Page 100 of Madcap with a Marquess
“Who’s threatening you?”
“I know a cove who can dispose of people.”
Their words tumbled over each other, a mix of vehemence and resolve hurled in Rupert’s direction. He blinked at his friends. He wasn’t entirely certain who’d said what. But something odd happened in his chest. His heart ticked a tad faster, his lungs all of sudden not able to draw in quite enough air. Shite. That was a sting building behind his nose.
“Rupert… Are you… Are you crying?” Derek asked.
He glared at his friends—throughslightlyblurry vision. “No,” he said gruffly. “I am just appreciative that I have your support.” He didn’t have many people. His friends didn’t understand what it meant to him to have them in his corner. Especially after…
He blew out a breath and sagged into his chair. “My mother filed a petition for an annulment on my behalf. Without my knowledge or consent.Forged,” he added bitterly. He dropped his gaze to the floor, studying the grain of the wood boards. “Fortunately, it will be denied. I cannot retract it—not without bringing awareness to what she did. And that would be a whole new bloody mess. But I’ve made discreet inquiries, and there is no legal basis for the claim.”
He lifted his gaze to his friends’ confused yet alert visages. “Franny is a bastard. The Earl is not her…true father. My mother tried to claim fraud. That we were deceived by Franny’s hidden bastard status. But there is no way to prove she is illegitimate, and since her mother birthed her while married to the Earl, for all intents and purposes—legally—he is her father. So, fortunately, the claim is essentially baseless. However, the scandal this will cause… My mother has already sown whispers among some of the biggest gossips of the ton.”
“Holy fucking shite, man,” Rafe muttered.
Derek was shaking his head. “And I thought my mother was a piece of work.”
Rupert smiled weakly. “I have…realized much over the past three weeks. Most of which my wife was able to open my eyes to.” His voice hardened. “I have exiled my mother to one of my most remote estates, far from society, far from me. And for now…” He paused, swallowing against the weight of it. “It is uncertain if she will ever return.”
He looked between his friends. Saw the pity there. And it slid into him and roiled in his gut. “You both knew, didn’t you?” he asked quietly. “What she was doing to me.”
Derek lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “That she sucked all the fun out of you? That she was the metaphorical stick up your arse? I suppose so. But you’re your own man—”
“That’s the thing, Derek,” Rupert said gravely. “I wasn’t. I was nothing but her pawn. No longer my own person. But that’s not the case any longer. And…” He paused, leaned forward. “My first order of business—once this ordeal has been settled—will be joining in with my two best mates on a foundling home.”
Rafe and Derek’s gazes shot to each other and then back to Rupert. “You’re in?” they said in unison.
Rupert nodded.
Their lips curled, identical sly smiles sliding up their faces, and they lifted their forearms and bumped them together.
Rafe leaned back and crossed his arms while Derek leaned forward, both their faces falling into serious masks. “All right, Rupe. What do you need our help with? We’re all ears.”
Rupert nodded stiffly. “So, my mother has already set tongues wagging with her little tidbits of deceit. I want there to be no mistaking that I stand with my wife, regardless of her true birth status. Neither of us give a damn about what this fact will do to our reputations. If I’m never allowed at a parliamentary session again, I’ll be the happiest man in the world. Because I have Franny.
“The entire ton can shun us for all we care. But I want each and every one of them to know that I love that woman. They can do as they wish, but they will do so knowing that woman is the most important thing in the world to me, and I don’t care if she’s the fucking Queen or a fucking milkmaid.”
Rafe’s lips twitched. “I like this new version of Rupe.”
Derek studied Rupert, his green eyes contemplative. “I don’t think this is a new version, Rafe. I think this is who Rupe’s been all along.”
Rafe rocked his head from side to side, his neck cracking. “I have a feeling I know where this is going.”
Rupert met Rafe’s eyes and nodded.
“I’ll speak with Grandmother. She will be thrilled to throw a ball,” Rafe said.
“And that you’ll attend,” Derek said, his lips quirking.
Rafe dipped his chin. “That too.”
Rupert’s shoulders relaxed, a tension he hadn’t realized he was holding, fleeing his person. “Thank you. We’ll gather whoever we can who resides in London. There won’t be many with it being held in July and all, but…”
Rafe’s grey eyes glinted, and he arched a brow. “Not one of them would dare miss a ball hosted by the dowager Duchess of Ironcrest.”
“I think this calls for drinks,” Derek said.
“What doesn’t call for drinks?” Rafe asked, side-eying Derek.
