Page 35

G arahan gave a short, sharp whistle as he jumped from the ladder leading to the rooftop. Michael O’Malley came running from the other side of the building.

“Where’s the threat?” Michael demanded.

“’Tis Flaherty.”

“Is he late?”

Garahan scrubbed a hand over his face. “Nay, he just rode out of here with Mary Kate on his lap as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.”

Michael frowned. “And he didn’t stop to speak with either of us.”

Garahan grunted. “We’d best find out what’s happened. The constable was supposed to send the prisoners on to London early this morning. Unless one of them escaped…”

He took off running to the rear entrance of the building with Michael right behind him.

“Where’s his lordship?”

The footman stationed in the hallway pointed toward the kitchen. The duke’s men strode toward the room, tension radiating off them as they prepared for the bad news. It had to be bad, otherwise why would Flaherty have left in such a hurry?

“Yer lordship! What’s happened? Is it Mary Kate?”

“Or one of his brothers?” Michael asked.

The viscount stared at the men and shook his head. “Neither.”

“Well, something’s not right. Flaherty never pushes a horse to his limit like that without a reason,” Garahan murmured.

“Ye might as well tell us,” Michael added. “We’ll be finding out from the staff otherwise, and we’d rather hear it from the source.”

“He’s right, yer lordship,” Garahan said. “The stunned expression on yer face tells me it has to do with Mary Kate.”

Finally the viscount asked, “What gives you that idea?”

“Because Flaherty would have come outside to trade punches with one of us if it had to do with himself. He’d take any kind of criticism about himself, but if anyone were to say anything that in some way maligned his wife, well then…

” Garahan let his words trail off and left it to the viscount to figure out just where he’d gone wrong.

“I may have come on a bit too strong just now,” the viscount admitted.

“Why did ye feel the need to?” Michael asked. “Flaherty works just as hard as the rest of us—ye know that, as he used to be stationed here.”

“I left word with the stable master that I needed to speak to Flaherty on an urgent matter as soon as he arrived.”

“Ye had to know that he would be stopping to check on his wife first, yer lordship,” Garahan said. “They nearly died yesterday.”

The viscount raked a hand through his hair until it stood on end. “Bloody hell, I know that! But I was trying to appease Calliope in her bid to keep Flaherty from getting angry.”

Garahan opened his mouth to speak, but Michael held up a hand and spoke first. “’Tis part of the Flaherty clan’s charm.

Their tempers are mercurial, and those of us in the duke’s guard use it to our advantage whenever possible.

Whether it be gathering information from reluctant sources, questioning prisoners, or what have ye. ”

“So ye found him with his wife, and ye demanded to know why he ignored a direct order to speak with ye first. Is that it?” Garahan asked.

Chattsworth frowned, and Michael picked up the thread of the conversation. “Well then, what did he have to say in response?”

“I was too surprised by the way he spoke to me,” the viscount replied. “Not deferential at all.”

“Ye were questioning him as to why he stopped to see his wife first,” Garahan said. “I’d be hard pressed to speak in a deferential tone to ye, if it were meself.”

“Even you?” the viscount asked.

“Bloody hell! Have ye no thought to what the man and his wife went through yesterday at all? Are ye so far removed from the lower rungs of society that ye think yer life, yer wife, and yer family are all that matters?”

“By God, that’s more or less what he said before he turned his back on me, swept Mary Kate into his arms, and walked out.”

“Then the lass did not get to say goodbye to her ladyship. Did she?” Michael asked.

When the viscount shrugged, Michael glanced at Garahan, who held up both hands. “Don’t be asking me. I was at me post on the rooftop.”

Chattsworth finally rasped, “She’s going to be vexed with me.”

“Her ladyship will have to get in line,” Garahan growled.

“Because right now, I’m bloody well furious with ye, yer lordship.

Has the fact that we have bled for yerself and yer family been forgotten entirely?

Is it because we don’t show the pain we’re in as we’re stitched back together, hiding the fact from ye because ’tis our sworn duty to protect ye? ”

Chattsworth’s blank expression spoke volumes. The man had not even considered that fact.

Michael sighed. “Have ye sent one of the footmen to Lippincott Manor to see if Flaherty was simply taking his wife home?”

“’Twas supposed to be their first night in the cottage the earl gifted to them for their wedding,” Garahan added.

“I have and am waiting for the footman to return with any news from Lippincott Manor before I speak to my wife,” the viscount replied.

“I’ll be sending a missive to His Grace,” Garahan informed the viscount.

“He’ll need to understand that when one of our own is mistreated after all we’ve done for ye—after the blood each one of us has spilled for ye—’tis a blow to us all.

” Unable to stand the sight of the man before him, a man he used to admire, Garahan spun on his heel and retraced his steps.

“I did not dismiss you,” Chattsworth thundered.

“And ye did not hire me,” Garahan shouted over his shoulder as he yanked open the rear door and stalked outside.

Michael shook his head. “There’s one bit of pertinent information ye seem to have forgotten, yer lordship.”

The viscount vibrated with anger, but still turned to hear what Michael had to say.

“Each one of us swore a vow before the vicar and God Himself to love, honor, and protect our wives. Our vow to the duke will never rank higher than our vow to the Lord and our wives. Think about that.”

“Are you going to leave, too?” Chattsworth’s voice cracked. “What about my wife and son?”

“I’m going to let Harry and Bart know that there’s trouble. We will round up the tenant farmers we’ve been training since the attack on Harry’s farm. The men will fill in for meself and Garahan. I need to speak to the earl, as I’m sure Garahan will be headed to London.”

“Why London?”

“’Tis where the lot of us have infinite connections in the lower classes we were born into—those we can trust to have our backs.

Ye’d best be prepared to have yer reasons for cutting out Flaherty’s heart and stabbing his pride.

Ye’ll need to explain it to His Grace, because ye just lost the best of us when Flaherty and Garahan left. ”

Michael was halfway to the door when he stopped and looked over his shoulder.

“Ye’ll not be left unprotected, but I’d advise ye to pack up her ladyship and yer son and seek refuge with the earl.

Sean and Dermott will not likely abandon the earl and her ladyship…

but as they have been training footmen and tenant farmers as well, ’tis hard to say.

We Irish may not have much—or seem worthy in the eyes of those of ye in the ton —but we have the will to live, the strength to fight, and our pride.

And if God in His infinite mercy sees fit to bestow it upon us, we have the love of good women. ”

*

Chattsworth watched O’Malley leave and felt a small, familiar hand slip into his and hold tight. “What have you done, William?”

“Made the second biggest mistake in my life.”

Calliope moved to stand beside him. “What was the first?”

“The day I walked away from you immediately after saying our vows at Wyndmere Hall.”

Calliope sighed. “I’d say that up until today, you seemed to have managed to correct that first mistake.”

He turned and stared down into the worried face of the woman he loved. “Calliope, what if I have single-handedly dismantled the duke’s private guard? His Grace will never forgive me.”

“I highly doubt that you have. Those men are family—cousins and brothers. I hope it will take more than the misunderstanding that occurred here today to break up with the duke’s guard.

But His Grace may hold it over your head to get you to do whatever he asks for the foreseeable future, at least until the four of you figure out how to put the guard back together again. ”

“Four of us?”

“His Grace, Edward, Marcus, and yourself.” She tugged on his arm. “Come, you have missives to write and send off immediately. With any luck, you can alert His Grace to the situation before he receives Flaherty’s resignation.”

Chattsworth jerked to a stop. “He would not resign, would he?”

“If he felt it was the only way to protect Mary Kate.” She paused for a moment before asking, “What would you do to protect me?”

“Whatever it took.”

Calliope smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. “It’s a start, William. Come. You have missives to write.”

The viscount didn’t argue as he let his younger, and much wiser, wife lead him to his study, where he would briefly and succinctly explain what had happened in three urgent missives: one to the duke, one to the earl, and one to his cousin Marcus.

“Mayhap you should ask Mary Kate…” He cleared his throat, realizing Mary Kate was gone. “I shall ask Mrs. Meadowsweet to have one of the maids help you pack some things in a trunk—probably best to prepare to stay with Aurelia and Edward for at least a fortnight.”

“Yes, dear. As soon as you are through, I shall pack little William’s things—we cannot forget his favorite books—and ask MacReady to pack for you.”

Chattsworth followed his wife into his study, closed the door, and pulled her into his arms. “How could I have been so thoughtless?”

She sighed as she leaned against him. “It is easy to do so when those who have been protecting us for the past few years have always been there, ready to defend us without question. They have spoiled us, and we let them. Now it is time that we prove to them that we do value them, admire them, and recognize the danger they face because of us. The danger their wives and babes have to accept as part and parcel of who these brave men are. Do not forget to tell them how grateful we are to have had them watching over us all this time.”

“I will not forget.” Chattsworth pressed a kiss to her temple and held her to his heart. “I do not deserve you, Calliope.”

“That may be—however, you are stuck with me. No matter how thoughtless and foolish you have been today.”

“Would you forgive me if you were Mary Kate?”

“I’d have to think about it. She’s more than my lady’s maid—she’s a trusted friend. Little William trusts her, too.”

“I should be horsewhipped.” He pulled out a sheet of foolscap and prepared to write the first missive.

“I would not mention that too loudly around here just now, because there may be someone ready to take you up on the suggestion.”

“No one would dare!” he barked.

She shook her head as someone knocked on the study door. “Come in.”

“What in the bloody hell did you do, your lordship?” MacReady demanded. “Garahan left, and Michael O’Malley just returned with his wife, stepson, and four of our tenant farmers to stand as guards. And where are Mary Kate and Flaherty? Mrs. Romney has tea prepared for the lot of you.”

“Is that any way to speak to me?” Chattsworth demanded.

MacReady sighed. “You have so much left to learn about running the manor, your lordship. I hope whatever you said or did does not damn us all.” With that, he spun on his heel and stalked out.

“Well, that went better than I thought it would,” Calliope murmured. “Best hurry and write the other missives. I’ll sand the one you just finished and seal it for you.”

Chattsworth could only nod. His ability to think straight and speak without insulting those he depended upon had obviously been damaged sometime between last night and this morning.

He’d have to figure out what happened in order to hold a conversation with Michael and the others before he tucked his family in his carriage and begged to seek refuge with the earl and his family.

God help him, he’d need a miracle before he faced the earl!

Finishing the last missive, he handed it to his wife and watched her sand it and seal it. “Promise you won’t leave me, Calliope.”

“I made that promise before the vicar and the Lord, too, William.”

Pulling her into his arms, he wondered how he was going to fix this disaster—and then he knew. “I’ve got it! I’ll send a missive to Gavin King and tell him that Flaherty—”

“Do not even suggest that you will have him arrest Flaherty and hold him in custody so he cannot leave,” Calliope warned. “Or William and I will move in with Aurelia and Edward permanently!”

Defeated, Chattsworth picked up the stack of sealed missives. “We’d best have these sent immediately.”

Calliope held out her hand. “I’ll give them to Hargrave and tell him they are urgent.”

The viscount placed the missives in her hand. “I promise I’ll think of something to fix this.”

She nodded. “We’ll put our heads together. With any luck, Edward and Aurelia will help us.”

“Lord willing.”