Prince of Ravenscar (Sherbrooke Brides 11)

“Yer a lady; a lady don’t lie and she don’t shoot men in their cheek, leastwise not the cheek that resides on their faces.”

“Don’t you remember, Mr. Manners? I kicked you in your groin, I struck you twice on your head with the plowshare. I will shoot you twice, to make certain you will never bedevil anyone again, if you don’t tell me the truth. Now, who hired you?”

“Awright! It were the ’igh-an’-mighty king!”

“King William hired you to kidnap me?”

“No, no, I meant it were the prince. No one goes against the prince and lives to tell about it.”

“I see. So Lord Julian Monroe, the Prince of Ravenscar, hired you to kidnap me?”

“Aye, it were, the prince be a downy one, none disobeys him, ever, iffen they wants to keep their ’earts beatin’ in their chests.” Manners grabbed his hair in his fists and pulled. “Ah, me bleedin’ ’ead, I fair to feel like pukin’ up me guts.”

Manners had the gall to throw up. At least he missed her slippers.

Roxanne, Sophie, Devlin, and Julian left poor Tom to deal with him. They stepped outside and listened to Manners alternately vomit and groan.

“He’d better not dare go unconscious again,” Sophie said, and shook her fist in his direction. “Poor Tom, having to hold the chamber pot for him.”

“I don’t suppose you hired Manners, Julian? For some nefarious reason that eludes me? You are the only prince I know.”

“He isn’t altogether stupid,” Julian said slowly. “I wonder if he’s used this ploy before?”

When the sounds of vomiting stopped, they all trooped back into the small room. It smelled vile. Tom raised the single small window, fanned the air with his coat.

Orvald Manners turned his face to the wall and refused to say any more.

Julian said, “Let’s leave him be for a while. Tom, tie him down to the bed, so he won’t be able to do anything, save think about his long list of sins.”

Tom set to work with a good deal of relish.

Roxanne said, “To accuse you, Julian, it makes me quite froth at the mouth.”

Devlin patted Roxanne’s cheek. “It makes me froth more. Calm yourself; Manners will come around, once we make it perfectly clear Julian will send him to Botany Bay if he doesn’t tell us the truth.”

“Botany Bay?” Julian’s eyebrow shot up. “I fancy that is a believable threat, Devlin. I can contact a naval captain I know. He can tell me what to do, give me specifics to scare the sin out of him.”

“Would you really send him there?”

“Oh, yes, Sophie. At the very least, we wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. But he’ll talk, then we’ll see.”

57

Julian looked up when Pouffer cleared his throat.

“Yes, Pouffer? What is it?”

“It is Lady Merrick, Prince. She is in the drawing room. She brought several valises with her, and her maid, who smiled at me until Lady Merrick saw her smiling, and I tell you, it fell right off her face, poor lass.”

“What?” Roxanne was on her feet. “Leah is here? But—”

“That’s quite all right, Roxanne,” Corinne said, as she allowed August, a footman more slight than she, to help her to rise, something she was perfectly capable of doing all by herself, but it seemed it was a sacred requirement of both her and August. “Shall we take a vote? Who would like me to clout Leah?”

“I vote yes. Clout her,” Sophie said.

Julian tossed down his napkin. “No, Mother, not you. If there’s any clouting to be done, I shall see to it. Everyone continue with luncheon.”

But no one ate another bite. All rose silently and followed Julian to the drawing room, where Leah, dressed in a dark blue traveling gown, a clever bonnet set atop her blond hair, stood by the fireplace, holding a beaded reticule in her white hands, staring up at Julian’s father’s portrait.