Page 36 of Any Rogue Will Do
Whether this new territory was a good thing or a disastrous mistake remained to be seen. And if by some miracle they blew up their plan and actually headed down the aisle, convincing the earl to give his blessing would be its own challenge. He set that particular problem aside. Best not to borrow trouble.
“Think the engagement will be enough to discourage Montague?” Cal asked.
That was a question he’d been considering since last night. The man’s boldness to hurt her in front of everyone while smiling and expecting her to smile too—Montague was worse than he’d thought. “I don’ know. James Montague isn’ known for his accommodating nature.”
“He’s a sewer rat, plain and simple. We need to find a way to protect her beyond a phony engagement,” Cal said.
“I’m open tae ideas.”
“There’s something off about him, you know?” Cal sipped his coffee.
Ethan flipped the newspaper open and studied the cartoon again. “Money. He’s in debt up tae his eyeballs. If we control his finances, we control the man. Maybe we get Danby tae call him home tae rusticate in the country.”
Cal nodded in agreement. “We buy up his debts. I shadow him at the tables and buy his markers. Then we dun him all to hell and back.”
Ethan sighed. This was going to be expensive, tapping into what he had saved in case the brewery project went awry, but if it meant Lottie would be safe, it would be worth it. “I’m goin’ tae ask Lottie tae join me at Woodrest for a few days. The new brewmaster is moving in, and I need tae check in on the worksite. It gets us away from Town for a while. Are you fine with following him while I’m gone?”
“Absolutely. I’ll turn it into a learning experience for the Puppy. We’ll call it ‘An Idiot’s Guide to the Underbelly of London: What Not to Do.’ We’ll have a grand time,” Cal said.
Silence descended between them. Years of friendship meant Ethan could recognize a comfortable silence—and this wasn’t it. “What else is on your mind, Cal?”
He took his sweet time answering. But finally, Cal sighed and said, “It’s been one of those weeks where I want to run away from home. I fear the problems would find me again eventually, though.”
“Sister or father?”
“Both,” Cal said without humor. “Emma’s plans for her Season grow more intricate and expensive with every letter. You’d think finishing school would teach common sense or budgeting, but apparently not.”
“Is the estate having financial difficulties?” Ethan’s brow wrinkled. “And here I am making expensive plans tae take down Montague. I hope you know that’s something I’m financing, not you.”
“No, I’m fine. And I’ll happily help with taking down Montague. I know you’re good for it eventually. This is nothing more than the usual frantic bailing measures to clean up my father’s messes—which I also had to do yesterday.” Cal’s relentlessly chipper personality usually kept his face alight with laughter, but right now he looked tired and about ten years older.
“The usual problems with your father?”
“Indeed. That man couldn’t keep his pecker to himself if his life depended on it.”
“Let me guess—another jilted mistress.” A jilted mistress was always preferable to the heartbreaking interviews with younger servants in the family way.
“This time it was an opera dancer. Father pulled his old trick of gifting paste jewels, then barred her from the house. As per usual, the next person she called upon was me. Why can’t he simply remarry and be faithful? Mother’s been dead for a decade. And you can’t tell me the man is grieving her. They hated each other.”
“How long did it take her tae proposition you?”
“About fifteen seconds,” Cal snorted. “As if I’d consider my father’s leftovers. Ugh.” He shuddered and Ethan laughed. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, nor would it be the last. Even though there were few things more pathetic than an aging rake, it would be foolishness to expect the Marquess of Eastly to change. While Cal accepted that, he still—more often than not—had to clean up his father’s messes. Whether that meant a payment and a cottage somewhere for a servant and the Marquess’s by-blow, or situations with an angry lover, Cal stepped in and did the dirty work.
“The Marquess doesn’ deserve you.”
“He’s the only father I have. Even if he is utter rubbish at it,” Cal said.
“At least Emma only wants a pretty dress.”
“Or twenty. But you’re right. She’ll only debut once. After that her wardrobe will be someone else’s problem.”
Ethan wiped his mouth with a napkin, then finished the cup of tea he’d nursed over breakfast. “I’m going next door. Would you like tae join me?”
“No. Hardwick is coming by. My tailor delivered a new coat, so I’m passing one on. I need to work on myyou’d be doing me a favor by taking it off my handsface.”
“You’re dressing the lad now?” That explained why Adam’s coat had looked familiar a few days ago.
Cal shrugged. “He lives on pennies. Insists on saving his pay for a rainy day. What kind of rainy day is he expecting that warrants living like a pauper? I pass along what I can and try to convince him it’s not charity. Then he makes the clothes over to fit. Which probably means he cuts the bloody thing in half and sews it back together. The boy is painfully thin.”
