Page 12 of The Homecoming (The De Montforte Brothers #6)

Chapter Nine

“ T he ring! It’s gone!”

Lucien and Ruaidri were met in the Great Hall by Charles and Gareth, a white-faced Amy behind them. Her eyes were wet with tears.

“It’s all my fault,” she said, her voice tremulous. “I remember putting it down on the table last night, forgot to take it up to bed with me—”

“It’s not your fault,” Charles said firmly, taking her arm. “And you’re expecting. You’re uncomfortable, not thinking clearly, and are tired. It was my fault for not remembering it was there.”

“We searched the entire room,” Gareth added. “It’s gone.”

Lucien was a study in poised calm. “Things don’t just ... disappear,” he drawled. “Surely, it’s somewhere. Have you consulted the staff in attendance last night to see if it was found when the table was cleared?”

“It was the first thing we did.”

“And you’re certain you didn’t put it in your pocket, Charles?”

“Of course I am!”

“And you checked with the housekeeper to see if it was picked up and she’s holding it for you?”

“That’s ridiculous, the only person who likely picked it up was—”

Charles’s pale blue gaze, hard and accusing, shot to Ruaidri and lingered there just a moment too long before he clamped his lips down hard on the rest of his sentence.

“Charles!” Amy put a hand to her mouth. “Surely you don’t mean that!”

“Mean what?” Ruaidri asked softly, his eyes narrowing.

“He knows very well what I mean, and trust me, I do mean it.”

“ Ahem. ” Lucien cleared his throat and insinuating himself between the two men, grasped the elbow of each.

He steered them toward the doors that led out of the Great Hall, keeping his body between them.

“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for the ring’s absence,” he murmured.

“Why don’t we all go back into the dining room and have some breakfast, as well as a good look around.

Perhaps it fell to the floor when the cloth was cleared and wasn’t noticed. ”

“Doubtful,” Charles said, looking hard at his sister’s husband.

Ruaidri had kept his temper since he’d arrived.

He’d suffered veiled abuse and insults, palpable dislike, and treatment he never would have tolerated if not for the sake of his wife.

But this ... this was a step too far. An insult too fierce to ignore, an accusation he couldn’t just brush off no matter how much the duke had praised his restraint.

A man had his limits, his breaking point, and Charles had just pushed him over the line.

He pulled free of Lucien, stopped, and turned his hot gaze on Charles, who returned his stare with corresponding iciness.

“Damn ye, are ye accusing me of takin’ something that didn’t belong to me? ”

“It would not be the first time,” Charles drawled. “And I’ll thank you to watch your language around my wife.”

“Charles, enough,” Lucien said firmly, his eyes going hard with warning.

“No, I want to hear what he has to say.” Ruaidri planted himself in front of the Army major. They were of like height and build, with neither man having to look up into the other’s eyes. “Ye got something to say to me, Lord Charles? Be a man and stop with the sly innuendos and just speak yer mind!”

“Very well then, O’Devir. The ring is missing.

You are the only newcomer in the house, and you have a history of thievery.

Irish Pirate was your moniker back in Massachusetts, and what do pirates typically engage in?

Theft. Therefore, the only logical assumption is that you were the one who took the ring. ”

“And why the divil would I take it?”

“Why do thieves take anything?”

“Jesus, Mary, an’ Joseph, if I hadn’t pledged to never fight another duel ever again in me life, I wouldn’t let such words lie.”

“No matter, as I only duel with gentlemen. You, on the other hand, are not a—”

Again, Lucien neatly stepped between the two men before blows could be exchanged.

“That is quite enough. Charles, you are upsetting Amy all the more with this nonsense. Go, take her outside for a walk. Ruaidri, I implore you to remember our earlier conversation about restraint, and to go avail yourself of some breakfast. When the two of you have cooled your tempers, perhaps we can arrange for some apologies.”

“ Apologies? ” Charles exploded. “I can’t believe you’d take his side after ... after what he did, after what he is!”

“And what is it that I am?” Ruaidri challenged.

“A bloody thief !”

“And ye say that because I’m Irish?”

“I say it because you stole my sister right out from under her family’s noses, held her for ransom, subjected her to a dangerous sea voyage, ravaged her, and took her away forever, and I’m the only one in this damned family who sees you for what you are!”

“Watch your language,” Ruaidri said softly, repeating Charles’s earlier words. “There’s a lady present.”

Charles’s hand went for a sword that wasn’t there, Amy let out a little cry, and Lucien’s eyes went to black ice as his hand flashed out and seized Charles’s wrist, holding it there in an iron grip.

“I have had quite enough of this,” he said coldly. “Go outside and cool off. And when you can treat your new brother and my guest with civility and respect, you are most welcome to join us for breakfast.”

Charles had not been so angry with Lucien, so confused, upset, and overwhelmed since he had returned from America all those years ago.

Then, he’d been broken, his confidence gone, and he had returned expecting a warm welcome from his family in general and Lucien in particular.

Instead, he’d found himself thrown into a situation that had tested his faith in his family, and that dark time in his life suddenly flashed before his eyes all over again.

Humiliation, rage, embarrassment and disgust; it was all there, and O’Devir was damned lucky the sword he’d reached for was still upstairs in his apartments.

He gave Lucien a cold stare, lifted his chin, and turning smartly on his heel, strode angrily from the room.

“Charles!”

It was Amy behind him. He heard her labored breathing as she hurried to catch up with him and paused, once out of earshot of the others.

Lucien, surely, was listening. Lucien, surely, was plotting something.

Why the hell had Lucien taken that ... that thief ’s side over his own brother’s? How could he stand there and defend the man at the expense of his own flesh and blood?

“Amy, I need time to myself,” he managed tightly. “In the meantime, perhaps you might tell your maid to start packing your things and prepare to leave here immediately. It’s quite obvious which side Lucien is coming down on and I won’t stand for it.”

Her eyes were beseeching as she took his arm. “Charles, please,” she said. “I know you’re upset, but if we go, we’ll leave behind damage that might never be able to be repaired. You may never see your sister again.”

“My sister has made her choice, as much as it nauseates and infuriates me.”

“And you made your choice.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“What is the real reason you dislike Captain O’Devir so much?”

He lowered his voice to keep the emotion from boiling up. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“I’m not sure. Because I’m wondering if it’s because the man abducted her, or because you don’t think he’s good enough for your sister.

” As his face flushed, then darkened, she quietly went on.

“She’s your only sister, and I know you all want the best for her.

Nobody is ever good enough for one’s little sister, especially when you’re an older brother. ”

Charles said nothing, the muscles of his jawline hard and unyielding. He would not look at his wife.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” she gently persisted. “Sometimes love just has to find a way around obstacles, Charles. Yes, he did things that are hard to forgive, but it’s obvious the man loves her to the ends of the Earth and back. And that she loves him. Why can’t you just be happy for them both?”

“Because you’re right,” he bit out. “He’s not good enough for her.”

“And I’m not good enough for you,” she said quietly.

His nostrils flared and he stared down at her, both shocked and angry. “That was never true.”

“But it was. What was I, but a lowly colonial conceived in sin, and carrying Indian blood that, in others’ eyes, made me unworthy of any status back in Newburyport, let alone here in England.

And yet you, an aristocrat from a blue-blooded family, married me.

You overlooked the class differences between us and made me your wife.

And you did it because you loved me.” She reached up to touch his cheek, her eyes pleading.

“Why can’t you allow the same for Nerissa? ”

“Because she’s my sister.”

“And you should respect her choices, Charles. Everyone else in the family has, and unless you want to lose your sister forever, it’s time you do as well.” She let her hand drop, suddenly weary. “All of this tension is exhausting me. I really don’t feel well. I’m going to go upstairs and rest.”