Prince of Ravenscar (Sherbrooke Brides 11)

“Leah, what are you doing here?” Roxanne asked. “Have you decided Richard Langworth no longer suits you? What happened to make you come back?”

Leah gave a gay laugh, smiled at all of them, graciousness oozing out of every pore. “Oh, nothing has happened. Richard was forced to go to London to attend to some business, so I decided to return here to rejoin my sister and my niece.” She smiled. “You are both looking quite well, as are you, your grace. If I may impose on your kindness yet again, I should be very grateful if you would let me stay with you until Richard returns to Hardcross Manor.” Her words wafted through the warm air, embracing all of them.

Before Corinne could open her mouth, Julian said, “Did Richard go to London to hire another thug to abduct your sister, since Orvald Manners failed so spectacularly?”

Leah splayed her hands and looked at them sadly. “You know Richard was distraught when you told us about Roxanne being kidnapped. As was I. Both of us are vastly relieved she is back safely. Richard told me he quite liked Roxanne, and it smote him that you thought he’d done such a thing. He is hoping that man, Manners, regains consciousness so he can clear his name.” She turned to Roxanne. “My dear, I do hope you are recovered. What a dreadful experience for you.”

Roxanne thought, Why are you really here, Leah? Do you want to try to discover more of our plans, and inform Richard? Don’t you realize no one in this house would even tell you if it was going to rain? Not anymore.

Then it hit her. No, it’s about Manners, isn’t it, Leah? You’re afraid what he’ll say if he comes around. You want to warn Richard if he does. You’ll never know he already has regained consciousness.

“Yes,” Roxanne said pleasantly, “dreadful.”

Corinne saw no hope for it. She cleared her throat. “I hope you will enjoy this stay more than your last one. How long does Richard plan to be gone? A week? Two, perhaps?”

“Oh, I quite enjoyed my last visit, your grace. It was Richard, you see. He is so bitterly unhappy with you, Julian. But Roxanne’s kidnapping, that concerns him greatly. A week? I don’t know, your grace. Such a charming house this is. A palace it’s called hereabouts, isn’t it?”

Leah continued to charm, to spread gaiety around, and she laughed whenever any of the party said something even mildly amusing.

Later, when Roxanne offered to escort her to her bedchamber, not a single insult slithered out of her mouth. Roxanne lightly laid her hand on Leah’s arm. She had to know the depths of her sister’s treachery, and she knew how to do it. “A moment. I am worried, Leah, I will admit it to you. You are my sister, you have my best interests at heart. This man, Manners, he woke up a while ago. He wants to kidnap me again, Leah, he said he had a taste for me now. He says the prince hired him. That cannot be true, you know it cannot. I don’t know what to do.”

Leah, eyes bright, squeezed her hand. “The prince? Why don’t we go speak to Manners together, Roxanne? I can be very persuasive. I don’t wish you to be afraid anymore. He is only a bad man, and bad men can be dealt with. Now, where is this creature?”

Roxanne led her down the long corridor to the small sewing room. She nodded to Tom, who was sitting on a chair, a cup of tea balanced on his knee. “Please lea

ve us, Tom. It will be fine.”

“Excuse me, Miss Roxanne, but the prince said it was all right for you to be here? With that foul sot?”

“The prince said a lady’s touch might be the thing,” Leah said easily.

Once Tom was gone, Leah said, “It smells dreadful in here.”

“Not nearly as bad as it did.” Roxanne looked down at Manners, who, at the sound of Leah’s voice, slowly opened his eyes. “Another beautiful angel wot’s come to flutter ’er wings about me.”

Leah said nothing at all. She leaned over Manners, studied him for a moment, then slapped him hard.

Manners gasped, then said, sputtering, “But why’d ye do that fer? I ain’t niver done anything to ye!”

Leah leaned close. “You smell vile. You are vile, I doubt not. Now tell me who hired you to kidnap Roxanne.”

Roxanne couldn’t move. What would Manners say? What would Leah do?

“It were the prince, I already told the red-’eaded witch wot’s standing right aside ye that it were the prince wot paid me the groats.”

Leah straightened. “I don’t know, Roxanne. There is defeat in his voice, but if it is the prince—what a ridiculous appellation that is—listen, Julian Monroe is nothing more than a merchant, running his string of ships, doing accounts, like any clerk. He may be the son of a duke, but he has the heart of a merchant.” She eyed her sister and leaned down again over Manners. “No, it is not the prince. I am sick of your lies, you filthy varmint. The prince wants her, he wouldn’t have someone do away with her, unless—” Leah broke off, looked over her shoulder at Roxanne. “Did something happen between you and the prince? I know you seduced him. Is he now refusing to marry you?”

“No, he isn’t refusing to marry me,” Roxanne said. “We really haven’t discussed it, you know.”

“Are you pregnant?”

“No.” What would happen, Roxanne thought dispassionately, if I slapped her, as she did Manners? She still thinks Julian wants me and I want him?

“Ye shut yer chops, missis, that ain’t a nice thing to say to the little witch. Actually, ye said a whole lot of not nice things to ’er.” He stopped cold, reevaluated, then gave them both a toothy grin. “Aye, ’twere the prince, ’e don’t want ye in ’is bed anymore, but I’ll take ye, make ye scream wit’ ’appiness.”

Leah slapped him again. “Are you telling me the truth? Was it really the prince who hired you?”

“Oh, aye, missis, ’tis the truth, I swears it on me ma’s grave.”