Page 46 of The Devil Himself
“You! What have you done with Hannah?”
Luc raised an eyebrow, hoping that he allowed no other expression to show on his face. “I haven’t done anything with her. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daffyd.”
“Yes, you do. You are in on this. You’ve always been exceptionally righteous.”
Now he allowed his lips to quirk as well. “In on what precisely?” He knew he was proper for the sake of his son, but righteous? Hardly.
“This whole ridiculous plot to marry her off to Warrington! I know it was your man of affairs who ruined the sale of the abbey as well.”
“It was. And how is Jules and Hannah ridiculous? She needs to remarry in order to keep her son’s inheritance safe, and Julian is a second son with no real title of his own. It’s a courtesy title that his brother’s second son will no doubt take on when he dies. So it’s a perfect match.” He kept his voice light and amused.
“If anyone is to marry Hannah, it will be me,” Daffyd snarled.
Now he took a few steps forward, his tone instructive. “Oh, I think that would be terribly unwise, Daffyd. We all know that you’re a danger to young Gareth.”
Daffyd’s already florid face went almost purple, and he looked as if he might have an apoplexy. “I would never harm that boy.”
“No? You’ve already spent a great deal of his money, and ever since he came under Rys’s protection, things have been happening. I was shot outside of Rys’s club. Rys was stabbed right here on the street in front of his house. Do you expect me to believe you know nothing about any of that?” He crossed his arms, waiting.
Daffyd tried to push past Jarvis again and was again denied entry. He was practically foaming at the mouth. “What are you accusing me of? I would never actually hurt Gareth.”
“I see. So gambling his money at the club and allowing Arthur access to it to spend on his mistress and his horses… That’s not harming him? And what is this plan you have in a sennight or so?” Luc kept his tone even, albeit with a snide undertone to it. He preferred not to be accused of fanning the flames here. At least not in any provable way.
“I’ll call you out for this,” Daffyd blustered.
“Well, my only reply to that can be that dueling is illegal, as you well know, but you must do as you feel. I would remind you, however, that while you may be a dab hand with a hunting rifle, I am exceptional with the brace of dueling pistols. I’ve never missed a target, even as a small boy.” Daffyd had seen him at target practice more than once.
Daffyd narrowed his eyes and stabbed a finger in the air at him. “I will see you ruined for this.”
He allowed his eyes to narrow. “Do your damnedest, Daffyd, but remember that Rys is not a gentleman anymore, and he does not need to play by your rules. If I were you and Arthur, I would be very, very careful.”
“I will find her,” Daffyd snapped, then turned on his heel and strode down the stairs. “And then all of this will be for naught.”He slammed into his carriage and pounded on the roof, shouting for his driver to make haste.
Jarvis looked at him with wide eyes. “Do you think he’s going to do something to try to hurt Lord Rys again?”
“I think he’s going to apply himself to finding Hannah,” Luc murmured. “But I shall send a message off to Rys, nonetheless, and let him know that Daffyd has stopped by.”
He had a feeling that the brothers were getting incredibly desperate. Whatever self-imposed timeline they had put on themselves was being sent askew by Rys, Luc, and Julian’s actions, and they were moving from rash, inopportune actions to truly erratic and frightening. Which might work in their favor as long as they were prepared for every eventuality.
“That is probably wise, my lord. I will be happy to provide you with a lad to take the message to the club.”
“Good man. I will go dash off that note, and then perhaps I will go to my clubs to see what news.”
“Oh, please, my lord, I beg you to exercise caution. You’ve already been shot. I don’t want you to get hurt again, and I know that Lord Rys would be most put out should that happen.” Jarvis’s expression didn’t change, but his tone held great worry.
“Ah, well, knowing that warms the cockles of my heart, but I think perhaps we’re going to have to start acting more quickly. Those two brothers are going to be in a great deal of trouble in a very short order.”
“Yes, my lord. I understand. I’ll go get someone to run the note to the club.”
Luc dashed off a note to Rys explaining what had happened before he went upstairs to assume more appropriate attire. As he descended the stairs once more, he heard yet another knocking on the door, although this sounded almost jaunty. He would be willing to bet that it was Julian returning for whatever reason.
Jarvis exercised far more caution opening the door this time, cracking it and peering out before he opened it all the way. “Lord Warrington, are you here for luncheon as well?”
Julian beamed at Jarvis. “Would that I were. But, on the contrary, I’m here to take Fitz out to lunch at the club and then to his house so that he can find a serviceable evening kit to wear tonight.”
Luc raised an eyebrow. “Why is it that I will need my evening wear?”
“Because we’re going to a ball tonight,” Julian said with relentless cheer, slapping his gloves against his thigh.
