Once Upon an Earl_Heirs of High Society_A Regency Romance Book

by Eleanor Meyers

  Samantha frowned at him and then touched his cheek. “Be careful.”

  “I will.” He kissed her lightly and watched her leave, before he resumed to ready himself. He changed from his finer clothes into those that were meant for men who worked with their hands, hard materials that would endure the best of beatings.

  Then he left. He saw none of the women as he departed and was glad for it.

  He split the men, leaving four, and taking six. They rode separately. Nash took Mrs. Weston’s horse once more, and the men took the carriages on the main road. They were to stay a distance from the inn, and only follow when they saw Nash leave.

  Mr. Ogden stood outside, ready for Nash’s approach, and directed him to a carriage that held the family crest on its side. It belonged to Lord Selby. It was clear the man had grown bold in his pursuit for the title, and confident at Nash’s ability to solve his issue.

  Nash checked the carriage’s interior before stepping inside. Mr. Ogden and another large gentleman followed. “Where are we going?” he asked, once the carriage lurched into movement.

  “It’s not far from here,” Mr. Ogden said. “And I’m hoping you prove better than the other men I’ve hired.” He glared at the man at his side. A tall brute with short dark hair and dark eyes that were set far back in his scarred face.

  “You wouldn’t allow me to use the methods I thought best,” the man said.

  Mr. Ogden waved him away. “I can’t allow you to hurt Lord Selby’s capabilities to produce heirs, just in case this plan doesn’t work.” He turned to Nash then. “Whatever you do, don’t maim him. If I can’t control him, then I could take control of any offspring he produces. I know a bishop who’d take no issue in marrying him to the first woman I could find, lucky her. Threatening his own child would likely see my plan fulfilled, but it’s a plan that would take too much time. I need this done immediately.”

  It amazed Nash that this man was willing to give this information to him so freely. That told him one thing. Mr. Ogden either trusted him or planned to kill him, once he handed over Lord Selby’s signed accounts.

  As he looked into Mr. Ogden’s eyes in the dim light of the lamp, he knew it to be the latter. Deciding that… “You’ve had Lord Selby for weeks. I’m surprised he’s not agreed, as of yet.”

  The man at Ogden’s side narrowed his gaze, as did Mr. Ogden himself.

  “You think you can do better?” Mr. Ogden asked.

  “I know I can,” Nash said. “I do this, and more, for Lord Iverstone… and any other friends who pay well.” He did have fairly good practice at threatening men. There were often lords that thought their name on the club’s membership book was payment enough, gentlemen who accumulated a steadily debt with no intentions of paying a shilling of it. Nash and the men he’d chosen himself, some from the orphanage, or men he’d met in prison, had all been trained for this. Nash was known for his easy charm, and his cruelty to anyone who thought themselves above financial agreements. He never hurt the innocent.

  Ogden’s smile widened. “Well, this is good to know.” Then after a pause he said, “You know, I was warned against seeking your aid.”

  Nash lifted a brow. “By whom?” Likely Lord Brandell. He recalled the way Lord Brandell kept cutting Mr. Ogden off in the parlor after dinner, whenever the man wished to ask Nash a question about his business dealings with Lord Iverstone. It was clear now that Mr. Ogden had been trying to see if Nash was the man to carry through his traitorous plan. Though he wasn’t sure why Lord Brandell made his objections.

  “The name doesn’t matter,” Mr. Ogden said. “Though he did fear that you had grown too close to certain members of society. I would never expect a criminal to search for an old dowager’s reticle. Perhaps, you weren’t as bad as all the rumors I’d heard.” His gaze was fixed on Nash once more, waiting anxiously for a response.

  Nash put on the smile that usually made men quite agreeable to him. “I hired the man who stole the bag. I’ve become close to the women. I can’t imagine what they’ll be willing to give me once I find Lady Brandell’s reticule.”

  Mr. Ogden laughed. “I see. I had thought as much. Men like you can’t pretend to be civilized for long.”

  As Ogden laughed, Nash took a moment to wonder if the other large man by Ogden would intervene if he tried to take on Ogden for his rude comment. He decided readily that the thug would, so he let it go.

  It didn’t surprise him at all that Mr. Ogden, while arranging his own cousin’s death, still thought himself as elegant. Once a man was proven to have an ounce of blue blood, they were infallible.

  If Nash married Samantha, it would likely do nothing but ruin her reputation further. She should have walked away, when he’d told her about his time in prison. She should have at least requested a moment to think about it, but she hadn’t. Instead, she’d taken compassion on him and had seen straight through his acts of coldness to the warm heart that was bleeding underneath, the man who was afraid of giving anyone the power to hurt him again. He’d had years to hate his family for abandoning him. Years of having to fight for whatever it was he wanted. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened to him, had he not become a Smith. The Smith family calmed him, allowed him to see through his haze of rage, tempered his anger, but never completely put it out.

  Even now, it was there, but now it was mixed with confusion and directed at someone else. His parents hadn’t abandoned him. He’d been kidnapped and declared dead. He was still trying to discover the truth behind that.

  As the carriage came to a stop and the men stepped out, Nash decided to inquire through Mr. Ogden. “I take it Mr. Reed is the one who secured Lord Selby for you.”

  Ogden looked him over as they started for the door to a rather large estate. The grand home was not what Nash had expected, but Ogden’s suspicions were. “Why do you believe Mr. Reed had anything to do with this?”

  Nash grunted. “You could say we’ve been members of the same circle before.” He looked around to see if there were any other men around. He saw two on separate sides of the yard, moving in the shadows.

  As suspected, Ogden fell for his words and smiled. All criminals were alike to this man. “Oh yes, our Mr. Reed had been quite helpful.”

  “Is he here?” Nash asked, wondering how that would play a part in what happened tonight.

  Mr. Ogden shook his head as he stepped into the house. “No, he’s on business of Lord… for someone else at the moment.”

  Nash walked into the house and saw no one else. Only a small maid who kept her head down as she passed through the foyer. Likely another victim in this plot.

  While Nash didn’t know the state of the outside of the house, the inside was quite old. The smell of decaying wood lingered in the air, and he noticed the yellowed wallpaper in the nearby sitting room was coming down. Even the floor creaked with his every move. “Whose home is this?”

  Mr. Ogden grinned. “Mine.”

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  24

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-FOUR

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  “It was my mother’s property,” Ogden went on. “I plan to restore it, once I’m Lord Selby.”

  Nash turned to him. “How many men have tried to reason with Lord Selby?”

  “Three,” he said, which added up to all the men Nash had seen on or around the premises. He started for the sweeping staircase. “All have failed.”

  Nash was surprised by this, but then not at all, when Mr. Ogden gave his other rules.

  “Don’t hurt his hands, or at least his right. I need it for him to sign his name in a fashion that the courts will believe. And don’t do anything that would threaten his life, because if he were to actually die, then it would be impossible for him to sign his name to the documents. Also, don’t mark his body too much. I plan to stage him as dying in his sleep. It’s the best way to reduce suspicion. If he’s been cut in a millio
n places, the courts may start to look around and I tell you now, I’ll not take the blame.”

  Nash wanted to roll his eyes. The man made a very poor criminal. No wonder he was the fourth man to be brought in for the task.

  They turned down a long corridor.

  “You’re keeping him upstairs?” Nash asked.

  Ogden looked at him. “Of course. I’ve tried to keep him comfortable, in order to make him more agreeable.”

  Nash kept his mouth shut on the matter, for by the sound of things, he was expecting to find Lord Selby in better shape than he’d thought, hours ago. Days ago, he’d thought the man dead. Now he knew he’d been given a comfortable room. It was a good thing Nash didn’t actually plan to get any signatures from Lord Selby. He was here to set the man free.

  The last door down the hall was opened, and Nash found it to be the same shape as the rest of the house. The wallpaper was peeling, torn in other places. There was a stately bed and by the fireplace was a writing desk. The chair was occupied by the man Nash assumed to be Viscount Selby.

  Selby turned around from the desk. The sound of metal made Nash look at his hand. He was chained to the desk.

  “He remains there all day until he signs those papers,” Mr. Ogden said. “I only allow the chain undone when he sleeps, or needs to take care of his needs.”

  Nash held out his hand for the key, and when Mr. Ogden gave him a look, he said, “For when he needs to take care of himself.”

  Ogden nodded and handed the key over.

  Selby didn’t even bother to look at his cousin. Instead, his empty gray eyes remained on Nash. He had a long face, and without it having been properly shaved, a full beard of dark blond hair. His clothes were disheveled. It seemed Ogden’s generosity didn’t extend to a wardrobe. Selby looked mad, but Nash sensed great understanding from him.

  “Mark,” Mr. Ogden called. “This gentleman is here to see that you sign those papers. I do hope you don’t anger him. Mr. Smith works as a thug for Lord Iverstone.”

  Nash narrowed his eyes at Ogden, but the man missed it entirely. He turned back to see how Selby reacted.

  Nothing.

  Ogden’s expression changed, becoming enraged. “He’ll hurt you if he must! I want those papers signed immediately, do you hear me?” Then he turned to Nash. “Do what you must.” But the words ended with wink that reminded Nash that Selby was not to be hurt in a permanent way.

  Nash walked across the room toward Selby and frowned. “You smell worse than an alley in St. Giles.” He moved and opened the window that wasn’t far from Selby.

  “You’re not supposed to open the window,” Selby said.

  Nash ignored him and moved to the lamp on the other side of the room and brought it back to the window. Setting it on the sill, he leaned against the wall and stared at Selby, saying nothing.

  Selby stared at him as well, and then said, “If you think this will intimidate me, you’ll find you’re wrong. I know Ogden has told you not to harm me.”

  “He’s said not to leave a mark on you, but he said nothing about hurting you internally.”

  Selby frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I think you know,” Nash said and then glanced over at the fireplace. “A heated poker has been known to do wonders to a man… and nothing more than the smell of burning flesh.” He looked back at Selby and saw the man had paled.

  “But, you’re not to hurt me in a way that stops me from producing an heir.”

  Nash smiled. “Trust me, one has nothing to do with the other.” It was only a threat, though. Nash would never do what he was suggesting to anyone, and never had. There were some lines that even he wouldn’t cross.

  But Selby didn’t know that.

  The viscount turned away and sighed. “That… I couldn’t take.”

  Not many men could. The implications and suffering that would surround such an act would lead some to drown themselves in the Thames. It was good that Nash had been the one to break him.

  Selby reached for the pen and ink. The papers were already before him.

  “Stop,” Nash said.

  Selby looked over at him. “There’s no point to say anymore. I believe you’ll do it, so I’ll sign and die with my dignity intact.”

  “You’re not to die tonight.”

  A second later, a knock came from a wall close to the window. A series of hits that let him know the threat from downstairs had been taken care of. Two men were down. This was the reason Nash put the light by the window, so the men would know where to knock. It had been too convenient that Ogden hadn’t used the basement. However, this was the part that would become complicated.

  Since Ogden was on the second floor, there was no way for Nash to let his people in. That meant he’d have to take care of anyone in the house. There was Ogden and his personal thug, but Nash wasn’t fool enough to think Ogden not prepared for his attack. They could have guns.

  Nash needed to think.

  “How’s everything?” Mr. Ogden asked from the other side of the door, startling Nash. Yet another reason none of the previous men had been able to scare Lord Selby into signing. Ogden was breaking the moment.

  “We’re sorting out the matter,” Nash shared. “I need only a few more minutes.”

  “Excellent!” Ogden’s feet retreated to the left. There was only a small staircase in that direction.

  Nash turned to Selby, and when he drew close the man cringed until he noticed Nash to be unlocking the chain. “I’ve been sent by your mother to set you free. Use the bedsheets and climb out the window. My men have already taken care of the threat outside. You should be to safety very soon.”

  “Oh, thank God.” Selby stood and rubbed his wrist. “I didn’t think I’d get out of this alive. What are you planning to do now?”

  “Find a way to open the door so my men know to come in. Then I’ll deal with your cousin and his other man.” He turned to the door.

  “I know a secret way to the back door,” Selby shared. “I used to play here as a child. Oscar’s sister is… was close to my mother.”

  Nash didn’t need to ask what happened to Oscar Ogden’s sister. He was fairly sure he knew. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? I don’t know how many men are in the house.”

  Selby growled. “I’m not leaving until I see that man apprehended and hung for this.”

  Nash nodded in appreciation at the lord’s courage and then said, “Lead the way.”

  The back door was found easily enough, and one by one, the six men Nash had brought with him spread through the house in search of threats. They found two more men in the kitchens, bothering the maid until she fell into a fit of tears. Nash’s anger for Ogden grew, and he was glad when the thugs were put down. The other rooms proved empty, and so they started toward the room where Mr. Ogden’s voice rang clear, likely talking to his right-hand man.

  Nash’s men burst into the room with their own weapons raised.

  Neither Ogden, nor his personal man, had time to react before being apprehended.

  Ogden cursed as he was taken to one of the carriages. His man rode in another. Nash would ride with Ogden, hoping to get all the information he could, before they reached London.

  He turned to Selby just as the very first glow of sunlight began to soften the darkness. Nash was tired, but he thought Selby to be, as well.

  “Your mother is at a house not far from here. You may take the horse to the home’s owner. She’ll be glad to see you.”

  “Thank you again, Mr. Smith. We will speak once we are all in London again.” Selby turned to the horse and like the gentleman he was, rode away with the posture of a man who’d been born in the saddle.

  Then Nash climbed into the carriage and faced the enraged Ogden. “Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?”

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  25

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-FIVE

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  Sam heard the horse from her bedchamber window, she’d left it open just in case, and quickly dressed before she dashed from the room.

  He’d returned. He was all right.

  She ran down the stairs and heard other doors opening as well.

  She was in the foyer when the door opened. The sun was blinding, but she knew it to be him as she launched herself into his arms. “Oh. You’re all right! I worried for you.” Her words trembled, but as she felt the body against hers she immediately knew it to be wrong. The muscles, while there, were leaner. She pulled away and touched his face. Her eyes collided with startled gray irises. It took her a moment to realize the man she was holding was Lord Selby. He looked different and it momentarily stunned her.