Engaging the Enemy (The Wild Randalls 1)

It took a while to find Lady Venables. She had stormed from the abbey in a rage and had strode off into the gardens as if a demon chased her. Now that he had found her, perched on a bench beneath a tree, he wondered what it would take for her to forgive her sister. What she would demand of him. None of the situation was Mercy’s fault.

She looked up when a twig broke under his boot. “What do you want? Come to destroy another woman’s reputation?”

“I’ve come to confess if that will help.”

Lady Venables blinked. “Confess to what? That you’re the boy’s father.”

Being accused was no easier to bear the second time around. “There is the possibility of that, yes. However, the boy was born well before my cousin died. He is the duke in every legal sense and I have no intention of protesting otherwise.”

Her gaze hardened to flint. “You slept with my sister and cuckolded your cousin.”

“I never knew who it was and Mercy was likely given no choice in the matter.”

“But you surely had one?”

Had he? When it came to his family, the only choice he had was to protect them. “I had a choice, yes. I chose to submit to blackmail.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Blackmail? Don’t you lie to me, too.”

Leopold seated himself beside the fuming woman and took a deep breath. “If I hadn’t bedded the woman when told to five years ago there would have been worse consequences for both of us. I know now that the old duke was determined to get an heir at any price. My cousin, for reasons I cannot fathom, handed over his wife to a man he hated. Me. He and the old duke loathed my family and my very existence. But they loved Romsey and the family’s good standing in society. From what I have been able to determine, the old duke wanted to ensure that his line continued unbroken for posterity. He didn’t care how he managed it. He never wanted my side of the family to inherit what was his. That is why he sent me, and not another to her. He ensured I would never be a threat to the boy. He could have sent just about anyone to her bed; someone who could have been cruel. He chose someone of his own blood, his own son’s heir.”

Blythe shifted on the bench. “Why would you agree to such a bargain? You could have pretended to go through with the deed.”

“He had hidden my sister somewhere. If I had not done as he had demanded, he promised her a life of hardship and degradation. He had more disreputable contacts than I care to think about and I was terrified for Rosemary. She was just a girl when he took her away. I had to protect her, and all of them, in any way I could.” He glanced at the abbey and shuddered. “Besides, the woman I bedded was to be examined afterward if there was the slightest doubt about what we had done that night. I couldn’t bear to put the lady through yet another indignity on top of sharing a bed with me.”

“She loves that boy,” Blythe said suddenly.

“Then she is a better duchess than the last. My cousin was raised by a never ending parade of servants. He was not a happy child. But Edwin is lucky to have family in his life. I hope you will not hold his origins against him. It is clear to me he loves you very much.”

When Blythe turned her face away, Leopold prayed he had done the right thing in confessing so much. There was no defense he could offer to excuse his part in that night, but at least Mercy’s sister had as many facts as he knew in her possession. He hoped she would forgive Mercy because she was utterly innocent of any wrong doing.

“You and my sister are lovers still?”

Oh hell, that was a further complication to all this. He was so tired of lying and he didn’t want to anymore. He took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“When were you going to leave her?”

Leopold turned to gaze at the abbey, his heart a heavy weight inside him. “When the danger has passed and I am assured Edwin is safe once more. I had always intended to move away once I found the information about my siblings. But I can leave before I find them if you wish it. I would like to hire a steward for the estate first though. She and Edwin will need good help to manage Romsey in the years to come. A place like this cannot be left neglected for long.”

Lady Venables nodded slowly. Her gaze swept over the surrounding countryside and then landed on him. “I fear my sister has grown unduly attached to you.”

Leopold bowed his head. “I am sorry for that. It was never my intention to get involved in her life, or the boy’s. I don’t belong here. I told her that just this morning in fact.”

“I’m sure that went over well. My sister is impetuous. She never thinks beyond the moment to what will lie ahead.”

Leopold laughed. “She’s thought all right. She just cannot have what she wants.”

His companion raised a brow, either to his laugh or assertion, but didn’t comment. Leopold had the distinct feeling that Mercy wanted him to remain her lover for a long time. Unfortunately, they didn’t have that long together. A week, perhaps, at most.

Lady Venables raised her hand to shield her eyes. “Is that a carriage approaching the abbey?”

Leopold stood and squinted in the direction she indicated. “It is, damn it.” He turned to her. “Will you return with me, my lady? Despite the servants lingering about the grounds, I am still concerned for your safety out here alone.”

After a long moment of hesitation, Blythe stood and joined him as he walked toward the abbey. “Who do you think it is that comes?”

“I am unsure at this distance, but I believe it is Lady Barnet come to call again.”

Blythe stopped. “Lady Barnet,” she snarled.