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Chapter Twenty-Three

T he room erupted in excited chatter. She could make out bits and pieces. She heard Garrick’s whispered, “Impossible.” Felt Zeke’s warm hands on her shoulders. She thought he asked her if she knew the man.

She couldn’t answer. Couldn’t speak. For what felt like an eternity, she could only stare. Then she erupted from her chair and raced around the table.

“Collin!” She threw herself into her brother’s open arms, nearly toppling them both.

“Hello, love.” He held her, patting her back gently.

She couldn’t stop her tears of joy. Not letting him go, she leaned back, drinking in the sight of her beloved brother. “Collin…where…how… Oh, Collin.” Overcome, she buried her face in his chest, soaking his tailored jacket.

“Lord Collin Hastings, I presume?” The earl asked.

“Kitty, love, a moment?” Her brother peeled her fists from his lapels.

Sniffling, she took a small step back. She sent the earl a misty smile. “S-sorry.” She held a finger up, and tried to get her emotions under control long enough to introduce them.

Collin tucked her hand into his elbow. He faced the earl, clipping a bow. “Lord Collin Hastings, brother to this beautiful watering pot at my side, at your service.”

The earl took Collin’s free hand and shook it between two of his. “Very pleased to meet you young man, very pleased.”

Kitty finally had herself under some semblance of control. “Collin, please meet the Earl of Claybourne.”

“I’m honored, My lord. I believe you were a close friend of my grandfather’s.”

“Indeed. The closest of friends.”

She eyed the rest of the room’s inhabitants, each and every one of them standing, each staring at she and her brother.

Zeke had eyes only for her, and they held a wealth of concern. She sent him a bemused smile. This was Collin. Her brother.

“Welcome home, cousin.” Garrick’s flat sliced the air.

Kitty glanced between him and her brother.

Collin studied Garrick as if he couldn’t quite place him. “Ah. Mister James, isn’t it?”

“Lord James, now.”

“I see,” Collin said. A muscle in his jaw ticked as if the situation was becoming clear.

After a brief, tense silence, Lady Lillian cleared her throat. “I’m sure we’d all like to meet your brother, dear, but perhaps the two of you might like a moment alone first?”

The room emptied of everyone, save Zeke. “Kitty, perhaps you’d be so good?”

“Of…course,” she stammered. “My lord, may I present Lord Collin Hastings, my brother. Collin, dear, this is—” She broke off, suddenly unsure.

Zeke extended his hand. “Lord Ezekiel Thurgood of Claybourne. Kitty’s fiancé.”

Collin grinned and pumped Zeke’s hand. “Very good to meet you, Lord Thurgood. May I congratulate you on your excellent choice of brides.”

Zeke gave Collin a polite smile, bowing his head slightly. “On that we agree.” He turned his gaze on Kitty. “I’ll leave the two of you. If you need me…” He left off, departing and closing the breakfast hall’s seldom-used double doors behind him.

Kitty barely knew where to begin. “Where have you been? How did you find me? Collin, they said you died.”

Her darling brother. A bit fuller ’round the middle. Deeper lines etched across his forehead now. But Collin. Here. Alive.

“Obviously they were wrong, to my ever-loving relief. Sweetheart, do you mind if we sit? I’ve ridden straight from Maidstone County, and I’m rather exhausted, not to mention famished.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Kitty pulled out the chair beside hers and flapped her hands for him to sit. “I’ll fix you a plate while you fill me in on everything. Starting with where in the world you’ve been these last two years, how long you’ve been home, and how in the world you found me, and—”

He chuckled. “Not so fast, poppet.”

“S-sorry. I’m just so happy,” she choked out.

Collin withdrew a white linen handkerchief from his coat pocket, and held it out to her in exchange for the breakfast plate she delivered. “Thanks, love.” He scooped up several large forkfuls of eggs.

Kitty sat and stared at him, her chin in her palm, content for the moment to simply watch him eat.

When he’d consumed most of the food on his plate, he sighed and set his fork aside.

“It’s not a pleasant tale, I’m afraid, so I won’t belabor the details.

The ship upon which I sailed came upon another vessel, in trouble, or so we thought.

Our good captain offered assistance. Once he dropped anchor, he summarily lost his ship to the hailing crew. ”

She gasped. “Never say so. Grandfather and I were informed your ship went down.”

“A ship did indeed go down—burned into smithereens by its crew. It just didn’t happen to be the one I was aboard.” His eyes took on a faraway look. “I’ll never forget the smell of burning bodies.” He shuddered. “The ship that overtook us was a slave runner. Do you understand what that means?”

“A sea vessel used for the despicable practice of human trafficking,” she said.

“Yes—manned by a bloodthirsty lot of pirates. They pressed me into service.”

“Forced you to work on a slaver’s ship? For two years? How did you survive? Oh, if only you’d sent word.” She wrung her hands, imagining the horror.

Collin gave her an aggrieved look. “Don’t you think I would’ve if I could? Kitty, you have no idea what I’ve lived through, or to what lengths I had to go to make my way home.”

She was instantly contrite. “Collin, forgive me. I didn’t mean to diminish what you must’ve endured. It’s just that I’ve missed you so terribly.”

He took her hands in his. “And I you. Only imagine my disappointment when I arrived to Hastings House to find you gone.”

She swallowed past a lump in her throat. “Then you know about Grandfather.”

He nodded, face grave.

“I wish you could’ve been there to say goodbye.” She paused. “What will happen now? Collin, Garrick’s inherited the title.”

He gave her his signature crooked grin. “He merely borrowed it, love. By rights, it’s mine.”

She gazed at him in pure adoration. Of course he’d set things right. “Baron Collin Hastings of Maidstone.”

“Precisely. Speaking of titles. My only sister’s getting married, to a future earl, no less?”

She shook her head. “We’re not really…” She’d been ready to refute her engagement to Zeke, out of habit. Because up until last night, her engagement had been only pretense. But that was no longer precisely the case.

“Not really?” He prodded.

“We’re not really going to get into all that now, are we? I want to hear more about you, and introduce you to the rest of the family.”

***

“Is he the man you remember from the hells?” Zeke asked Caden the minute the four men reconvened in his grandfather’s den. He paced to the far corner of the room, unable to quell the restless energy coursing through him.

“One and the same.” Caden sprawled on the armchair before their grandfather’s desk, behind which the earl presided. “Did you see the look on James’s face? Hasting’s arrival heralds a major upset in his life, more so than anyone’s, save Kitty’s.”

“How long did you say he’d been presumed dead?” Randall asked, hip propped on the edge of the desk.

“Over two years,” the earl replied.

“Where’s he been all this time? That’s what I’d like to know.” Zeke started back toward them.

“You and the rest of us,” Randall quipped.

“I wouldn’t miss this for all the tea in China.

You people really know how to entertain.

Tomorrow I leave for London to see to some estate matters I’ve neglected far too long, and I really hate to go.

One never knows what surprises a day in Chissington Hall might offer. ”

“Ha ha,” Zeke replied without humor. “Caden, I think London is calling you as well.”

Caden frowned. “I have no pressing business.”

“Oh, but you do.” Zeke clapped a hand on Caden’s shoulder.

Caden’s brows shot up. “I take it I’m to be your errand boy?”

“Something like that.”

“What will you be doing, that you can’t manage your own tasks?” Caden asked.

“Guarding my bride,” Zeke answered without preamble.

His brother gave him an assessing look.

“What?” Zeke asked.

“Who are you?”

Zeke opened his mouth to ask what the devil Caden meant, when Randall spoke. “I thought we’d already established the fact your brother’s beyond smitten.”

Zeke snorted. “Don’t be absurd. I’m merely being pragmatic. Someone’s got to keep an eye on things here.”

Caden smirked. “He doesn’t know.”

“Hasn’t a clue,” Randall concurred.

“Will you two cease discussing me as if I’m not in the room?” Zeke turned to his grandfather for support, who was trying to disguise his own amusement by holding a fist to his mouth.

Zeke threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “You, too? Can we please dispense with this nonsense and move on to relevant matters?”

The earl sobered, though his faded blue eyes retained a trace of mischief. “Forgive us, Ezekiel. Pray tell what errand have you in mind for Caden.”

“As Hallis is already engaged in learning all there is to know about James. I need someone to dig into Hastings’ background.”

“Zeke, he’s to be your brother-in-law,” Caden said, his tone disapproving.

“Exactly. That’s why I want to know what I’ll be dealing with.

I want to know about his gambling, his past relationships, about the bloody ship he was on that went down.

I want to know where he’s been these last two years in lieu of protecting his sister.

In short, I want to know anything about him that has the potential to hurt Kitty. ”

Caden scratched his chin. “When you put it like that. I’m not sure where to begin, though. I’m not schooled in the art of spying.”

“Hire a private investigator. Hire runners. Whatever it takes. Just make sure whomever you hire is discreet. Hallis can assist you there. You might let him know my question regarding inheritance law is a moot point.” Zeke paused.

“On second thought, ask him how the Crown will handle the prodigal son’s return. ”

A soft knock sounded on the door.

“Come,” the earl said.

Lillian entered, followed by Kitty and Lord Hastings, linked arm in arm. “Look who I found heading this way,” Lillian said, her eyes bright with emotion.

“I thought to finish making introductions. May we join you?” Kitty asked in a shy tone Zeke wasn’t accustomed to hearing from her.

“Please.” The earl rose and moved toward the center of the room.

Caden, Randall, and Zeke followed.

Kitty beamed up at her brother. “You’ve met the earl, and,” she hesitated, “my fiancé. “Now may I introduce Mr. Caden Thurgood, grandson to the earl and Lord Thurgood’s brother, and the redoubtable Viscount Sterling Randall, a close friend of the family’s. My lord, Caden, my brother.”

She gazed up at Hastings, as if he hung the moon and stars.

After exchanging greetings, Caden said good-naturedly, “We planned a shooting match for this morning, but clearly that’s out now.”

Unable to resist the compulsion, Zeke moved to flank Kitty on her other side. “We’ll do it another time. You’ll want to spend the day catching up.”

“I see.” Hastings gave a considering frown. “There’s no need to cancel the match. Not on my account, anyway.”

Kitty blinked. “But Collin, you’ve only just arrived. We have so many things to discuss.”

Amused indulgence reflected in Hastings’ eyes. He patted her hand. “Darling, I’ve already given you the facts concerning my recent history.”

She opened her mouth to protest.

He stayed her with one palm, held out. “The truth is, I’m exhausted. It would do my heart good knowing you were occupied, and not pacing the halls outside my door, holding your breath ’til I emerge.”

“Oh,” she said, visibly deflated. “Of course. Of course you must rest.”

The earl spoke up, ever the gracious host. “Lord Hastings, I took the liberty of setting Giles on preparing a room for you. It’s ready whenever you are, and of course you must stay as long as you like.”

“I greatly appreciate your kindness, my lord.” Hastings released Kitty’s arm to execute a crisp bow.

Before his eyes, Kitty’s disappointment faded, replaced by an expression of utter sisterly adoration.

It made Zeke feel…he couldn’t quite name the feeling. Didn’t exactly recognize it.

She laughed gaily at something her brother said. Lost in his thoughts, Zeke had missed the particular repartee, but the inexplicable sensation grew more insistent.

At least now he could name it. Insignificant.

Damn it, he’d been the one looking after her, protecting her from the circumstances caused in large part by her brother’s absence, while darling Collin had been God knew where doing God knew what. And yet she gazed on him like he held the answers to all life’s mysteries.

Never mind Zeke had actually saved her from her cousin. Well, Zeke and the earl. But Zeke had been more than willing to take that final step to ensure her long-term safety that only a husband could offer.

Except…now her brother was here, did she even need saving?

“Zeke? I asked if you’d show Lord Hastings to his room in the bachelor’s wing,” the earl said, evidently repeating himself, based on the expectant looks of everyone present.

“I’d be happy to.” Zeke forced a polite smile. Truth be told, he felt slightly nauseated. Probably because he’d missed breakfast.

“Allow me a moment alone with Collin, my lord? We’ll meet you in the foyer directly.” And off she went, brother in tow.