“Where did they all come from?” asked Olympia as Iago returned from the kitchens he had rushed to with a large tankard of cider and some sweet honey cakes for Stefan.
Argus quickly repeated all he had been told, and nodded when Olympia looked at all three boys in horror. “Aye, they have been very lucky.”
Olympia looked at Argus after studying each boy for a moment as if to reassure herself that they were hale. “Lorelei brought them to you?”
“Darius and Olwen went to the manor first,” replied Argus and nodded at her look of chagrin.
“She was unhappy, I think,” said Darius. “When I first saw her I thought she had a very pretty and bright aura, but after we told her who we were, there was a darkness there, like a big bruise.”
Argus winced. “She was just surprised as she did not know that I had any children.” He tried not to fidget beneath the looks all three boys gave him as he could read their skepticism in their eyes. “She is the woman who saved me,” he said and gave them a brief summation of how Lorelei had taken him out of his prison.
“I wager Max did not like that,” said Darius.
“Ah, so you have met the butler.”
“We did. She told us that it was useless to try and outstare the man, and I could see that it was. He has an aura like some soldiers I have seen and acts like he commands an army.”
“Since you will be staying here for a while, I suspect you will meet Lady Lorelei’s family and will see that, in many ways, that is exactly what Max does.”
“So she really does have thirteen brothers?” asked Olwen, revealing his awe over that possibility.
“And three sisters and a vast array of cousins who live there or are visiting. And at least one aunt.” He glanced at three scarves that had arrived at the door earlier and then looked at Olympia’s exquisite tatted shawl. “I suspect you will all soon have new scarves,” he murmured. “Now, I believe you need to clean up and may want a rest after your long, foolish journey.”
Stefan and the younger boys all stood and headed toward the door. As they walked out of the room, Olwen paused. “Me and Darius did not bring any clothes”—he looked at his cousin’s sack—“like Stefan did.”
Argus sighed, but before he could say anything there was a knock at the door. Iago moved to answer it, the boys all watching him closely. When he returned he stood before them with a large package.
“Max has sent you some things to wear,” Iago told the boys as he handed them the package, “for, as he put it in his message, you probably need to be deloused.”
It was difficult, but Argus held back his laughter until all three boys were gone, Stefan assuring them that he would see that the younger ones scrubbed themselves vigorously. “I begin to think it is a good thing that the Sunduns do not mix with all that much of society, for someone would surely have stolen that butler away by now.”
“They would have tried,” said Olympia as she stood up, “but Max will live and die here with his duke.”
Argus did not have to consider the truth of her words for long. “Aye, he will. You are looking much better. I cannot help but wonder if fate had a hand in letting Stefan be the one to find out what the boys were doing.”
“If so, I send Dame Fate my warmest thanks. Now, I will see if Stefan needs any help and then I am going for a walk.”
“Olympia, you were barely shuffling your feet only a short time ago. Do you think it wise to go for a walk?”
“Very wise. I have things I must think about,” she murmured and left the room, pausing at the door just long enough to add, “I will take Todd with me.”
“She is going to try and find Lorelei,” said Iago as he sat down and smiled at Argus.
Argus groaned. “Interfering woman.”
“Very much so, but I think she decided it when Darius spoke of the bruise in Lorelei’s aura. Perhaps you should have mentioned your sons.”
“The fact that I have two illegitimate sons is not something one tells a well-bred woman.”
“But it is something one might mention to a lover.”
“I never said we were lovers.”
Iago shrugged. “Did not have to. You have the look of a man who finally eased a fierce knot of frustration. And it was bound to happen, as the two of you stank of want from almost the first day, I suspect. Have never seen two people with that much, well, fire in them.”
Argus growled softly and stood up. “There are times when I could wish many of my family to perdition,” he snapped and walked off to the sound of Iago’s soft laughter.
The sound of Argus’s footsteps had barely faded when Iago heard the softer sound of a lady’s slippers on the floor. “Olympia,” he called and smiled when she peered into the room. “Going to have a talk with Lady Lorelei, are you?”
“Clever cousins can be the bane of a person’s existence.”
“I live to serve. You might try the orchard as Argus was brushing away apple-tree leaves yesterday when he returned home from his walk. I would also suggest you do whatever you can to not have to see what someone has done there.”
“Oh. You think she would actually go to the place where she and Argus made love when she is so angry with him? Hurt, too, I think.”
“I may be wrong, but I believe that is exactly where she has gone. Just what do you intend to say to her?”
“A little of this and a little of that.” She sighed when Iago just stared at her. “I want to know exactly how she feels about the boys and I intend to tell her a few things about why my brother is so cursed reluctant to even say the word marriage.” She turned and walked away.
“Good luck!”
Chapter 13
She would not go up to the gatehouse again. She would not even look in the direction of the gatehouse. She would just forget that the gatehouse was even sitting there with a lying, rutting cur inside.
Lorelei repeated that litany as she marched toward her favorite spot in the orchard. It was probably the wrong place to hide away and lick her wounds, but there were few others that allowed her the privacy she needed. She was certainly not going to hide in her bedchamber like some lovelorn maiden. And, perhaps, sitting in the same place where a rutting, lying cur had robbed her of her virginity would keep her anger to the fore, smothering the pain she knew was just waiting to bring her to her knees.
When she reached her private spot in the orchard, she sat down, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared out at the world through the leaves. For a while all she did was silently call Sir Argus Wherlocke every bad name she could think of. Then she began to make up new ones. She almost wished he could be there so she could express her opinion of him to his lying, rutting face. It took some time, but finally her anger was spent and she slumped back against the tree trunk.
Argus had two sons born on the wrong side of the blanket. Considering how close in age Darius and Olwen were, Argus must have had himself a very busy time thirteen or so years ago. She was not sure of Argus’s age, only estimating that he was near thirty, so he could have been little more than a boy himself.
She frowned and thought that over several times. Argus would have been sixteen or seventeen, maybe even younger. Her eyes widened. And he had had two mistresses? Just as she had begun to see it all as a youthful folly, the facts painted him as a hardened rogue at a very young age.
What Lorelei really felt like doing was having a glorious tantrum, one full of heel drumming, cursing, and the pulling of her own hair. She had gambled her future and her heart on the man. Lorelei hated to think that she had risked so much for the sake of a fine chest and a skill at kissing a woman senseless.
“Sulking?”
Lorelei jumped in surprise, put her hand over her pounding heart, and glared at Olympia as the woman sat down beside her. Glancing out through the leaves she saw a large man idly pacing around just far enough away to guarantee them privacy. Then she abruptly recalled what Olympia’s gift was, of how the woman probably knew exactly what had happened here, and she had
to fight the urge to blush and then run away. Instead she studied the woman. For a woman who had been so bruised and battered a short time ago, Olympia moved with an agile grace. The horrific bruise on her face was almost gone as well.
“You are looking a great deal better than you did even just yesterday,” she finally said.
“Shortly after you left, our cousin Stefan arrived. He had found the note those idiot boys had left and came after them. Another letter has been dispatched to Penelope. Stefan is more man than boy, but he is still only sixteen and her brother so she would worry. He is also a healer and worked his magic on me.” She gave Lorelei a little smile. “And, yes, yet another bastard, but Argus still has only the two. Penelope has cared for all of them since she was little more than a child herself.”
“All? How many are there?”
“With Penelope? Eleven. The men in our family do not always take the care they should. Of course, Argus was not very old when he became a father. Twice. He has since learned to temper himself and take care.”
“They, the children, were just given up?”
Olympia nodded. “Despite being given a healthy annuity, each mother threw away her child. Penelope’s two brothers, both bastards, were tossed aside because her mother remarried and the new husband did not want them. Penelope arranged a place for them to stay and soon the other cast-aside children began to arrive. In Pen’s brothers’ case, it was jealousy that caused her mother to give them up for her father had strayed, shall we say, and the boys were hard proof of that. She also had a rotten stepfather who wanted nothing to do with them. The other children given into her care were set aside mostly because it soon became clear that they were different. You see our gifts are also our curse.”
“I am not sure I understand.”
“Wherlockes and Vaughns have a dismal marital history. It appears to be changing, but many marriages ended badly or struggled on in misery. Mothers, or fathers, the ones who were not Wherlockes or Vaughns, walked away more often than not. They leave their children behind with the gifted parent and some even try to disclaim them. They fear what they have spawned and blame the partner who is of our family for what curses the child. Our own mother stayed longer than most, but it might have been best if she had not. She spread her misery to all of us and both feared and loathed her own children. She kept having them, of course, as she was a dutiful wife. Not faithful, but dutiful. In truth, Father was lucky every one of us was a Wherlocke. And I think we are most fortunate our mother did not smother us right after we left her womb. Father grew bitter so, in a way, we lost him too. Long before he died. They both left little behind but debt and scarred children.”
“Is that why Argus refuses to marry?”
“Aye. He found little different throughout the clan and decided marriage was not for a Wherlocke. We have recently had three women of the family enter into solid, good marriages, but I think he sees them as an aberration.”
“So, he would refuse to marry me even if he really wanted to do so.”
Olympia nodded. “He believes he is saving you from the misery of marriage to a Wherlocke.”
“What an arse.”
Laughing softly, Olympia patted one of Lorelei’s clenched fists. “That he is. You will get no argument from me. That does not mean you cannot change his mind on the matter if you wish to. Unless, of course, you only sought a lover.” Olympia shrugged when Lorelei cast her a look of disgust.
“I am not fool enough to risk my entire future just because a man kisses me senseless.” She sighed. “From almost the first moment I saw him standing in the rose garden, I knew he was the man I wanted. I may be a sheltered country maid, but I have had men court me, have attended balls, house parties, and all of that. Nothing. Not a flicker of interest even though some of the men were nice men, interesting and handsome. I began to think there might be something wrong with me, something lacking inside me.”
“And then came Argus.”
“Yes, and then came Argus. Perhaps I should have given up when he kept pushing me away.”
“Nay. Persistence is what is needed here. But, first, what about Darius and Olwen?”
“They are his sons. My only trouble with all that is that he never told me he had sons. And, yes, a little jealousy.” She grimaced when Olympia just stared at her. “As you will. A lot of jealousy. And that is utterly foolish, for I was but a child when he was breeding his sons. It just keeps reminding me that he has been with a lot of women.”
“Wherlockes and Vaughns breed handsome devils. It is assured that they will have known a few women ere they reach marrying age. Most men do their utmost to get as much experience in that area as they can.”
“I know. I have thirteen brothers. The moment their voices deepen they turn into randy goats.” She smiled when Olympia laughed, but soon grew serious again. “So, do his sons have gifts as well?”
“Darius sees, well, we call them auras. Lights and colors that surround each one of us, with different colors meaning different things. Darius is making a study of them so that he can better understand what he sees. Olwen has visions.”
“And those gifts terrified their mothers enough to toss away their own child?”
“Superstition still runs rampant in this land. Darius says that you have a bright, pretty aura.”
“Oh.” Lorelei did not know what to think of that. “Is that good? It sounds good.”
“It is good. He also said that your Max has one just like some soldiers he has seen.”
“Ah, that suits. Max is certainly much akin to the major-general of Sundunmoor.”
“Do you understand Argus now?”
“He is afraid of marriage.”
“In a way. He is afraid that, if he finds a woman he would like to marry, and marries her, that marriage will turn sour. He is afraid of the pain that will bring, although he would never say so. He fears finding love and losing it, finding happiness and watching it twist into bitterness.”
“None of which he will say.”
“Of course not. Very unmanly.”
Lorelei laughed and shook her head. “I do not know what to do.”
“You must try to make him see that you truly care for him and that you are neither afraid of what we are nor someone who would ever leave your child. For any reason save death.”
“I do not suppose I could just say so,” she mumbled, knowing full well that would not work. “Such things are not easy to prove if the one you try to prove them to does not believe you when you say it aloud.”
“Nay, but I think you will find a way.” She stood up and brushed off her skirts. “I just believed it was time someone told you what makes Argus so set against marriage. As a woman, I knew how easily you might begin to think it was you, and it is not. I have never seen my brother so interested in any woman. Nor so drawn to one that he would break all his rules, such as seducing a virginal duke’s daughter.”
“I would not say he actually seduced me,” Lorelei murmured and then, again, recalled what skill Olympia had. “Sweet heavens,” she breathed and felt the heat of a furious blush on her cheeks. “You can read what happened here.”
“I can, but I did not. I am able to shield myself from the memories left everywhere and on everything. I have had to learn how to or I would have gone utterly mad by now. No, I know mostly because Iago guessed. Something men can see in other men, I suppose. That and a rather lot of apple-tree leaves Argus brought home on his clothes yesterday.”
“You must think I am—”
“In love, and that is what my brother needs. He needs to have someone love him for all that he is. And I want that for him. And here you are. His gift is a frightening one, yet you still love the fool.”
Lorelei decided there was no point in trying to deny how she felt. “Actually, his gift does not work on me, or Max.”
“Fascinating. And even better. My brother and I are very close. We have had to be if only because we were the two youngest in a large family with a mother who could
not stand the sight of us. I know him better than he does himself at times, as he does me. I know he wants what he calls the normal life with a wife who loves him and will stay with him and love the children they will make together.”
“As well as those two little idiots who traveled here all alone?” She smiled when Olympia nodded and chuckled.
“Them, too, although I think they will only be a part of whatever life you two might have, for they have built a family with Penelope and the other children she took in. It is a very strong bond. Her husband recognized that and renovated an entire wing for them so they could stay together. Argus loves them and they love him, but Penelope and all those children are their true family and Argus accepts that.”
“Yes. They spoke of staying with their father only part of the time because they could not leave the others. I think that tight bond amongst them probably comes from them all having suffered the pain of rejection. They know and understand each other’s scars.”
“That says it very well.” Olympia looked up at the sky. “It grows late. Perhaps you should walk back with me and then Todd can escort you home. You should not be out here all alone.”
“Devious,” Lorelei said pleasantly as she stood up and brushed off her skirts.
“Yes. I thought it good myself.”
Lorelei laughed and walked beside Olympia, a silent watchful Todd falling into step behind them. She would play the game, going along with Olympia as if she just did so because she needed the guard to take her home. From the area within the orchard where she had hidden away, the gatehouse was closer anyway. If Argus wished to speak with her, she would not turn him aside, but, for now, she would not seek him out.
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