“You have betrayed this family, Uncle Christian. My father is probably rolling in his grave.”
“I doubt that, Peter. Your father was a lazy enough fellow in life. I do not believe he has decided to change in death. And now, Felix. I leave Peter to you.”
“What? No, Uncle. You cannot. You cannot let this lout put his hands on me!”
“You should have curbed your wicked tongue, Peter. You were brought up to be a respectful little prick. Instead, you have merely become a little prick. I am sorely disappointed in you. Perhaps, this is just the lesson you need.”
Felix rubbed his hands together, and walked toward Peter. His eyes went wild, and he attempted to run from him, fleeing out through the Library doors.
“I have always been fond of a good chase. I suppose he is the fox in this scenario, eh?” he asked, tearing after him. “Tally ho,” he called out.
Peter was a slippery little devil. He made for the South Drawing Room and attempted to hide amongst the guests. Felix located him with ease, and hauled him off his feet, while the fellow howled like he was murdering him.
The other guests gasped, and then, grew intrigued. The crowd of gentlemen, lords and ladies followed him through the house. Felix broke out onto the grounds, and marched toward the stables. Peter was flailing about rather like a fish wiggling on the end of a hook.
“Put me down this instant, you devil! I shall have you flogged for this. I shall bring charges against you. You shall rue the day you met me, you blasted rattle pate.”
“Enough with the singeing insults. You are obviously at a disadvantage, and yet you are still blathering about,” he said. “Shit it is.” Peter had brought out Tiny, and now he would have a devil of a time smothering that rather strong part of his personality.
He heard the crowd murmuring. Attempting to figure out what he planned to do with Peter.
“No,” Peter screamed. “Put me down this instant, you bloody fool.”
“Oh, I’ll put you down when I am good and ready.” Felix charged toward the stables, and stopped by a cart that a stable boy was shoveling shit into. The stable boy stopped and gave him an inquisitive look. “And this is where we part ways, Mr. Blessing,” he said, tossing him into the cart.
“Oh, that’s terrible that is,” the stable boy said, wrinkling his nose.
The guests all gasped, some laughed, and some cheered.
One gentleman said, “That gives a whole new meaning to being in deep shit, doesn’t it?”
Another gentleman said, “That is one shitty blessing,” which earned more laughs.
Felix turned around to see Epiphany standing, leaning against her father. She wore a contented smile. He wondered if she realized that she stood with her father in front of the rest of his friends. She still wore her breeches. Her appearance along with what he had just done to Peter Blessing would be the talk of the ton for months to come.
“Well, there you have it,” he heard Lewis say. “I told you all we had to do was follow the crowd to find Felix. I knew that he had commanded an audience. He always does. Look at the old chap. He is in top form today.”
How could they have gotten here so quickly? They must have already been on their way. He smiled at his mates. It looked as if they had all gathered, save for Gideon.
“Lawks, Felix, this was certainly worth hauling my arse out of bed for,” Lucky exclaimed. “I am so glad I didn’t miss it. But whatever made you throw that fellow into a pile of shit?”
“I gave him a choice.”
“Let me guess,” Freddie mused. “He had a choice between shite and snow, didn’t he?”
“Aye.”
“What made the poor bastard pick horse shit?” Clarence asked.
“His mouth made the choice for him,” Felix said grimly.
They all chuckled. “Come now, everyone, let us go back inside of the house for some refreshments to warm ourselves up,” Colonel Blessing said. “Peter, see if the grooms will help you get cleaned up. I shall send my valet down to the stables with an outfit I do not plan on wearing anymore.” With those final words to his nephew, the Colonel turned back toward the house and left them.
Felix followed the rest of house party back into the house. “Lewis, I need you to look over Lady Epiphany. She had a tumble from her horse earlier.”
“Did she? She looks rather good for having such an accident. You seem to have brought out the best in the young lady.”
Felix’s cheeks warmed. “Unfortunately, some of the inhabitants of this house brought out Tiny.”
“Poor them,” Freddie said. “Ah, that man is going to be smelling shit for ages. He will never get the stink out of his nose. He can change his clothes, and take a hundred baths, but it’s going to linger.”
“So will the taste in his mouth,” Lucky said.
“What did he do?” Clarence asked.
“He kept insulting me, and Lady Epiphany, and he refused to call me Lord Spaulding.”
“That’s the first time I have ever seen you punish anyone for not addressing you in the proper manner. You usually don’t give a rap,” Freddie mused.
“That’s only because this little prig set me off. I am usually such an amiable old bloke.”
Lewis sighed. “I wondered about the goings on at this house after I saw Lord Painswick in London. I thought something fishy might be going on.”
“In what way?” Felix asked, intrigued.
“Let me only say that there is more than meets the eye to Lord Painswick’s ailments. I don’t think his daughter shall have to fear losing him. Not in the foreseeable future anyway. I think I have shielded him against what was troubling him for now. I do believe, I scared the wits out of the person doing it, and have stopped them from harming him any further.”
“You are speaking in riddles, Lewis. Does this have something to do with your…your…” Felix didn’t want to say it aloud.
“My witch blood?” he supplied for him.
“Aye.”
“Yes, I do believe it does. It was done by someone not exactly skilled. Skilled or not, their efforts were having a pretty debilitating effect on the Earl. I think he should be fine now.”
“And you are just mentioning this to me now?” Tiny asked.
“I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s Christmastide, and Lord Painswick asked me not to speak of it. He himself was a little incredulous about it all, and I don’t think he believed me at first, until he noticed that his own health was improving. I went back to see him several times after my first visit—the first one was the only one you witnessed.”
They all stopped before walking back into the house. Epiphany had gone back into Blessing Hall with her father, and the other guests followed them.
“So…so basically, someone was deliberately making Colonel Blessing ill?”
“Indeed. They had cursed him to die. It only would have been a matter of time. However, I have broken the curse and reversed the effects, and he is now guarded against any further maliciousness.”
“And Epiphany?”
“Epiphany is fine. The person responsible was only cursing the Colonel. She wasn’t the target of any maleficence.”
“I think my head is starting to feel like Lady Epiphany’s. I have a dull ache now,” Tiny said, sighing.
“I would listen to Doc,” Freddie said. “Do as he advises, and all will be well.”
“There isn’t any pressing need to find the culprit, Felix. They are weaker than I. I have broken the thread that was attached to him, and I have done what else I can to heal him and guard against any further maliciousness. I suppose I should be thankful that my mother urged me to learn about stuff like this as a child. The person who did it wasn’t skilled nearly as much as me in the Craft. If only we hadn’t had to have our lessons in secret. I suppose the little demon that my father thought was inside of me has its uses after all.”
“What you have residing within you is a blessing, not a curse, Doc. It is an angel. Not a demon. Your abilities have
saved our hides plenty of times,” Felix said. Still, he felt a little nervous. If that person tried to act out against the Colonel again, he didn’t know if he would be able to stop them. “So it’s all been taken care of, then, Doc?”
“Aye. I do not think the individual responsible is brave enough to stand against me, and give it another go.”
“So, it was all done by using a foul bit of magic.”
“The foulest form. Fortunately, for us, the person responsible is not well schooled in this particular form of the Craft, and I have shut them down. Should they try to start it again, they will have all of the harm they seek to inflict on Colonel Blessing reflect back onto them. I frightened the culprit badly. I do not think they shall try doing anything else to him. Don’t fret about it. Just keep a watchful eye out, and no further harm shall befall the good Colonel.”
“So…so you’re telling me that the Colonel isn’t going to die? That he is safe? He…will live?”
“Well, we all die, Felix. We can’t escape our time when it comes calling. We are, after all, mere mortals,” Lewis said wisely.
“I mean…I mean is he going to last past the New Year? You told me he wouldn’t.”
Lewis winced. “That was the old boy’s idea. He still…he still didn’t believe me after I told him that he would recover. Given a bit of time. I healed him as best I could but still his body needed time to heal. He still felt weakened, and he wouldn’t believe me, I couldn’t tell him that he had been cursed, I didn’t know if I could trust him or not, so I merely told him that the malady that was afflicting him would be cured, should he drink the tincture I gave him over the period of ten days. I thought he was at death’s doorstep, and he wanted to make quite certain that you…”
“Would feel obliged to marry his daughter,” Felix groaned. “Well, he had the noose around my neck, didn’t he? I shouldn’t be surprised, he has always been a wily old fox. Nothing it seems, has changed since I knew him last.”
Now what the bloody hell was he going to do?
Chapter Five
“That means you don’t have to marry her, after all. That is jolly good news, Felix. You can continue to be one of the happily unattached.”
Felix sighed. He didn’t want to tell Lucky that he was having second thoughts about the whole thing now. He had forgotten just how enchanting Lady Epiphany could be. He wanted to agree with Gilbert, but something held him back. A niggling doubt at the back of his mind, and in the cockles of his heart.
“We shall see, Gil. I can’t very well leave her, not while knowing that someone was trying to hurt her father. What if they try to hurt her? No, I shall have to remain.”
“You don’t have to save her, Felix. Lewis is fully capable of doing that. Why he could do it with one hand tied behind his back.”
Lewis cleared his throat. “She isn’t my lass to save, Gil. And besides, I cannot stay here for long. I promised Iris I would be back at Evesham Hall by tonight. And I have never broken a promise to my wife, and I don’t intend to start now. I can check in every so often. Possibly once a day, as it isn’t a long or hard ride back and forth but I cannot take up residence here. I think the best thing is if Felix remains here. He…I do not think he shall fall victim to the person who is harassing the Earl. Felix always has had a penchant for averting disaster. I think he has been charmed from birth. He might not have my abilities but he does have something that others do not possess. He is the man for this particular job. I have full faith in him.”
“I don’t,” Felix said flatly. “I don’t know if I can do what is needed of me. I don’t even know if I can marry Lady Epiphany even though I don’t think I want to leave her to the mercy of her cousin. What if her cousin is the one behind it all? He is the one I dumped into the shit, and he is a foul little cretin.”
“I don’t think so,” Lewis shook his head. “I don’t sense any sort of magic clinging to him. I do think he’s foolish enough to meddle in such things. However, he doesn’t give me that feeling. I should know it if I am in the same room with the person responsible. These individuals are why so many fear the word, witch. Rarely are they born with the innate gifts, they only seek to harness the power, and without the raw natural talent, it’s too damn unpredictable.”
“So, we are sitting on an unstable powder keg?”
“I hope not. I dearly pray that Blessing Hall isn’t housing that. I don’t think they were able to do anything that advanced. I also do not believe the person had the talent to do such a thing. But if it will put your mind at rest, allow me to roam about the place a bit. I should be able to tell you more once I have had a good little wander.”
“Then, let us go inside, and pray that the houseguests have dispersed,” Felix suggested.
*****
Epiphany sat with Felicity in her lap.
Lord Spaulding hadn’t returned. She wondered if he had decided to call it all off, and return to Evesham Hall with his friends. Still, he hadn’t brought Lord Cary to see her, so she hoped he was still around…somewhere.
“His friends are always there for him,” her father mused, pacing restlessly in front of the roaring fire. He sighed, and then groaned.
“Shouldn’t you be attending to the guests now that Peter isn’t around, Papa? I am in no mood to entertain them.”
“Those remaining on, decided to go to their rooms. Many left, and I wager that some of them are packing their trunks to return home as we speak. Some of them did not appreciate Felix’s performance with Peter which I suspected would be the case.”
“If you knew that, Papa, why did you let him do it?” she asked softly.
“I allowed him to do it because Peter had it coming to him. In recent years, he has turned into a rude and rotten fellow, and I hope that today’s incident has instilled a little bit of respect into him. I shan’t be surprised if it doesn’t, but I have hope.”
“Some of them probably didn’t approve of my attire. Mayhap, I should retire to my bedchamber and change.”
“No, you stay. You look too pale to be moving about at the moment. Devil take all of them who do not approve of you wearing breeches, Fanny. I don’t care one way or the other.”
“But you made me promise not to wear them when you had friends around the place, and I broke that promise.”
Her father waved his hand dismissively. “It matters not, my dear. I think more of you than I do of them anyway. We both did things we promised not to do today. Had I not gone on the hunt, you wouldn’t have done what you did, and you wouldn’t have had a tumble. I am just thankful you didn’t break your foolish neck. You realize you could have died, don’t you?” Emotion strangled his usually controlled tone. He looked at her with a wild glint in his eyes. If she left him, it would break his heart—and his soul. She had seen how her mother’s death had affected him—her father wouldn’t survive another loss.
“Aye, Papa. But then, that is a chance that any lady takes when riding a horse. You know that.”
“You wouldn’t have risked your life had you ridden Lord Rascal instead.”
“Do you think that he shall figure out that Lord Rascal was named for him as well?”
“As soon as he hears the name, oh, aye, he shall know. There is one thing Felix isn’t, and that is daft,” Christian said, turning to her and winking. “He has a good sense of humour, so I warrant he won’t take offense, still I shall have a good chuckle as recognition dawns on his face.”
“I wonder what is taking them all so long. Surely, they wouldn’t stand outside chatting away for this length of time.”
“You would be surprised how chatty some men can be. They are old mates. They share a lot, and must never run out of things to talk about.”
“He has only been away from them for a few hours, and we are old friends of his as well, aren’t we?”
Christian stopped pacing, and looked to the door. She saw worry flash across her father’s features. He looked incredibly furtive all of a sudden.
“I think…I think I
should go and check in on them. You stay here, I shan’t be but a moment.” With those words, he quickly left the room.
Why did she feel as if there was something her father wasn’t telling her? It was a most disconcerting sensation, as they had always shared everything before. Suspecting that he wasn’t being entirely open with her, made her more than a little apprehensive.
*****
Felix sighed. They were just coming down the stairs, having made a full inspection of the house. He knew their nosiness had raised more than a few eyebrows amongst the staff, and he had seen a few footmen and maids scurry back to their areas, in a bid to most likely report to the butler or housekeeper, or both. He didn’t like going about this so covertly, but he agreed with Lewis, it was best to make quite certain that no unnatural activity was going on within Blessing Hall’s walls.
The butler waited for them at the bottom of the main stairwell. He looked a little wary.
“Lord Spaulding, Lord Painswick and Lady Epiphany are waiting for you in the Library, or at least, they were,” he said, clearing his throat nervously, as his eyes rested on Lord Painswick who was hurrying toward them.
Oh, aye, Christian Blessing didn’t look like a dead man walking. Not now, anyway. He thought back to how fragile the man had looked when he had been reunited with him in London, and now…now, the way he looked it was almost unbelievable that he had been so ill only a few short weeks ago.
“Felix! What are you and your mates, up to?” Colonel Blessing looked over all of them, his perceptive eyes assessing all.
His Blessed Epiphany (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 9) Page 5
