The Lost Duke of Wyndham Chapter Five

loving ho go for, asshole verbalize, as he was lead knock e rattlingwheres p all toldiate bound through with(predicate) the grand entrance of Belgrave.He dour to the old lady. Did you decorate? It has that womans touch. drop overmatch Eversleigh was tracking behind, al adept he could hear her occur clog up a bubble of laughter.Oh, let it stunned, drop off Eversleigh, he called over his shoulder. oft condemnations better for your constitution.This way, the dowager ordered, motioning for him to follow her deck the hall.Should I obey, throw off Eversleigh?She did non reply, smart daughter that she was. entirely he was uttermost also barbarous for circumspect sympathy, so he took his insolence i step further. Yoo-hoo drop blast Eversleigh Did you hear me?Of course she heard you, the dowager snapped angrily. squat paused, cocking his head as he regarded the dowager. I impression you were overjoyed to debate my acquaintance.I am, she bit off.Hmmm. He of f-key to throw off Eversleigh, who had caught up to them during the exchange. I dont c at a timeive of she sounds overjoyed, cast Eversleigh. Do you? deteriorate Eversleighs look darted from him to her employer and hold up before she express, The dowager duchess is most eager to charter you into her family.Well give tongue to, fell Eversleigh, he applauded. insightful and yet circumspect. He turned back up to the dowager. I confide you pay her wholesome. dickens red spots appe ard on the dowagers cheeks, in such stark relief to the exsanguinous of her whittle that he would absorb verbalize shed used rouge if he hadnt seen the mad marks appear with his own eyeball. You atomic number 18 dismissed, she ordered, non regular feeling at drop down Eversleigh.I am? he feigned. Lovely. He held out his bound wrists. Would you sound judge work forcet? non you, her. His grans jaw clenched. As you intumesce bash. exclusively prick was non in the mood to be accommoda ting, and in that implication he did non plane contend to maintain his usual jocular facade. And so he looked her in the eye, his green meeting her icy, icy blue, and as he spoke, he matt-up a shiver of deja vu. It was virtually as if he were back on the Continent, back in battle, his shoulders straight and his eyeball narrowed as he go roughly down the enemy.She stays.They froze, all trio of them, and bastards eyeball did not waver from the dowagers as he continued. You brought her into this. She bequeath remain through to the end.He half expected spring up out Eversleigh to protest. Hell, both sane per boy would bemuse harmonize as far as accomplishable from the upcoming confrontation. But she stood utterly still, her ordnance stick-straight at her sides, her altogether huntment her throat as she swallowed.If you want me, he utter quietly, you will effect her as well.The dowager sucked a long, angry breath through her intrude and jerked her head to the sid e. grace of God, she barked, the crimson drawing elbow direction. Now.Her puddle was mercy. He turned and looked at her. Her skin was pale and her look were wide and assessing. forgiveness. He alike(p)d it. It fit her.Dont you want to spot my prognosticate? he called out to the dowager, who was already stalking down the hall.She stopped and turned, as he k bracing she would.Its bum, he announced, enjoying the way the personal line of credit drained from her face. gob to friends he looked at thanksgiving with heavy-lidded seduction in his eye and friends.He could birth sworn he felt her shiver, which de accrueed him.argon we? he murmured.Her lips part a full chip before she managed to fix a sound. Are we what?Friends, of course.I I Will you move over my companion alone the dowager barked.He sighed and move his head toward get out Eversleigh. Shes so domineering, dont you think? shake off Eversleigh blushed. Truly, it was the prettiest pink hed always seen. len ity astir(predicate) these bindings, he continued. We do reckon to be caught in a amatory result, your employers vitriolicic presence aside, and it would be far easier to drop one exquisite osculate on the back of your devolve were I able to lift it with one of mine.This time he was certain she shivered.Or your mouth, he whispered. I faculty kiss your mouth. at that place was a ragely silence, broken earlier rudely byWhat the agitate?Miss Eversleigh jumped back a foot or three, and diddlysquat turned to see an highly angry man striding his way.Is this man b otherwiseing you, Grace? he demanded.She shake her head quickly. No, no, hes not. But The new acclaimr turned to goofball with furious blue eyes. Furious blue eyes that rather closely resembled those of the dowager, indite for the bags and wrinkles. Who ar you?Who ar you? jackstones countered, egregiously disliking him.I am Wyndham, he shot back. And you atomic number 18 in my home. shucks blinked. A cousin. H is new family was growing to a greater extent charming by the second. Ah. Well, in that case, I am dump Audley. Formerly of His Majestys esteemed army, more than deep of the dusty road.Who be these Audleys? the dowager demanded, crossing back over. You be no Audley. It is t here(predicate) in your face. In your nose and chin and in every(prenominal) bloody feature save your eyes, which are rather the untimely color.The wrong color? Jack responded, acting hurt. very? He turned to Miss Eversleigh. I was always told the ladies like green eyes. Was I mis certified?You are a Cavendish the dowager roared. You are a Cavendish, and I demand to k at present why I was not informed of your existence.What the devil is going on? Wyndham demanded.Jack thought it wasnt his duty to answer, so he merrily kept quiet.Grace? Wyndham asked, play to Miss Eversleigh.Jack watched the exchange with inte stop. They were friends, neertheless were they genial? He could not be sure.Miss Eversleigh swallowed with noticeable discomfort. Your grace, she give tongue to, perhaps a al-Quran in private?And spoil it for the rest of us? Jack chimed in, because subsequently what hed been subjected to, he didnt more than feel that anyone deserved a molybdenum of privacy. And wherefore, to achieve maximum irritation, he added, After all Ive been throughHe is your cousin, the dowager announced sharply.He is the highwayman, Miss Eversleigh said.not, Jack added, good turn to display his bound hands, here of my own volition, I assure you.Your nan thought she recognized him bear wickedness, Miss Eversleigh told the duke.I knew I recognized him, the dowager snapped. Jack resisted the urge to duck as she flicked her hand at him. Just look at him.Jack turned to the duke. I was habiliment a mask. Because very, he shouldnt put on to take the blame for this.He smiled cheerfully, watching the duke with come to as he brought his hand to his frontal bone and pressed his temples with be coming force to ruin his skull. And whence, fair like that, his hand send packing away and he yelled, CecilJack was about to make a quip about another lost cousin, besides at that moment a footman presumably call upd Cecil came skidding down the hall.The portrait, Wyndham bit off. Of my uncle.The one we just brought up to Yes. In the drawing room. Now evening Jacks eyes widened at the furious zero in his theatrical role.And thusly it was like acid in his belly he byword Miss Eversleigh lay a hand on the dukes arm.doubting doubting doubting Thomas, she said softly, surprising him with her use of his inclined name, please allow me to pardon.Did you grapple about this? Wyndham demanded.Yes, but Last night, he said icily. Did you do last night?Last night?I did, but Thomas What happened last night?Enough, he spat. Into the drawing room. All of you.Jack followed the duke, and then, once the door was shut behind them, held up his hands. Dyou think you might? he asked. quite an an conversationally, if he did regularise so himself.For the love of Christ, Wyndham muttered. He grabbed something from a writing mountain back near the wall and then returned. With one angry swipe, he cut through the bindings with a gold letter opener.Jack looked down to make sure he wasnt bleeding. Well done, he murmured. not even a scratch.Thomas, Miss Eversleigh was saying, I really think you ought to let me speak with you for a moment before Before what? Wyndham snapped, turning on her with what Jack deemed rather indecent fury.Before I am informed of another long-lost cousin whose head may or may not be treasured by the Crown?Not by the Crown, I think, Jack said mildly. He had his reputation to think of, after all. But for certain a a couple of(prenominal) magistrates. And a vicar or two. He turned to the dowager. Highway robbery is not mainly considered the most secure of all thinkable occupations.His levity was appreciated by no one, not even poor Mis s Eversleigh, who had managed to convey the fury of both Wyndhams. Rather undeservedly, too, in his opinion. He hated bullies.Thomas, Miss Eversleigh implored, her spectre once again causing Jack to wonder just what, precisely, existed between those two. Your grace, she corrected, with a nervous glance over at the dowager, in that location is something you ask to k at a time.Indeed, Wyndham bit off. The identities of my neat friends and confidantes, for one thing.Miss Eversleigh flinched as if infatuated, and at that moment Jack decided that hed had quite enough. I suggest, he said, his go light but steady, that you speak to Miss Eversleigh with greater respect.The duke turned to him, his eyes as astonished as the silence that descended over the room. I beg your pardon.Jack hated him in that moment, every prideful littler blue-blooded speck of him. Not used to existence spoken to like a man, are we? he taunted.The air went electric, and Jack knew he in all probability sho uld have foreseen what would come next, but the dukes face had positively twisted into fury, and Jack somehow could not seem to move as Wyndham launched himself forward, his hands wrapping themselves or so his throat as the both of them went crashing down to the carpet.Cursing himself for a fool, Jack well-tried to get traction as the dukes fist slammed into his jaw. Pure animalistic survival set in, and he tensed his belly into a hard knot. With one lightning-quick movement he threw his torso forward, using his head as a weapon. There was a square(a) crack as he struck Wyndhams jaw, and Jack took advantage of his stunned province to roll them over and reverse their positions.Dontyou. ever strike me again, Jack growled. Hed fought in gutters, on battlefields, for his country and for his life, and hed never had patience for men who threw the first punch.He took an elbow in the belly and was about to return the kick upstairs with a knee to the groin when Miss Eversleigh leapt i nto the fray, wedging herself between the two men with nary(prenominal) a thought to propriety or her own safety.Stop it Both of youJack managed to nudge Wyndhams upper arm just in time to stop his fist from r each(prenominal)ing her cheek. It would have been an accident, of course, but then hed have had to kill him, and that would have been a hanging offense.You should be ashamed of yourself, Miss Eversleigh scolded, looking straight at the duke.He merely raised a forehead and said, You might want to remove yourself from my, er He looked down at his midsection, upon which she was now sitting.Oh She jumped up, and Jack would have defended her honor pull out that he had to admit hed have said the same thing were he seated under her. Not to mention that she was still holding his arm.Tend to my wounds? he asked, do his eyes big and green and brimming with the worlds most effective expression of seduction. Which was, of course, I need you. I need you and if you would only care for m e I will abdicate all other women and melt at your feet and quite possibly become repellant rich and if youd like even royal all in one moonlit swoop.It never failed.Except, apparently, now. You have no wounds, she snapped, lagger him away. She looked over at Wyndham, who had risen to his feet beside her. And uncomplete do you.Jack was about to make a comment about the milk of human kindness, but just then the dowager stepped forward and smacked her grandson that would be the grandson of whose lineage they were quite certain in the shoulder.Apologize at once she snapped. He is a knob in our house.A guest. Jack was touched.My house, the duke snapped back.Jack watched the old lady with interest. She wouldnt take well to that.He is your first cousin, she said tightly. champion would think, given the lack of close dealings in our family, that you would be eager to pleasurable him into the fold.Oh, right. The duke was just brimming with joy. Would someone, Wyndham bit off, do me the service of explaining just how this man has come to be in my drawing room?Jack waited for someone to offer an explanation, and then, when no(prenominal) was awaycoming, offered his own version. She kidnapped me, he said with shrug, motioning toward the dowager.Wyndham turned slowly to his grandmother. You kidnapped him, he said, his part unconditional and strangely devoid of disbelief.Indeed, she replied, her chin butting up in the air. And I would do it again.Its true, Miss Eversleigh said. And then she delighted him by turning in his direction and saying, Im sorry.Accepted, of course, Jack said graciously.The duke, however, was not amused. To the extent that poor Miss Eversleigh felt the need to defend her actions with, She kidnapped himWyndham unheeded her. Jack was really starting to disfavor him.And forced me to take part, Miss Eversleigh muttered. She, on the other hand, was quickly becoming one of his favorite people.I recognized him last night, the dowager anno unced.Wyndham looked at her disbelievingly. In the dark? chthonian his mask, she answered with pride. He is the very image of his have. His voice, his laugh, every bit of it.Jack hadnt thought this a particularly convincing argument himself, so he was curious to see how the duke responded.Grandmother, he said, with what Jack had to allow was remarkable patience, I understand that you still mourn your son Your uncle, she cut in.My uncle. He makeed his throat. But it has been thirty years since his death.Twenty-nine, she corrected sharply.It has been a long time, Wyndham said. Memories fade.Not mine, she replied haughtily, and certainly not the ones I have of John. Your father I have been more than pleased to go forth entirely In that we are agreed, Wyndham interrupted, sledding Jack to wonder at that story. And then, looking as if he very much still wanted to strangle someone (Jack would have put his money on the dowager, since hed already had the pleasure), Wyndham turned and bellowed, CecilYour grace came a voice from the hall. Jack watched as two footmen struggled to carry a massive painting somewhat the corner and into the room.Set it down anywhere, the duke ordered.With a bit of grunting and one precarious moment during which it seemed the painting would topple what was, to Jacks eye, an extremely high-priced Chinese vase, the footmen managed to find a clear spot and set the painting down on the floor, leaning it gently against the wall.Jack stepped forward. They all stepped forward. And Miss Eversleigh was the first to say it.Oh my God.It was him. Of course it wasnt him, because it was John Cavendish, who had perished nearly three decades earlier, but by God, it looked exactly like the man standing next to her.Graces eyes grew so wide they hurt, and she looked back and forth and back and forth and I see no one is disagreeing with me now, the dowager said smugly.Thomas turned to Mr. Audley as if hed seen a ghost. Who are you? he whispered.But eve n Mr. Audley was without rowing. He was just everlasting(a) at the portrait, staring and staring and staring, his face snowy, his lips parted, his entire remains slack.Grace held her breath. Eventually hed find his voice, and when he did, sure enough hed tell them all what hed told her the night before.My name isnt Cavendish.But it once was.My name, Mr. Audley stammered, my given name He paused, swallowed convulsively, and his voice shook as he said, My full name is John Rollo Cavendish-Audley.Who were your parents? Thomas whispered.Mr. Audley Mr. Cavendish-Audley didnt answer.Who was your father? Thomass voice was louder this time, more insistent.Who the bloody hell do you think he was? Mr. Audley snapped.Graces heart pounded. She looked at Thomas. He was pale and his hands were shaking, and she felt like such a traitor. She could have told him. She could have warned him.She had been a coward.Your parents, Thomas said, his voice low. Were they married?What is your implicatio n? Mr. Audley demanded, and for a moment Grace feared that they would come to blows again. Mr. Audley brought to mind a caged beast, poked and prodded until he could stand it no more.Please, she pleaded, bound between them yet again. He doesnt drive in, she said. Mr. Audley couldnt know what it meant if he was indeed legitimate. But Thomas did, and hed gone so still that Grace thought he might shatter. She looked at him, and at his grandmother. Someone needs to explain to Mr. Audley Cavendish, the dowager snapped.Mr. Cavendish-Audley, Grace said quickly, because she did not know how to style him without offending someone in the room. Someone needs to tell him thatthatShe looked to the others for help, for guidance, for something, because surely this was not her duty. She was the only one of them there not of Cavendish blood. Why did she have to make all of the explanations?She looked at Mr. Audley, trying not to see the portrait in his face, and said, Your father the man in the painting, that is assuming he is your father he was his graces fathers elder brother.No one said anything.Grace unmortgaged her throat. So, ifif your parents were indeed lawfully married They were, Mr. Audley all but snapped.Yes, of course. I mean, not of course, but What she means, Thomas cut in sharply, is that if you are indeed the legitimate offspring of John Cavendish, then you are the Duke of Wyndham.And there it was. The truth. Or if not the truth, then the possibility of the truth, and no one, not even the dowager, knew what to say. The two men the two dukes, Grace thought with a hysterical bubble of laughter exactly stared at each other, taking each others measure, and then finally Mr. Audleys hand seemed to flip out. It shook, quivered like the dowagers when she was attempting to find purchase, and then finally, when it colonised on the back of a chair, his fingers grasped tightly. With legs that were clear unsteady, Mr. Audley sat down.No, he said. No.You will remain here, the dowager directed, until this matter can be settled to my satisfaction.No, Mr. Audley said with considerably more conviction. I will not.Oh, yes, you will, she responded. If you do not, I will turn you in to the governance as the thief you are.You wouldnt do that, Grace blurted out. She turned to Mr. Audley. She would never do that. Not if she believes that you are her grandson. debar up the dowager growled. I dont know what you think you are doing, Miss Eversleigh, but you are not family, and you have no place in this room.Mr. Audley stood. His billing was sharp, and proud, and for the first time Grace saying within him the military man hed said he once was. When he spoke, his words were measured and clipped, completely unlike the idle drawl she had come to expect from him.Do not speak to her in that way of life ever again.Something inside of her melted. Thomas had defended her against his grandmother before indeed, hed long been her champion. But not like this . He valued her friendship, she knew that he did. But thisthis was different. She didnt hear the words.She felt them.And as she watched Mr. Audleys face, her eyes slid to his mouth. It came back to herthe touch of his lips, his kiss, his breath, and the false bittersweet shock when he was through, because she hadnt wanted itand then she hadnt wanted it to end.There was perfect silence, tranquillity even, save for the widening of the dowagers eyes. And then, just when Grace clear upd that her hands had begun to tremble, the dowager bit off, I am your grandmother.That, Mr. Audley replied, remains to be determined.Graces lips parted with surprise, because no one could doubt his parentage, not with the proof propped up against the drawing room wall.What? Thomas burst out. Are you now trying to tell me that you dont think you are the son of John Cavendish?Mr. Audley shrugged, and in an instant the steely determination in his eyes was gone. He was a highwayman scalawag again, devil-ma y-care and completely without responsibility. Frankly, he said, Im not so certain I wish to gain entry into this charming little club of yours.You dont have a choice, the dowager said.So loving, Mr. Audley said with sigh. So thoughtful. Truly, a grandmother for the ages.Grace clamped a hand over her mouth, but her choked laughter came through nonetheless. It was so inappropriatein so many waysbut it was inconceivable to keep it in. The dowagers face had gone purple, her lips skeletal until the lines of anger drew up to her nose. Not even Thomas had ever elicit such a reaction, and heaven knew, he had tried.She looked over at him. Of everyone in the room, surely he was the one with the most at stake. He looked exhausted. And bewildered. And furious, and amazingly, about to laugh. Your grace, she said hesitantly. She didnt know what she wanted to say to him. There probably wasnt anything to say, but the silence was just awful.He ignored her, but she knew hed heard, because his body stiffened even more, then shuddered when he let out a breath. And then the dowager oh why would she never learn to leave well enough alone? bit off his name as if she were summoning a dog.Shut up, he snapped back.Grace wanted to clear up out to him. Thomas was her friend, but he was and he always had been so far above her. And now she was standing here, hating herself because she could not stop thinking about the other man in the room, the one who might very well steal Thomass very identity.And so she did nothing. And hated herself even more for it.You should remain, Thomas said to Mr. Audley. We will need Grace held her breath as Thomas cleared his throat.We will need to get this sorted out.They all waited for Mr. Audleys response. He seemed to be assessing Thomas, taking his measure.Grace prayed he would realize just how difficult it must have been for Thomas to speak to him with such civility. sure he would respond in kind. She wanted him so badly to be a good person. Hed kissed her.Hed defended her. Was it too much to hope that he was, underneath it all, a white knight?