Page 94 of Secrets of the Marriage Bed
His wife was a sensible woman. ‘Sit down. Julia tells me you saved my life, little brother.’
Julia followed him in and sat down on the ottoman beside his sofa.
‘Your wife saved your life.’ Luke’s voice was full of pain. ‘I couldn’t save Mother.’ Luke perched on the edge of a chair. ‘The inquest this morning declared her death an accident. The funeral is tomorrow.’
‘We will be there. My condolences.’ There was little more he could say. His sorrow for his brother’s loss was genuine, though he could not grieve for his stepmother.
‘She could not let it be,’ Luke said, his voice harsh. ‘She would not see that the last thing I wanted was the dukedom. You know that, do you not?’
‘I wondered,’ Alistair said. ‘For a time. Especially after the cutting of my saddle at Beauworth.’
Luke bowed his head. ‘Thatwasmy fault. I mentioned you were expected at Beauworth when I saw her. I had no idea what she planned.’
‘She wanted to be sure Jeffrey inherited,’ Julia put in. ‘One can understand the motive if not the deed. He is the rightful heir.’
Luke groaned. ‘That’s what makes this all so impossible.’
Guilt rose in Alistair’s throat in a solid lump, making it difficult to breath. Regret followed swiftly. One night of pleasure had ruined so many lives. He swallowed. ‘I assured her he would inherit. I would never go back on my word.’
Luke made an odd face. His dark eyes were haunted. ‘You don’t understand. Elise had been having an affair with a married man for years before you and I ever met her. It was he who suggested she put the cuckoo in your nest, since you were one of the few unwed peers readily available. When Papa whisked you out of the country, she insisted on me instead. I hated you at the time, because I really did think you were Jeffrey’s father. And later, after she told me the truth...’ he shook his head ‘...I hated her.’
Alistair felt as if the air had been sucked from his lungs. As if he’d been struck a blow to the kidneys. ‘He isn’t mine? Are you sure? He looks more like me than you. Why the devil did you never say anything?’
‘I didn’t know Mother had told you he was yours until I heard what she said in the barn. By the time you returned from your cavorting in Europe, he was simply my son. Elise must have told her that Banbury tale years before, to account for Jeffrey’s early arrival.’
Cavorting he had been. More guilt, but this time overwhelmed by relief. He didn’t have a son. Something inside him shifted. Eased. He frowned. ‘Then why did you want to have nothing to do with me?’ He’d been more hurt by his brother’s resentment than he had wanted to admit.
‘Mother said you suspected me of appropriating more than my share of the estate’s funds in your absence. After all I had done to keep things together, to hold them for you, I was furious.’
‘Sadly, she always did try to divide and rule. I should have known better than to believe anything she said. How came you to show up in such timely fashion at the barn, may I ask?’
‘Percy. He came to complain that Mother wasn’t treating him right after all he had done for her and me. She’d paid him off, but he wanted more. Said Mother was on her way to seek you out. Not that I expected to arrive to see you held at pistol point.’
Alistair groaned. ‘Families. I suppose I must do something about Percy right away.’
‘No need. I told him that I would speak to his dear papa if he whispered one word about any of it. I hinted that it might not be in the Duchy’s interest to help with the come out of his multitudinous sisters, should even a rumour escape. It was the idea of his mother’s reaction to that little gem that had him sworn to silence. I’m afraid I committed you to a great deal of expense.’
‘Worth every penny,’ Alistair said, grinning at a brother who had always been good at complicated reasoning.
Alistair glanced over at Julia, who was looking terribly pale. He wanted to take her in his arms and ask her what was wrong. She had stayed with him because he was injured, because that was how she was. Kind. Generous. Far too good for him. And now he was improving, he feared she would take up his earlier offer and go.
A reason he had avoided talking about her decision to leave him. While he certainly didn’t want to think about a future without her, he must, if that was what she wanted.
‘I’m sorry, Luke,’ he said, wanting to give his brother a hug, but not sure it would be welcome. ‘Truly. Thank you for coming to the rescue. You always did try to stand between me and your mother. I am sorry things turned out the way they did. If there is anything I can do for you—’
His brother’s expression darkened. He clenched his fists. ‘You can tell me why you let me believe you were dead for nigh on two years.’
‘The French soldiers in Rome made sending letters difficult.’
‘You were imprisoned?’
‘In a manner of speaking. If you could call the home of Rome’s most famous courtesan a prison.’
His brother gave him a piercing look. Then cracked a laugh. ‘Trust the dissolute Duke to end up somewhere like that.’
‘It worked pretty well until I ran out of money.’ He realised her betrayal no longer hurt. He didn’t care. There was only one woman he cared about and she was planning to leave him. ‘I don’t suppose you would like to take on the job of land steward for the Duchy?’ If so, he would go back to roaming Europe. If Julia didn’t want him, there was nothing for him here.
‘I cannot. I promised Beauworth.’
