Practically Wicked (Haverston Family Trilogy #3)

by Alissa Johnson

  Jones took a small step closer and, as expected, drew his blade. “You won’t be botherin’ her.”

  Max eyed the knife coolly. It had been some time since he’d engaged in physical combat, but not so long he didn’t remember the basic elements, the most crucial of which being the element of surprise.

  And men like Ox and Jones, accustomed to fending off the occasional inebriated and belligerent house guest—most often with just the threat of violence—were fairly easy to surprise. A drunk dandy was easy to intimidate or overcome. A former soldier willing to fight a little dirty, less so.

  Before Jones could think to raise the knife, Max shoved a shoulder into his chest, knocking the man back into the door, which gave Max just enough time and room to deliver quick right jab to Ox’s nose, followed by a kick to the knee that sent the man crumpling to the floor with a pained cry.

  “My leg! You ruttin’ bastard! My leg!”

  With Ox out of the fight, Max spun around to face Jones again, just in time to dodge a swing of the man’s blade.

  A quick lunge, grab, and violent twist of the wrist, and Max took possession of the knife and sent Jones to his knees with a pained cry. Another twist, this time taking the arm around the back, and Jones was completely immobilized, except for his mouth, which he used to howl in protest.

  Which is when Mrs. Wrayburn opened her door, took in the scene before her with a careless glance, and sighed. “Unhand my man, please. I still require his presence for the trip home.”

  Max looked down at Jones, watched beads of sweat pop out on the man’s forehead. Then he studied the skillfully carved ivory handle. “You pay your men well. One would think they’d be more work to dispatch.”

  “They function well enough as deterrents. Typically.” She eyed him from head to foot, slowly. “Your desire to see me must be substantial.”

  “I’m not here for me.” He pocketed the knife and let go of Jones. “Help your associate into your chambers and stay there.”

  To their limited credit, both men turned to their mistress and waited for her nod before dragging themselves away, snarling and swearing.

  Max waited until the men disappeared into their room before following Mrs. Wrayburn inside. She swept through the room before him and immediately took up a pose next to the cold fireplace. She didn’t appear the least unnerved to be in the company of an armed, angry man she scarcely knew. Max wondered if the confidence was a sham or if she’d fooled even herself into thinking she could control every situation.

  “Lord Dane.” She drew his name out as if tasting it. “My goodness, I’ve not had the pleasure of your company in some time. Not since you came sniffing about at my daughter’s heels. Such a sincere, adorable little puppy you were.”

  “Ah, fond memories, those.” He matched her pleasant tone and casual manner as he took up his own position in the center of the room. “I remember the days as well. We were so much younger, bit less lined around the eyes, bit more gullible.”

  “I’ve never been gullible.”

  “Shortsighted, then.”

  “I’ve not—”

  Max decided he wasn’t in the mood for banter. The few hits he’d landed on Ox and Jones had barely taken the edge off his anger. “You thought you could keep her locked up forever, didn’t you? Thought the truth would never come out.”

  “We are speaking of Anna, I presume?” Mrs. Wrayburn rolled her eyes. “Locked up, indeed. You are every inch as gullible as you were four years ago to believe that.”

  Max decided he wasn’t in the mood to beat around the reason for his visit either.

  “Go back to Anover House, Mrs. Wrayburn.”

  She blinked rapidly. “Heavens, you are blunt. Rest assured, I’ve every intention of returning, my lord. With my daughter.”

  “That will never happen.”

  Full lips curved into a mocking little smile. “You’re still angry I sent you away all those years ago, aren’t you?”

  “Not angry, no,” he lied. He was going to be angry about that for a good long while. “I just don’t like you.”

  “Because I turned you away?”

  “And a myriad of other reasons, some of which I’m sure I’ve yet to learn.”

  “And some of them may warrant your censure,” she agreed easily. “But I’ll not apologize for sending you or any other man who came sniffing at my daughter on his way. Drunks and libertines who would have turned Anna into a whore. She was better than that. She is better than that. I was right to do all in my power to protect Anna from—”

  “From the very men you invite into your home? The home you’d not allow her to leave?” Max scoffed.

  “She is safest with me. I am her mother. Who else would care—?”

  “You missed your calling as an actress,” Max cut in. His patience was nearing an end. “And this debate is closed. You’ll leave Codridgeton at first light, or you’ll pay the consequences.”

  “The . . . ?” Mrs. Wrayburn’s mouth fell open and a short, harsh laugh emerged. “What consequences, you ridiculous boy? You’re but one man. A viscount, to be sure, but only not a particularly influential one and I’ve a half-dozen peers in my pocket at any given time. There is nothing you can do to me.” She threw her shoulders back and spoke and spoke with great pride. “I am the most popular woman in all of England.”

  “No, you are the most infamous woman amongst London’s demimonde,” he corrected. “At present. And you’ve been fortunate in your competitors. Mrs. Fisher? Eliza Tomlison?”

  Her lips pressed together in a thin line. “Do you imagine them lambs?”

  “I imagine they’ve not a fraction of the influence in all of society as someone like, just as an example . . . Lady Engsly.” He saw the tiniest flinch, knew he’d hit his mark. “London adores that woman. Your modiste, I’m sure, would be happy to have her, even if it meant forsaking you. Your staff would flee to her employ in the blink of an eye. What gentleman would attend a ball at Anover House when Lady Engsly has decided to hostess a last-minute party on the same night?”

  “You would hide behind the skirts of a woman?”

  “One does not hide behind a sword, Madame. One wields it.”

  Mrs. Wrayburn had so much to say about that, it took several seconds of rage-induced sputtering to sort the words out.

  “This is outrageous.” She sputtered a bit more, then seemed to land on a thought she could get a proper hold of. “By God, this is her fault. The ungrateful little brat. So like her father, takes what she wants without a thought for anyone else. She’s had her own way for years, doing whatever she likes while I work to see she has food in her belly and a roof over her head. I ought to have taken a strap to her years ago.” She shook a bejeweled finger at him. “I am still her mother, you know. She’s mine. She will always be—”

  “She will always be the acknowledged half sister to the Marquess of Engsly and Lord Gideon Haverston and respected friend of Viscount Dane. More importantly, she is a grown woman who will have nothing more to do with you. You have lost this battle, Madame. You’ve no ground to stand on here. Fall back—”

  “I don’t need your ground,” she spat, and her eyes darted toward the wall that separated her room from her men’s. “You have your sword. I’ve weapons of my own.”

  His blood went from boiling to ice cold in the space of a heartbeat. He wanted to believe Mrs. Wrayburn wouldn’t strike out at her daughter in anger, that she was, as Anna had implied, a woman of empty words. But he wasn’t willing to risk it.

  “You’ll not have the chance to use them in London. You’ll be out of Anover House by month’s end.” After he convinced Anna to return to London with him, the last thing either of them would need or want was to be looking over their shoulder for her lunatic mother. “Bath has a thriving society. You’ll do well enough there.”

  Mrs. Wrayburn’s eyes grew almost comically round. “Bath? Bath? Are you mad?”

  “Did you really think you could make a threat such as that and I
’d do nothing?” he asked coldly. “Month’s end, Madame, or I’ll see to it there’s not a door in Britain open to you, not a gentleman in England willing to take you on.”

  “You can’t do that. You’d not—”

  “I assure you here is no limit to the devastation I will inflict upon you should you misplace one hair on Anna’s head.”

  “You would lay hands on a woman?”

  That hadn’t been the sort of devastation he’d had it mind, but he’d rather Mrs. Wrayburn worry he might capable of violence than Anna discover that her mother truly was.

  “Harm her, Madame, and I will end you.” How she wished to interpret his meaning was up to her. “Have I made myself clear?”

  He didn’t bother waiting for her answer. As far as he was concerned, the conversation was over. Mrs. Wrayburn would take herself off to Bath, or he’d see to it she was dragged there. It made very little difference to him.

  Naturally, Mrs. Wrayburn still had quite a bit to say on the matter, and her fury followed him to the door. “She’s mine! Do you hear me?! I made her! No man will ever take what’s mine!”

  “End of the month,” he called over his shoulder before stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind himself.

  A thin screech and the sound of glass breaking against the door was the only response.

  Chapter 23

  Max returned to Codridgeton before first light. He watched from across the street as Mrs. Wrayburn’s carriage pulled away from the inn just as the first grays of dawn appeared on the horizon. And then he turned his horse around and rode back to Caldwell where he waited for Anna in the front hall.

  She came down the stairs not ten minutes later, a yellow-and-blue bonnet in her hand, and the shadows of a sleepless night beneath her eyes. She smiled when she saw him, but not the way she did most mornings.

  “Good morning, Anna. I thought you might come this way this morning.”

  “I’m headed out to see my mother.”

  “About that . . .” Max took her elbow as she stepped off the stairs and led her into the front parlor. “She’s not there. She’s gone back to London. For now.”

  “Gone back?” Anna pulled her arm from his grasp. “I don’t understand. Why would she—?”

  “I left her no choice.”

  “You . . . ?” He watched, caught between fascination and concern as all emotion was wiped from her face. “You went to see my mother?”

  “Last night,” he confirmed. “After we spoke. I’d have told you of it directly after, but you went straight to your chambers after dinner.”

  “I see. Well . . .” She took a noticeable step back from him. “I should like to hear of this meeting now, if it’s not too much bother.”

  “Right.” Just how angry, he wondered, was she? “Would you care to sit first, or—?”

  “No.”

  More than a little angry, evidently.

  Max gave her a quick but thorough accounting of what had happened at the Bear’s Rest, omitting only the scuffle in the hall and Mrs. Wrayburn’s most blatant threat of violence. The fact that there was now evidence Mrs. Wrayburn was a monster where her daughter was concerned was simply not something he could bring himself to tell Anna. Most people spent their adult lives with copious illusions about their parents still intact. Anna should damn well be able to keep one.

  For her part, Anna listened quietly until he was finished, then said simply, “You should not have gone. It was for me to do.”

  “Anna, I couldn’t ignore—”

  “You might have asked me at the very least,” she cut in.

  “I should have,” he agreed, hoping a quick apology would soften her displeasure. “I apologize.”

  “That was very quick.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You knew from the start it was wrong.”

  “No. Not at all.” He’d known from the start she’d not like it, which was entirely different.

  “You knew I’d not like it,” she bit off.

  Damn. “It occurred to me that might be the case,” he admitted, catching his hands behind his back. “And I will apologize for being presumptuous. But not for protecting you.”

  “I didn’t ask to be protected. I wanted to do it for myself.”

  “And I needed to do something for you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because . . . that’s how things are done,” he tried, frustrated. “Because I wanted to, that’s all. Because . . .” He swore, looked away and back again. Bloody hell, he hated conversations like this. “Because I failed to do something, anything, for you four years ago. I needed to do this for you—”

  She cut him off by holding up a single finger. “Am I to understand that you’ll not apologize for having done something wrong, because you did that something out of apology for something you did four years ago that wasn’t wrong and does not require an apology?”

  “No . . . Maybe . . .” Good God, he could feel his left eye want to twitch. “Say it again, but slower.”

  She dropped her finger. “I take back what I said about men being simpler. You made this all much harder than it needed to be.”

  “I made it harder? I’m not the one demanding an apology for being aided in a time of need. Playing knight-errant and rescuing the fair maiden is as simple a ritual as rituals come. The knight slays the dragon, the fair maiden climbs down from her tower, gifts the daring knight with a token—”

  “And marries the wealthy land owner two counties over, yes,” she drawled. “Tradition as old as time. I’m not a fair maiden.”

  “And I’m no knight-errant, love. But I did what I know was right and I’ll not apologize for it.” This time, it was he who held up a finger for quiet. “I will, however, concede that it was bad form to keep my intentions from you. I should have discussed them with you before going to the inn, not after.” And by discussion, he meant argue, because he’d still have left for the inn, with or without her blessing. “Do you think you can forgive me—?”

  “It’s not that simple,” she snapped, surprising him. “You want it to be, but it’s not. The dragon you slayed was my mother.”

  He shook his head, baffled. “Do you feel I was too hard—?”

  “No. It’s nothing like that. It’s . . .” She sighed deeply. “You feel as if there was more you should have done four years ago. I fear I will always feel as if there was more I should have done today.”

  “I see.” And he did—for the first time since the argument had begun, he understood the real origins of her anger. He’d not merely removed a danger, he’d stolen a chance for her to discover something else about herself, a way to prove herself. He’d stolen a way to define who she was and where she stood in the world.

  Bloody hell.

  He felt like a thoughtless oaf. And yet . . . “I’m not certain what to say. I couldn’t have let you return to the inn alone. I couldn’t.”

  “We might have gone together.”

  He considered that. “Would you have agreed to wait in the carriage?”

  “What? No, of course not.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Max—”

  “What if something happened to you?” he bit off. “You may have the courage to face your mother and the likes of Ox and Jones, but I can’t promise to sit idly by while you do so. I’ve played the passive fool before and lost a sister for it. I’ll not repeat—”

  He broke off, embarrassed to have brought that particular past failure into the conversation.

  For the first time since he’d brought her into the parlor, Anna took a step toward him. “This is different than what happened with your sister,” she said. Her voice was gentle and careful now, and that made him feel all the worse.

  “Yes, I know.” He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s irrelevant. I should not have brought it up.”

  “It’s not—”

  “May we speak of something else?”

  She didn’t want to; he could practically see the argument sitting on the tip of her tong
ue, but to his relief, she simply nodded and asked, “Did you say my mother brought Ox and Jones?”

  He hadn’t meant to let that slip out either. “Yes.”

  “I didn’t see them.”

  “They’ve a room of their own, I imagine.” And it would’ve behooved Mrs. Wrayburn to keep them hidden during Anna’s first visit.

  Her eyes darted away from him. “She brought them along for protection, I’m sure.”

  She wasn’t sure. He could see it in the way some of the color had drained from her face. She was envisioning the other reason her mother might have brought along two burly men—to secure an uncooperative passenger for the return trip to London.

  So much for illusions. It grated to have taken that from her after all. And yet it felt very much like the right thing to do. Very much like what she was asking from him now—to be protected less and supported more.

  He could give her that. He still wasn’t going to tell her about the mention of weapons—that he would take to the grave—but he could make an effort to give her at least some of what she wanted.

  “She’s gone now,” he said and wished he had something more to offer.

  Anna sighed once, straightened her shoulders a little, and gave him a small smile. “Yes, she’s gone. And we, I think, have wasted enough time in arguing over who ought to have sent her away . . . Thank you for going to the inn.”

  “You’re welcome. If—”

  “But never do something like that without my knowledge again.”

  He opened his mouth, then closed it again when he was hit with the sudden, unexpected urge to laugh. She’d offered him an olive branch and a slap on the hand at the same time. Damn if the woman wasn’t the most tenacious individual he’d ever met.

  There was no way around it, not without running away or letting the debate drag on indefinitely, he had to capitulate.

  “Not without your knowledge,” he agreed and decided that small surrender was worth it when he saw her smile.

  Chapter 24

  Anna felt better leaving the parlor than she had entering, but her disagreement with Max still managed to cast a gray pallor over the rest of her day. Careful to keep up a cheerful demeanor, she wasn’t pressed to answer prying questions from any of the Haverstons during their trip to Menning or at dinner upon their return. But it hadn’t been the easiest thing, keeping her mind on her family and a smile on her face.