Light to Valhalla (13 page)

“It’s quite alright, dear.
”
She slipped an arm through her daughter’s drawing her close
.
“Unavoidable circumstances are just that
.
Unavoidable.”

Charley smiled, her mother’s gentle mannerisms never failed to put her at ease
.

Evelyn flicked curious green eyes across Charley’s dishabille
.
“You’re well?”

“I know I look a fright, but truly, mama, I am
fine
.”

“Good
.
Once your father is settled, I’m going to have a cup of coffee and you can tell me all about it.
”
Her mother suddenly looked markedly tired and drawn
.
The lines around her mouth and eyes deepened, belying her age
.

Compassion and a small measure of guilt struck Charley as her gaze fell to her
father, lost
before his time
.
Her mother lived a quiet life in the country as dictated by the earl’s profound delusions
.
Edmond Trent had be
en well past forty when he’d taken a bride and now
Evelyn
Trent
remained faithfully at his side
despite his madness
.
Not once had Charley heard her complain
though late at night she’d heard her mother crying
.
Charley hugged the heavy wool jacket tighter, chancing a glance back down the stairs at Alex—tall, dark, gloriously powerful and completely in charge of his faculties
.
Perhaps her lot in life was not so bad after all
.

*
             
*
             
*

The soft golden glow of Lady Grayson’s lamp cast a homey bubble around the Grayson family—dogs and all
.
Ensconced in darkness Alex acutely felt an intruder looking in
.
Wistfully he gazed upon the swish of Charlotte’s hips beneath his heavy coat, unable to banish the vision of his wife running through the snow with outstretched arms toward Sidney
.
The memory threatened to rip a pin
t sized hole through his chest
.
His moment to be her hero, smooth a few lumps from their relationship was lost
.
Damn it all, the moment she’d stepped into Sidney’s embrace…

Alex clenched and unclenched a fist, waiting with feigned patience for the telltale click of the door closing upstairs
.
His temper, like a long imprisoned demon, battered for release
.
One
.
Two
.
Three
.
Christ he might break a tooth if he had to count clear to ten
.
Four.

Clunk
.

Finally!

The latch struck and he whirled on his cousin
.
“What the hell was that, Sidney?”

Sid, ambling aimlessly about the
entryway, admiring little knick-
knacks and pictures, started at Alex’s explosive outburst
.
“The hell was what?”

“Back in the woods, Charlotte ran straight into your arms
.
And just now she stood between you and a goddamned gun.
”
Never mind t
hat it hadn’t been loaded
.
Red-
hot fury tinged Alex’s vision as he stalked forward, predatory
.
“Tell me here and now, have you slept with my wife?”

Sid quirked a lazy brow and rocked back on his heels, thoroughly unperturbed by Alex’s
macho
display
.
“Slept
with?
”
T
he words rolled with contemplative leisure off
his
tongue
.
“
I must confess
, Alex,
I’ve never understood the meaning
of that term
.
After all there is
not
any sleeping
going on in the bedroom, and really, if one really gets technical, a bedroom is hardly necessary for the activity you
’re
refer
ring
to.”

Alex
ground his teeth and
,
by damn
,
he may have chipped one after all
.
Hurt like hell which only served to fuel his fury
.
Good
.
“
So help me,
Sid,
if I find out you seduced her, touched her, so much as thought about her inappropriately I’ll—”

“You’ll what
?”
Sidney drew himself to
his full towering height,
two
inches
above
Alex
, eyes flashing with challenge
.
“Be the first jealous husband to call me out?
”
H
e threw his head back
and barked with cynical laughter
.

“I won’t even bother calling you out
.
I’ll just beat the living hell out of you here and now.”

“Is that so?”
Sid crossed his arms across his chest
.
“
Why? 
Last I checked you couldn’t stand the sight of your wife
.
Hell, Alex,
I’d be far more concerned if I c
rossed your horse than your marchioness
.
We both know which of t
he two
you hold in
higher regard
.
”

“
That is
no
t true,
”
Alex gr
owled
.

“Isn’t it?
”
Sid raised a dubious brow,
eyes flashing beneath
.
“
For years you’ve been too busy lamenting
the loss of
Veronica Childers to re
alize what you
have in
Charley
.
Charley
is amazing in all the ways Veronica is a shallow
ton
bitch.
”
Sidney raked a hand through his hair, clenching it in a fist by his side
.

“
Leave Veronica out of this.”

“Will
you
leave Veronica out of it?  She’s recently widowed you know
.
”

“I don’t want her.”

“Ha!
Every man wants her
.
I g
ive it a week
before you’re
banging on her door, panting for favors
.
Mores the pity to you for it
.
Charley is ten times the woman Ver
onica could ever aspire to be.”
Sid shook his head in disgust
.
“
You are the luckiest bastard I’ve ever met and you’re too
thick headed to see it
.
What did you expect?
To c
ome home after all these years and have the
same starry eyed little Charley
waiting for
you
?”

Alex
narrowed his eyes refusing to admit th
e
truth in Sid’s words
even to himself
.

“Look around you, Alex, Charley is a grown woman now
.
She’s moved on from that little girl’s fantasy
.
For years you brushed her aside—
”

“
Answer my question
.
Did you sleep with my wife?”

“Afraid you’ll get saddled with my brat?
”
Sid sneered
.

Sizzling fury blistered
through Alex
.
“Answer m
e.”
He grasped Sidney’s collar and slammed the other man against the wall
.

Sid grunted,
glare dark
with
malice
.
“
Famous temper rearing
it’s
ugly head again?  I wonder, is this how you’ll act when
Whitherspo
—
”

“Everything al
l
right?”

Sidney
snapped to attention, all distress
melting from his
features
.
“
Charley
,” he said pleasantly
.
“How is your
father?
”

Alex s
tepped away from Sid, and s
pun
.

Charley
stood
at the top of the staircase
, expression unreadable, gaze
shifting
betw
een
Alex
and Sid
.

Had she overheard their argument?

It was on the tip of his tongue to demand answers
,
but the ongoing state of her dishabille gave him pause
.
Her silk gown lay in tatters beneath his oversize jacket
and her burnished tresses hung in unruly clumps around her face and shoulders
.
Tonight she may have demonstrated a strength and fire most women—or men—of her station would never possess, but regardless of her calm exterior she’d been through a horrid ordeal
.
Now was not the time to sling adulterous accusations.
You’re the luckiest bastard alive
…
Swirled through his conscious mingling with
the
supreme jealousy that Sid may in fact be the man she loved
.
So much for disengaging his emotions
.
Alex
forced himself to unclench his fists and drew a deep breath
, attempting to calm down
.

“Mother is seeing to him now.
”
With one hand lightly rested on the wooden balustrade she slid down the stairs, all elegance and grace despite her odd attire
.
“I must apologize for his behavior tonight.”

“Think nothing of it,” Sid replied solicitously, striding forward to offer Charley his arm, before Alex could find the words on his tongue
.

The ease with which his wife gazed upon the known rak
ehell
rankled
Alex
to
no
end and it took every ounce of willpower not
to yank her bodily away from Sid and stake his claim in the most primitive male fashion
.

“
Why don’t we go to the parlor and wait.”

Alex trailed behind
Charley
and Sid
who fell comfortably
into step side by side
… arm in arm
.
Alex’s
mood sank from black
to glower
.
Murky darkness pervaded every corner of the parlor
adding to the effect
.

Charlotte
moved about the room,
lighting
the decorative lamps expertl
y arranged throughout the room
while
Sidney
chattered on
about this and that
.
Alex
paid him little mind,
and was more than pleasantly surprised when
Charlotte
ignored Sid, and
turned
to
him
.
Their gazes locked
, a
question lurking
just beneath the
surface of her eyes
.

She
must
have heard their argument by the stairs
.
Alex wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“
Would you light
a fire
,
Sidney
?
”
Charl
ott
e
’
s eyes
never left Alex’s.

“
Certainly.
”