Brentmoor took a pinch of snuff, rather delicately, and offered it to Bellingham, who waved it off. Brentmoor was unaware that thirty men had waiting hacks outside and were planning a journey for him.

Brentmoor drank three bottles of Madeira, something Colin figured the cur would regret at dawn. Unbeknownst to Brentmoor, the men sitting with him had set him up. Two hours passed when Colin invited Brentmoor to join them at a private party. The bastard accepted and hesitated only when he stepped out and saw the line of hacks at the curb.

Brentmoor spun around and scrambled, but Bellingham caught his arms and roughly tied them behind his back while Harry gagged the villain. Colin stepped forward, stripped off his glove, and slapped it in Brentmoor’s face. “Before this day ends, you will beg for mercy and you will get none.”

Colin pitched a heavy purse to the driver, a bribe to keep his mouth shut. Harry and Bell ducked inside the carriage and Colin shoved Brentmoor onto the floor of the hack. Colin boarded, knocked on the roof, and the hack rolled off. He looked behind the vehicle and saw the other hacks rolling off one by one. The destination was Wimbledon Common, a dueling place.

Brentmoor struggled and groaned when the hack hit a bump.

“That’s only a taste of what I have in store for you,” Colin said.

When they arrived at the field, the servants stood by with lanterns. Colin dumped Brentmoor on the ground, where he writhed like a mangy dog. The other carriages arrived, and the gentlemen descended the hacks. They formed a queue, and one by one they spit on his face.

Colin stood a foot away and saw the murderous expression in Brentmoor’s eyes. Then he pitched his voice so that all could hear. “Brentmoor, you are undeserving of the title gentleman. You have polluted the clubs and the ballrooms. Worst of all, you have preyed on innocent women. Today, you are judged by your peers as unfit to be a man.”

Colin stripped off his coat and cravat and handed them to a servant. “You have meddled with at least half a dozen innocent women, two of whom you got with child and abandoned. You are a snake, but on this day, you will receive your punishment and your sentence awaits you, but first, I have a personal score to settle. Untie and ungag him,” Colin shouted.

He marched toward the center of the field, and Brentmoor strode from the opposite side. “Damn you,” Brentmoor said. “I’ve no issue with you, Ravenshire.”

“I beg to differ,” Colin called out in a clear voice. “You are a coward, a liar, and a bully.”

“Your accusations have no merit,” Brentmoor called out, striding forward.

“You are not a man,” Colin shouted. “You are a filthy swine who preys upon the fairer sex.”

“Name the woman, Ravenshire. No doubt you’ve swived her already.”

Rage pumped through his blood as he met Brentmoor on the field. The first punch resounded with a crack and blood streamed out of Brentmoor’s nose. The cur rose up and landed a blow to Colin’s ear. It rang afterward, but he refused to let it stop him. He punched Brentmoor in the mouth, blackened both eyes, and when the coward fell to his knees, Colin kicked him in the groin. Brentmoor groaned and rolled onto the grass.

Colin stood over him. “Tie him up and gag him.”

Harry tied Brentmoor’s hands and feet and Bell gagged him. Then Colin yanked Brentmoor to his feet and shoved him onto the floor of the hack. “Gentlemen, meet us at the docks.”

Colin approached the driver with a second purse.

“Where to, guvner?” the driver said.

“The docks,” Colin said, and entered the carriage. He knocked on the roof of the carriage and smirked. “Ah, we have one more destination, Brentmoor, your final one with us.” Brentmoor stared at him with murder in his eyes, but Colin knew his bravado would soon turn to watery bowels.

The other carriages arrived, and the gentlemen stepped out to witness. Colin stood Brentmoor outside the carriage, untied the gag, and lifted his voice again. “Brentmoor, you are judged before your peers as unfit to be a man.”

Brentmoor fell on his knees. “I beg for mercy.”

“You do not deserve it,” Colin said. “You have been judged and now you will receive your sentence. The press-gang a few yards beyond awaits you with open arms. I imagine they will have a little fun with a pretty boy like you.”

Brentmoor’s eyes filled with terror. “No, please God, no.”

When the press-gang came to claim Brentmoor, Colin doffed his hat and said, “Compliments of Lady Angeline Brenham.”

Deerfield Park

Angeline sat in the drawing room reading while her mother, Margaret, Penny, and the twins embroidered.
Sense and Sensibility
proved to be the perfect antidote for a misty, gray day. For Angeline, it was a temporary escape from all her worst fears. She would not rest easy until Colin came home.

Penny edged forward on her chair. “Angeline, I can hardly contain my eagerness to find out what happened between Willoughby and Marianne.”

Angeline smiled. “When last we left off, Colonel Brandon was inquiring about Marianne. The colonel reveals what he knows about Willoughby. ‘He had left the girl whose youth and innocence he had seduced—’”

Bianca gasped. “Oh, what a devil.”

“It is shocking,” Bernadette said.

“Girls, allow Angeline to continue,” Margaret said.

Angeline smiled. “‘He had left her, promising to return; he neither returned, nor wrote, nor relieved her.’”

“He is a very bad man,” Penny said. “Marianne is fortunate to have escaped him.”

A deep masculine voice said, “Indeed, she is.”

Everyone rose. Angeline wanted to run straight into Colin’s arms, but she must be a good example to the girls. “You are well?” she said.

“Very,” he said, “and glad to be home.”

“Girls, let us repair to the music room,” Margaret said. “The duchess and I wish to hear how you are progressing at the pianoforte.”

“Indeed, you will be called upon to exhibit,” the duchess said. “Regular practice will help ease any anxieties you may feel in a crowd, and others will remark upon your accomplishments.”

When they left, he crossed the room and clasped her hands. “I’m sorry for the delay, but I had one last item of business.”

Her eyes welled.

“Why are you crying?” he said, taking out his handkerchief and blotting her eyes.

“I’m so relieved you are unharmed.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I did not like being parted from you.”

“I missed you.”

“My ear still smarts a bit,” he said.

She touched it lightly “What happened?”

“He got one punch in, but you will be pleased to know that he is gone forever. He will not come back. Even if he managed such a feat, his name is blackened. He was much worse than you know. He seduced and abandoned more than one lady.”

She gasped.

“You escaped the worst, because you were too strong to fall into his trap.”

“Oh, how awful for those poor women.”

“There are probably others we know nothing about, but I thought you would like to know that thirty men stood witness against him for his disgusting treatment of you and other ladies and their families.”

“I was scared, but you did the right thing.”

“Now he can’t hurt other ladies,” Colin said. “Also, you might be interested to know that the former Lady Cunningham, now known as Lady Brentmoor, has fled the country.”

“I suppose they both got what they deserved.”

“He most certainly did,” Colin said. “Now, enough of villains. I am here to collect a debt.”

She smiled. “I promised you kisses.”

He kissed her gently on the lips. “Now, there is one more business matter, before we return to the pleasurable part. While I was in London, Harry and I called upon his mother, Mrs. Norcliffe. She bade me to deliver this to you.”

Angeline broke the seal on the letter. Her arms tingled. “She wishes to…give a ball in my honor, the first of the season.”

“My understanding is that if you have the support of Mrs. Norcliffe, you are set for life,” he said.

“I must write and thank her.”

“Before I left, I realized I wanted to give you a gift, your heart’s desire, and while there is nothing tangible, your name is clear, and Mrs. Norcliffe assured me that you will be able to attend your sister’s debut ball.”

Her face crumpled.

“Oh, no, please don’t cry.”

“I’m a watering pot today,” she said, “but they are happy tears.”

He blotted her face again.

She lifted on her toes and hugged him hard.

“I know it means the world to you.”

“You mean the world to me,” she said.

He raised her hands and kissed the backs of them. Then he knelt on one knee. “It isn’t my first proposal, but this one will hopefully be a little more romantic.”

She blinked back the moisture in her eyes.

“Angeline, I love you dearly. You are unique, funny, and a very talented pretend courtesan.”

She laughed.

“But I cannot allow any other pretend men to enjoy your charms, because I want them all for myself.”

She smiled. “I think you’re man enough for me.”

“Whew,” he said, pretending to wipe a sheen of moisture off his forehead. “Now, I didn’t prepare, but I know what I want to say. I will promise to smite any mice in the attic, and make wild, passionate love to you. Most of all, I promise to love and cherish you always. I beg you to spend a lifetime with me laughing and loving. Will you marry me?”

“Yes, I will marry you.”

“Oh, thank God.”

She laughed again. “Stand up, silly. I promised you kisses upon your return.”

He stood and kissed her gently on the lips, and then the kiss caught fire. He opened her mouth and tasted her. She felt at last that she had welcomed him with no reserve and no fears. “I love you, Colin.”

He rubbed noses with her. “I know. Who else would defend me to my father?”

“Do you think our families will be surprised?”

“No,” he said. “Oh, one reason I’m late is I paid a visit to the archbishop. We will marry by special license.”

“Oh, that should impress Mrs. Quimby.”

His chest shook with laughter. “I had better ask your father’s permission. My father assured me that Wycoff would probably want to kill me, but he’s a bad shot so the odds are with me.”

The duke stopped outside the door. “Ravenshire, you’re home. Take your hands off my daughter.”

“Papa, your timing is excellent,” she said.

“Wycoff, I wish to marry your daughter. Will you give your blessing?”

“Hmmm.” Wycoff looked at his daughter. “Are you sure you want him? He’s not like a fish; you can’t throw him back.”

“Yes, Papa, I’m sure I want him.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, then, you have my blessing.”

“Excellent.” Colin shook Wycoff’s hand and then he picked up Angeline, and she shrieked.

Naturally footsteps followed. They turned to find their families invading the drawing room. Everyone exchanged hugs and congratulations. The marquess requested a bottle of champagne and said the girls could have a tiny bit. Margaret took Angeline aside and showed her the ruby bracelet and confessed she’d won the wager with Chadwick, who apparently had doubts about Colin and Angeline getting married.

In the midst of the celebration, the twins set Hercules down in the drawing room. He had a sealed letter in his mouth.

The marquess picked up the dog and set him at Colin’s feet. “Drop it, Hercules,” he said.

Colin bent down. The dog sank his teeth into the letter and growled.

“Drop it, Hercules,” the marquess said.

The dog whined and the letter fell with a slight clink.

Colin grasped the letter, broke the seal, and a key fell out. He picked it up and looked at the letter.

Colin swallowed hard and showed it to Angeline. When her eyes welled, he put his arm around her. “You’re not crying over an old house, are you?”

“No, I’m crying sentimental tears, because today is magical.”

He leaned down and said, “No, you are.” Colin squared his shoulders. “Father, I’ve been wondering about the Faradays.”

“Oh, what about them?” the marquess said.

“They took your bribe so willingly.”

“I made them an offer they could not refuse.”

“Father, who the devil are they, really?”

“Traveling actors,” he said.

Angeline gasped. “No!”

The marquess shrugged. “I was desperate and had to do something. By the way, Lady Angeline, Mrs. Faraday, the actress, bid me to apologize to you. Apparently, she thought you were living in sin with my son.”

“I’ll be damned,” Colin said.

“Colin, we do not use that sort of language,” Margaret said.

“Pardon me,” Colin said. He noted that Bianca and Bernadette lit up like the lanterns at Vauxhall. He figured he’d just added to the twin’s colorful vocabularies.

A fortnight later

“Are you nervous, Angie?” Penny asked.

“No, not really, but I am so happy that you agreed to attend me.”

“I’m honored,” Penny said, “but I will miss you, Angie.”

“You know that you can always visit us. The twins are nearby. Best of all, this spring you will make your debut, and everyone will be there.”
Including me, all because of Colin.

Marie finished styling her hair. “You look beautiful, my lady.”

“Thank you, Marie.”

Her mother came inside the room. “You are not dressed yet.”

“Mama, Angie insisted I must dress first,” Penny said.