Vexing the Viscount

by Christie Kelley

  “Because when I worry, I bite my lower lip, as you so kindly pointed out. You, on the other hand, tap your thumb. It’s been hammering my belly since you curled yourself around me. Would you like to talk about it?”

  “No,” he immediately said, then regretted it. “I apologize. It’s a habit not to speak of things with my . . .”

  “Lovers?” she supplied.

  “Yes.” He kissed her neck. “I just want this man found,” he admitted. “I want our life to start without worrying about who might be after us.” He was surprised at how lovely it felt to speak of his feelings with someone other than his male friends.

  “Will we be safer at the estate?”

  “I believe so.”

  “But you are still concerned,” she added.

  “Yes. I am going to meet with the runner I hired and tell him what I know about Jonathon and what has happened to him. Then I shall get the special license and we will marry in the morning before we leave. Send a note to Hart and your sister so they can witness the event.”

  “I will.”

  He tightened his arm around her as he nuzzled her neck. “Please don’t leave the house today. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”

  She nodded. “Please be careful today.” She rolled over and stared at him. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you either.”

  He wanted to make love to her right then, but he had far too many things to settle before leaving for the estate. “I need to get out of bed.”

  “So soon?” she said, tracing a finger down his jaw.

  He groaned. “Yes. I really must.” He clasped her hand and kissed it. “This we will do later.”

  “Good.”

  He quickly dressed and went downstairs for some coffee and food. As he ate, he pondered what he could do to find the person responsible for trying to kill him. A knock at the front door brought him back to reality.

  “My lord, Mr. Alistair Tavers is here to see you and says it is of the utmost importance.”

  “Show him to my study, Nelson.”

  Braden wondered why Alistair would be here so early in the morning. It was only nine. With a shrug, he walked to the study, where he found Alistair pacing the room. “Alistair, what is wrong?”

  “Thank God, you are all right,” he said. Relief filled his face. “When it happened, I could only assume someone must have gotten to you and Jonathon.”

  “Sit down and tell me what has you in such a state.”

  Alistair took a deep breath and sat in a chair. “Last night, I was arriving home and as I left the carriage, someone took a shot at me. It just missed me.”

  “What does that have to do with me?” Braden asked. “I certainly had nothing to do with it.”

  “Of course you didn’t,” Alistair said vehemently. “I thought if someone was trying to kill me that you and Jonathon must already be dead.”

  “I see.” Braden stared at his cousin. Nothing in his attitude today looked as if it was a performance. Alistair seemed genuine. “And if I were dead and Jonathon too, you would be the next viscount.”

  “I don’t want that responsibility,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I wouldn’t mind the money, but I also know most of what you have is from your gaming interests and not the estate. It would only be a burden to me.”

  “Good point. I spoke with Jonathon yesterday and he also believes someone is making an attempt on his life.”

  “Good God! What the bloody hell is happening?” Alistair rose and started pacing again. “Why would anyone want to kill us all? Is there some kind of curse on the title?”

  Braden almost laughed at the idea of a curse on them. “Do you have any idea who would inherit if you had the title and died?”

  Alistair halted his pace. “I have no idea. It never occurred to me to check, because I assumed the chance of inheriting was too slim. After Constance and Louisa, there are no other close relatives and they obviously cannot inherit.”

  A very strange plan came to Braden’s mind. “Why don’t we find out?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What would happen if all three of us should happen to die in an accident?”

  “Dear God, don’t think of such a thing.”

  Braden laughed. “I meant, what if everyone thought we had died?”

  “Oh,” Alistair said with a slight grin as he realized Braden’s plan. “Then whoever believes he is the next in line to inherit will appear to claim the title.” He sat back down. “But Middleton, that could take weeks. I don’t want my sisters to believe me dead all that time.”

  “It might take that long,” he drawled. “Or it might not. If this person is so eager to inherit that he would attempt to kill five people, I doubt he will wait a long time to claim the title.” Even the idea of someone attempting to kill so many for a title seemed mad at best. “No one would believe the man had nothing to do with our deaths.”

  “But where will we go?”

  “Good question.” Braden rubbed his chin. “I believe we need to speak with Jonathon and make sure he is willing to be a part of this plan.” Which brought up another question: How did he contact his brother when he had no idea where he was staying?

  “Once you get word to your brother, let me know. I shall be at my home until this is settled.”

  “Very good. I will let you know as soon as I hear from him.”

  Alistair bowed and left the room. Now Braden was left with trying to determine a way to contact Jonathon and there was only one person who could assist him. He left the house, still wondering what he would say should Eldridge be at home. What excuse could he have for paying a call on Emily?

  There was only one he could think of.

  When he arrived at the earl’s home, he knocked on the door. He handed his card to the butler and waited to be admitted.

  “Lord Eldridge is not at home, my lord,” the stiff butler replied.

  Which was just a way of telling him that Eldridge did not want Braden to enter his home. “I am here to see Lady Eldridge. It is concerning her dear friend Miss Featherstone.”

  “Miss Featherstone?” The butler frowned before opening the door fully to him. “Wait in the salon, my lord. I shall let Lady Eldridge know you are here.”

  Feeling as restless as Alistair must have, Braden paced the room. Finally, delicate footsteps sounded from the hall. He stopped and turned to see Emily standing at the threshold with a look of worry upon her face.

  “Middleton, what happened to Tia?”

  “Lady Eldridge, please sit down with me on the sofa so we can talk.”

  “Oh, God, she’s dead, isn’t she?” Emily covered her mouth as tears formed in her eyes.

  “No. She is not dead.” He sat on the sofa and patted the place next to him. “I must speak with you privately.”

  She tilted her head and then nodded. After sitting, she asked, “What is wrong with Tia?”

  “Nothing,” he said softly. “I must get a message to Jonathon. He came to my home last night, but wouldn’t tell me where he was staying.”

  “I honestly don’t know where he is staying,” she whispered. “I leave a missive for him.”

  “Where?”

  “At Hyde Park. If you go in at Grosvenor Gate, there is a small group of trees on the right. One of them is forked and at the fork, there is a cut in the tree just large enough for a folded piece of paper. That is where we have been leaving the notes.”

  “Thank you, Lady Eldridge.”

  “What exactly are you thanking my wife for, Middleton?”

  Braden looked over to see Eldridge standing at the threshold with his arms folded over his chest. “Miss Featherstone is missing. I thought Lady Eldridge might have heard from her.”

  “And has she?” he asked.

  “No.” Braden rose from the sofa. “I must take my leave now. Thank you for your time, Lady Eldridge.”

  “Of course, my lord. I wish you only the best in finding her.”

  “Th
ank you.” Braden bowed toward Eldridge. “My lord,” he muttered. Once out of the house, he returned home only long enough to write a note to Jonathon. He rode out to Hyde Park and prayed he found the right tree before he left the missive. Now, he needed to get the special license and a note to the runner.

  After he arrived home, he found Tia in the library, reading another book on family history. “Sweetheart, are you still trying to figure out this mess?”

  “Yes, I am. It is also quite interesting to learn of your family history.”

  Since Braden wasn’t certain that this truly was his family history, he only shrugged. “I must speak to you in private.” He closed the door and sat across from her. “I spoke with Alistair this morning and he believes someone is trying to kill him too. I believe our only choice is for all three of us to die in an accident.”

  She sat up straight. “What exactly are you talking about?”

  “We need to stage our deaths. That way, whoever is trying to kill us will come forward. Until he does, we don’t know who it may be.”

  “That is a mad idea! You have no way of knowing if that person is the one trying to kill you.”

  Braden sighed. “Who else could it be?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “Don’t be angry with me, sweetheart. I just want this over.”

  Tia shook her head. “I am not angry,” she admitted. “I too want this over. I only worry that you might not have the right person.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You have no way of knowing if Jonathon and Alistair are telling the truth. If the three of you go together someplace, one of them might kill you.”

  He hadn’t thought of that possibility. She might be right and if she was, he was only giving the killer the opportunity to kill without being caught. But if nothing else, he now understood how prepared he needed to be if they went with this plan.

  “Braden?”

  “I’m sorry. I was woolgathering. There is always the chance that you are right. But at this point, I believe we may not have any other options. I want this settled, Tia. Now.”

  “I understand, but there is another issue.”

  “What?” he asked, assuming she was only trying to stop him.

  “How exactly will you make people believe all three of you died in an accident?”

  Braden shrugged. “We shall stage a carriage accident. Perhaps outside of London, where there are some dreadful roads and hills. Let the word get out that the three of us are going to the hunting lodge.”

  Tia rolled her eyes. “A carriage accident will never do. A coroner will need to verify the bodies.”

  Braden swore softly. That had never crossed his mind. Now what would he do? “There has to be a way.”

  “You will need three dead bodies,” she whispered. “And a fire.”

  “You are starting to scare me,” he said with a smile. “I must remember to never get you too angry with me.”

  She giggled. “The fire must be hot enough to destroy the bodies and make them unrecognizable. And they need to be very close in size to you all. It might help if it looks like you all were drinking heavily before the fire started, which would explain why you didn’t get out.”

  “Thank you,” he said, before kissing her quickly.

  “My lord,” Nelson said from the other side of the closed door. “Mr. Brady is here to see you.”

  “Thank you, Nelson. Show him to my study.” He looked over at Tia. “That is the runner I hired. I must speak with him.”

  “Of course.”

  He rose and then looked down at her with a grin. “I have the special license, so you will be married in the morning and possibly a widow by afternoon.”

  “Do not jest about such a thing!”

  “Tia, everything will work out. I promise.”

  Tia read for over an hour as Braden spoke with the runner. She looked up from her book several times to wonder how she could convince him that the plan to stage his own death was far too mad of an idea to consider. Perhaps if she could see Jonathon, he could talk some sense into his brother. Of course, that was assuming Braden didn’t lock her in his bedchamber if Jonathon arrived.

  There had to be some way of stopping him. She smiled. Perhaps she should lock Braden in the bedchamber, with her. That would keep him from leaving and be quite enjoyable in the process.

  Realizing it might be quite a while before he came out of his study, she went upstairs to find another book she’d left in her room. When she arrived, she found Mrs. Abbott packing her clothes.

  “Am I leaving, then?”

  Mrs. Abbott started. “Dear girl, you gave me such a fright. His lordship asked that you be packed and ready to leave after the ceremony tomorrow. I have time now, so I thought I would get a start on it.”

  “Thank you.” She placed the book next to the valise and trunk. “It is still difficult to imagine that as of tomorrow I shall be a viscountess.”

  “I would think so,” the housekeeper replied as she folded a chemise.

  Tia sat down on the bed with a sigh. “Do you think he is making the right decision, Mrs. Abbott?”

  “About marrying you?” she asked, turning her head to look over at the bed.

  “Of course, about marrying me. I am truly nobody.”

  Mrs. Abbott stopped her packing and walked over to the bed. “I think he must love you very deeply to have decided to marry you. The question is, do you love him in return?”

  Tia bit down on her lower lip and shook her head. “I do love him, Mrs. Abbott.”

  “Then you have nothing to fear, miss. With love, you both can conquer anything. And you will be a viscountess.”

  Then why did she feel such a nagging sense of doubt about her upcoming nuptials? She didn’t question her feelings. Of that, she was confident. And she did believe he loved her. So why did she have any doubts?

  “So why am I nervous?” she finally asked.

  Mrs. Abbott sat next to her and took her hand. “I suppose it is very natural for a woman to be nervous before her wedding. After all, this is a lifetime commitment. There is no getting out of a marriage, or at least the few options are very limited. Since I cannot see his lordship abusing you, there will be no divorce.”

  “I am not worried about that, Mrs. Abbott.” She looked over at the older woman and grinned. “His lordship knows that I have too much of a knowledge of herbs and poisons. He would never hurt me in that manner.”

  “Only possibly in matters of the heart,” she whispered.

  Tia nodded. “I know marrying him is a risk. He was a horrible rake, but he tells me he wants to be a better person. I should believe that, shouldn’t I?”

  Mrs. Abbott squeezed her hand. “Yes, I think you should. After all, since he has been here, the most immoral thing I have seen him do is drag you into his house.”

  Tia giggled. “That was rather wicked of him.”

  “I hear the front door, so Mr. Brady must be leaving. Go down and talk him about your concerns. I am certain he will set your feelings to right.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Abbott. I am going to miss you when we return to the estate.”

  “The next time you come to town, you will be her ladyship. I shall have to be all proper with you.”

  Tia squeezed the housekeeper’s hand. “Do you really believe I shall ever be a proper viscountess? I do believe I will need your assistance quite often.”

  “Miss Featherstone, I cannot believe I am saying this after how I treated you the first day I met you, but I do wish you nothing but happiness.”

  Tia forgot about classes and propriety and hugged the housekeeper. “Thank you, Mrs. Abbott.”

  The housekeeper pulled away. “Now, go down and speak with your future husband while I pack these things for you.”

  Tia smiled as she walked out of the room. Loud voices boomed from Braden’s study. Odd, Mrs. Abbott had thought the runner must have left. Perhaps someone else had arrived.

  She walked closer to the room w
ith trepidation. The voices became clearer to her.

  “How could you bring her into my home like this?” Braden shouted. “This is utter madness. He will kill you.”

  “I don’t care. I had to protect her.”

  Tia inched closer. That voice sounded like Jonathon. Who had he brought with him that had Braden so upset?

  “Why are you so upset?” Jonathon asked. “He will not come after you.”

  The sound of a glass breaking split the air. “Have you completely lost your mind? Of course he will blame me just as much as he will you. She is a married woman. She belongs with him, not you.”

  “Look at her. I cannot bring her back to that bastard,” Jonathon’s voice boomed. “She needs medical assistance. I heard Hart married Mia. I will have Mia come over to help her.”

  There was no need for anyone to call Mia while she was here. She opened the door and gasped at the sight of Emily’s battered face.

  “Tia?” Jonathon stared at her in disbelief. “Oh, this is just too much.” He turned back to face Braden. “Now I understand why you don’t want Emily here. It makes perfect sense. Tia was the woman in your bedchamber making such a din. You never told her about Emily, did you? Or was this just to get back at me for stealing Emily away from you?”

  “What?” Tia uttered. Braden and Emily had been what? Lovers? Courting? “What are you talking about, Jonathon?”

  “Tia, it was nothing,” Braden said slowly, approaching her.

  “Do not tell me something is nothing when I can see it on all of your faces.” Tia crossed her arms over her chest. “Why would Jonathon say you were trying to get vengeance for him stealing Emily from you?”

  Jonathon shook his head with a scowl. “He had been courting Emily. But the first time I saw her, I fell in love with her. My brother was terribly jealous. He knows that you and I formed an attachment, so what better way to get even than to make you his mistress. You haven’t changed a bit, Braden.”

  “That is not true,” Braden said roughly. His face was dark with a murderous rage.

  “I can’t hear any more of this,” Tia cried. She ran from the room, knowing she had to leave him forever.

  Chapter 25

  Braden collapsed into a chair as he watched Tia leave. He steeled himself against the emotions screaming at him to follow her. He couldn’t bear her believing this story. Tell her the truth, he said to himself, but he could not do that. He rose to chase after her until his brother stood to stop him.