Page 80 of The Viscount's Seduction
A wave of anger closed her throat and she had to take in great gulps of air to speak. “And yet,” she choked out, “the whole world goes on thinking that the Glenmorrow heir was a traitor.”
“True. And yet, it may explain why your father wasn’t taken in by the authorities, and why he didn’t lose his estate or his head.”
She pushed him away and stood, pacing. And it was still true—Jamie was a traitor. He’d turned on Ireland, his people, his country. He’d spied on men like Fitzgerald and Emmet. People had died, cruelly, at the hands of the English. And her mother…
She pounded a fist into her other hand. “You don’t know what it was like.” She paced to the fireplace and leaned her head against the mantel. “Did he know, my father? Did he know Jamie was playing a double game?”
“I don’t know. If he did, would he have told you?”
She shook her head. “No. And it wouldn’t have mattered—Mother died inside when that ship went down, and her actual passing killed my father, though it took many years of the bottle to finish him off.”
He touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Sirena.”
She stiffened. Sorry. Was Shaldon sorry? Probably not. He would judge by the results, and not worry much about the means. He’d likely sent many men to their deaths. If he was capable of remorse, perhaps her marriage to his son and heir was a means to relieve any twinge of guilt that troubled him.
“What we must keep in mind is the possibility your brother is alive.”
Oh, that made her head hurt, to think of her mother dying of grief and her brother still living. And yet, if he were still alive, she would havesomeone.
Someone who was a lying spy, a traitor to the people of Ireland, someone who’d let his family suffer needlessly.
She shook her head. No. She couldn’t believe it.
“And if he’s alive, he’s the Earl of Glenmorrow.”
She wheeled around to face him. “But Sterling has already inherited.”
“I’m not sure the accession to the title has been finalized. In any case, we can throw up a legal challenge.”
Her hands tingled and itched. Oh, to have her cousin in front of her and a knife in her hand. She’d forgive the traitorous Jamie Hollister if she could bring down Sterling Hollister. “Would you do that? For indeed,Icannot do it. I have no money, and I imagine it would require a great deal of money and political influence.”
“I’d do it for you.” He smoothed his hands over her arms. “He’s in London.”
Hope flashed and then she realized he was speaking about Sterling, not her brother. “I don’t wish ever to see him unless I am armed with a dagger or…or a brace of pistols. But…he’s come to London already? Glenmorrow needs management and care.” Without her father there, without her, the tenants and servants were dependent upon Sterling and the steward he’d put in place, and God help them if this new steward was anything like her cousin.
“He’s here for the Parliament, and for the coronation.”
Of course. “I’d forgotten. The new lord taking his place with his peers.”
“No. The Irish have elected their members for the House of Lords and he’s not among them. He’s taking a seat in the House of Commons.”
“He can do that?”
“Yes, by giving up his privileges.”
Hope stirred in her. “His title?”
“No. His right to a trial by his peers. He can be tried as a common man for any crimes he commits.”
Her heart pounded, and she gulped in air. “No one would believe me, Bakeley. No one would take my word over his.”
“I would support you no matter what, Sirena, but I would never expect you to pursue a charge.” Bakeley’s jaw hardened. “A man like that, a man who would attack his own orphaned cousin, he’ll have other victims, Sirena. And when he attacks, I intend to have a net waiting to snatch him up.”
“Perhaps.” She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. “But it did seem very personal from him, like he hated who I was. He hatedme.” She swallowed hard. “And he did make me an offer. He said he would keep me installed at Glenmorrow as his mistress until such time as he took a wife, and then I could live in a croft on the estate with his by-blows.”
Her head buzzed with the memory and a new flood of rage.
“It was as if he meant to humiliate specifically me, Sirena Hollister, the daughter of the old earl. And he didn’t even know me. So I don’t know that there will be others.”
