by Cheryl Holt
“Serves you right, you vain ass,” she mumbled under her breath, then she forced a smile and walked faster.
Jacob had followed Margaret to Scotland, and in the interim, Roxanne’s plan had been to travel to town, but once Kit had chased Miss James away, there hadn’t been any reason to leave.
Miss James had been the impediment to Roxanne’s happiness, but with the vixen gone, Jacob would forget her quickly enough. Roxanne was ready to proceed to the wedding, and she simply had to get him accustomed to the notion again.
She’d confronted him about Miss James, and he’d been incredibly embarrassed, and she would use his humiliation to her own advantage. He could likely be coerced into handing over numerous boons to wipe away some of his misdeeds.
She headed straight to the library, and the butler was lurking. He saw her and said, “Miss Ralston is here, Captain.”
“Send her in please,” Jacob responded.
Roxanne hadn’t known what to expect as she entered the room. She’d figured Jacob would introduce her to his bastard half-brother. Or perhaps his brother was staying for supper or for the night, and she’d have to arrange it.
Well, she would do whatever Jacob required. In that, she would be grace personified.
“You needed me, Jacob?” she said as she swept in.
She looked beautiful and glamorous, and she wanted his brother to be envious, but as she assessed the two men, a bit of anxiety flared.
Jacob was seated at the massive desk, and his half-brother was standing behind him, like a sentinel guarding his back.
“Sit down, Roxanne,” was Jacob’s answer to her greeting.
There was a chair positioned directly opposite him, and it was obviously for her. There was a perception in the air that an inquisition was about to start—and she would be the tortured party.
She nearly refused his command, nearly stomped out, but from how Caleb Ralston was glaring, she suspected he might run her down and drag her back.
She strolled over and eased down, taking an inordinate amount of time to adjust her skirt.
“From how you’re glowering,” she said to Jacob, “it appears you’re angry. Have I upset you? If so, let me apologize.”
Caleb Ralston snorted at that, and Jacob said, “This is my brother, Caleb.”
“Hello, sir.”
He didn’t acknowledge her by so much as a dip of his head, and a niggle of panic ignited. Those blasted rumors from Florence! Had they caught up with her?
“Is this about the duel in Italy?”
The question burst out; she couldn’t swallow it down, and Jacob blanched. “No, but that’s probably a subject we’ll have to address before we’re finished.”
“Her foibles in Italy are irrelevant,” Caleb Ralston said. “You have plenty of proof without it.”
Roxanne scowled ferociously. “Mr. Ralston, as you and I are not acquainted, there’s no need for us to converse. I should like to speak to my fiancé in private. Would you leave us?”
“No.”
The arrogant oaf looked so much like Jacob—same eyes, same mouth, same broad shoulders—that it was uncanny. Their bigamist father, Miles, had definitely passed on some strong traits.
“What’s happened?” Roxanne demanded of Jacob, seizing the initiative. “Why are you staring at me with such . . . such malice?”
“Caleb brought me some interesting news.”
“On what topic?”
“On you and some of your history.”
“Your half-brother and I only met this very moment, so I can’t imagine what details he could possibly possess.”
“Tell me about you and Kit.”
“Me and . . . Kit?” She frowned, pretending confusion. “What about us? I loathe him and it’s a mystery to me why you continue to employ him. He’s rude, lazy, and incompetent, and his very presence at the estate is a disservice to you.”
“I’m not talking about your current relationship. I’m talking about a decade ago when you and your mother lived in Telford.”
Her heart fell to her feet. Somehow, she managed to keep her gaze steady. She would deny and deny until she drew her last breath.
“I didn’t know Kit a decade ago.”
“He had kin there for a few years, and he visited them in the summers.”
“I really don’t recall.”
“Don’t you?” The query hung in the air between them, then his expression grew a tad cruel. “I don’t necessarily judge you for your affair. He always viewed himself as quite a rake, and you had to be . . . what? Fifteen? I’m sure the liaison spun out of control before you completely understood what was occurring.”
“I’m a virtuous woman, and I’m astonished that you’d raise such a hideous accusation.”
Jacob chuckled nastily. “Give over, Roxanne. Your sins have been exposed. What’s truly aggravating me is how you’ve practiced your subterfuge. The family previously intended a match for us, yet secretly, you were an unwed mother. You birthed Clara, then you fled the country without a hint to any of us.”
“You’re spewing nonsense.”
He ignored her. “Then, when my mother suggested we finally follow through with the engagement, you raced home to marry me. It must have come as a shock to find Clara here too.”
“I’m totally bewildered as to who you mean.”
Jacob had a method of staring a person down, one he’d perfected on the sailors under his command. Who could stand up to him when he glared like that?
She glanced down at her hands, unable to persist with their visual battle, but her mind was awhirl as she struggled to devise the best path. A fraught silence festered, and Caleb Ralston filled it.
“Joanna James is safe and staying with my fiancée. She told me how you nearly murdered her and Clara. You stabbed her dog, then set their house on fire—with them in it—so they’d die in the blaze.”
“Shame on you, Roxanne!” Jacob scolded. “What were you thinking?”
Before she could stop herself, she said, “I didn’t do anything to the pathetic trollop. It was Kit’s idea.”
Caleb Ralston tsked with offense. “When I meet a woman like you, I wonder how the Good Lord lets some of you bear children.”
“It was Kit’s doing, was it?” Jacob’s tone was even, his deportment calm. They might have been discussing the weather. “I figured you’d blame him for any mischief, but this isn’t about Kit. This is about you and how you’ve deceived me for so long.”
“I didn’t deceive you! How would I have?”
Caleb Ralston butted in again. “Are you deaf, Miss Ralston? Or are you stupid? You had a child out of wedlock, then you snuck to Italy so Jacob wouldn’t learn of it. You paid the midwife to make your daughter disappear. Then, years later, when you discovered she was living in Jacob’s woods, you attempted to murder her all over again.”
“Murder her!” Roxanne huffed. “That’s insane.”
“What precisely,” Jacob asked, “were you assuming Joanna’s aunt did with Clara? Did you suppose she drowned her in a stream? Did you hope she left her in the forest for the fairies?”
“You have no right to criticize me,” she fumed, abandoning any pretense. “You can’t imagine what that period was like.”
“Exactly. I can’t imagine it, and I’m not criticizing you. Not over Kit seducing you or you having a baby as the result. If there’s condemnation occurring, it’s because you were going to wed me, despite this debacle. If you’d told me about your mistakes as a girl, I’d have tried to forgive you. But you didn’t. You’d have been my wife, and you’d have strutted around in my home, while you and Kit snickered behind my back over how you’d tricked me.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“What was it like then?”
Jacob’s fury was bubbling to the surface and about to boil over.
If it washed over her, how could she keep from being scalded?
“You agreed to marry me,” she said, “and I won’t allow you to cry off.”
“After what’s been revealed, you think I’d proceed? You’re the kind of woman who would kill her own daughter. You’re a monster, and I declare our nuptial contract to be null and void.”
Roxanne bristled. “I didn’t start that fire!”
“I don’t believe you. I’m certain you were at Kit’s side, directing his aim.” Jacob peered over at his brother. “Get her out of my sight. I can’t look at her another second.”
Caleb Ralston pushed away from the wall. He walked over, grabbed her arm, and lifted her to her feet.
“Let’s go, Miss Ralston.”
“To where?”
“You’re being arrested, and there are men waiting in the driveway who will convey you to the jail.”
She laughed, as if it was the most ridiculous comment she’d ever heard. “Arrested on what charge?”
“Attempted murder—for now.” Her knees gave out, but he didn’t permit her to fall. He simply tightened his grip and continued. “I suspect it will be arson too, as well as destruction of property, false dealing, breach of promise. I’m very rich, and I can hire the best lawyers in the land to help Jacob skewer you. The prosecutor will likely pile on so many felonies that we’ll have to have a book printed to list them all.”
She tried to wrench away, but couldn’t, so she turned her beseeching gaze to Jacob. “Jacob, please. Don’t do this! You can’t want to.”
“I do want to actually. I want to very, very much. And just so you know, I’ve decided to wed Joanna James.”
“What? No! I refuse to step aside.”
“After I’m her husband, I will adopt Clara, so she’ll be mine forever. You don’t care about her, but I shall be delighted to be her father.”
He nodded to his brother, and Caleb Ralston said, “Come, Miss Ralston. We’re escorting you to the magistrate, then you’ll be locked away until your trial. In light of the seriousness of your crimes, you shouldn’t plan on ever being released.”
“This isn’t right! I’m guilty of nothing!”
Neither of them would listen, and she was so disoriented, she could barely keep her balance. She’d thought she’d been invited down to the library to play hostess for Jacob, to pour tea, to charm his half-brother. But she was being arrested? She was on her way to jail?
She was a modest, ordinary female. How was she to grapple with such an outrage?
Caleb Ralston dragged her out so fast that she didn’t manage a final glimpse of Jacob. She was marched to a carriage, her wrists and ankles bound with a rope, then Mr. Ralston tossed her in and shut the door.
Despite how she wrestled and begged, he didn’t heed her, and he didn’t let her go.
“What did you need?” Kit glared at Jacob and said, “I’m in no condition to navigate the stairs, and it was cruel of you to demand I attend you down here.”
Jacob was seated behind his grand library desk, and he waved Kit to the chair across. Kit limped over and eased down, wincing in pain as he knocked his wound against the chair leg.
“You’re looking worse by the second,” Jacob said.
“I’m feeling worse.”
“It’s too bad Miss James ran away. She might have been able to help you.”
Kit shivered, desperate to forget the curse she’d leveled, then he scoffed. “I’m not sure I’d have let that witch lay her hands on me, and I use the term witch literally. The woman was unnatural, and we’re lucky she’s gone.”
“Are we?” Jacob studied him in an unnerving way. “We’ll be making some changes at the estate.”
“You brought me down to talk about the estate? It couldn’t have waited until I was better?”
“No. My news is a tad urgent.”
“May I hope it involves that pompous bastard Sandy? He can’t be rewarded for his mischief with Margaret.”
Jacob didn’t offer an opinion on the comment, but said, “A bit earlier, I tried to discuss the audit with you, but you weren’t interested in the results.”
“I was interested! I’m simply miserable. Can’t we dicker over it later?”
“It doesn’t appear to me that you’ll improve any time soon.”
Jacob was drinking a glass of whiskey, and Kit wanted to ask if Jacob would pour him one too. A shot of fortification would be beneficial, but from Jacob’s glum demeanor, Kit received the distinct impression that he oughtn’t to request any liquor.
“Could we get on with it?” Kit was too grouchy to be sociable. “I’d like to head back to bed.”
“Yes, we can get on with it. How about this? You’re fired.”
Kit couldn’t have heard correctly. “What?”
“You’re fired. For embezzlement.”
“Now just a damned minute!”
“I will be hiring investigators to search your bank accounts. Any money that’s left? I’ll find it.”
“I’ve never stolen a farthing from you,” Kit furiously fumed. “If some idiotic London accountant claims otherwise, let him raise the allegation to my face!”
“It’s hard numbers, Kit, and you never were very good at math. You didn’t hide your larceny very well either. It was a simple matter to unravel it.” Jacob sighed, as if Kit was a great burden, then he added, “Unfortunately, I’ll never recoup the income that was squandered due to your mismanagement of my affairs. It’s a loss I’ll have to swallow as unrecoverable.”
“I’ve been terrific at my job! It’s not my fault if crops fail or the weather won’t cooperate. You can’t blame me for the stupid decisions and laziness of your tenants.”
“I can absolutely blame you.” Jacob grinned evilly. “And I am blaming you, so I’m rectifying the situation immediately. You’re fired, and I’ll be giving your post to my brother-in-law.”
Kit’s fever was muddling his thought processes, so it took him a moment to deduce to whom Jacob referred. When he realized the truth, he bristled with offense. “You’re giving my job to Sandy? Tell me you’re not.”
“He’s always run the property anyway, so we’re merely making it official. He’s been the stable influence behind the scenes who plastered over your mistakes.”
“I can’t believe you’d treat me this way,” Kit muttered. “After everything I’ve done for you! After everything we’ve meant to each other! As my reward, you’ll toss my position to that insolent braggart?”
“I’m giving him your house too. Margaret is supposedly barren, but I’m an optimist. I pray they have a dozen children, so they’ll be needing more space.”
“But . . . but . . . where am I to live? Am I moving into the manor? I guess I could be happy with a suite in the east wing.”
“You won’t be moving into the manor.”
Jacob’s tone was so icy that a shiver slid down Kit’s spine. “What are you intending for me then?”
The door opened, and Kit glanced around to see a tall blond man enter the room. He looked rich and important, and Kit figured he’d finally met the notorious Caleb Ralston.
“Is she settled?” Jacob asked him.
“Yes,” his half-brother said. “She spat and complained and cursed all my unborn sons, but she’s ready to go.”
“Who is ready?” Kit asked, but they ignored him.
Instead, Jacob said, “Kit, this is my brother, Caleb.”
Kit nodded his head. “A pleasure, Caleb.”
The bastard snidely retorted, “You and I will never be on a first-name basis. You can call me Mr. Ralston.”
Prick!
The Ralston men could be the most arrogant asses in the world, so there was no point in hurling a scathing response. Especially when he was feeling so poorly. He’d never start a fight he couldn’t win.
To soothe over the awkward introduction, he said, “I apologize that I didn’t rise to greet you, but I’ve injured myself.”
Jacob smirked. “You told me you cut yourself on a fence post. I’d like to see your wound.”
“It’s quite ghastly,” Kit replied, “and I’d rather not display my bodily parts in front of your half-brother.”
“Show me,” Jacob commanded. “I’m afraid I must insist.”
The brothers stared him down, demanding he obey—as if he were the lowest pot boy in the kitchen. If he’d been more hale, he’d have jumped up and stomped out, but he simply didn’t have the energy to make a scene.
He blew out a heavy breath, then lifted his trouser leg and unwrapped the bandage.
“Stand up and turn around,” Jacob said.
Kit tried to push himself to his feet, but he was faint and off-balance. Caleb Ralston marched over, grabbed his arm, and hefted him up. He was taller and broader than Kit, and with Kit’s health so reduced, he seemed impossibly large and imposing.
He bent down for a closer view, then he scoffed. “It doesn’t look like any cut from a fence post I’ve ever seen. It looks to me like a dog bite.”
Kit blanched before he could conceal his reaction. “Don’t be absurd. Where would I have gotten a dog bite?”
“Where indeed?” Caleb Ralston mused.
He shoved Kit onto the chair, and Kit reapplied his bandage. The brothers continued to glower, and Kit’s pulse raced with alarm. Why had Caleb Ralston arrived? Clearly, he’d spread rumors that had upset Jacob, but he was a stranger to Kit. Why would he possess any information that might be detrimental?
Jacob switched topics without warning. “Tell me about you and Roxanne.”
“Me and . . . Roxanne?” Kit’s sense of being off-balance increased. “Why would you ask about her? I can’t abide her, and if you wed her, you’ll be sorry forever.”
“After she gave birth to Clara—”
Kit gasped; he couldn’t help it. “What was that?”
