time.”
“That relieves my mind,” Val said. “I was beginning towonder.” He paused at one of the windows, staring out past Phelan. “Why
are
we here? And don’t start trying to get me to agree to leave the country. I’m sick of running. This is as far as I go. But you never explained. Why the hell are we in Hampton Regis? Simply on Hannigan’s say-so? Why didn’t we stay closer to home, where we might be doing something instead of just sitting around on our bums?”
“If you think I’m enjoying this enforced wait,” Phelan said silkily, “then you greatly mistake the matter. I hauled you away from Yorkshire before my demented mother and your hot temper could get you hanged, and we were damned lucky Hannigan knew of a place remote enough to suit. If it were up to me, I’d be long gone from this country.”
“Then go!” Valerian shot back. “I’ve told you, I can take care of myself. I don’t need you protecting me!”
“Like hell.” Phelan controlled his temper with an effort. “If you refuse to leave England, then at least Hampton Regis has several advantages, not counting your amatory interests. For one thing, it’s right on the coast. Once you see reason, we can leave for France on the next tide. For another, Hannigan’s family absolutely haunts this area of the country. We may never see them, but they’re around, looking after us. If anyone comes seeking Valerian Romney, we’ll hear about it in time to escape. And then it’s off to the Continent and a life of unbridled merriment,” he concluded sourly.
“Be still, my heart,” Valerian said. “Will you take your little serving lad with us if we have to decamp?”
“No.”
“No? You amaze me, Phelan. Why not?”
“Because, like your precious bluestocking, the child isinnocent. I have no idea why she’s embarked on this absurd masquerade, but the fact remains that she doesn’t need to be seduced and abandoned.”
“You don’t need to abandon her, Phelan,” Val said softly.
“She’ll stay behind. I’ll have Hannigan’s people look after her, if need be. But for the time being, I’ll stay put. Unwillingly, I might add. I suppose we’re safe enough out here, a country squire and his wife.” Phelan’s grin was wry. “You can torment yourself with your little bluestocking, I’ll torment myself with the serving lad. And we’ll hope no one decides to come after us.”
“Who do you think really killed him, Phelan?”
It was the one question he didn’t want to answer. “A stray thief,” he said firmly. “A deranged servant.”
“Not a servant,” Val said. “And not a thief.”
Their eyes, so much alike, met for a long, pregnant moment of understanding. “We may be wrong,” Phelan said eventually.
“Even if we aren’t, you know I won’t let you do anything about it,” Val replied. “I’ve caused her enough harm …”
“You don’t need to pay penance with your life. And the harm was caused by our mutual father, not by you. You didn’t ask for your existence; you certainly don’t need to give it up to please a madwoman.” Phelan grimaced. “Besides, we might be wrong. My mother might not have murdered him after all.”
There, the words were out in the open, the unspoken suspicion that had rested between the brothers for so long. He ought to feel relieved at finally having spoken the fear that had haunted him. Instead, he felt even more troubled.
Valerian didn’t reply for a moment, and the thought hung between them like a dark cloud. “We can leave it,” he saidfinally. “I’m willing to go to France, or Italy, and spend the rest of my life there. After all, it’s not as if I’m turning my back on an inheritance. With Lord Harry dead, I’m not welcome at Romney Hall, even if I wasn’t suspected of killing him. There’s nothing to tie me to England.”
“Nothing but your love of the place. I’m the one who’d prefer to spend my days abroad, wandering. You might just as well suggest I
“That relieves my mind,” Val said. “I was beginning towonder.” He paused at one of the windows, staring out past Phelan. “Why
are
we here? And don’t start trying to get me to agree to leave the country. I’m sick of running. This is as far as I go. But you never explained. Why the hell are we in Hampton Regis? Simply on Hannigan’s say-so? Why didn’t we stay closer to home, where we might be doing something instead of just sitting around on our bums?”
“If you think I’m enjoying this enforced wait,” Phelan said silkily, “then you greatly mistake the matter. I hauled you away from Yorkshire before my demented mother and your hot temper could get you hanged, and we were damned lucky Hannigan knew of a place remote enough to suit. If it were up to me, I’d be long gone from this country.”
“Then go!” Valerian shot back. “I’ve told you, I can take care of myself. I don’t need you protecting me!”
“Like hell.” Phelan controlled his temper with an effort. “If you refuse to leave England, then at least Hampton Regis has several advantages, not counting your amatory interests. For one thing, it’s right on the coast. Once you see reason, we can leave for France on the next tide. For another, Hannigan’s family absolutely haunts this area of the country. We may never see them, but they’re around, looking after us. If anyone comes seeking Valerian Romney, we’ll hear about it in time to escape. And then it’s off to the Continent and a life of unbridled merriment,” he concluded sourly.
“Be still, my heart,” Valerian said. “Will you take your little serving lad with us if we have to decamp?”
“No.”
“No? You amaze me, Phelan. Why not?”
“Because, like your precious bluestocking, the child isinnocent. I have no idea why she’s embarked on this absurd masquerade, but the fact remains that she doesn’t need to be seduced and abandoned.”
“You don’t need to abandon her, Phelan,” Val said softly.
“She’ll stay behind. I’ll have Hannigan’s people look after her, if need be. But for the time being, I’ll stay put. Unwillingly, I might add. I suppose we’re safe enough out here, a country squire and his wife.” Phelan’s grin was wry. “You can torment yourself with your little bluestocking, I’ll torment myself with the serving lad. And we’ll hope no one decides to come after us.”
“Who do you think really killed him, Phelan?”
It was the one question he didn’t want to answer. “A stray thief,” he said firmly. “A deranged servant.”
“Not a servant,” Val said. “And not a thief.”
Their eyes, so much alike, met for a long, pregnant moment of understanding. “We may be wrong,” Phelan said eventually.
“Even if we aren’t, you know I won’t let you do anything about it,” Val replied. “I’ve caused her enough harm …”
“You don’t need to pay penance with your life. And the harm was caused by our mutual father, not by you. You didn’t ask for your existence; you certainly don’t need to give it up to please a madwoman.” Phelan grimaced. “Besides, we might be wrong. My mother might not have murdered him after all.”
There, the words were out in the open, the unspoken suspicion that had rested between the brothers for so long. He ought to feel relieved at finally having spoken the fear that had haunted him. Instead, he felt even more troubled.
Valerian didn’t reply for a moment, and the thought hung between them like a dark cloud. “We can leave it,” he saidfinally. “I’m willing to go to France, or Italy, and spend the rest of my life there. After all, it’s not as if I’m turning my back on an inheritance. With Lord Harry dead, I’m not welcome at Romney Hall, even if I wasn’t suspected of killing him. There’s nothing to tie me to England.”
“Nothing but your love of the place. I’m the one who’d prefer to spend my days abroad, wandering. You might just as well suggest I
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