Silver Bells

by Heather Boyd

It was more than an hour later when Parker returned, slipping into the room using the room key. Hector was relieved to see him at last. “Where have you been?”

  Parker winced. “The servants hall was in an uproar. I honestly don’t think they had any idea about those men coming in, but they certainly took great pains to chase them away. They were followed and shot at, I heard. I don’t believe those particular men would dare return tonight, not unless someone paid them very well.”

  Hector shrugged. “Unlikely they’ll return tonight but tomorrow…”

  Tomorrow could see more men come to take the boy. It would be over his dead body.

  “The butler was storming around, checking all the locks as I came up and berating everyone who got in his way. I was questioned, too, and warned to be vigilant. I didn’t let on about the boy’s near abduction, as you warned me not to say anything.”

  “Good.” Hector rose, sliding Ruby off his lap to stand. He brought Ruby’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Mrs. Roper and her son will be leaving first thing in the morning.”

  Ruby looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. “Without you?”

  “With me, too,” Hector promised her. “I’m afraid I might never let either of you out of my sight again.” He kissed her hand again, but she moved closer. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about the other day. About what you want and need. I want to spend Christmas with you and Pip. I want you, and Pip, too, to have the time to decide if I’m worthy of being part of your lives.”

  “That statement only goes to prove that you are.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Your actions have forever placed us in your debt.”

  “I don’t want that, but I do want to be the man who protects you.”

  She burrowed into his arms. “You know, you are not the scoundrel you make yourself out to be, my lord.”

  He smiled. “I suspect my days as a scoundrel might be done.”

  “Poor Hector. Perhaps you could be a little scandalous every now and then.”

  “Now there’s an idea. I could happily spend my life seducing you,” Hector mused, a slow smile lit up his whole face.

  “A lifetime? Do you mean that?”

  Hector leaned down and rubbed his nose against hers. “I do.”

  But then he became aware that Parker was clearing his throat loudly. Hector glanced at the man. “Is something the matter?”

  “I was thinking that I could stay by the boy’s side tonight while you and Mrs. Roper finished planning your future together.”

  “That’s not…” Hector began.

  “… a bad idea,” Ruby finished. “Thank you, Parker. Pip would normally sleep until morning but if my son wakes before we return, we will be just down the hall in my room. I have a few items to collect to take with us tomorrow.”

  Hector nodded. “Yes. You stay here with the boy, keep the door locked, and we’ll be back to make arrangements for our departure before morning comes.”

  “Very good, my lord,” Parker promised.

  Hector turned to Ruby and ushered her out into the hall. All was silent as they made their way to her room and let themselves in.

  “This will only take a moment.” Ruby moved about in the dark, collecting things and stuffing them in a satchel.

  Hector could not wait to take Ruby and Pip away from here. Somewhere he could be assured of their safety.

  It troubled him how fast Mr. Roper had found the estate, though, if Pip’s abduction had been by Roper’s hand at all. How could the man have deduced Ruby would have ever come to her uncle so quickly? How could Roper have afforded to hire those men if they were not well off?

  Those doubts made him now wonder if the real culprit behind the abduction attempt was wealthy, much nearer to hand and devious to the bone.

  Hector put his arm around Ruby protectively as another likely explanation occurred to him.

  Ruby turned in his arms and before he could voice his suspicions, she rose up and pressed her lips to his. The kiss took him by surprise, but it was not unwanted.

  He had thought of kissing Ruby again and if they were going to be together, he looked forward to a great many more such exchanges.

  She drew back. “When you have a child, you will discover you must take advantage of every moment of solitude for pleasure.”

  “I’ve always been a fast learner.”

  He swooped in to kiss her back, and when she looped her arms about his neck, her next kiss promised endless pleasures. When her tongue teased past his lips to tangle with his, Hector drew Ruby closer, delighted that they had found each other again.

  Hector drew back. “Tomorrow, I must speak with your uncle.”

  “We don’t need his permission,” she promised. Her hands slid down to his chest, and he was nudged back toward the bed firmly. “In fact, since I’m a widow, I don’t have to listen to anyone at all again. No one but you. Now, let me tell you what I think we should do before we return to my son. And I hate to say that some haste will be required tonight.”

  Ruby quickly divested herself of her attire and Hector quickly understood. Hector grew hard as her pretty breasts and curves were suddenly within reach of his eager fingers.

  Ruby pushed him onto his back on her bed and climbed atop him. She lifted her hands to her hair and released it from its confines.

  Soft, long locks fell over his hands and tumbled down around them. He grasped a handful, then tossed Ruby over onto her back. “Lovely woman, now I’ll never let you go.”

  “No more talking.” Ruby drew him down for a kiss and further conversation became completely unnecessary.

  Chapter 15

  A night of lovemaking hadn’t improved Hector’s temper very much. He shut the door to Vyne’s study in the hope of keeping Ruby from finding where he’d gone too soon. He didn’t want her to hear what he had to say to her uncle.

  “You unfeeling bastard,” Hector growled.

  Lord Vyne’s head snapped up from the papers he’d been reading on his desk. “I beg your pardon.”

  “Don’t pretend. You just couldn’t for once be a decent human being.” Hector spared a single glance for Blackwood, but Vyne was the one he wanted to gut right now. He’d pondered the sudden abduction attempt all night and concluded Mr. Roper simply did not have the ability to abduct his own grandson without help. Vyne had to be behind the abduction himself. “How could you try to send Pip away from her?”

  Lord Vyne, seated still, put his hands on the arms of his chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Lie. “You waited till dinner when the servants were busy below and used Blackwood as a distraction to keep Ruby away from the child.”

  Blackwood rose from his chair. “What child?”

  “Ruby has a son, born within a marriage the family never approved of. While you were being charmed after dinner, Blackwood, I returned upstairs, only to be confronted by two assailants. They were trying to abduct Ruby’s boy. I would bet they were here on his orders.”

  Vyne’s face mottled red.

  Blackwood moved to stand by Hector’s side, looking down at the earl with disdain. “I don’t recall you ever mentioning Mrs. Roper’s offspring. In fact, you implied she was unencumbered.”

  “Vyne likely thought the existence of the boy would scare you off.”

  “I like children.”

  “Enough to become a father to Pip?”

  “No, I am not in a position to do that. Not for anyone,” Blackwood admitted. He folded his arms over his chest. “Now I understand why he kept throwing his niece at me instead of discussing when he’d be paying off his debt.”

  “One has nothing to do with the other, I assure you,” Vyne promised. “Not that I was involved in any abduction.”

  “Most likely, he wished to lessen his debt somehow by joining your family to his, delaying talks of any repayment to you for quite some time.”

  Blackwood scowled. “Lord Vyne, I shall have to decline any delay to that repayment. I will acc
ept full payment by luncheon today, and then I will be on my way. My wife is expecting me to reach home by Christmas Eve.”

  Vyne gasped. “You’re married?”

  “For some time, and I already have children. Six,” Blackwood promised.

  Hector couldn’t help but laugh at Vyne’s shocked expression. “Congratulations. Six children and a wife, too. Imagine that.”

  “Twin’s. Three sets of boys,” Blackwood said proudly. “I’ve kept my family far away from London and what goes on there, but they’ll be moving to the new estate soon.”

  “How marvelous,” Hector exclaimed and it was the best news he’d ever heard.

  Lord Vyne’s face was slowly turning purple and that was good, too.

  “Congratulations to you, too,” Blackwood murmured. “I think Mrs. Roper will make an excellent wife for someone who can appreciate her best qualities and protect them.”

  Hector nodded. “I’m sure she will marry well, and soon. But first, I need to make sure her uncle understands the error of his ways.”

  Blackwood slapped Hector’s shoulder. “Do me a favor—don’t kill him. I can’t get money out of a dead man.”

  “Oh, he’ll live, but not happily, I should think.”

  “Oh, and while we’re confiding in each other—stay away from my sister once you marry. My sister is a complication you do not want in your life,” Blackwood suggested with a bland smile.

  Hector had nearly forgotten all about kissing Blackwood’s sister. “I assure you, I will keep a distance,” he promised. He was done with all women—except Ruby.

  He waited until Blackwood was gone before he faced Lord Vyne again. The man seemed decidedly uncomfortable and blessedly silent. Good. Hector had a few things to get off his chest. “For years, I’ve watched you manipulate those around you with no thought to their happiness.”

  “The concerns of my family are no business of yours,” Vyne snapped.

  “That’s where you are very wrong. I’m connected to your family now. My sister is about to deliver Clement’s first child.”

  Vyne’s eyes were wide. “A grandchild?”

  There was complete wonder in Vyne’s voice. Hector narrowed his eyes. “Well. Well. Well. Didn’t you know about the coming babe?”

  Vyne sat up a little straighter. “No. My son is neglectful in his duties and failed to inform me.”

  “I’m not surprised you’re the last to know.” He smiled coldly at Vyne. “Do you imagine Clement will allow you to spend any time with your grandchildren once he learns what you tried to do last night to his cousin’s child? Ruby came to you for help, and this is how you treat her. She foolishly trusted you, but will never make that mistake again.”

  Vyne wet his lips. “Clement doesn’t need to know.”

  “Really? Do you imagine I have any reason to keep your dirty secrets from Clement? He is my brother.”

  Vyne swallowed. “I wasn’t sending the child back to Scotland.”

  “Then where were you sending him?”

  “My sister lives alone in Dorset. She’s an interest in children.”

  “So you would break Ruby’s heart just to purify the family tree of an offspring of undesirable origins?” Hector nearly shouted.

  Vyne held out one hand. “I knew she’d never willingly send the boy away. If the boy were to disappear one night, Ruby would have been able to plead ignorance honestly when her father brought her father-in-law to take him back. Without the child, there’d be no reason for Roper to linger long. He’d have no further connection to my family, or to her. It would be as if the marriage had never happened!”

  Hector narrowed his eyes, unable to believe that tall tale. “And then what would have become of the child? Would he grow up imagining his mother had abandoned him?”

  “No!” Vyne exclaimed. “I would send her to the child when I was sure Roper had given up hope. I sent a letter ahead to my sister, explaining the situation already. My sister would have taken good care of the boy until her mother came for him.”

  “And this business with Blackwood? Why were you trying so hard to match Ruby to him?”

  “Everyone believes Blackwood needs a wife. He is a wealthy man and has a connection to a title hardly anyone talks about. But I believe he will most likely become a marquis in the not-too-distant future. My daughters are too innocent to appeal to such a man, but with Ruby returned a widow, I saw an opportunity to make a good match for her, little knowing Blackwood’s so-called unencumbered life was a lie.”

  Vyne told a fairly convincing tale. He had painted his motives in a brighter light than might actually be possible. Some of it might even be true if not for one glaring embellishment. He pointed a finger at the earl. “No carriage or horse has left The Vyne’s carrying any letter for anyone. I know because I’ve spent every day watching the front drive.”

  Lord Vyne paled as Hector advanced on him.

  “You will not attempt to make another match for Ruby. You will not concern yourself with her again, or with Pip. From this moment on, you will leave them alone.”

  “Roper will come to take the boy, and there is nothing she can do to stop him.”

  Hector would stop Roper. He would find a way to keep mother and son together, no matter what it cost him. “Lord Vyne, I encourage you to spend your solitude contemplating the difference between what is right and what is good for the sake of the family. Perhaps if you think very hard, you might one day see how you are responsible for the state of your empty life.” He turned away from Vyne, disgusted with the earl.

  Vyne got to his feet. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to do a good thing.”

  Vyne was suddenly at Hector’s side, clutching his arm. “What are you going to tell Clement?”

  Hector shook him off and Vyne staggered for the support of the wall. “I’ll have to think about that,” Hector warned, but he would probably tell Clement everything once he had Ruby and Pip safely away from The Vynes. But first… “Do you know what might help me decide?”

  “What?”

  “Give back the silver bell you took from Ruby when she was a girl. I know you took it from her and allowed me to be blamed.”

  Vyne jerked back from him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Would Vyne deny every accusation aimed his way? “Thanks to my friendship with your son, I recall the contents of your father’s will were hotly contested by you and your brother. Clement told me your father had left little tokens to each of his grandchildren. You argued against honoring the bequests, but your brother won, and you’ve hardly spoken to him since. You took back that silver bell from Ruby out of spite for your brother’s success. She misses it still.”

  Lord Vyne’s eyes lowered, revealing his guilt.

  “Your father gave it to her, not you.”

  Vyne’s jaw worked then he yanked open a drawer nearby. Inside were a collection of small trinkets, and he removed Ruby’s long-lost silver bell.

  When he thrust it toward Hector, he refused to take it. “Don’t be such a coward. Give it back to her yourself, and maybe she’ll forgive you for what you tried to do one day.”

  “What about our bargain?”

  “I made no bargain with you, but I have the truth of you now.”

  Hector stalked upstairs and returned to his bedchamber immediately. He’d fetch Pip and take him to Ruby ahead of their departure from the estate.

  But he found Ruby and Pip together already, surrounded by Hector’s packed trunks. Pip was playing with his horse behind one, and Ruby was seated before the fire.

  He turned to Pip first to say good morning. Hector leaned down and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Come and sit with your mother and I.”

  He turned away, sure the boy would follow eventually, and claimed a spot by Ruby’s side on a cozy settee. “Good morning.”

  “I woke to find you gone.”

  “Yes, I went to speak to your uncle about the abduction attempt.”

  “Why
?”

  “Because during the night, I realized it couldn’t have been Roper behind it.”

  Ruby’s eyes flickered around the room nervously. “Pip, come and sit with us.”

  The boy got to his feet and dropped into the space between them. He looked up at Hector and smiled. “Will you take me to visit the horses?”

  “Indeed, I will.” He ruffled the boy’s hair again. “How would you like to visit London for a few days?”

  “London?” both Ruby and Pip cried out in surprise.

  “Yes, but if we don’t run into Clement I’d like to divert to spend Christmas night in my home. I find I have a few extra presents to acquire this year, too, and I have a special license to arrange.”

  At the word presents, Pip’s eyes lit up wide, and he inhaled, anticipating a surprise. Hector hoped his ultimate gift for the boy, a pony, would be enough to wait for.

  Ruby touched his arm. “You were serious last night?”

  “Every word. I will marry you, and I will deal with the Ropers, and we will make a home for all of us together wherever you’d like to live.”

  The boy turned to him. “Will you be my new papa?”

  “If you want me to be.” Hector smiled.

  The boy chewed his lower lip.

  “I’ll teach you to ride as well as your papa and me. I’ve a friend who keeps a pony in London. We could visit him after I marry your mother.”

  The boy suddenly wrapped his arms about Hector’s neck and hugged him tightly. “Can we go now? I don’t like it here.”

  Hector pulled the boy onto his lap. He leaned down to the boy’s ear to whisper but turned his gaze on Ruby. “We could go today, but first, I’d like to have your mama agree to marry me.”

  “Mama?”

  “Yes, Pip.”

  “Why won’t you marry Hector?”

  “Well, I suppose I won’t marry him because he hasn’t asked me,” she admitted.

  Hector grunted in surprise. He had thought he’d made his interest clear, but perhaps it hadn’t been the perfect proposal after all. He could do better.

  He lifted the boy off his lap and stood. “May I have your undivided attention, madam?”