The Wolf's Bait (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 2)

by Patricia Blackmoor

  “I agree with Merrill,” said another voice, I think Peter.

  “He’s very intelligent,” Stephen said. “He’s a doctor!”

  “But Edgar has several years on him,” said Merrill.

  “Why should that matter?” Jasper asked.

  “You’re forgetting something else important,” Peter said. “Conor is the child of Roderick’s sister. Edgar and Theodore were the children of Roderick’s brother. That in itself should give one of them the position.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Stephen said.

  “It’s not! Lycanthropy is carried on the male side. Connor should be dismissed because he doesn’t come from the male side of that line.”

  “I strongly disagree,” Jasper said. “After all, Peter, you wouldn’t be here if that were the case.”

  “I’m here because there were no other direct options for the position, and I was the most qualified.”

  “I believe Conor is the most qualified,” Jasper said. “He’s a doctor. He knows how to work with werewolves. Roderick obviously trusted him; he left almost his entire estate to him!”

  “And that! How do we know that Conor didn’t kill his uncle?” Merrill asked.

  “Because it was Seth, and we all know that!”

  “Now, Jasper,” Lester said, speaking for the first time, “we don’t know that concretely.”

  I could practically hear Jasper roll his eyes. “You know as well as I do that it was Seth. Don’t be ridiculous. Conor does plenty well on his own without Roderick’s estate.”

  “Lester, you haven’t voiced your opinion yet,” Stephen spoke up. “Jasper and I want Conor, and Merrill and Peter prefer one of the Melle brothers. What’s your take?”

  There was a long pause. “I don’t have one.”

  “You don’t have an opinion?” Jasper asked. “Come on.”

  “No, truly. I don’t know any of them well enough to be able to make a choice. I’ve met Conor more times, but I’ve only met the brothers a few. I don’t feel comfortable making a choice based on that.”

  I pulled my face away from the cool wood of the door, and Annabelle did the same.

  “You don’t want to keep listening?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

  “Of course I do. I just was curious about something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Why don’t they do what they did when they found me?”

  She stopped short, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “That’s brilliant! Bring the men here, have them spend time with the council, and after a few days, they can vote again! Truly, that’s brilliant!”

  The men had stopped talking.

  “What happened?” I whispered, pressing my ear against the door again. I heard footsteps, and then the door disappeared from beneath my face. We had been leaning much of our weight against it, and Annabelle and I tumbled into the room.

  I looked up into the face of my husband. He did not look amused. “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Um—” I started.

  “Christine had an idea,” Annabelle said, springing to her feet. She held her hand out and helped me up.

  “And what’s that?”

  Annabelle glanced at me, and I nodded at her, indicating she should tell him.

  “Well, we thought, what if you did what we did when Jasper was looking for a wife? Bring the three men here, interview them, talk to them, test them if you must. After a few days, you can bring it to a vote.”

  She looked over at Lester. “That was your hesitation, was it not? This way you get an idea of who they are.”

  The men exchanged looks.

  “Actually,” Jasper said, “that’s quite brilliant.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Christine, this was your idea?” he asked.

  I shrugged, embarrassed by the attention. “It worked when you needed to find me. This would be even easier because you only have three people to interview.”

  “I quite like it,” he said. He looked to his men. “That’s how we’ll decide. Next week, we’ll have the three of them stay here. After the weekend is over, we’ll make our decision.”

  “Next week?” Merrill protested.

  “I don’t like it either,” Jasper sighed. “I don’t have a choice. I have to go to London.”

  “But you only just returned,” I said as disappointment nestled in my chest.

  He cupped my face with his hand. “I know, my love. Unfortunately, Albert, the Duke of Clarence, has passed. I need to travel for the funeral.”

  Murmurs of sadness passed around the room. I took his hand.

  “I’ll go with you,” I said.

  “Would that you could, my dear. But that little one only has a few weeks left. I need you to stay here and rest.”

  “But—”

  “No protests, Christine. Travel is unnecessary stress. I won’t risk it.”

  He looked out over his men. “It’s decided. Next Friday we will gather Roderick’s nephews here and decide which of them will take his position on the council.”

  Chapter Nine

  Jasper arrived home the following Thursday. Throughout the week, the servants were bustling about, preparing the house yet again for guests. This time, rooms were being prepared. Like when I had been chosen, Jasper wanted the prospects to stay the weekend in Wolf’s Peak. I tried to stay out of their way, spending time in the library and in my room.

  It was right after tea time that Jasper arrived. I had been in my room and came down to greet him. I had rarely seen him look more exhausted. Dark circles were settled under his eyes, and his hair was a mess, the way it always was when he ran his fingers through it trying to relieve stress.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked him.

  “It’s been a stressful month,” he admitted.

  “Why don’t you go up to bed and get some rest?” I suggested.

  “I’ve got too much to do.”

  “Nonsense,” I said. “You’ve got a long weekend ahead, and you need your strength.”

  He looked at me for a long time before speaking. “What would I do without you?” he asked.

  I shook my head, pushing him up the stairs.

  I had finished eating breakfast when the councilmen arrived, trickling in one at a time. Annabelle came with Stephen, a wiggling Daniel in her arms.

  “His nanny is sick,” she explained apologetically.

  “I don’t mind,” I told her, bending down. “Hello, Daniel.”

  “‘Lo!” he said, giggling before he ran toward the fireplace. Annabelle chased after him.

  Conor arrived right on time, right as the clock was striking ten. The men were waiting in the parlor for him, and Annabelle and I were on the loveseat, watching curiously. Daniel had been subdued and was looking at a book.

  Mr. Potter brought Conor inside, and he bowed to the room. “Thank you so much for having me here,” he said in his light accent.

  Merrill glanced around him. “Where are the others?”

  “They didn’t come with me. They’re staying in town.”

  “Oh,” Merrill said, frowning.

  Jasper glanced at the clock. “I sent a carriage for them an hour ago. They should be here any minute.”

  In fact, it was about fifteen minutes until the other men showed up.

  “You’re late,” Jasper said, frowning, as they strolled through the door.

  “Snow,” said one.

  “Got lost,” said the other at the same time.

  Jasper looked at them. “The driver I sent to you from my house got lost?”

  “Because of the snow,” said the first one.

  “It’s not snowing,” I said, glancing out the window. In fact, the sun was shining brightly.

  The brothers simply shrugged. Jasper rolled his eyes before standing up.

  “Well, now that everyone is here, we can begin,” he said. “The three of you were brought here because you’re all equally related to Roderick, and we need someone to t
ake his place on the council.”

  “They aren’t all equally related,” muttered Merrill, and Jasper shot him a look. Merrill fell quiet.

  “We want to spend the weekend getting to know you, and at the end of the weekend, we’ll put it to a vote. To start, why don’t you all introduce yourselves?”

  “With the women and child here?” the smaller of the brothers said.

  Jasper’s face darkened further. “I’m not sending them away. I’m afraid that means you need to keep your words appropriate. Now, you’re going to start. Tell us your name, age, and a bit about yourself.”

  The man stood up and adjusted his glasses. “My name is Edgar. I’m thirty years old. I oversee my father’s land.”

  Merrill and Peter exchanged approving looks, while Jasper gave a curt nod.

  “Very good. Theodore?”

  Theodore towered over his older brother, and his body held more fat as well. Unlike his brother’s close–cropped hair, his was long and shaggy. “I’m Theodore. You may call me Ted. I’m twenty–eight. I’m currently helping manage the family estate.”

  “Helping,” Edgar scoffed.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Theodore said, turning angrily on his brother.

  “All right,” Jasper said. “Do I need to remind you that there are ladies present?”

  “Don’t stop on our account,” Annabelle said, putting her hand up. “I’m curious to see how this devolves.”

  I snickered.

  Theodore sat down, glaring at his brother.

  “Conor?” Jasper asked, motioning for him to stand.

  “Hello, everyone. I’ve met most of you a few times. My name is Conor, I’m twenty–six. I hold my father’s title, but I prefer to work as a doctor in Ervine.”

  “Oh, that’s where I’m from,” I said.

  Merrill and Peter gave me a look that I knew was meant to tell me to be silent, but Conor looked at me with interest.

  “Your father was Dr. Croft, was he not?” Conor asked.

  “He was.”

  “I heard many wonderful things about him,” he said. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jasper stood again. “We’re going to take some time to interview each of you individually,” he said. “Edgar, why don’t you come with us first?”

  We all split apart at that point. The men took Edgar to the library, and Annabelle and I brought Daniel to the drawing room. Annabelle pulled out a multitude of toys from her bag, and let Daniel run around while we chatted.

  We had been there for over half an hour when Annabelle and I decided we wanted some lunch. We went down to the kitchen, but it was empty.

  “Well, they’ve got something cooking here, so they can’t be far,” I mused. “Let me go see if I can find anyone.

  It didn’t take me long. Daisy was leaving the library after taking orders for lunch.

  “There you are!” I said.

  She looked at me with scared eyes, as if I might chastise her. “So sorry, ma’am. Just finding out how many plates I needed to set.”

  “No worries, dear,” I told her, attempting to put her at ease. “I’m a bit jumpy with everything, I suppose. Wanted to be sure you were all right.”

  “I’m fine, ma’am,” she said, passing by me into the kitchen.

  I was about to follow her when I paused, curious. I leaned my ear against the library door, hoping to hear part of the conversation. When we had come downstairs, we noticed that only the brothers were left, meaning that Conor was in the interview.

  “Your father was an Irishman, was he not?” Peter asked.

  “He was. My father’s family moved here in 1847 to escape the famine. It was here that he met my mother. After the wedding, they moved back to Ireland for a time so my father could wrap up some of the issues with the family estate, but they eventually settled and passed away in Ervine.”

  “Interesting,” Merrill muttered. “I’m not sure how we feel about an Irishman being on the council.”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Jasper said.

  “If you don’t mind,” Connor spoke up, “my father raised me to be very knowledgeable about Lycan politics. His father had been on the Irish council.”

  “That’s very interesting,” Stephen said. “Does your family still sit on the council now?”

  “Now the position belongs to a cousin of mine,” Conor said.

  “I see,” Jasper said. “Let’s break for lunch.”

  Annabelle and I ate together, while the men kept to themselves. In fact, Annabelle and I stayed out of the way for the rest of the day. The next time we were allowed to be involved was the following evening, for dinner.

  Annabelle’s mother was watching Daniel, so we had a little more time to ourselves before the meal started. We chatted for a while. I had already shared what I had overheard, but we hadn’t been given any more of an update from our husbands. I left her downstairs as Bridget helped me into a pretty, plum–colored dress for dinner.

  “How are the interviews going?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I sighed. “Jasper won’t tell me.”

  She paused for a moment. “Do you think they’ll choose Conor?”

  “He’s quite nice. I hope so.”

  “As do I.”

  I turned to her, a smirk on my face. “You have an opinion?”

  Her face flushed. “As you said, he’s quite nice.”

  “And nice–looking?”

  If possible, her face became even redder. “Is he? I hadn’t noticed.”

  “You’re such a liar,” I said, swatting at her.

  She giggled. “I admit, he is fetching and quite nice to look at.”

  “I knew it!” I said. “I’ve seen you looking.”

  She groaned. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Oh, I doubt it,” I said, trying to comfort her. “I’ve never seen you so interested in anyone since you’ve been here.”

  “You have to admit there aren’t many prospects. Not that Conor is one. A prospect, I mean. Oh!” She buried her face in her hands.

  “Relax,” I said. “I’m sure he has no idea.”

  “You’re right.” She squared her shoulders and resumed tending to the buttons on my dress. “I’m being silly.”

  I felt for her. I understood her conflicted emotions. She was a servant, he was a lord and a doctor. I had been there once, too, a lowly street girl who became a duchess. As much as I enjoyed the idea of it, I didn’t want Bridget and Conor to be together. I had to prevent her from getting hurt the way I had, falling in love with a werewolf before he revealed his true form.

  As I was on my way to the dining room, I ran into Jasper.

  “Hello, my dear,” he said, taking my hand as we strolled down the hallway.

  “How have things gone today?” I asked.

  “I think perhaps I’ve almost convinced Lester and Peter to choose Conor,” he said. “One more day ought to do it. The brothers have been sullen and unable to hide their laziness. I think, given more time, they’ll prove themselves to be incompetent.”

  “That’s...wonderful?”

  He laughed. “For the council, it is. Conor is by far the best choice, but you know Merrill is old and stuck in his ways.”

  “Lester is old too, and he’s not so prejudiced.”

  “Lester is so old he’s neutral on everything,” Jasper said. “He doesn’t have the energy for conflict.”

  I giggled as we descended the stairs.

  I smelled dinner as soon as our feet hit the floor, delicious scents of chicken and potatoes and bread wafting through the air. My stomach rumbled, and felt the now–familiar thumping in my stomach.

  “Oh!” I exclaimed, my hand flying to my belly.

  “You all right?” Jasper asked, concern filling his eyes.

  “Oh, fine, I guess Lowell is hungry,” I said, smiling. He smiled back in relief.

  We walked together into the dining room. The spread across the long dining ta
ble looked fantastic: a basted turkey in the center of the table, surrounded by bread and vegetables. The glasses were filled with wine, although I personally chose water. The wine seemed to make me sick when I drank it while pregnant.

  Jasper took his spot at the head of the table, and I sat beside him. On his other side was Annabelle. Conor sat down next to me, and the brothers sat across from him. The other councilmen filled in at the other end of the table, Lester sitting at the opposite head as Jasper.

  “Have you come any closer to a decision?” Theodore asked as he took a massive bite of mashed potatoes. I cringed.

  “We expect to vote tomorrow,” Jasper told him.

  “Good.”

  “I’m sorry,” Stephen said, “do you have anywhere else to be?”

  “Yes, Theodore, it’s not like you have a job to get back to,” said his brother, rolling his eyes.

  “That was uncalled for,” said Theodore.

  “So, Christine, when are you due?” Conor asked, attempting to change the subject.

  “Right under six weeks or so,” I told him.

  “That was my guess,” he said.

  “I feel like I could burst any day,” I sighed. “Like a balloon that’s too full of air.”

  “You don’t look like it, though,” Jasper assured me.

  “You’re expecting?” Edgar asked me.

  “I thought she was just large,” Theodore said through a mouthful of bread.

  Jaws dropped around the table.

  “Really?” Annabelle asked mildly. “Every time I see you from behind, Christine, I keep thinking that you don’t look pregnant at all.”

  Theodore shrugged.

  “Thank you, Annabelle,” I said, attempting to regain my composure.

  “I’m so sorry,” Conor whispered to me.

  “Not your fault,” I told him. “Doesn’t have much of a sense of decorum, does he?”

  “Neither of them do,” he confirmed.

  “What are you two whispering about over there?” Edgar asked. “Not planning to sneak off after dinner, are you?”

  “Oh my God,” I said, rubbing at my temples.

  “For heaven’s sake!” Conor exclaimed.

  “That’s enough,” Jasper said. “The next person who makes a remark about my wife will be out in the cold. Understood?”