Jackal (Regency Refuge 2) (20 page)

"You saw the body?"

Thomas released Rupert's shoulder and moved around the bed until he was in the patient's line of sight. "Aye. He's dead. There's no mistaking it."

"The minister?"

Thomas' frown was solemn. "Dead also."

"How?"

"I'll let Lucien explain."

Thomas stayed by Rupert's side but nodded to Lucien, who remained seated far from Rupert's bed.

The young man took a deep breath and began. "Tobias suspected The Hunter was tied to the minister. He sent me to infiltrate. I was in the minister's employ for almost four years. While I kept finding information to support Tobias' suspicion, I couldn't gather enough evidence to prove it. The minister was definitely on English soil when you and The Hunter were in Austria. His son, however…"

Lucien carried the weight of defeat and disappointment on his shoulders. "I should have seen it, but Lysander didn't live at home. He and the minister weren't on good terms. They rarely spoke. He would come by on the rare occasion, but it always seemed he was there to taunt his father more than anything else."

The story was taking too long, and Rupert was tiring. "The minister." He put as much force into his words as he could.

"I heard a gunshot. I got to the study, and… The minister took his own life. An envelope with my name on it provided the evidence that Lysander was The Hunter. I don't have any idea how long the minister had been investigating his son, or what even made him suspicious to begin with, but it was all there. As soon as I saw it, I set out for your house, but you were already gone. Owen sent me to Hyde Park to tell you, and he took Eudora and Eleanor in a hackney with him to go find Tobias and deliver the proof."

"He what?" The force of his roar shocked even Rupert. It felt good to yell. Maybe he'd pull through this after all.

Of course, his volume had a side effect. Juliana and the girls came running. They rushed into the room until Juliana stopped in her tracks. Each of the girls bumped into her back, nearly toppling her over. She sent a fearsome glare in Thomas' direction and then scowled at Lucien. Behind her, Eudora waved to Lucien, then blushed and adjusted her spectacles.

From out in the hallway, Rupert heard yelling. "Will you keep it down in there? You're going to send me into an apoplectic fit if you continue with all that yapping!" Ah, Mrs. Burnham.

Lucien blanched, and Rupert was fairly certain it had more to do with the Clairmont sisters' aged chaperone than with him.

"Never you mind, Rupert." Juliana, in the most ladylike manner possible, pushed Thomas aside as she approached the bed. She poured him some water and promptly put the cup down without giving it to him. She glared first at Thomas and then Lucien, her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing in here, and why are you upsetting the patient?"

"The patient has a name, you know." He wanted to hear his name on her lips again.

"Hush, Rupert. This doesn't concern you."

Not quite what I had in mind.

He ignored Juliana's orders. "Owen did what?"

Thomas tried to hide his smile, but Rupert wasn't fooled, and he was pretty sure nobody else in the room was either. "Figuring it would be the safest place for them, he took Eleanor and Eudora with him to the War Department. As he passed Hyde Park, he saw that Barrows and his team had wandered into a trap, but he followed orders and got the girls to safety before sending reinforcements."

Rupert temples throbbed in time with his heart. "And where was Lucien during this?"

"He, uh…" Thomas cleared his throat. "He stole a curricle and breeched the line around the park. If it weren't for him, we'd have lost you. He was the one who got you out and into the care of a surgeon before it was too late."

"Surgeon." He wanted to ask about the extent of his injuries but wasn't sure he had the energy to deal with the news at the moment.

"You were blessed with an excellent physician." This time it was Juliana. She kept touching him and didn't seem to realize she was doing it. "You were shot in your left arm and leg," she declared. "The arm healed nicely. The leg got infected. You had a fever, but you're all better now."

He hated what he was about to do, but he turned to Juliana anyway. "Please leave us. Take Lucien with you. I wish to speak to the duke alone."

Hurt flared in her eyes, and she glanced uncertainly from him to Thomas. With a saddened droop to her lips, she shooed the girls out of the room. Lucien followed, and Eudora giggled. Eudora. She was not the giggler of the two younger sisters. It was as if the world had gone topsy-turvy since that day in the park.

Chapter Thirty-Three

As soon as the door closed behind the others, Rupert asked, "Can Lucien be trusted?"

Thomas nodded. "I had a long talk with Tobias. Lucien was his plant the whole time he worked for the minister. Every suspicion he had, every order the minister ever gave him – it's all on file."

Rupert stared for a minute. He dreaded bringing it up but knew he had to. "I'm sorry about your father."

A sad smile shaped Thomas' mouth. "It wasn't until after he died that I learned of his involvement with the War Department. I asked numerous questions, but I only ever gathered enough information to be certain there was a lot I hadn't been told."

"How did you know I wasn't a hapless soldier?"

"I didn't, not really. I wondered a couple of times, but I dismissed it as an overactive imagination on my part. It wasn't until we were in Hyde Park that day, with you bleeding to death and telling me to hide behind you, that I unraveled the mystery of my former valet. Tobias has since told me more about my father's work. I always knew he was a good man, but now I can say he was a hero, too."

"The duke was honorable. You're a lot like him." When the duke said nothing further, Rupert continued. "I'm sorry about Devin, too. I suspected something was amiss with your houseguest, and I had different people look into it. All I could come up with was a sketch based on descriptions given by some of your employees. I wanted to keep you out of it, but I shouldn't have. Had I bothered to ask you the man's last name, a lot of this could have been avoided."

Thomas nodded. "Your man Owen explained." The duke glanced out the window before looking back at his former valet. "What's done is done, but next time have a little more faith in me. I'm not as inept as you'd imagine." Rupert accepted the gift for what it was.
You're forgiven, but don't make the same mistake again.
"Now tell me what else is on your mind that you needed privacy."

Rupert shifted his gaze and stared into the fire for a moment. The question needed to be asked, but he wasn't sure he wanted to voice it.
Admit it. You'd rather ask anything else.
He looked back at Thomas with dread. "I want the truth. How bad is it?"

Thomas didn't flinch. Nor did he shy from the subject. "You've been abed so long, you're likely weak as a newborn kitten. It'll take time to rebuild your strength, but your arm should be fine."

"And my leg?"

"The infection was bad, but the fever was worse. You had nightmares, and you were in a lot of pain. The surgeon who'd first treated you was called away, and a different doctor was brought in. He wanted to treat you with laudanum. It seems he believed you would die anyway. The cur thought he was being humane by drugging you out of your mind."

Thomas bristled with indignation. "You weren't getting better, and Juliana had the good sense to stop the laudanum. The pain had to be awful. You screamed all hours of the day and night for days on end. But you got through it, and the fever broke."

He remembered soul-searing agony that made him wish he were dead.

"Will I ever be able to walk again?"

"There was no noticeable damage to the bone. It was all muscle. The infection did more harm than anything else. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to walk except that you'll be too weak to stand on your own. If your pride stops you from accepting help, you'll never rebuild the muscles necessary for you to support your own weight."

Rupert nodded, but Thomas wasn't done. "It's going to be up to you, but you need to understand what's at stake. You've got four ladies in this house who never left you alone for a moment. They all took turns sitting by your bed and sleeping in the chair over there." He indicated the one with a jerk of his head. "The Clairmont sisters and Mrs. Burnham need you to recover. I wouldn't have thought a family could be made in such a short time, but they
are
your family, and they're not going to let you give up, so you might as well decide to put all you have into your rehabilitation and the effort it'll require."

Four? That means…

A thump sounded behind Thomas. Rupert glanced over to see Mrs. Burnham standing inside the doorway.

How'd she get in so silently?

"Juliana's name is all over the scandal sheets linked with yours. You've got no choice but to marry her to save her reputation. If you don't, the younger two won't have a chance come next season." Mrs. Burnham jabbed her cane at his bed. "You're going to get up out of that bed even if it hurts so bad you think it's killing you. Because she deserves to stand beside the man she loves at her wedding."

Rupert tried to protest. "I won't force…"

"Balderdash! It's as plain as day how she feels about you. If you're so addlebrained you think to rescue her from marriage to a cripple, then think again. She'll shrivel up and die if you do that to her. Don't make me hunt you down and deliver on my promise." Another jab from the cane. "I'm old and irritable, and if I have to miss a nap to force you to do the proper thing, then so help me, you'll be in the choir's soprano section for the rest of your natural-born life."

Thomas' cough almost masked his laugh as the
phtunk, phtunk, phtunk
of Mrs. Burnham's cane receded down the hall.

After a minute, the duke said, "She makes a strong argument."

Rupert quirked an eyebrow. "How would you know about Juliana's feelings?"

Thomas grimaced. "Grace has kept her company a couple of times. They've talked. Grace made me promise I wouldn't let you be noble and break Juliana's heart. I, uh…" He tugged on his cravat. "You'd be doing me a favor if you offer for her and get it over with. Now that you're well enough to do so, my wife isn't likely to let me back home until the two of you are properly betrothed, and I don't fancy sleeping in the carriage."

With Thomas' help, Rupert struggled into a sitting position. His friend had spoken true. He was weak, but not as much as he'd expected to be. This was nothing compared to Austria. Knowing he'd come back from worse and survived filled him with confidence and something even more glorious – hope.

Rupert gave Thomas a brisk nod. "See to it the banns are read. The wedding will be at Chakal Manor in one month's time."

"Don't you think you ought to ask the woman first?"

A smile stretched across Rupert's face. His skin felt dry, and he was sure his lips were ready to crack, but it didn't matter. "Mrs. Burnham said it herself. I've somehow managed to ruin Juliana. Unless she wants to force her sisters to become spinsters or marry beggars, she's going to have to wed me. She'll do it because it's what's best for the girls."

"You're a fool if you think that."

"You don't think she'll marry me?" Hadn't Thomas just told him he had to wed Juliana?

"Are you still feverish? It seems your brain is muddled. What I mean is that you're a fool if you think she'll do it for the girls. She'll marry you because she's in love with you and wants to make you the happiest man on earth. Take it from someone who botched up his own wedding quite heartily – realize how blessed you are to have a woman in your life who doesn't want to claw your eyes out. Then make sure she knows that you realize it."

Rupert chuckled. "I don't plan to starve her, abandon her, or deprive her of her wardrobe. I think I've got it covered."

Thomas shook his head at the reminder of how abominably he'd treated Grace when they were first wed. "It's a good thing women are so forgiving, isn't it?"

Chapter Thirty-Four

June 1, 1817

"Is this necessary?" Juliana was put out.

"I want to get settled in at Chakal Manor."

"You're still recovering. I don't think traveling such a long distance yet is good for you."

"Waiting until we're four days into the journey to have your say isn't fair, you know." Rupert's words were laced with humor, which only served to upset her further.

"I said it every day before we left, and I've said it every day since we've been traveling. Do you listen to nothing I say?"

"What were we talking about again?"

"Oh!" Juliana crossed her arms and refused to look at Rupert. They sat across from each other in a carriage, and avoiding eye contact proved more difficult than she would have liked.

Rupert wasn't yet strong enough to sit a horse, and she had refused to allow him up top with the driver. As a result, they'd had to take two carriages. Juliana had been in a fighting mood ever since leaving London. Despite the fact they were supposed to rotate carriage partners, everyone else had finally gotten fed up with her short temper. Eleanor, Eudora, and Mrs. Burnham were in the other carriage, leaving her alone with Rupert. He was the only one willing to brave her company.

Juliana wanted to stamp her foot in frustration, but it was awkward and ineffective while seated. She'd learned that the hard way. "You boorish brute of a man!"

Rupert's eyes were closed, and he gave the impression he'd not heard a single word she'd said.

"A lout – that's what you are!"

The corner of his mouth twitched, and she wanted to howl.

"How dare you find me funny! I'm angry at you for taking such risk with your life!"

"Juliana, dear, I'm fine. I will continue to work on rebuilding my strength once we get to Chakal Manor, but the doctor said it was okay for me to travel."

"Because you bullied him into it." His face and voice remained devoid of emotion, an occurrence which happened less frequently these days. Rupert, however, stayed in practice. Juliana had noticed he called on his special skill whenever she was right about something and he was loath to admit it.