Slave to the Night (The Brotherhood 2)

Graced exhaled loudly. "So it is true. Caroline is with child."

Lady Sudley snorted. "Why else would my brother flee the country? He has never been one for responsibility. When I confronted him about his plans, he told me the apothecary dispensed medicine to help rid women of unwanted things. Can you believe he actually referred to his own child as a thing?" She gave a satisfied grin before adding, "That's when I came up with my wonderful plan."

Elliot waved his hand over the scene. "If this is your wonderful plan, then you have made a series of miscalculations. Now, I believe it is time to put the pistol down and—"

"You do not understand." Lady Sudley's eyes widened. "I have already told my husband I am with child. He is delighted after fearing he had made a dreadful mistake in marrying me. What peer wants a barren wife?"

"I'm confused," Grace said. "Are you with child?"

Recognition dawned.

"No," Elliot said. "Lady Sudley plans to take Caroline's child and pass it off as her own. Am I right?"

"The child belongs to my brother, to my family. If he has no interest in it, then why shouldn't I. It solves all our problems. My brother will think the medicine worked. Miss Rosemond may continue her career as a courtesan without such a heavy burden, and I can give my husband the child he so desperately craves."

"You were going to keep Caroline here until the baby is born?" Grace asked incredulously.

"Of course not. I shall travel to my father's estate in Norfolk. It is far healthier for a child to be born in the country. Caroline will stay in a cottage, and when the time comes, I shall take the babe and return to London. You must see it is the best option all round."

Lady Sudley was deranged, a prime candidate for Bedlam.

Elliot could feel Grace's distress. "I assume Caroline does not agree with your wonderful plan?" he said.

"She will soon come round to the idea. I have money and will make her far too generous an offer to decline."

"And what of us?" Elliot asked as he focused on the lady's tired hand. Another minute and she would be forced to lower it completely. "No child wants a murderer for a mother. You said so yourself. Respectability is important."

"But surely you see the sense in my plan now?" Lady Sudley pleaded. "Surely you cannot oppose it?"

Grace turned to face him. "Perhaps Lady Sudley is right. Perhaps she would be a better mother to the child than Caroline."

Elliot searched her face. One look in her eyes told him what he needed to know. If they put the lady at ease, they had a better chance of taking the pistol.

However, the idea amounted to nothing more than a fleeting thought as a dull thud echoed through the hallway below.

"It's the door, my lady." Mrs. Jones hovered in the corner. "Should I go answer it?"

Lady Sudley raised the pistol and firmed her grip. "Ignore it. They will soon go away."

They all stood in silence as the persistent caller knocked again. No doubt, Alexander and Leo sensed something was wrong and were keen to investigate. They would not walk away. Elliot conjured an image of Alexander demanding the use of Leo's coat to muffle the sound while he broke the window.

"Lower the pistol, Lady Sudley," Elliot said in as calm a voice as he could muster. "If you fire, you will certainly injure someone. Then I'm afraid your respectable neck will spend a few painful minutes wrestling with the hangman's noose."

"Can you not understand my dilemma?" she implored, focusing her attention on Grace. "Did you ever disappoint your husband? Do you know what it's like to spend every waking moment wondering how to make him happy?"

A sudden wave of sadness flooded Elliot's chest. He wanted to curse the lady for reminding Grace of Henry Denton's abusive ways.

"I understand perfectly," Grace said in a solemn, weary tone. "It makes you feel inadequate, a failure. Every day you feel a little less whole. Nothing you do seems to make a difference and so you smile at the world and pretend you're happy. But inside you feel like a vine of thorns has wrapped itself around your heart, piercing it a thousand times over."

Elliot's heart ached, too, hearing her sad words.

He had never experienced another person's pain, not in the human sense. Indeed, it wasn't just a case of being aware of her feelings. The agony accompanying the memory felt real to him.

Lady Sudley appeared surprised at her response. "It is exactly like that."

Grace shook her head. "Then you must know, to control and abuse others to ease your sadness makes you just as guilty as your negligent husband. Do not become the monster you fear. You must tell him the truth."

Staring at a spot on the wooden floor, the lady considered Grace's words. "He'll despise me," she said shaking her head, muttering to herself as she played out the conversation she would have with her husband.