Johanna Lindsey (15 page)

“There’s nothing common about what I do. People pay me a lot of money to accomplish what they can’t manage to do on their own.”

“Such as?”

Sebastian shrugged. “Retrieving stolen valuables, righting wrongs, resolving differences, extracting innocents from incarceration. A little of this and that. I’ve become what you might call a mercenary. Now it’s your turn. Your attitude is rather defensive for a reunion, Denton. Why is that?” Denton raked a hand through his black hair. There were actually a few gray hairs at his temples, which were not really noticeable unless you were looking closely. His amber eyes were bloodshot, which was very noticeable, and had dark circles under them. Denton’s eyes had never been quite as bright as Sebastian’s, more on the brown side. His skin was pale, too pale, as if he rarely went outdoors. There was a small scar on his cheek, another on his brow, neither of which had been there the last time Sebastian had seen him. All in all, Denton looked too dissipated by half, exhausted, like a man who overindulged his vices too frequently. He was a year younger than Sebastian, yet he actually looked like the elder brother now.

Denton finally sighed. “It’s just a shock, seeing you again. I never expected to.”

“Neither did I expect to see you again,” Sebastian said. Then offhandedly he added, “I find I’ve missed you.”

“Liar,” Denton almost snarled. “You never had time for me. We were never close.”

“I know. I’m sorry for that,” Sebastian said sincerely. “But you weren’t easy to get close to. You built your resentments too early.”

“Why in the bloody hell are you bringing that up? It’s done, under the bridge, as it were. You can’

t change the past, Seb.”

“I suppose not,” Sebastian agreed. “But if that’s not causing your defensiveness, what is?” Denton appeared incredulous. “Good God, you show up. That’s enough right there by itself, ain’t it? But then Father has to be carried in the house, hurt so bad he can’t even see straight. And Maggie married you. I still can’t believe that. You fall in the pigsty and still come out smelling like a bloody rose, don’t you? I’m having a hard time assimilating it all, and I was already a nervous wreck before you even got here. So what the hell did you expect, a laugh and a hug?”

“I didn’t expect to find that you’re in love with my wife, or married to Giles’s wife,” Sebastian said in a hard tone. “Where is that jade, anyway?”

Denton blanched at his bluntness but said, “Don’t come home after eleven years and start making assumptions, when you know nothing about what’s gone on here.”

“Then why don’t you tell me, and start with how you ended up married to the adulteress who instigated the duel that wrecked my life?”

“She didn’t instigate anything,” Denton said. “She swore that you—”

“She lied,” Sebastian cut in.

“Be that as it may, you weren’t here to say otherwise, and she managed to convince me at the time. She was lonely and depressed living with Cecil, who was totally shattered after Giles’s death. I had begun visiting her to cheer her up.”

“It took marriage to cheer her up, I suppose?”

Denton blushed. “No, I was just going to set her up as my mistress, and did, but—things happen.

She was enceinte.”

Sebastian raised a brow, actually surprised. “You have a child?” Denton’s complexion reddened even more vividly. “No, she lost it.”

“Of course,” Sebastian said dryly.

Denton glared at him. “That was my own response, if you must know. But I’ve made my bed. I’m dealing with it as best I can.”

Which didn’t seem to be at all, Sebastian concluded, but he’d been harsh enough, so didn’t say so. “You mentioned already being a nervous wreck. Why?”

Denton sighed. “Because Juliette is in London shopping. Happens every time she goes. She spends atrocious amounts of money when she’s there, frivolously. Father goes through the roof when he gets the bills.”

“Then why don’t you go with her to put a curb on her extravagance?”

“Because when I do, we end up causing a scene that titillates the gossips for months. Father objects to that even more.”

“One of your fights?”

“I see Maggie has filled you in.”

“Hardly. She didn’t say what you fight about.”

“The question should be what we don’t fight about. That list would be much shorter.” Sebastian shook his head. He was having a hard time grasping all the implications Denton’s attitude raised. He’d expected, under the circumstances, for Denton at least to profess an undying love for his wife, his excuse for keeping her. But apparently no one liked Juliette, not even her husband. So why were they still married?

He didn’t really expect an answer, but he asked anyway, “Why haven’t you divorced her?” Denton exploded vehemently, “Good God, after eleven years you come home with a flimsy excuse and immediately start stirring the pot. Well, I’ve news for you. My wife and I are none of your bloody business.”

“I disagree,” Sebastian said darkly. “Your wife caused me to kill my best friend and lose the life I’

d known up to that point.”

He hadn’t meant to show the new side of him, at least not to his brother. But he could tell by Denton’s brief look of wariness that he just had.

He shook off the air of menace he could so easily assume and even offered somewhat of a smile.

He said mildly, “I debated on letting Maggie come home a’tall. Her place is with me now, and my place isn’t here. But I’ve missed Abbie. I wanted this chance to see her again before it’s too late. Her advanced age puts a narrow window on that opportunity. If you want to call that a flimsy reason, so be it.”

Abashed, Denton said, “Sorry. It appears you’ll have plenty of time to visit with Grandmother now. Are you going to stay until Father recovers? Culden wants Maggie to play nurse. Figures father will at least listen to her about remaining in bed till he’s better.”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead. I expected to have to fight my way in to see Abbie. I didn’t expect Father to be so delirious he didn’t even recognize me.”

“Rather a stroke of…”

Denton didn’t finish, causing Sebastian to laugh shortly. “Bad luck? Well, I doubt I’ll be here long in any case. When do you expect your wife back?”

“In a few days, possibly the end of the week.” Then suspiciously, “Why?” Sebastian shrugged offhandedly. “I may leave before then. I’m not sure I can come face-to-face with that woman again—without killing her.”

“That’s nothing to joke about, Seb.”

“I wasn’t joking,” Sebastian said simply. “By the by, what happened to your leg to cause a limp?” Whether it was his remark about his wife or the mention of the limp, Denton walked away without answering. Sebastian let him go. They both had enough to think about for the moment.

E
DNA ARRIVED LATE THAT AFTERNOON with several of Margaret’s trunks full of clothes. Apparently Sebastian had sent word that they would be staying at Edgewood for a while. Margaret had been given her old room. It was a large room, much more space than she needed, but having spent four years in it during her stay here, she felt quite comfortable and at home there.

She had time to change clothes before dinner. Most of her wardrobe was in the pale pastels of maidenhood that were popular among young debutantes, but she did own a few gowns in more mature colors, which she wore at home when she wasn’t expecting company. Now that she was “married,” it would be appropriate to wear the darker colors. She actually preferred them, since most dark colors seemed to make her hair appear a lighter, more fashionable shade. Her hair was certainly not her best feature. Blonde was fashionable. Sandy brown was nondescript.

Edna knew her well and had packed all of those darker shades for her stay at Edgewood, including several that were appropriate for dinner. Margaret chose a deep sapphire blue gown, fashionably low cut with tiny puffs off the shoulders and tight sleeves to the wrists. She hadn’t particularly cared for the waistless empire style the French had made so popular during Napoleon’s reign and had been glad to see the return of tight waists and shapely skirts. Her tiny waist was one of her best features, after all, but she’d rarely gotten to show that off until the fashions had recently changed. She had Edna leave a few tendrils of hair curled and dangling to her shoulders. Contrasted with the deep blue of the gown, they appeared almost blonde in the bright lamplight.

“And where will your husband be sleeping while you’re here?” Edna wanted to know.

Margaret noted the disapproval in her maid’s voice but kept her answer light, replying, “Wherever he used to sleep, I imagine. They’ve given me my old room here, I’m sure they did the same for him.

Married couples in our circles don’t usually share the same room. You know that.” Edna humphed. “Just be careful in this charade you’re playing, Maggie. Don’t let that man take any liberties that he wouldn’t otherwise be allowed, just because you’re pretending to be married to him.”

“You worry too much,” Margaret replied. “He’s here to find out what’s really going on, no more than that. And he knows I don’t really like him. I was quite frank with him about that.”

“Good. That should keep him from getting any inappropriate ideas.” Margaret might have agreed, if Sebastian hadn’t kissed her for Denton’s benefit earlier, but she wasn’t about to mention that to Edna.

Margaret rushed through the rest of her preparations, wanting to check on Douglas again before she went downstairs. He still hadn’t woken up again. That was starting to worry her, but she’d wait and see what Dr. Culden had to say about it when he returned. Douglas’s fever seemed no higher, but then it had been very high to begin with and still was. The two maids she had set to take turns sitting with him were to summon her immediately when he woke, no matter the hour. Until he did wake, she wouldn’t be able to get Dr. Culden’s “worse” complication out of her mind.

She hadn’t seen Sebastian again after the doctor left earlier. He was waiting for her, though, at the bottom of the stairs. The way his eyes moved over her as she descended made her feel quite self-conscious. Usually when a man looked at her like that she felt nothing out of the ordinary. When Sebastian did it she felt far too much.

“You look lovely, m’dear.”

“There’s no need to begin the performance until you have an audience,” she huffed.

She started to pass him. His hand caught her arm and pulled her back against his chest. His words fell by her ear.

“I trust you’ll do better with your performance once we have an audience?”

“Actually,” she said with a smile, “I’ve decided that you’re due a bit of tartness for embarrassing me with that kiss in the hallway. You know very well that was inappropriate, no matter the reason.”

“Kindly remember that we’re still newlyweds.”

“And what has that to do with holding grudges?” she demanded.

“Everything, m’dear,” he replied. “As a recent bride, you would be much too interested in lovemaking to hold them for very long.”

She gasped and started to sputter, but she snapped her mouth shut when she noticed his grin. He was grinning again! This house was having an odd effect on him, she decided.

With a huff, she jerked her arm back from him and entered the dining room. Denton and Abigail were already there, and Abigail wasn’t looking too happy.

The very moment she noticed Margaret she said, “I’ve a bone to pick with you, gel. Sebastian wasn’t downstairs like you said. I searched all over, couldn’t find—”

“I’m right here, Grandmother,” Sebastian cut in as he followed Margaret into the room.

“Thank goodness! I was beginning to think I imagined your return, Sebby.” Abigail patted the seat of the chair beside her. Sebastian obliged, though he sighed when his grandmother used that nickname again. Margaret took the seat next to Denton farther down the table while grandmother and grandson got reacquainted.

Her anger had been on the rise with that “newlywed” remark, sure that Sebastian was going to use that excuse to his advantage, not hers. But hearing him sigh over his childhood name did temper that considerably. She couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the appalled look on his face when Abigail had called him Sebby.

Margaret noticed that Denton was wearing quite a dour expression as he watched his brother.

“Buck up, Denton,” she said. “Don’t begrudge him this reunion.”

“I don’t. It’s actually good to see him again. Never thought I would feel this way, you know. And

—well, never thought I’d say this either, but I’ve missed him. We may not have been the best of chums, but Sebastian was always there if help was needed, if you know what I mean.”

“You could depend on him?”

“Exactly.”

“Then why the gloomy look?”

He rolled his eyes. “You have to ask? I still can’t believe you married him. Him of all people.”

“I never would have imagined it m’self,” she agreed. “And if you must know, I didn’t warm to him immediately when we met in Italy. But he was a familiar face from home, so I was loath to give him the cold shoulder completely.”

“You would have?”

“Certainly.”

“Because Father disowned him?”

“Oh, no, not a’tall. Because my sister would still be here, alive, if Sebastian hadn’t killed Giles.”

“Ah, a deeper grudge than I thought. And yet you married him anyway.” Hearing it put that way, Margaret winced. “Well, he’s still the charming man he used to be.” She almost choked over that lie, but it did get her point across. “I fell in love with the new him, not the old him. It’s bloody hard to differentiate between the two now.” Denton shook his head sadly. “You know I’d hoped—”

Margaret quickly cut him off with the warning, “Don’t say something you’ll later regret.” Her tone had been rather sharp. She curbed it with a smile and patted his hand. “I find I’m pleased to be part of this family again. You know I love Douglas and Abbie. I’m even fond of you. It worries me now that I may not be welcome a’tall when Douglas recovers and finds out Sebastian is here and that I’ve wed him.