After listening to the entire story, Corinna rose, her lips tight with disapproval, and scooped up her cane. "It's time we were leaving. We will send for your things."
"I'm sorry, my lady, but I cannot go with you."
"For heaven's sake, why not? Surely you do not intend to remain with this villain after his outrages against you?"
Lucia sank onto the divan. "I know he seems black-hearted, but beneath all his wildness, he is a lonely, aching, vulnerable man."
Lady Easterbury laughed. "You are extremely young, my dear. Accept the guidance of an older and wiser head. The man is poison! You must come home with me for your own welfare. Then we shall see to dissolving this nightmare of a marriage."
"I am to abandon him like everyone else has, then, my lady? Just turn my back and walk away? No, I can't do that! He has been hurt so many times already. His heart has been broken at least once, I think, and he dies a little inside each time someone he loves condemns him for a crime he did not commit." As Corinna stared incredulously, Lucia added, "Yes, I do believe he is innocent of Lady Malkent's abduction and I have promised to stay with him for a year. I will do so. I have pledged the honor of the Cothcourts."
Corinna snorted. "The honor of the Cothcourts! You are the only member of the family to give a fig for the Cothcourt honor since Albert left. A busier set of gamesters and profligates would be hard to find."
"Nevertheless, I gave Robin my word. In any case, I -- I suspect that I am increasing." She turned wide eyes and blushing cheeks to her aunt. "I shall know for certain within a fortnight."
Corinna admitted defeat. "If life becomes unbearable, if you need a safe place to go, please come to me, my dear," she said softly, concern in her eyes.
"Thank you, my lady, I will. And, of course, you may visit me whenever you like. May I call on you?" Rising, Lucia smiled and held out her hands.
Corinna clasped them warmly. "Yes, of course, my love. Does he know about the blessed event?"
"No. Not yet." Lucia fell in step beside her aunt. "I want to be certain before I tell him."
The ladies walked in companionable silence to the door. While waiting for her carriage, Corinna turned to Lucia, searching her face. "He -- he doesn't beat you or -- or treat you harshly, my dear?"
Lucia smiled. "No, Aunt Corinna."
"I shall call often. Tell him that and tell him I shall be alert for any signs that you are suffering violence at his hands."
When the carriage arrived, Corinna embraced Lucia and boarded, waving through the window as the coach rolled out of the drive.
***
Outside the library doors, Robin breathed deeply, steeling himself for the coming interview. He felt naked and defenseless without his personal arsenal. Footmen opened the doors and he sauntered in, pausing only a second to gauge the mood of his caller.
Scowling, Giles paced the room in long, angry strides, halting when he heard Amberley's footstep on the threshold. "It's just like you to keep me waiting, Rogue! Trading a deal too much on your new rank, if you ask me."
"Is this a social call or have you some business with me, my lord?" Robin said.
"I would know, dear cousin, why you seem to have made my charities your concern."
Robin shrugged. "You have not met your commitments so I have done it. The family's honor and all that."
"The family's honor! You can speak of the family's honor after you have completely destroyed it?" Mountheathe's nostrils flared and his brows snapped together.
"Doing it rather too brown, mon cousin." Robin brushed an imaginary speck of dust from his riding coat. "You know the truth as well as I do, héin?"
"The truth!" Giles sneered. "The only truth that matters is the one people choose to believe. The world accepts my story as fact and you are powerless to change that."
"The truth, Giles, is that you don't have enough money to support your own extravagances, let alone a worthy cause. I have made inquiries into your financial situation and I have never seen such a morass of mortgaged estates, unpaid accounts, and gaming debts; the last owed to an extremely dangerous and disgusting set of vultures."
"You haven't changed, Rogue!" Giles shouted, his face flushed. "You are still pushing in where you don't belong. I'll thank you to keep your nose out of my finances and I would have you know that those 'vultures' are my friends!"
"Some of your 'friends' would run you through for a shilling, Giles. I know them. I've been one of them. Take my advice and cut the lot. If you lack the funds to settle your debts and put your estates in order, I'll advance you all that you require. Let us call a truce to our hostilities, héin?"
Mountheathe's eyes narrowed. " Why would you help me?"
"A whim." Robin shrugged. Remembering only too well what it was like to be without funds, he could find little sympathy in his heart even for the contemptible Mountheathe in a comparable situation. Besides, Giles, in spite of his deceit, was still family.
"Are you suggesting that we could be friends?" Giles cried incredulously.
"Hardly!" Robin's smile was strained. "I am suggesting that we ignore each other's existence. A polite avoidance, if you will. However, 'tis plain from your financial state that you were counting heavily on Grandpapa's money. Because you are a member of my family, I am prepared to help you mend your fortunes if you promise to give up your 'friends'; especially a certain Sir Winston Rochedale whose name has been linked with yours."
"You have become extremely cunning, haven't you? You think that if I take your money, you will have the right to choose my companions and control my life. It won't work, Rogue! I shall be rich as Croesus after you and your doxy fail in your plot to wrest my legacy from me. As for my choice of friends, let me tell you that Rochey is the best of good fellows and I'll certainly not give him up on your advice."
"'Rochey', as you call him, once signed Articles of Confederation with me, then turned me over to the authorities in Kingston to win a five guinea wager. He was willing to let me hang for a fiver, Giles, and I doubt he's softened over the years."
"Articles of-! Pirate articles?" Mountheathe was momentarily diverted.
"Yes. Pirate articles," Robin brushed the implied inquiry aside. "Rochedale, not his true name, I assure you, is totally untrustworthy."
"A dishonored reprobate who usurps another man's fortune is hardly in a position to point a damning finger at Sir Winston Rochedale, who may go anywhere and is received by everyone. Rochey has taken me under his wing and introduced me to all his intimates. I have made his friends my friends."
Robin's eyes flashed, his mouth tightening. "You are drowning in debt, Giles! Rochedale and his cronies are pushing you further and further into deep waters. Rid yourself of them."
Crossing the room, Giles thrust his face into Robin's. Since the duke was a good head taller than he was, he was forced to look up to meet Robin's eyes. "I have no reason to suspect Rochey of treachery, but you would love to see me damned, Rogue. Admit it! You married your filthy little slut in the dead of night with the singular intention of keeping me from Grandpapa's money and now you are trying to foist your tart off on London Society as a lady of quality."
"Her Grace will not be part of this discussion," Amberley said through gritted teeth, his voice suddenly swollen with fury.
"She does not fulfill the intent of Grandfather's will!" Mountheathe spat, his fingers curving into fists. "She's a fortune- hunting whore who saw her opportunity to get rich and grabbed it."
"She's worth a thousand of you, you filthy cur!" Fire danced in Robin's eyes. Instinctively searching for a weapon, his hand stole into his pocket and curled around nothing. With a silent curse, he said, "If you think she doesn't fulfill the stipulations of the will, challenge us in the courts!"
"Believe me, I've consulted several lawyers to see if it was possible. They all say her ancestry is unexceptional and that's all that matters, but I will find a way to defeat you and your doxy yet."
"Call her one more foul name, Giles, and you won't li
ve long enough!"
"Is that a challenge, Cousin?" Mountheathe thundered, scarlet-faced.
"Call it what you will!" Robin's hooded eyes smoldered. "I'll not stand by and let you hurl insults at my wife. She has been stalwart and courageous in the face of undeserved calamity while you, you bastard, haven't even the guts to admit your own crimes and accept the consequences. You are a cowardly, contemptible prig without a single scruple. My scullery wench would be a more gallant adversary on a Field of Honor than you!"
Giles's fist suddenly rushed toward Robin's jaw. He blocked it with his left arm and plowed his right fist into Giles's face, sending the shorter man sprawling.
Walking into the library, Lucia stopped in the doorway, staring at Giles. Flushed and spluttering, he struggled to his feet, a ribbon of blood trickling from his nose. "My friends will call on yours, Rogue! If you can find any!" he snarled.
"I believe Lord Bellefield will act for me, my lord," Robin drawled, fury still burning in his eyes.
"And Sir Winston Rochedale will act for me!" Giles announced with a triumphant gloat.
Lucia hastened out of his path as he turned to leave, but she was not quick enough. Giles shoved her roughly against the doorframe as he stalked out.
She came into the room, rubbing a bruised shoulder as Robin dropped onto a settee. "So," she said, "you're going to fight a duel."
"Oui! I had hoped to postpone the inevitable for awhile, but it couldn't be helped."
"Couldn't be helped! What quarrel is so important that bloodletting is required to solve it?"
Lynkellyn hesitated. "You!" he said at last. "We were arguing over you!"
"Me." she repeated, dumbfounded. "You would risk two lives over me?" Robin was silent, his eyes following her as she wandered about the room, absently running her fingers along the soft leather upholstery of a chair or the gold-embossed spine of a book. At last, she asked, "When is it to be?"
"We haven't settled the details yet, Lucia, and it is none of your concern, in any case. I insist that you stay out of it."
"Even if I stay out of it, I'm involved, Robin. Whether we wish it or not, our lives are entwined. What -- what if you die?"
Robin stared at her woebegone face, surmising that she was afraid lest she lose her comfortable circumstances and be forced to return to the streets. "There is naught to fear, ma chérie. You will have to give up grandfather's fortune and the ducal holdings, but I am a rich man in my own right. I earn fifty thousand a year from my properties and commercial ventures. I shall have Gleason draw up a will, leaving it all to you. You will also retain the title, naturellement."
Lucia whirled to face him, anguish in her eyes. "I don't care about the money or the title! I only want -- " She stopped, appalled at the direction her mind and her heart were taking her. She had been about to say that she only wanted to know that he was alive and safe at home with her. Paling, she refused to travel any further down this disturbing and dangerous new avenue of thought. As if the confusion in her mind had communicated itself to her body, she sank limply into a chair, suddenly dizzy and weak.
"Are you feeling ill, Lucia?" Robin hurried over to her and took her hand. Her pulse raced at his touch and the last bit of color drained from her face. "You look so white, ma chérie! Perhaps you had better go upstairs and rest." He helped her to rise.
"I do feel rather -- rather unsteady."
"Would you like me to escort you to your chamber?"
"No! I shall be perfectly well after a short nap," she assured him with a shaky smile. She rushed out of the library, her hand pressed to her mouth. By the time she reached her bedroom, she was definitely queasy.
She flung open the door with a clatter and Anne, who was mending a gown, looked up. "Quickly, the basin!" Lucia cried. It had been an oft-sung refrain of late.
Lucia bent over the bowl and was violently unwell. "Perhaps Your Grace should see a physician," Anne suggested, hovering anxiously around her mistress. "You are ill so very often these days."
"You know the cause as well as I do, Anne," Lucia gasped, accepting a cloth to wipe her mouth. "I am with child and I can no longer ignore it."
Lucia sipped at a glass of water as the maid helped her out of her dress. "I must ask Lady Blayne to recommend a physician when next I see her," she muttered to herself, yawning. "I am so very weary, Anne."
"I'll just unlace these stays and then off to bed with you for a nap, Your Grace, to dream of holding a wee, sweet babe in your arms."
***
Seething with white-hot fury, Mountheathe left Lynkellyn House. Pausing on a street corner, he took a deep breath to calm his temper. As his anger faded, his stomach roiled at the thought of meeting Amberley. He had let his rage rule his head and the result was potential disaster.
But with a little ingenuity, he could yet come about, he thought. He allowed himself a brief, satisfying vision of his sword sliding cleanly through the Rogue's body and grinned.
"Giles, old man. Judging from that beatific expression, you must be in love." Malkent's teasing voice invaded his revery.
"Tracy. Well met. I am merely planning to rid the world of a great menace."
"Indeed! What menace is that, my lord?"
"Why, the Rogue, of course! He has called me out! I intend to teach him, at sword's point, the folly of inflicting himself upon decent people. Or perhaps I shall choose pistols. I haven't decided yet. What do you suggest?"
"If it is Rogue Robin you're meeting, I would suggest that you cry off altogether," Tracy said.
"Cry off? Certainly not!"
"I've seen Amberley fight, my lord. The man's a demon with a blade. If you choose rapiers, you're dead!"
"If you will recall, Tracy, the Rogue lost our last encounter. I shall have no trouble besting him this time either."
"But that was ten years ago, Giles. You've not kept up your fencing skills and everyone knows it. He'll kill you!"
"He won't kill me, in any case, Tracy! Stands to reason. Everyone would claim it was murder, of course, and he would have to flee the country again. Thought you'd be pleased that I'm getting rid of him for you. Must be damned uncomfortable for you and Val to have him around."
"As surprising as it sounds, he's been the perfect gentleman around Val, though he still swears he did not abduct her."
Giles snorted. "When I found the Rogue with Val at the Crown and Thistle, he had nearly shredded her gown. She was laying there, drugged and defenseless while he -- he -- " His voice faltered and he rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Tracy. I'm just so ashamed. Who would have thought that my cousin, my own flesh and blood, could be such a pitiless profligate?"
Tracy cast him a sidelong glance. "Who, indeed?" he frowned. "Have you named your second for the encounter?"
"Rochey will be my man!" Mountheathe said. "The Rogue has taken the most absurd dislike to him."
Since Tracy agreed with Robin's assessment of Sir Winston, he offered no comment on the gentleman, saying only, "I suppose Bellefield is acting for Amberley?"
"Well, he is the only friend Robin has, after all!" Giles smirked. "I was about to go over to Rochey's to enlist him in my cause. Care to accompany me?"
Malkent shook his head. "I think I'd prefer to look in on the Rogue."
"Don't allow him to cry off, Tracy. I'm looking forward to meeting him. Aye! And to drawing his claret."
***
After Lucia left, Robin dashed off an urgent note to Tony, requesting that he call at Lynkellyn House without delay. Laddock entered just as he was sealing this correspondence. "Lord Malkent to see you, Your Grace."
"très bien. Show him in, Laddock, and send this message to Lord Bellefield in Half Moon Street. Have it delivered directly into his lordship's hands if possible." He gave Laddock the letter and the servant bowed himself out.
A moment later, the Earl of Malkent entered the room and Robin rose to greet him. "You work quickly, Rogue." Tracy accused him without preamble. "You've not been in Town two months and you've challenged Mo
untheathe already."
"News certainly travels swiftly these days, my lord. My cousin left only ten minutes ago."
"I met him by chance in the street." Tracy said.
Robin smiled. "Won't you have a seat, Tracy? Some claret?"
Malkent took the nearest chair. "No, thank you. Val is forever after me to cut down."
"We have something in common, then, mon ami." Robin filled a glass from a crystal decanter on his desk. "Lucia insists that I alter my drinking habits as well. She claims her father would have survived some fiery catastrophe had he not been in his cups. I have occasionally discovered that she has replaced my wine with- " He took a cautious sip and spluttered. "Nom de nom! Grape juice! That little wretch! Grape juice! Why will she never learn that I am master in my own house and when I want wine, I'll damned well have it?"
Tracy grinned. "Are you enjoying married life, then, Rogue?"
"Grape juice!" Robin slammed his glass down on the table. " Allow me to enlighten you regarding married life, Tracy. Lucia has completely disarmed me. I'm not even carrying a penknife. And she's substituting that," he glowered at the decanter of juice "for my best claret! As if that weren't enough, she's also gotten me to agree to attend Ryl's wretched ball, which is certain to be a nightmare. The devilish part of it is that when I try to talk her out of all these mad starts, the conversation somehow gets twisted around and I find myself agreeing with her. I'm beginning to suspect that she's one of those damned managing females! So much for my tame and biddable governess."
"I'm surprised she hasn't discovered your dueling plans and forbidden the whole affair." Mirth danced in Malkent's eyes.
"I'm not that far beneath the cat's paw, Tracy! Why the devil are you snickering?" Robin stared at the earl whose shoulders began to shake.
"I am merely happy for you, Rogue. The duchess sounds a very capable wife. She certainly has you well in hand." Malkent laughed.
Exasperated, Robin changed the subject. "Do you have some business with me, Tracy, or is this another 'social call'?"
"Although I came for quite another reason, now that I know about it, I want to discuss your duel with Mountheathe, Robin. I don't think..."
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