Brant knew it would be very unwise and not only because of the damage that would be done to her good name. He wanted her too badly to be within reach of her day and night. Just sitting there watching her sip her tea and nibble on a cake had him taut with lust. Despite how often he had spent himself in the arms of a woman over the past few years, he realized it had been a very long time since he had felt such a swiftly stirred lust, one brought on by merely watching a woman do the simplest of things.
“True. Unfair but true,” Olympia agreed.
“It would not even help save you if you reminded people that you are a widow.”
She caught the glint of annoyance in his dark gray eyes and winced. He obviously thought she had been keeping secrets. In some ways she had been for she did not like to remember her short marriage. She certainly did not like to talk about it. Olympia refused to be embarrassed by her reticence about her past, however.
“I know, but you could stay in the house next door and that would cause no gossip. It is empty at the moment because it is being redecorated for Argus and his new wife, but it is still quite livable. They will not be occupying it for months yet, either, so there will be no rush for you to find another place to stay.”
“That would suit me but are you certain your brother will not mind?”
“Not at all. There may be some work done in the kitchens while you are there but you will be little inconvenienced by that as you can share meals with us here.”
“Olympia, that is most kind of you, but I do not believe my coming and going from here constantly would be a very good idea, either.”
“Then it is a very good thing that you can do so without being seen.”
She stood up and motioned him to follow her. Brant did so, trying very hard not to watch the sway of her hips too openly. Olympia led him toward the back of the house and into a small conservatory. It was not until he reached the door at the end of it that he saw how he could slip from house to house unseen. A long archway covered in ivy ran from the door he stood in front of to the door of a matching conservatory on the other house. No one would see anyone slipping back and forth along that covered path.
“Ingenious but have to ask why it was done,” he said as he watched her unlock the door.
“Argus liked the idea of being able to come and go as he pleased and not even having to worry much about the weather,” replied Olympia. “He is trying to convince our cousin Quentin to do the same to the house he recently bought on the other side of Argus’s. You see, at the time Argus began the work, he had not had any intention of being married and he rather liked the idea that he might be able to come here for meals rather than just sit in his own dining room alone. The children are often here as well and he would come over when they were and share meals with us.”
“And I will do the same,” he said as he accepted the key she held out to him. “Thank you, m’lady. This is the perfect solution.” He grinned briefly. “Not only to my current servant problem but to the fact that we are to be working together to keep Minden from getting his filthy hands on my sister.”
“Shall I have Thomas called?”
“Yes, please. We shall get ourselves settled in the house now. Later we can discuss what needs to be done. Apparently I will not be able to find out things by attending any events and asking around.”
There was a brief look of anger and hurt on his face and she reached out to touch his arm in a gesture of sympathy. “We will sort this out, Brant, and you will be vindicated.”
“I doubt I shall be thoroughly cleansed of the stain of rumor. I have been no angel these last two years.”
“What you did was no more than others have done and they have not been banished from society. You know that. No, I fear your mother has done this to keep you out of society so that she might not be bothered by any interference from you.”
“And hobbled me quite thoroughly in the matter of gaining any information on what she might be involved in. I fear that I will have to call upon you to gather information for me.”
“Something I am very good at, if you will pardon my boasting.”
He reached out to run the back of his fingers over her cheek, finding it just as soft and warm as it looked. “I suspect you have an envious skill at digging out the truth. Because of what my mother has done, I shall have to travel a darker road to try and find out anything useful that will help us end her games.”
Olympia placed her hand over his even though she knew she ought to move away from him, end what was a caress, but she was enjoying his touch too much to end it so soon. She also wanted to comfort him. Brant knew what his mother was because of what she had done to Faith, the girl he had thought to marry, but she doubted he knew the true depths of her cruelty and evil. That she would so completely destroy him in the eyes of society hurt him. She could see it in his eyes. He had protected her name by simply turning his back on her and remaining silent about what she had done. In thanks for that, his mother had stuck a knife deep into his back and twisted it.
“Brant, you will not be able to protect her in any way this time,” she said quietly.
“I know.” He rested his forehead against hers, needing the sympathy she offered. “I banished her from my life and even tried to take the youngsters away from her, but I could not bring myself to totally destroy her. I felt that would hurt the whole family too much. That everyone would be made to suffer if the full truth about her came out. She obviously felt no gratitude for that kindness. Worse, I indulged myself in ways that allowed her to regain her footing and get the upper hand again.”
“You were grieving.”
“I was but I was also trying to drown my guilt.”
“What guilt did you have? You did nothing.”
“I know. I did nothing. And Faith died in fear and pain.”
Olympia kissed him. She was not sure why except that she could not stand to hear the pain in his voice. She was startled when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against him. For a moment, she was unsure when he pressed his tongue against her lips but when she parted them and he thrust his tongue into her mouth, she quickly clung to him. Heat flowed through her body and she actually grew a little weak, as if all the blood had flowed out of her head. The thought that she might actually swoon in his arms like some foolish schoolroom girl restored her sense enough that she placed her hands against his chest and lightly pushed.
Brant realized he was kissing Olympia in a way that revealed all the hunger he felt for her and stepped back. His lack of control embarrassed him. He saw no condemnation on her face, however, and relaxed a little. His body was taut with need but he was certain he did not have to apologize for what he had just done and dearly wished to do again.
“And there is the reason it is best that we will not be sharing a roof,” he murmured as he fought for the strength to release his hold on her.
“Hah, so there you are!”
Glancing over her shoulder, Olympia saw Thomas walking toward them. He had a look on his face that told her he knew exactly what she and Brant had just been doing. Refusing to be embarrassed about being caught in a man’s arms, she slowly stepped back from Brant and smiled at Thomas.
“Yes, here we are,” she said. “I was about to call for you.”
Before Thomas could express his opinion of that claim, Brant grabbed the boy by the arm and pointed out the door. “We have a place to stay.”
“Oh. So we will not be here to eat what Enid and Merry cook then. Are we to get our own cook?” Thomas asked with little enthusiasm.
“We will eventually, when we finally settle in our own home. For now we will slip in and out of the Warren to get our meals.”
“That will be good. I will also be able to see Merry whenever I wish.”
“Then let us go and collect our things so that we can get settled in.”
“I will send Merry and Enid over to be certain the beds are made and you have all you need,” said Olympia even as she started out of the r
oom.
The moment the door shut behind Olympia, Brant found himself faced with a scowling Thomas. “Is the house not to your liking? Would you rather stay here?”
“I would rather you do not play any rogue’s games with her ladyship,” said Thomas. “I may be but a small lad but I can see when a fellow is being a mite forward with a lass.”
“Ah, well, yes I was being a bit forward. It is why we will not stay here. I fear Olympia is a woman I feel a strong inclination to get, er, forward with. I did nothing she did not accept willingly though,” he added quietly.
Thomas nodded. “That be all right then. Best we go and get settled. I have a feeling we will be doing a lot of running about soon.”
Olympia sipped a glass of wine and stared into the dying fire. Thomas and Brant had joined them for the evening meal and then hurried back to Argus’s house. Although Brant had not been cool toward her, he had not acted much like a man who had melted her bones with a kiss only a few hours ago, either. Olympia did not want to be just another plaything for him but she did not particularly like how he could blow hot and cold. She was still struggling to regain her senses after that kiss, her mind filled with thoughts about what she should or should not do next.
“The man is a rogue,” said Enid as she entered the room to bank the fire. “But a day in his presence and he is already kissing you.”
She looked at Enid. “What makes you think he kissed me?”
“The way your lips were all swollen and red after he trotted away to your brother’s home.”
Olympia touched her mouth. “Swollen and red?”
“Not grotesquely so, so do not look so worried. But, you should have enough sense to know when a man is a rogue. You have a lot of them in your family.”
“Enid, I know Brant is a rogue and has wallowed in being one for two years. He was no angel before that, either. Howbeit, I am also a woman of six and twenty, not some virginal, innocent child. It was but a kiss.” She sighed. “He looked so hurt about how his mother has so thoroughly destroyed his good name, that I felt compelled to try and comfort him. In all fairness to that rogue, I kissed him first. He but responded with enthusiasm.”
“You want him.”
“Aye, I do and that both alarms and pleases me. I fear I may not be able to, well, enjoy a man and yet am pleased that I would even consider doing so.”
“It has been thirteen years, Ollie,” Enid said quietly. “It was horrible what you suffered but most of the fear and hurt must have eased by now.”
“I think so yet I worry that, at some point, I might find that it has not.”
“Do you think the earl is the man you want, the man you could love?”
“I do not know about loving the man, but I do want him. The very fact that he makes my blood heat makes me want to both run away and throw him to the floor so I can ravish him.” She grinned when Enid laughed. “I do not know yet what I plan to do with the man.”
“If he makes you feel an attraction, makes your blood heat when it never has before, then I say you should see how it goes. You do not have to worry about losing your virginity and then trying to explain it to whatever man you might wish to marry. You are a widow. Maybe it is past time you found out just how broken or healed you are.”
“Just what I was thinking.” Olympia finished off her wine and then started out of the room. “And, when one considers the matter, who better to help me find that out than a man who has had so much practice in the art of loving?” She closed the door on Enid’s giggles.
Chapter 6
Olympia decided that sharing a morning meal with a man she was strongly attracted to was a dangerous business. Brant had slipped in, unseen as planned, to join her for the breaking of their fast. Yet, even though her two young nephews and Thomas were with them, there was an intimacy to it all that she could not shake. He sat across the table from her dressed as many a man would be to enjoy his first meal of the day, but Brant in his shirtsleeves was a sight she found far too tempting. The fact that he kept looking at her hair, which was only lightly tethered back just as it always was so early in the morning, and his gaze warmed each time he did so, only added to that temptation.
She had seen little of him in the past two days and realized she had sorely missed him. It was strange that she would feel so when they had kissed little and been in each other’s company so rarely after that day she had gone to warn him of the threat to his sister. He had come round for tea and cakes each day so that they could exchange the information each of them was so busy gathering but it was as if he was trying to put, and keep, a distance between them. It would be a wise thing to do but she knew she could not hold to it. It made her heart ache.
She forced her attention to her nephews Artemis and Stefan in the hope of pushing aside her hurt and confusion. At nineteen and seventeen, respectively, they were more men than boys, but she was still very wary of involving them in what could prove to be a very dangerous situation. It had surprised her when the call for help she had sent out the moment she had returned to London had brought them to her door with Penelope’s full approval. They had been a part of the group that had first uncovered the ugly truth about Faith’s disappearance and Lady Mallam’s part in it. Penelope was well aware of how dangerous this new trouble with the woman could be.
“Ashton also wished us to come,” said Artemis, smiling faintly when Olympia scowled at him for using his gift to guess at how she felt, and then he looked at Brant. “Ashton wanted to come but Pen is drawing close to her time and, he worries. This babe appeared too quickly after the twins and he does not want to leave her alone.”
“Understandable,” said Brant, pleased that Ashton still stood by him and feeling a pang of envy over all his friend now had, but he hastily smothered it before any of the gifted people he sat with could sense it. “I am not quite sure how you can help me, however.”
“We lived here for years when it was not such a respectable place and we learned a great deal about even less respectable places when we were sorting out all of Pen’s troubles.”
“Made a few less than respectable friends who could help us now as well,” added Stefan. “Know who to talk to and all.”
“Ah, of course.” Olympia nodded as she spooned some clotted cream onto the sweet buns Enid had made. “I, too, had thought of making use of the boys.”
“What boys?” asked Brant.
“The boys who have just arrived,” Artemis said and then frowned. “Something is not right.”
Brant was just wiping crumbs from his mouth when Enid opened the door to the breakfast room and four ragged boys hurried in. It amused him a little when he was introduced to each one with all the formal courtesy that would have been used had he been meeting fellow members of the aristocracy. The Wherlockes and Vaughns obviously did not stand high and aloof on some pedestal of good breeding but treated all people with dignity until, he suspected, they lost the right to such respect. He supposed he should not be so surprised as the families had some of the most loyal servants he had ever known, ones who acted more like family than servants.
He took a good hard look at each boy as he shook their hands. Beneath the dirt and poor clothing were the signs of bloodlines that might not be completely common. The biggest of the boys, Abel Piggitt, looked to be on the cusp of puberty. He was tall with blond hair and green eyes as well as fine-boned features that made him almost pretty. Daniel Ashburner was ten, information the boy felt compelled to share as he was introduced, with dark red hair and brown eyes that gave him a look of sweetness Brant was certain the boy knew how to use to his advantage. Smaller than Daniel, yet undoubtedly close in age, David Ewen had black hair and gray eyes as well as a somber mien that made Brant want to make the boy smile at least once. Giles Green, clearly the youngest of the four, had black hair and eyes nearly as blue as Olympia’s, making Brant wonder if this was yet another Wherlocke or Vaughn by-blow. Each boy acted and spoke in a way that told Brant someone had seen to some schooling for the boys.
“Enid, I believe we shall need some more food,” said Olympia as she waved the boys toward the table.
“We already washed our hands,” announced Giles and all four boys held up very clean hands for Olympia to inspect.
Despite the obvious hunger the boys revealed, their manners had only the slightest of rough edges as they helped themselves to what food remained on the table. Brant became even more certain that the boys were being taught by someone and suspected that Olympia was the one seeing that they were trained in ways that could help them better their lot in life. It revealed a generosity of spirit he knew few would ever guess she had.
He sipped at what he considered was the best coffee he had ever tasted and waited as more food was brought in. It was awhile before the boys slowed in their eating enough to explain why they had come to the Warren. Knowing that whatever information the boys had would soon be revealed robbed Brant of the calm and contentment a good breakfast and good company had given him. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled and he could not shake the feeling that he was about to be dealt yet another blow.
“Pardon, m’lady,” said Abel as he wiped his mouth with a finely embroidered napkin. “We was sore hungry and that made us forget why we hurried here to speak to you.”
“Quite understandable, Abel,” said Olympia. “You may tell me your news now.”
“The most important news is that Lady Aggie’s maid has done lost her brother. Lady Aggie was right upset o’er that and made us swear to tell you as soon as could be done.”
“What do you mean by lost her brother?”
“The lad disappeared yestereve, he did. He is but eight years, same as Giles here, and the maid has had the care of the boy since he was born and all. Soon as he could he helped some in the kitchens or the stables to earn his keep. Good lad, he was. Everyone says so. No one thinks he ran off or the like, but he be gone for certain.”
“Just like our Ned and Peter and my aunt,” said Thomas. “I wager the lad was another by-blow.”
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