Page 52 of The Dove
Daphne stumbled to a halt, her hand tightening around Serena’s so tightly that the little girl yelped and squirmed, trying to wrestle out of her hold. But she clung to the child, pulling her back as the man pushed the gate open and stepped into the courtyard with a grin.
Blast it, she’d forgotten about the broken latch … something that should have been fixed ages ago, but that her father had neglected, as he’d had to do so many things with them in such dire straits.
“Bertram,” she spat, wrinkling her nose at her despicable brother.
He looked as if he’d just climbed out of the gutter, his clothing wrinkled and stained with things she’d rather not guess at. His hair stood on end, and his flushed cheeks and glassy expression told her he’d obviously spent the night before and much of the morning over-imbibing.
“Dear sister,” he said, his light tone undercut by the venom in his words. “Imagine my surprise when I happened to pass by during my walk to find you here.”
She scowled at him and attempted to push Serena behind her back, not stupid enough to believe he’d happened upon them by chance. He had known she would be here.
Heavy footsteps on the path behind them warned her of Adam’s approach, stiffening her spine and quickening her breath. Though her idiot of a brother did not seem at all fazed. It was almost as if he’d destroyed his own sense of self-preservation, drowning it in gin.
Adam’s hand shot out, fisting the front of Bertram’s shirt and snatching him forward. Her brother’s feet nearly left the ground as Adam loomed over him, a snarl twisting his mouth.
“You have ten seconds to get off my property before I snap your neck,” he growled, his voice trembling with a force that told her he was barely holding himself in check—and likely only because of Serena, standing there clinging to Daphne’s clothes.
Despite his precarious position, Bertram laughed. “Then I suppose I ought to state my business quickly. You see, I happened to encounter a man who once served as my father’s steward… a man who says he was let go onceyoutook up residence at Fairchild House.”
A sinking feeling in the pit of Daphne’s gut made her feel wretchedly ill as she realized Bertram had them over a barrel before he’d even declared the rest. A household’s servants were privy to many of its secrets and could usually be counted upon to be discreet. But a man who had worked for her father, who had been let go and cast out by the new resident of the house, would feel no loyalty toward the home’s newest occupant.
“What do I care that you’ve sunk so low you now take to drinking and consorting with servants?” Adam spat, seeming oblivious to what was coming while Daphne was far too aware.
Bertram raised an eyebrow and inclined his head. “Interesting, the things he heard and saw when coming to collect his final week’s pay from your butler … things concerning a certain sister appearing here in the middle of the night … a child fitting the description of that one, there.”
Daphne put a protective arm out as if to shield Serena, but it would change nothing. Bertram had already gotten a good look at the girl.
Adam stiffened, his shoulders drawing so tight, it was no wonder they didn’t rip the seams of his shirt. “Be careful what you say next.”
Bertram shoved away from him, a harsh bark of laughter shaking his slender frame. “No …youare the one who ought to be careful here. You see, I find it curious, the features and coloring of this child who has been hidden away in Scotland for so many years. Five years, to be exact, yes?”
Adam’s hand curled into a fist, and he drew it back as if to strike, a snarl tearing from deep in his chest. “I will kill you—”
“Fifty thousand pounds,” Bertram declared smugly, only seeming slightly threatened by the massive fist about to wreak havoc on his visage.
Adam paused, his brow creasing. “What?”
“For my silence,” Bertram added. “Fifty thousand pounds is what I require to turn around, go home, and keep my silence about the girl.”
Despite having known this was coming, indignation bristled Daphne’s spine, and she stepped forward, wedging herself between the two men and jabbing a finger at Bertram’s chest.
“Am I to believe you are blackmailing us?”
Her brother sneered. “Oh, it isusnow, is it? Tell me, Daphne, what has he said or done to make you feel as if you are truly a part of his little family … as if you are anything more than a whore who warms his bed?”
Her own hands curled into fists, and she nearly used them on him, but the hold of Adam’s hands on her upper arms stayed her. She glanced back to find him glowering at Bertram, his body practically vibrating with the force of his rage.
“You see, I’ve already met with a magistrate,” Bertram added, shifting his gaze to Adam with a smug smirk. “And he assures me that the law is on my side here. The child is clearly mine, and has been kept from me all these years. I’ve been told the mother is fit for Bedlam, so it is in the best interest of the child to be placed in my custody.”
“Over my dead body,” Adam growled, shifting at Daphne’s back.
She pressed a hand to his midsection and tried to steady him, knowing that if he unleashed his wrath onto Bertram, he would not be able to stop. Serena did not need to witness such violence.
Bertram shrugged one shoulder. “I do not require so hefty a payment, Hartmoor. Fifty thousand pounds will do. I will give you three days to deliver the funds before I pay another visit with the magistrate at my side.”
He turned to walk away, but the sudden appearance of Niall threw the courtyard into chaos. The butler came stomping down the path, his face a study in rage, hands clenched into meaty fists.
“You,” he rasped, pointing an accusing finger at Bertram.
