Rakes and Rogues

by Boyd, Heather

  His companion scowled fiercely. “If you could call it a marriage, then yes, she is married. But Lord Barnet spends his time in London and, when not in parliament, is a great patron of the theatre. I cannot remember the last time he returned to the country with his wife. I cannot remember the last time I saw them together.”

  A nasty image was starting to form in Leopold’s mind. Had the attachment been so strong that Lady Barnet sought to drive Mercy from the abbey by frightening her into leaving? But to what end? There was no reason to do so when her lover had died.

  It wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility for Lady Barnet to feign poor penmanship and send threatening notes if she’d come to resent Mercy being his cousin’s wife. But to destroy animals so callously, so cruelly and leave them on Mercy’s bed. He wasn’t sure a woman could be capable of such atrocities. He wasn’t sure he wanted to meet them.

  In all honesty, Leopold had not taken a liking to Lady Barnet, especially when she suggested that Mercy was not the most ravishing woman in the room. Mercy took his breath away with every smile. It was not particularly nice to criticize a friend before others.

  He glanced at Lady Venables. “Well, she is gone for the day with no trouble caused.”

  “She has gone, but will be back as surely as the sun rises in the morning.”

  “Let’s hope we have a longer absence than that.” He glanced at Edwin, saw a streak of cream remaining on his cheek and grabbed a napkin to wipe it away. “Well, at least she took that scoundrel Shaw with her.”

  Lady Venables’ eyebrow rose. “If you are leaving, sir, I think it vastly unkind to fuss about the boy in this way. He will become attached to you.”

  “Would you rather have the cream smeared over his face attached to your gown instead?”

  A rare smile crossed the woman’s face as she looked upon Edwin. “That is the way of boys. They are messy and unpredictable.”

  Leopold grinned. “That we are. Shall we rejoin the duchess? I do not wish us to be separated for long.”

  Her smile vanished. She nodded primly, held her hand out to Edwin, and headed for the door. Leopold followed, bemused by Mercy’s younger sister. She was as changeable as the weather. One moment hostile; the next almost on good terms with him. It seemed to him that she couldn’t work out precisely whether she liked him or not. At least, she didn’t view him as her enemy for the moment. However, it would not pay to relax around her. He could easily offend her without trying.

  He glanced up when she stopped suddenly, blocking his way forward. He looked over her shoulder to see Mercy, sitting regally in a high backed chair across the room. She smiled. Yet tears rolled down her cheeks. His heart ached. The poor woman. She had so much strife in her life that he wondered if his staying at Romsey might be better. Could he make her life easier?

  “Please do take a seat.” She indicated to the chairs opposite.

  He frowned. Why was she behaving as primly as her sister? Why had she moved the chair so far away from its usual placement? Leopold moved ahead of Lady Venables. Mercy didn’t so much as twitch at his approach. When he got closer, her eyes slid downward and to the side. He followed where her gaze drifted and saw a pistol digging into her ribs.

  “Don’t come any closer. Give me the boy.”

  The harsh male request shocked Leopold and then his anger destroyed the shock. While he’d been gone, Mercy had been set upon. If she was harmed, he’d tear strips off the man. He couldn’t place the unrefined accent, but a common thug held Mercy at gunpoint. Behind him, Blythe gasped and he heard sounds of struggle. Leopold flung his hand backward, moving to step between the stranger and Edwin, to stop them advancing further into the room. “Hold him. Keep him safe.”

  Leopold approached Mercy. “Show yourself, coward.”

  “Oh, I’m no coward,” a deep voice rumbled. “Just prudent. Rumor has it you travel armed. Put it down on the floor, if you please.”

  Leopold put his hand in his pocket, and then remembered he didn’t have the piece on him anymore. He’d given it to Mercy for her protection, but it appeared she’d not had time to use it. Was it hidden in her gown?

  He withdrew his hand, and spread them wide, palms out from his sides. “I am unarmed.”

  A wild mane of tangled blonde hair appeared around Mercy’s shoulder then disappeared again. The man, some years younger than himself, was dressed no better than a common sailor.

  “Are you all right, love?”

  Mercy nodded, then winced as the pistol was dug deeper into her ribs.

  “Get on your knees,” the stranger ordered.

  Leopold closed his eyes briefly, his mind sifting through possibilities and strategies. In that position, he’d never stand a chance of getting Mercy away to safety. The stranger would win. He shifted a little to try to get a better glimpse of the man behind Mercy. Although he was mostly hidden behind the chair, Leopold judged him to be of average height and build. If Mercy was out of the way, Leopold would be a match for him in a fair or dirty fight. Except for the scoundrel’s speed when he moved. If he ran, Leopold would never catch him. Leopold wouldn’t make that mistake again. “Who are you? What do you want here?”

  The stranger laughed. “Nothing from you. Nothing you’ve got to give would ever change things. Only their deaths can make me whole again. Bring me the boy.”

  Not a chance in hell. Leopold shifted his weight subtly from foot to foot. There was no way he would allow Mercy to suffer any more of this when he had the strength to protect her. He met her terrified gaze, let all the love he felt for her show in his eyes, and silently said goodbye.

  The only way to stop this was a frontal assault and hope Mercy could flee to safety. There was no other way that he could see. He took a deep breath. “Over my dead body.”

  He charged.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Mercy shrieked as Leopold rushed forward, murder in his eyes.

  “You,” he growled as he reached her, but then pushed Mercy from her chair as he passed, shoving her to the floor and out of danger. “You bloody little beggar.”

  “No, don’t,” the stranger cried out as they crashed to the floor. “You’ll ruin everything.”

  A gunshot rang out making her ears ring, and the sounds around her became muted. Mercy covered her head, but then couldn’t bear not knowing what was going on. She turned around and lifted her head. Leopold had her attacker flat on his back, fists wrapped around his throat.

  Mercy glanced around wildly and saw that her son and sister were safe on the far side of the room, huddled behind a large chair, eyes wide with terror. She relaxed for a moment, but then Blythe dragged Edwin into her arms and fled with him, crashing through the door as if demons chased her.

  “Mama,” Edwin screamed, struggling against Blythe’s grip.

  But Mercy couldn’t follow him. She couldn’t take her eyes off the men longer than a second; Leopold was choking the stranger beneath him and his frantic attempts to gain his freedom worried her. What if the villain fought free? She glanced at the door. They were gone. Thank heavens Blythe had taken Edwin away. She would hide him again and comfort him until Mercy could join them.

  “I should wipe the floor with you,” Leopold growled, drawing her attention to him again.

  “You haven’t got the bollocks for it,” the man beneath him croaked. “They deserve to die; slowly and painfully for all the evil they have done.”

  Leopold leaned closer until their faces were inches apart. “To think it comes to this. I’ll kill you if you harm the boy. I’ll make the old duke proud of the pain I’ll inflict on you.”

  “Leopold, no,” Mercy cried out. This was getting out of hand.

  “No, King Leopold, don’t kill me.” The man on the floor mocked. His head lifted. “You couldn’t kill me. You couldn’t kill your own brother.”

  Brother? Mercy gaped at the stranger. Brother? Who was this? She put her hands on the floor to support herself.

  “Oh, I could do that in a minute i
f you so much as twitch toward the boy.”

  The doors burst open and Allen and Wilcox raced toward Leopold. They caught the stranger’s arms and legs and pinned him to the floor. That it took three men to hold him still alarmed Mercy. What would have happened to Edwin if Leopold had not come home before his brother?

  Allen leaned down to stare at the stranger. “Bugger me, but that looks like...”

  A look of disgust crossed Leopold’s face as he stood. “It is,” Leopold growled. “I’ll get something to tie him up with. Once he’s secure, I’ll decide what to do with him.”

  Leopold destroyed the drapes getting the ties, but Mercy was beyond caring. While they wrestled the squirming brother into a chair and bound him to it, Mercy tried to make sense of it all. The stranger wasn’t really a stranger. He had called Leopold brother, which made this man either Oliver or Tobias Randall. Leopold’s long lost family. Mercy curled over in despair. All this time, and the danger had come from within their own family.

  After much swearing, Leopold left his captive and lifted her from the floor. He held her in his arms, squeezed gently, and then guided her to a chair set at a distance from the struggling man.

  Leopold’s skin was ashen. His dark eyes dim. Desolate. “I am so sorry. I will deal with him and then you will never have to see us again. I promise.”

  Mercy caught his hand as his words sunk in. “Who is he?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “This is Tobias Randall, my soon to be dearly departed younger brother.”

  Mercy clung to him. “You cannot harm him. Not after you’ve finally found him. Or he’s found you, in this case. Please, don’t do anything rash.”

  “I’d like to know why the hell I can’t. Think of what he’s done to you. He’s shamed us all with his actions. I cannot expose the boy to the likes of him. I cannot take a risk with Edwin’s life even for the sake of my brother. We’ll be gone at first light.”

  Her eyes filled and tears fell down her cheeks beyond her power to stop.

  He brushed them away with his thumb. “Life will be better for you soon, sweetheart. I promise you that.”

  Mercy shook her head. “It won’t be.”

  “I don’t have any other choice.” Leopold left her, dragged a chair toward his brother and settled into it, sitting backward as he faced his errant brother. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”

  A chilling smile curled Tobias’ lips. “Getting revenge for us. The duchy must fall to better hands.”

  “Fool. The duchy is already in better hands. They are gone.”

  “The boy is the last,” Tobias growled.

  Mercy trembled at the hatred in his voice.

  Leopold shook his head. “The boy is innocent of everything.”

  “That will change. The evil is in their blood.”

  A harsh bark of laughter left Leopold’s throat. “Not a possibility, although with this stunt, you leave me with doubts about our own purity. What gives you the right to terrify a woman?”

  “Rosemary’s tender feelings weren’t spared. They dragged her away screaming blue murder. I never saw her again.”

  Leopold’s head dropped low. Mercy wanted to go to him and give him what comfort she could, but she was a little afraid of Tobias Randall. She didn’t want to get too close just yet. “Tell me what happened that day.”

  The pain that crossed Tobias’ face broke Mercy’s heart. Any animation that had been there before, even anger, had vanished behind a violent mask of desolation. He drew in a shuddering breath and met his brother’s gaze without flinching. “The carriage wheels broke, two of them at once, and we were pitched to the gutter. Rosemary and I scrambled out first, but Mama was hurt and couldn’t be moved. The grooms were dead on the ground. Papa sent Rosemary and I back to the last village we had passed to get help for our mother. He wasn’t strong enough to lift her out without causing her great pain. When we came back with the blacksmith, there were many horses surrounding the carriage, two men standing on top of it.”

  Tobias closed his eyes. “They shot into the carriage where our parents lay trapped. They didn’t make another sound. The blacksmith we’d brought with us to help disappeared into the trees.”

  When Tobias opened his eyes, they were as cold as a midwinter blizzard. “Rosemary ran at them, shrieking like a fiend. One of them, a groom from Romsey, caught her and tossed her up onto his horse, slung over his thighs like a common trollop. He took her away, screaming at the top of her lungs.”

  Leopold’s hands had curled into fists on the chair. “And you.”

  “Impressed.” Tobias’ jaw clenched tight on the word and Mercy had the distinct feeling that so much more had happened to the young man than he was prepared to admit to. Her heart ached for the grim picture his single word evoked. A life lived onboard ship was cruel if you were not well connected. Men who were impressed didn’t often survive. According to Leopold, Tobias had been only thirteen at the time he disappeared. It didn’t surprise her that Tobias Randall had grown into a bitter man. Not after seeing his parents murdered, his sister taken by force. The old duke had truly been an evil man to have done this to his own family.

  The difficulty she faced was deciding how deeply Tobias’ resentment, his need for revenge, was planted. Would he be safe around Edwin if his bindings were untied?

  Leopold’s head bowed and then he tossed it from side to side, as if he was trying to dispel the image Tobias’ words painted. Mercy wished him luck. She doubted she would ever sleep well until Rosemary was found, whole and sound. Returned safe here to them.

  “When did you return to Romsey?”

  “Last new moon.”

  A heavy frown marred Leopold’s face when he raised it. “You’ve been prowling the estate for weeks? Why not just knock on the door and make good your threats? Why behave so sickeningly?”

  Tobias lifted his chin defiantly. “Wanted to make sure who was who around here. You were dead, too, or so I was led to believe. Never expected to see you dancing to their tune. ” Tobias sneered in Mercy’s direction and she shrank away from him. “Or is it her tune you’re dancing to now. The rose arbor is a lovely quiet spot for a quick tumble, not that you were quick or quiet. Voices carry well across water.”

  Mercy winced as Leopold cuffed Tobias across the jaw. “Speak ill of the duchess again and I’ll drown you.”

  Tobias tossed his head to shake off the pain. “Won’t drown. I know how to swim now.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” Allen snorted. “Last time I had to fish you out by your boots.”

  Mercy stared at them. Now the Randall’s were together in one place, there was a definite resemblance between them. It still astonished her Allen, the old duke’s illegitimate son, was here at all. But since he had been no trouble for her, she had no good reason to turn him away. Others might look down their noses at a duke’s bastard but he was still family. His boys were the only children near Edwin’s age and they played well together. And Allen did love working with the horses. There was no reason to make a fuss.

  Tobias threw Allen a dirty look. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Our cousin, Charles Allen. Remember him? He saved your life. Isn’t having the family all together positively grand?” Leopold muttered sarcastically. He looked over his shoulder at Mercy. “Your Grace, I am confident this is your stalker. Our problem, if you will. Would you mind giving us some privacy? I’d like a few moments alone with my youngest brother. He needs to learn his proper place again before it is too late for us.”

  Mercy could understand Leopold wanting some privacy with his brother. He had been searching for him a long time. But she did wonder at Leopold’s eagerness to get her out of the room. What was he going to do when she had gone? “I’ll check on Edwin, and then return. I’d like your assurance that you will both be here and he will be breathing when I get back.”

  Leopold shook his head. “I cannot make a promise about the latter.”

  “Then I am not going to leav
e,” Mercy replied sweetly. She sat back in her chair and clasped her hands in her lap. She hoped she was giving him the impression that she was not going away anytime soon. He could not harm his brother. He’d never forgive himself.

  “All right, all right. I won’t harm him as much as I would like.”

  Mercy squinted at him. That was at least a fair concession. “Good. I’ve no desire to face questions should a body be found in the woods. We will keep this matter within the family and, since I am the nominal head of the family until Edwin comes of age, I say he lives. There are many more ways to punish him. A haircut and bath would be a very good start.”

  Leopold smiled; his dimples as deep as ever Mercy had seen them.

  Although she was attempting to make light of the danger that was Tobias Randall, Mercy climbed unsteadily to her feet and left them alone, her thoughts churning. To think Leopold’s own brother, a man he had been desperate to find, had been at fault all along. What would Leopold have done if he’d had his pistol in his pocket? Would he have shot first and asked questions later. Mercy had read his intent in his eyes the moment before he had leaped forward. He had meant her to escape, leaving him alone with the stranger.

  But he surely would not have been at peace with the guilt of killing his own brother. Perhaps Tobias could be persuaded the threat from the old duke’s line was gone from the earth. Well, except for Mr. Allen and his sons. Since it seemed Leopold trusted Allen, Tobias might do the same given enough time. What would it take to make Edwin safe around Tobias Randall?

  There had to be a way to salvage this rather than rip the family apart any further. Perhaps he needed to hear and see the truth about Edwin. But that would require Edwin’s presence and two sets of dimples on display. If Tobias could be appeased then they both might feel more comfortable around his brother.

  She would find Edwin and after a little bit of time had passed, and tempers had cooled considerably, Mercy would introduce Tobias Randall to Edwin properly. His cousin. His nephew. Mercy was not sure what to call their relationship. But if Tobias could see Edwin’s resemblance to Leopold, maybe he would calm down much more quickly.