by Erica Taylor
“Quite the opposite, in fact,” Lord Alden said. “They’re waiting down the hall. It would have been impossible to keep them from you.”
“They don’t . . . mind that was I born illegitimate?” William asked, confusion lacing his tone.
With a little shake to her head, Lady Alden replied, “It will never matter to us. You are Alden’s son, that much is irrefutable. You are family, whether you want to be or not.”
“We don’t want to bombard you with anything,” Lord Alden said. “But I would like to know you, your siblings would as well, if you will allow us. I’ve only been able hope this day might come to pass. We do not expect to be the best of mates overnight, but in time, I’d like to help make up for some of the years we have not had.”
Sarah watched William’s jaw clench and unclench, fighting through an onslaught of emotions. Though it was hardly proper, Sarah reached out and took his hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
“To think, Will, you’ve gained three half siblings in the span of an hour. Four, if you include your father’s illegitimate son.”
“You go by William?” Lord Alden asked, surprised. “Not Palmer?”
William shook his head. “When I left my father, I wished to leave all traces of him behind so I took another of my names and my mother’s name. I have been William Gordon, a surgeon in Edinburgh for the last ten years.”
“William is my father’s name,” Lord Alden explained. “Your mother gave it to you out of respect for me. Luckily William is common enough a name, and Collin never made the connection.”
Sarah squeezed his fingers again. William still had not moved or given any indication he was open to the idea of the family he had so long craved. She knew what a shock this must all be for him. She could only imagine the amount of bones he was rattling off to himself, trying to process the last twenty minutes.
“You said Old Foxton had an affair, do you happen to know the name of the woman who bore his child?” Sarah asked to break the tension. “William might want to find him as well.”
“I don’t know the woman’s name,” Lord Alden said thoughtfully. “Amanda and I stayed in touch without Collin ever learning of our continued correspondence, and she didn’t tell me the name of his mistress, but she mentioned the child’s name once. Tobias.”
Sarah froze, and she felt the blood drain from her face.
“What is his surname?” William asked.
Frowning, Lord Alden replied, “Byrne.”
William turned to look at Sarah and she saw he had the same realization she had.
He might be the one who has been trying to have William killed.
Neither Sarah nor William moved, silent realization washing over them. If Tobias Byrne was Collin Hastings’s bastard son, that might give him reason to want to William out of the picture. But for what reason, Sarah could not fathom. Tobias wasn’t in line for the title, no matter what happened to William. And yet, it seemed inevitable that Tobias had some sinister motive, otherwise why keep their connection a secret? If Tobias had wanted William to know of their connection, he would have mentioned it. He had not, therefore, something was not right.
“Well,” Lady Alden said, glancing at her husband. “If you’d like, your half-siblings are eager to meet you. When your note arrived, we told them about you. They are quite excited to have a long-lost older brother. We would not want to force them on you, if you’re not ready. We can always postpone. I can only imagine what a shock all this must be for you.”
William stared blankly at her, but Sarah could feel emotion radiating from him. Panic and rage were visible in his eyes, tumbling around in a crash of waves against the base of a cliff in a raging storm. Shock yes, but not entirely from learning he had siblings eager to make his acquaintance.
“Aye,” William replied, rather distractedly.
“Might we have a moment?” Sarah asked, glancing pointedly at William. “Just to let all of this settle. It is quite a surprise, but a happy one.”
“Of course, dear,” Lady Alden replied as she and Lord Alden rose from the settee. “Come and join us when you are ready. Up the stairs, second door on the left.”
The moment they were gone from the room, William sprang to his feet, pacing the length of the room and back. “Sarah, I have no intention of meeting the people in that room right now,” he said sharply, not glancing at her as he paced away from her again. “I can’t do it.”
“You can, and you will,” she said, her tone firm. “Your life is not the only one that has been upheaved today. Three people in there just gained a brother. Your father, your real father, just gained a son.”
“How do you expect me to smile and play nice when Tobias Byrne is out in the world somewhere?” William asked, stopping before her. His eyes were wild, as they had been the night be learned of Anna’s deception. “He must be in on this escapade with Anna. There is no other explanation. It’s just too much of a coincidence.”
“We don’t know any of that for sure just yet,” Sarah said quietly. “Why would Tobias want you harmed? He cannot inherit the dukedom. Nothing could come from your removal to his benefit.”
“I do not know,” William replied, pacing away from her again. Sarah waited the long seconds before he returned. “This just feels like it means something. Why else would he not tell me who he was?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” she admitted. “Here, let us send a note to Westcott. He’s brilliant at solving these little riddles. Inform him of the developments and ask him to please join you at Hastings House within the hour. Then,” Sarah paused and cupped his face in her hands and set her lips gently against his, the only thing she could think of to distract him, even for a brief moment. “Then, you are going to summon Dr. Gordon, the level-headed, empathetic physician and army surgeon lurking beneath this ducal facade, and calmly meet your half siblings.”
“This is hardly the right time,” he stated.
“Will, this is no doubt a moment you’ve thought about since you realized your birth father did not bear your name,” she began. “You’ve wondered if he could have children, what they would be like. I’ve seen you with mine, the way you watch our antics, the possibility of a pack of your own fascinates you. Well, here we are, about to meet them. Do not allow Old Foxton to ruin another moment in your life. This one thing, do for yourself.”
Closing his eyes, William leaned his head against hers, breathing deeply.
“You’re right, Sarah,” he replied softly. He leaned away from her, brushing a dark errant lock of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Lord help me, but you are always right.”
“And don’t forget it,” she replied with a wink. “Now, straighten up, your grace. You’ve people who wish to know you.”
“The plan of sending a missive to Westcott is inspired,” he said, moving across the room to a writing desk. He snatched a sheet of parchment, quill, and ink well and returned to where she waited on the settee. “But you write it,” he said, pushing the materials in front of her. “I’m shaking too much for my already miserable handwriting to be legible. I don’t think I could manage an amputation right now. Might take off both the patients’ legs.”
“Well, then it’s lucky for us both that my nerves are of marble,” Sarah replied, uncapping the ink and dipping the quill beneath the surface. She pulled it from the well, tapping it lightly on the edge and looked to William. “What will you have me write?”
“Is Westcott still in residence at Bradstone House?” William asked.
Sarah nodded. “Susanna and Ian have taken a set of rooms for the duration of the season, while Ian’s parents are removed to a country estate and they begin the process of selling Westcott House.”
“Good,” William said. “We are going to need some help.”
Sarah jotted down his dictation in her neat scrawl, the act doing its job to calm William and refocus his furious energy. The letter was sanded, folded and sealed, then hand
ed to a footman with instructions on where to deliver it. Sarah had William up the stairs before he could rethink the decision to meet his half siblings.
“Thirty minutes,” Sarah whispered to him, standing beside him outside the door. “I will keep watch on the clock. You enjoy your siblings. When the time is up, we will excuse ourselves and you can return to your path of vengeance.”
“You make it sound so easy,” William replied. “Juggling multiple states of mind at once, switching from one to the other.”
“Of course it’s easy,” Sarah answered. “Women do it all the time.”
William’s introduction to his new siblings was short but wonderful. He was welcomed with warm hugs from three people who resembled him to a startling degree.
Mr. Laurence Goodwin and Mr. David Goodwin were the same height as William, tall and brawny, something Sarah had always attributed to him being half Scottish, but perhaps it was the Goodwin blood in him. Both embraced William tightly, laughing as William froze for a moment, but he quickly relaxed in their brotherly embrace.
Lady Colthurst was as lovely as Sarah remembered and she hugged Sarah with tears in her eyes.
“What a miracle!” she said to Sarah, squeezing her shoulder. “To think, I’ve had an older brother all these years. We are so grateful for you bringing him to us.”
Smiling lightly, Sarah replied, “I had little to do with it. He would have found his way here one way or another.”
Lady Colthurst shook her head. “No, I am certain this all came about because you stepped into his life. He is lucky to have such a wonderful friend in you, Lady Radcliff.”
Sarah looked at William, a broad but weary smile on his face, and for a moment she could see that he was relaxed and free from the burdens of his malevolent father. He caught her eye for a long breath, longing and love and so many other things passing between them that shouldn’t.
Looking back at Lady Colthurst, Sarah shrugged. “He is a remarkable man. I am glad you all now have the chance to get to know him.”
“Are you and Foxton . . .?” Lady Colthurst began, but trailed off, her brow raised in question.
“Oh, no, not at all,” Sarah answered quickly, forcing a smile onto her face. “Foxton has become good friends with my brother, the duke. This seemed like the sort of meeting in which he might need some support, not to mention assistance in navigating society, as his wife is unavailable.” Sarah watched him, speaking eagerly to his newfound brothers before returning her gaze to Lady Colthurst. “We are simply friends.”
She could leave now, Sarah realized, watching William with his new family. She could leave him and know for certain he would be happy, he would be cared for.
It was a depressing thought, and yet elating at the same time. She wouldn’t have to worry over him, wondering if she’d made the right decision leaving it him behind. She was confident everything would be all right without her there to tend to everyone’s happiness.
But if leaving was the right decision, why did it make her so unhappy?
William’s attentions were scattered as he tried to balance the conflicting ideas of the newfound siblings who welcomed him with open arms, contrasting with the one who might be trying to have him killed.
“What motive does he have?” Sarah asked again in the carriage sometime later as they traveled the streets back to Hastings House.
“I don’t know,” William replied, glaring out the window. The past four months of his life had been warped and manipulated and he was done with all of it. All he wanted was his quiet existence, his patients, and Sarah beside him.
He squeezed her fingers, still interlaced with his, unwilling to let go of the strength and comfort he drew from her touch.
“But truly, what reason does he have to want you harmed?” Sarah asked again. “He has no claim on the title. Is it just anger for his illegitimacy?”
“I’m illegitimate,” William interjected. “You’d think we could be brothers-in-arms over that. In fact,” William paused, thinking through the info. “You’re better with this family tree nonsense than I am, but Tobias and I aren’t actually related. Not really.”
Sarah thought for a moment a nodded. “That is correct. If he is the son of Old Foxton and a mistress, then he has Hastings blood. You are the son of Amanda Gordon and Alden Goodwin, no relation to Hastings by blood, now that your brother is gone.”
William scoffed. “Wonderful.”
“You could abdicate, you know,” Sarah suggested. “Give up the title.”
“After I’ve come this far?” he asked with a dark laugh. “Not a chance. Besides, it wouldn’t do any good. I would still have Anna and a child, and with no title that seems an even worse solution. And there is no other heir after me. The people of Foxton depend on the estates. No,” he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I think I am good and stuck in this, despite my cousin—step cousin? Cousin by marriage? His father was married to my mother, what does that make me?”
“Stepbrother, perhaps?” Sarah suggested.
“I’m going to need you draw me a flow chart to keep track of all of this.”
“Here, it’s simple,” she said, taking his hand. “Which bone is this?” She wiggled the tip of his middle finger.
“Distal,” he replied.
“This distal bone of this middle finger is your father, Old Foxton,” she explained.
“Fitting.”
“The distal bone that your signet ring sits on is Lord Alden, and the distal bone of this one,” she wiggled the one closest to his thumb, “is your uncle, James. Now, below the distal bone is the?”
“Intermediate.”
“Yes, the intermediate bone in the Foxton finger is Tobias,” she explained. “In the Uncle James finger, it is Heathmont, and the intermediate bone in the Lord Alden finger is you. All three of these come together in a cluster of bones and muscle and other bodily bits, crossing and interweaving to make up your hand. Your hand, Will, is Foxton, the dukedom. All that it entails, was and could possibly be. It is Anna, and the child she is carrying. You are all Foxton.”
“You’ve an uncanny ability to take a rather rousing demonstration and turn it back into a reminder of our circumstances.”
Dropping his hand, Sarah shrugged. “You should never forget our circumstances.”
Her gaze was charged with something, but it was undefinable. Too many emotions in too short a time, even he was having a difficult time grasping the addition of three half siblings and a potentially murderous cousin.
Upon their timely arrival at Hastings House, they unceremoniously descended from the carriage and barreled into the house, pushing down attractions that were proving difficult to deny.
Westcott was already there, waiting with three other men William did not recognize.
“In case someone needs arresting, these are Lord Eric Pastel and Mr. Reginald Harvey, two of my associates,” Westcott said, indicating two of the gentlemen. With a nod to the other gentleman, he added, “and in the event someone is in need of medical attention, this is Dr. Lennox. He comes highly recommended by Bradstone.”
William frowned. “Did you forget I am also a doctor?”
“But who is to tend to you should you be shot?” Westcott asked.
“Fair point.”
“How about no one gets shot?” Sarah suggested.
“That is the plan,” Westcott replied. Glancing at William he asked, “Is there a plan?”
“Force the truth out of Anna should she be uncooperative, to begin with,” William replied. “Then do the same with Tobias Byrne.”
Westcott nodded. “Sounds like a solid plan.”
“Where is Anna?” William asked Borus the butler, handing over his hat and gloves.
“I believe she is in her rooms, your grace,” Borus replied.
“Thank you, Borus,” Sarah said gently to him, laying a hand on his sleeve. “Have a pot of tea sent up to her grace’s rooms. I suspect this will be
a rather unpleasant conversation.”
“Yes, my lady,” Borus said with a nod. William didn’t miss how Sarah effectively took charge of his household, though she had never been to Hastings House. It was no wonder his staff immediately took to Sarah’s authority; Anna certainly was in no condition to assert herself.
“If Tobias shows his face, he is to be let inside without confrontation,” William instructed.
“Eric, wait here for him,” Westcott said to his associate. “If he comes, he will make his way toward the commotion. Follow discreetly.”
Lord Eric nodded and disappeared into a drawing room adjacent to the main stairwell.
William glanced at the flights of stairs they must now climb, hopefully closer to the truth.
Anna was startled to be certain, and didn’t look pleased to have William barge into her chambers, Westcott, Sarah, and two strange men in tow.
“Foxton!” she exclaimed, sitting up in the chair with a jerk, the book in her hands slipping to the floor. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Tobias Byrne, Anna,” William stated, his tone flat and hard. Not to be trifled with.
Anna blanched, but tried to bluster her way through. “What of him?”
“You were his mistress,” William stated, parts of the story coming together in his head.
She glanced at him, but quickly looked away. “I was not.” It was all the confirmation he needed.
William crossed his arms. “I will have none of your games. You and Tobias Byrne have conspired against me since before I set foot in England. Tell me the truth. Is Tobias the father of your baby?”
Anna closed her eyes, her lower trip trembling. “It could be him,” Anna admitted, her voice small, shaking. “It could be Heath, I swear to it. I believe it was Heath, but Tobias wanted to believe it was him, so I let him. He dragged me to London after Heath died, told Foxton everything, and they hatched this absurd plan together.”
“My father was in on the entire scheme?” William asked, frowning.
Anna nodded. “He produced your mother’s ring and concocted the whole story. He told Tobias to send for you, that they would convince you of your duty to marry me, as instructed. He was distraught when Heath died, and I don’t think he was thinking clearly.”