Engaging the Enemy (28 page)

He lowered his head to brush her lips with his. She tasted sweet, like the sweetest treat at the market, and he loved her with all his heart. He, who had never wanted anyone so badly in his life, was destined for misery without her.

Her smile grew dreamy. “Hold that thought until later. I’m sure we can come up with something.”

Lord help him, but he would likely be thinking about what he could do to her until his dying breath. With a simple touch, and one chaste kiss, he’d renewed his desire for her once more. To rid himself of the uncomfortable arousal, he thought of the one thing sure to cool his desire. He thought of what the old Duke of Romsey had done to them both.

He drew the anger deep into him and gave it free rein. They had all been hurt by the old duke in one way or another. It was just that Mercy didn’t know how much. He would have to tell her eventually. But when the danger had passed was soon enough. Then he could leave when she demanded he go and not worry about any danger to Edwin. Allen would be here. He could ask his cousin to send word if trouble ever darkened their door again.

Lady Venables sat up straighter when they joined her and Edwin. The boy appeared sleepy, draped across his aunt’s lap, quiet and watchful for a change. Blythe seemed so unhappy to see him that he decided he would only stay a short while and then leave. There were many things he could still be doing. Watching out for trouble was imperative.

“I see you are awake again,” she commented, her voice dripping with distain.

“Forgive me, an inexcusable lapse on my part. It won’t happen again.”

Her gaze raked him from head to toe. Not a nice sensation, at all. He sat at a distance from her, listening to Edwin prattle to his mother. When the boy had enough of his mother, Edwin picked up his toys and approached.

Leopold smiled. “What have you there, Your Grace?”

Edwin leaned against his legs. “This is Captain Winston, he’s the best sailor there is.”

Leopold admired the piece and set it on his knee. “I’m sure he is.”

“This one is an infidel.” Edwin shoved the piece in his face. “Mama says my Papa gave me that one.”

Leopold’s chest tightened as he took the small figure from his son’s fingers. The piece was supposed to be an Indian prince. Leopold had found it in the marketplace in Surat and impulsively sent it home to Romsey as a birth present to the boy, along with a whole regiment. He had never imagined that something so small had the power to move him to tears. His eyes stung. His son had something of his that he had given freely, without coercion or threats involved. He glanced at Mercy, watched her eyes widen, and then quickly looked away. It hurt that his cousin had the credit of giving the boy something Edwin clearly cherished. It hurt very much indeed.

Edwin placed the little prince figure in his pocket and gave Leopold another to admire.

“Mr. Randall?” Blythe asked suddenly. “Where was it you said you were while in India?”

“Surat.”

“Do they have such toys in Surat?”

“Yes, I believe they do. They are common enough in the market places.”

“And you have sent gifts home to the family for years now. Tell me, when was the last time exactly that you were here at Romsey.”

Although Leopold’s heart raced, he dared not look up immediately. He was afraid the truth was there for all to see; five years and a few weeks ago. The dates he had last come to Romsey were imprinted on his soul. “Years ago now. I’ve forgotten exactly when,” he lied and then looked up.

Lady Venables gaze fixed on Edwin. Her lips had a pinched look about them, as if she’d tasted sour lemons. “And one more question: when are you leaving again?”

“Blythe!” Mercy cried out. “Don’t speak like that to Leopold.”

Lady Venable stared at her sister. “And when did you first meet Mr. Randall, Your Grace?”

Mercy’s eyes met and held Leopold’s for a mere second before a blush crept up her cheeks. She turned away and answered the question, “Six days ago. You were here that day if you remember.”

God in heaven, Mercy had just lied to her sister. Did she already know, or suspect, he could be Edwin’s father? His palms slicked and he clenched them to control his emotions.

Mercy sat with her chin up, defiant but far from angry or embarrassed by Blythe’s accusations. It was as if the idea was old news to her. Unimportant. Accepted.

A single tear slipped down Blythe’s cheek and she hastily wiped it away. She stood abruptly. “I cannot believe you lie to me so easily. Excuse me. I need to take a turn about the garden and then I will return to Walden Hall where I belong.”

Edwin, unnoticed by all, suddenly climbed into Leopold’s lap and wrapped his arms about his neck. Leopold didn’t know what to do. Should he push away the anxious boy, or let him seek comfort from him just this once? Neither Mercy nor Blythe had noticed the boy’s anxiety yet. They were too focused on each other.

“I have had enough of this.” Mercy followed Blythe to the terrace door. “You are not going to walk away again from another discussion. You have no right to be rude to Leopold, and certainly not while he puts his own life at risk to protect us. I’ve tried to be patient with you. I’ve tried to understand why you constantly criticize, but it is time to put your mourning aside. It’s been years since Raphael and Adam died. You cannot mourn them forever.”

Edwin shook and Leopold cuddled him close. The two women clearly had a lot of unresolved tension between them. It would be better for them to get it out now and be done with the matter. Then, hopefully, they would come to their senses, embrace each other and take the boy off his hands. Of course, it had been a long time since he had argued with a sibling.

Blythe turned on her heel. “Who are you to lecture me? I loved my husband. I’m not happy like you that he is gone.”

Mercy shook her head. “I am not happy to be a widow and you know it. But, given my husband had a weak heart, there was always a possibility he would die before me. His death didn’t end my life too and I have many things left to enjoy. He left me a son to raise, an estate to manage. I have my family. I have you. There are many things left to smile about. Not everything has to be drear or scandalous.”

“There is nothing left to smile about when everything you love is ripped away from you.” Blythe glanced around and, when her gaze fell on Edwin snuggling in Leopold’s arms, her expression hardened. “Everything.”

She slammed the door behind her and quickly disappeared outside. Mercy remained at the doorway, one hand on the glass, shoulders heaving. She pressed her head against the pane and a strangled sob escaped her. “Oh, she’s impossible.”

Edwin raised his head long enough to peek at his mother and then buried his head again in Leopold’s cravat. Although he knew he shouldn’t, Leopold pressed his lips to the boys head. “It’s all right, my boy. Your mother and aunt are fine now. Just a little to do between them. Nothing for you to worry about.” He set his chin to Edwin’s head, breathing the scent of small boy deep into his lungs. To hold his son like this was foolish in the extreme. It would only make parting that much more painful.

Mercy straightened abruptly and turned around, wiping at her eyes. When her gaze fell upon Edwin curled up in his arms, her lips curled up into a tender smile. She did know the truth about their past. She didn’t appear to resent him for it. He took a deep breath to steady his emotions. He’d been so afraid she would hate him.

She drifted across the chamber toward him, and then sat at his side. “Thank you for taking care of Edwin.” She rested her head on his shoulder, and then brushed her hand over Edwin’s hair. “I’m sorry for raising my voice to Aunty Blythe, little one. It won’t happen again.”

Edwin merely cuddled closer against him.

Leopold turned to Mercy. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

“I will be eventually.”

Leopold pressed a kiss to her head, too. “I’ll speak to her and set things right before I go.”

“You’re not going anywhere, my love. And if you do, I will follow you this time.”

Leopold’s heart broke. “You cannot do that. You and the boy belong here. I never have.” Very gently, he lifted Edwin from his arms and placed him in his mother’s lap.

Mercy grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”

“If all goes well, you’ll find out in due course.”

He pushed up from the chair and headed to the doorway without looking back.

~ * ~

It took a while to find Lady Venables. She had stormed from the abbey in a rage and had strode off into the gardens as if a demon chased her. Now that he had found her, perched on a bench beneath a tree, he wondered what it would take for her to forgive her sister. What she would demand of him. None of the situation was Mercy’s fault.

She looked up when a twig broke under his boot. “What do you want? Come to destroy another woman’s reputation?”

“I’ve come to confess if that will help.”

Lady Venables blinked. “Confess to what? That you’re the boy’s father.”

Being accused was no easier to bear the second time around. “There is the possibility of that, yes. However, the boy was born well before my cousin died. He is the duke in every legal sense and I have no intention of protesting otherwise.”

Her gaze hardened to flint. “You slept with my sister and cuckolded your cousin.”

“I never knew who it was and Mercy was likely given no choice in the matter.”

“But you surely had one?”

Had he? When it came to his family, the only choice he had was to protect them. “I had a choice, yes. I chose to submit to blackmail.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Blackmail? Don’t you lie to me, too.”

Leopold seated himself beside the fuming woman and took a deep breath. “If I hadn’t bedded the woman when told to five years ago there would have been worse consequences for both of us. I know now that the old duke was determined to get an heir at any price. My cousin, for reasons I cannot fathom, handed over his wife to a man he hated. Me. He and the old duke loathed my family and my very existence. But they loved Romsey and the family’s good standing in society. From what I have been able to determine, the old duke wanted to ensure that his line continued unbroken for posterity. He didn’t care how he managed it. He never wanted my side of the family to inherit what was his. That is why he sent me, and not another to her. He ensured I would never be a threat to the boy. He could have sent just about anyone to her bed; someone who could have been cruel. He chose someone of his own blood, his own son’s heir.”

Blythe shifted on the bench. “Why would you agree to such a bargain? You could have pretended to go through with the deed.”

“He had hidden my sister somewhere. If I had not done as he had demanded, he promised her a life of hardship and degradation. He had more disreputable contacts than I care to think about and I was terrified for Rosemary. She was just a girl when he took her away. I had to protect her, and all of them, in any way I could.” He glanced at the abbey and shuddered. “Besides, the woman I bedded was to be examined afterward if there was the slightest doubt about what we had done that night. I couldn’t bear to put the lady through yet another indignity on top of sharing a bed with me.”

“She loves that boy,” Blythe said suddenly.

“Then she is a better duchess than the last. My cousin was raised by a never ending parade of servants. He was not a happy child. But Edwin is lucky to have family in his life. I hope you will not hold his origins against him. It is clear to me he loves you very much.”

When Blythe turned her face away, Leopold prayed he had done the right thing in confessing so much. There was no defense he could offer to excuse his part in that night, but at least Mercy’s sister had as many facts as he knew in her possession. He hoped she would forgive Mercy because she was utterly innocent of any wrong doing.

“You and my sister are lovers still?”

Oh hell, that was a further complication to all this. He was so tired of lying and he didn’t want to anymore. He took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“When were you going to leave her?”

Leopold turned to gaze at the abbey, his heart a heavy weight inside him. “When the danger has passed and I am assured Edwin is safe once more. I had always intended to move away once I found the information about my siblings. But I can leave before I find them if you wish it. I would like to hire a steward for the estate first though. She and Edwin will need good help to manage Romsey in the years to come. A place like this cannot be left neglected for long.”

Lady Venables nodded slowly. Her gaze swept over the surrounding countryside and then landed on him. “I fear my sister has grown unduly attached to you.”

Leopold bowed his head. “I am sorry for that. It was never my intention to get involved in her life, or the boy’s. I don’t belong here. I told her that just this morning in fact.”

“I’m sure that went over well. My sister is impetuous. She never thinks beyond the moment to what will lie ahead.”

Leopold laughed. “She’s thought all right. She just cannot have what she wants.”

His companion raised a brow, either to his laugh or assertion, but didn’t comment. Leopold had the distinct feeling that Mercy wanted him to remain her lover for a long time. Unfortunately, they didn’t have that long together. A week, perhaps, at most.