Magic in the Stars (39 page)

“What the devil can he learn from Jones?” Uncertain whether
to be pleased or not about her hiring another valet, Theo grudgingly released
her foot to peer around the curtain. Their robes had been neatly hung on hooks
that he was pretty sure hadn’t been there before.

She purred happily and paddled in the water some more,
stirring the scent of roses. “Jones is an unappreciated genius. That coat and
muffler he dressed you in for the tea party were not only the epitome of
fashion, but suited you perfectly. Ledbetter will not have his fashion sense.
He will only see you shaved properly and lay out clothes as requested, that
sort of thing. You can yell at him all you like, and he’ll only wait until you
give him sensible orders. Jones is a little more . . .
sensitive.”

“You intend to civilize us,” he complained, reluctantly
climbing from the tub to towel off.

“I doubt that’s possible,” she declared, gazing meaningfully
at his partial erection. “Men are more or less animals who have learned to
disguise the fact. I don’t object, mind you. But the more civilized you appear,
the more other men respect your disguise.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he protested, but he had never learned
to be sociable and didn’t understand human nature enough to argue. He donned
his robe and looked regretfully down on her. “Will you stay here so I can come
back later?”

“I’d turn into a prune. I’ve soaked away my aches. I’ll wait
for you in bed, so tell Ashford to be quick about the trial. And don’t attempt
to haul your prisoners off anywhere until morning.” She raised her legs out of
the water and seductively rubbed one curvaceous limb with the other.

She was bribing him not to linger elsewhere. But now that he
knew she wasn’t broken, he had to return to his responsibilities. The balance
between keeping his wife happy and doing what must be done was tricky, but he
was smart. He’d figure it out eventually. He might be the first Ives in a
generation to do so.

“We can’t hold a trial without you as witness. Dunc’s just
wanting an excuse to beat someone up. I’ll be back quickly.” Theo leaned over
and kissed her head, then let himself out of the bathing room.

Amazingly, clean clothes were laid out in the suite for him,
and there wasn’t a servant in sight to yell at. And no reason to yell. Loose
trousers, an old shirt and waistcoat, and his slippers were sufficient to take
him down the corridor to Duncan’s chambers.

Theo could see where this business of thinking about others
first instead of just pounding heads would be an equilibrium as difficult to
maintain as the one between husband and wife. But if it meant keeping Aster,
he’d learn. She’d hired a
valet
—one
that she thought might suit him! And that drapery thing in the bathing room . . .
Given their domestic interruptions, that was beyond clever, and one of those
niceties an all-male household would never consider.

Instead of complaining, Aster sought solutions. Theo thought
a woman like that might be a rarity.

Unfortunately, the ability to think and do for herself led
to roof-climbing episodes. He might die of heart failure before he was forty.

Duncan’s chamber was huge, but it felt crowded when Theo entered.
Large sweaty men milled and filled the space with furious energy. William had
had time to return, smelling of dog and horse and bunching his fists as if
ready to murder. Mr. Browne hovered over his prisoners. Jacques paced. A few of
the more substantial tenants whispered nervously against the walls.

Duncan had taken a chair at his writing desk and was irritably
tapping his walking stick. At Theo’s entrance, he actually looked up as if he
could see him.

“It’s about time. I want these miscreants hanged.” Since Duncan
couldn’t see the two crudely dressed ruffians cowering in the room’s center,
tied hand and foot, he didn’t bother glancing at them.

“You’re the magistrate,” Theo replied, studying the pair. “Is
trespassing a hanging offense? Or were they the ones with the shotgun?” He knew
they weren’t. He’d seen the rider wielding the weapon. He’d been a stout man
with a barrel chest. These two were short and half-starved. And the gentleman
in the tall hat leading the retreat—Roderick, no doubt—hadn’t been the shooter
either.

“We didn’t do nuffing!” the older one with a bristly
reddish-gray stubble shouted.

“Well, fine,” Theo said equitably. “Then tell us who shot my
wife and we’ll just charge you with trespass.”

“Big bloke,” the younger one said, wiping his nose on his
sleeve. “Told us we was there to keep the peace. He was afraid you’d have
guards. Warn’t nobody supposed to get shot.”

“You simply rode onto private property under the instruction
of a complete stranger without question?” Theo asked in disbelief. Duncan was
the one who should have been conducting this interview, but these imbeciles had
caused Aster to climb a damned roof! Theo wanted to shake the pair until their
teeth rattled and information spilled out.

“He gave us coins and said a lady was in danger and we was
to rescue her,” the older explained. “But then he and the gent got to arguing
as we rode, and there was talk of witches back in the tavern, and we got kind
of nervous like.”

“Did anyone go after Montfort?” Duncan asked in a voice of
menace.

“We sent men over to his estate to keep an eye on him,” Mr.
Browne said. “We didn’t see him on the road.”

“He’ll have cut across the field,” Duncan said in disgust.
“Only people who don’t know the area stick to the main road.”

“Which means their leader knows our land,” Theo pointed out.
“And Aster said someone else sent them here, the same someone who caused your
horse to bolt to make it look like an accident.”

That silenced the room. The prisoners began to squirm.

“We don’t know nuffin’ ’bout that,” the older protested
again. “We was just hired for the evenin’.”

“As were the leaders of the rioters,” William said, speaking
up. “They weren’t men from around here. Once we separated them from the crowd,
the others protested about threshers and losing their jobs and were pacified
when we told them to report to the office if they wanted work.”

“And what became of the leaders of the rioters?” Duncan
asked.

“They were on horses,” William replied in disgust. “They got
away. You think this was a conspiracy? The rioters and these dolts were working
together?”

“Looks like it. Lock this pair up. Let’s see if anyone comes
looking for them.” Having made that decision, Duncan smacked his stick against
the desk legs as if pondering his next move.

Not so long ago, Ashford would have ridden into the village to
question every man, woman, and child until he had answers. Theo couldn’t do
that. Slumping against the wall, he let Browne and the farmers lead out their
prisoners. Jacques and William stayed behind.

“Surround Montfort’s place,” Duncan ordered. “He’s our only
lead. One assumes his father put him up to this. The pup wouldn’t stir a finger
otherwise.”

Theo reluctantly imparted his last piece of information.
“I’m sorry, Dunc, but Aster said Montfort mentioned sending Margaret to lure
her from the house. We have no way of knowing if Margaret would have known why,
but it sounds as if her family might be involved too.”

Duncan nodded. “Caldwell and I have been at odds for a long
time. I just can’t imagine he or Montfort would act without some incentive and
outside leadership. They complain, but they seldom act on their own initiative.”

“Why would they go after Lady Aster?” Jacques demanded.

“Margaret tried to scare her away earlier,” Theo said,
remembering the visit after the Maeve incident. An idea bubbled at the back of
his mind that he was reluctant to voice. It wasn’t as if he understood why
people did what they did. But almost losing Aster had shaken him out of his
usual complacency. If he was to start believing her predictions . . .

Aster had said that
allegiance
led to accomplishment
. “I think—and this is
just a point worth pondering mind you—that they are trying to keep us from
working together.”

Duncan’s stick quit spinning. Neither Jacques nor William
interrupted, so Theo was forced to continue.

“We
don’t
work
together,” Theo pointed out. “We each have our own interests and go our own
ways and the estate pays us enough to do so. No one ever expected me to take
over Duncan’s chores, no more than I expect anyone to take mine.”

“What does that have to do with Lady Aster?” Jacques asked,
frowning.

“And Margaret,” Duncan said thoughtfully. “And maybe Theo’s ex-fiancée.”

Theo rubbed his brow. “I didn’t go after Celia when she ran.
She had hysterics and I said good riddance and went back to my telescopes.
Duncan practically shoved Margaret out the door. That’s what we do—ignore
everything except our own selfish needs. Women won’t tolerate that.”

His brothers stared at him blankly, although in Duncan’s
case, there could have been comprehension behind the blind stare. Theo couldn’t
tell.

He grimaced and sought the right words. “Without women, we
have no nucleus to orbit, no common objective to keep us together. The children
have mothers and come and go, so they’re almost dispensable. But Aster . . .”
Theo sighed and tried to straighten his thoughts. “Aster unites us somehow.”

“You think thugs figured that out?” William asked with a
thick layer of skepticism.

“No,” Duncan said. “Margaret did. She’s known us all our
lives. She would have complained about us to her father. Theo’s right. None of
you has any interest in the estate. My enemies would naturally have thought
that if they brought me down, no one would pick up the reins. But Theo not only
picked them up, he brought in reinforcements. The house filled with women. We
started hiring servants. The lot of you were all over London hunting carpets to
please Aster, for pity’s sake! Even Pascoe came down for the tea party. She
united
us.”

They all fell silent, contemplating this message.

“The Greeks said ‘United we stand, divided we fall,’”
Jacques acknowledged. “The Bible says much the same. That’s smart of Margaret,
if you’re right that she figured out that we were easily divided. Instead of
fighting each other, we need to stand together to fight a common enemy.”

“But how do we do that?” Theo demanded.

“The estate funds all of us. Without the land, we wouldn’t
have the wherewithal to explore other ventures,” William said. “Iveston is
where we must stand together.”

“He’s right.” Duncan glanced up to Theo through unseeing eyes.
“Give Aster full rein of the household. Let her turn this into a home where
women and children are welcome, and the rest of us will follow. Give the family
reason to defend our heritage.”

Because Duncan would never marry and provide the same, Theo recognized
with sorrow.

Theo’s days of selfish pursuits were over. With Aster to
show him the way, he thought he might enjoy the change.

“I love you.”

Theo’s whisper tickled Aster’s ear and she shivered with
desire. Unfortunately, all she could do in response was stroke his newly-cut
brown hair where it flopped over his brow.

“I love your exotic nest,” he continued, pulling her closer
despite the crowd of people watching them from the corner of their eyes. “And I
want all these people to go home so I can show you how much I want you.”

Aster patted his starched white linen, leaned into his
formal black frock coat, and muffled a laugh. He smelled of sandalwood and Theo,
and she almost agreed to his disgraceful suggestion. “I love you and my nest,
too, which is why all these people are here. You are famous. You will become
more famous as you improve your telescopes and find more planets. These people
will spread your fame and make your fortune. They will also take notice of your
brothers—which is part of the point, isn’t it? To build Ives strength into a
fortress as formidable as the Hall?”

She couldn’t see through the throng in her small parlor, but
she knew Jacques was circulating, charming the ladies. William had refused to
come to town, preferring to wait for country entertainments. Erran had been
here earlier, but as the third son of a marquess, he didn’t have much more
prestige than the illegitimate ones. That would change, Aster knew, but these
things took time. Theo’s success was only a first step.

“Duncan should have been the one entertaining all these
years, making these connections,” Theo griped, but he hugged Aster and sipped
his brandy with appreciation.

“He prefers the country just as William does.” She was
starting to understand the Ives brothers even better through living with them
rather than just studying their charts. “It will all balance eventually now
that our planets are moving out of the Mars conjunction.”

“I can’t think we’re safe if our enemies are still hidden.”
Theo frowned as if he could discern their adversaries in the crowd. “The two
thugs we captured had nothing useful to add about the ringleaders. I should
have ridden after Montfort myself. We’ll never catch him in France.”

“Roderick was just a weak link. His father is probably more
dangerous. If your brother’s opponents are political, let your Uncle Pascoe
find them. He looks dangerous enough to eliminate crime in high places.” She
watched Theo’s uncle work his way through the crowd of well-wishers, his dark gaze
always wandering past whomever he was half-listening to.

Her elegant husband snorted most inelegantly. “He has given
me an assortment of secret missives to take to your father on our wedding
journey. They’ll out-conspire any amateur conspirators. Shouldn’t we go to bed
early so we’ll be fresh for our travel in the morning?”

She laughed and slipped from Theo’s grasp to greet Jacques.
“Have you charmed all the neighbors into helping care for my plants while we’re
gone?”