“That it happened that way, yes. But some of my relatives believed the curse. Soon after Bathilda’s baleful theatrics, many Biscanes moved away, some because they didn’t want any part of the witch’s evil incantations, some because they knew it was superstitious nonsense. Over the next century the curse became a secret that was passed down from the firstborn male of one generation to the firstborn male of the next. Only he could do the deed.”
“And you’re a firstborn,” Dominic said flatly.
“Yes. Arnold didn’t relay the secret to me until the night you got that note about your mother’s illness and Arnold knew I would be following you to London. He wanted me to act before you married Lady Brooke, so your line would end for good and they can stop committing murder.”
“Arnold told you all this? My head groom wants to kill me?”
Gabriel nodded. “He’s the eldest living Biscane in Rothdale, my mother’s eldest brother. He’s terrified that Peter, Janie, and I will die if you don’t before the end of this year. He had hoped you wouldn’t live this long, which was why he waited so long to tell me I was next in line to kill you. I tried to ram some sense into his head, but he was quite anguished to see you alive when we returned to Rothdale last week.”
“You know I’m having trouble believing any of this. Are you sure he wasn’t pulling your leg?”
“Do you really think he would have let me leave Rothdale with a story like that if he wasn’t serious?”
“I suppose not.” Dominic moved to refill his glass, but swung around with the thought. “My father?”
“No! Actually, Arnold assured me that no Biscane still living has killed anyone, not that they weren’t prepared to. But all the more recent viscounts, not counting your father, had bad luck with their children, losing their first either at birth or in childhood. But my ancestors have killed some of yours. The gruesome stock I come from, I’m so ashamed!”
Anna tsked as she opened the door and stepped just inside. “As well you should be, Gabriel Biscane.”
“Taken to snooping, Mother?” Dominic said drily.
“No, I—well, perhaps briefly, but we need to have a word.”
Gabriel tried to get past her. “I’ll go.”
She blocked him. “No, you won’t. Have any members of your family died since Dominic’s twenty-fifth birthday?”
Dominic was incredulous. He put the bottle of whiskey back down and tried to keep the harshness from his tone, but wasn’t quite successful. “You think to interfere again? I will deal with this, it’s not your concern.”
“Actually, this is, and I meant to tell you on your birthday, but you had that at Archer’s house getting your wound treated, the wound you didn’t want me to even know about, and then you took yourself to Rothdale to recover so I still wouldn’t know about it. And answer my question, Gabriel.”
“No, m’lady, not one has died. But if Dom’s next birthday comes, my uncle believes that all the Biscane firstborns—me, Peter, and Janie—will die.”
“Then I’m happy to disprove that silly curse once and for all.” Anna smiled at her son. “You’re already twenty-six, darling. There’s nothing real about that curse, and your father and I proved it by lying about your age.”
Dominic picked up the whiskey again, though maybe he should have pinched himself instead. This sort of bizarre absurdity only occurred in dreams. But twice in one dream?
He took a long swig from the bottle in his hand before he demanded, “How is that possible? The servants would have known when I was born.”
“It was your father’s idea to disprove that curse once and for all, and now he has, he just didn’t live to know it. We were both young when we fell in love during my Season. And I was already pregnant before we married and left on our wedding trip.”
Dominic raised a brow. Anna blushed profusely. Gabriel tried again to leave the room, but she put her hands on the doorframe. “We were actually gone for nearly four years. When we returned to England, we claimed you were a year younger than you actually were. Yes, people marveled that you were big for your age, but no one ever guessed why. And now I know that we probably saved your life with our ruse.”
She ended that with a glare at Gabriel, but he was too relieved to care. “I’m going to go send my uncle a missive and blacken his eye next time I see him. Thank you, m’lady. I feel so light of spirit now I could float!”
She let him go this time to ask Dominic what she’d tried to ask earlier, “Have you forgiven me yet?”
Dominic drained more of the whiskey. “The one has nothing to do with the other. You didn’t save me from a fate worse than death, Mother. You condemned me to a new hell instead.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
“MAYBE NO ONE IS home?” Alfreda said when she knocked for the second time.
“I hear babies crying,” Harriet insisted. “They wouldn’t be left unattended.”
The couple they’d been looking for did indeed get a baby last year, then soon after that, another. They were hoping for a third, since they wanted a big family. But Alfreda just rolled her eyes, refusing to repeat for the second time what she’d already predicted. They were going to be let down because even if Ella’s child was one of the Turrils’ adopted children, they couldn’t prove it, the abbess wouldn’t verify it, and the couple would certainly deny it, not wanting to give up either child they’d likely come to love as their own by now.
They’d arrived in Sevenoaks late last night, feeling a bit daunted because the town was bigger than they’d expected, having grown from the time it was established in 1605. They’d gotten rooms at a small hotel, and Harriet had gone off to find a few churches, though she’d allowed a visit to the mayor could wait until morning. But she’d had no luck with the churches in the heart of the town and had been directed to try farther out, which they did in the morning.
The pastor at the first one directed them to the Turrils’ rather large house on the edge of town. Mr. Turril was a skilled clockmaker, they’d been told. He and his wife had tried for fifteen years to conceive a child before they decided to adopt instead.
As Brooke and Harriet stood anxiously on the front step as Alfreda knocked again, the door opened. The woman who stood there was too young to be Mrs. Turril. Red haired with curious brown eyes and wearing a long white apron, she looked like a servant, perhaps a nanny, because she had a toddler on her hip that neither Whitworth could take their eyes off.
“May I help you ladies?”
From farther inside the house a female voice inquired, “Is that my package, Bertha?”
The maid turned to answer, giving Brooke enough room to brush past Bertha to find the woman who had just spoken. And there she was, black hair tied back, amber eyes like Dominic’s, fashionably dressed. Brooke had never hoped for this, not when there had been not just one but two graves for Eloise Wolfe.
“I know you,” Brooke said almost tearfully as she slowly approached Dominic’s sister. “I cried with you when your dog died. I laughed with you when you landed a perfect hit to your brother’s face with that snowball when you were only twelve. I smiled when I sat on your ‘I win’ bench in the center of that maze at Rothdale. My God, I’m so glad you’re alive, Ella!”
Those amber eyes had gotten wider with Brooke’s every word, until the black brows snapped together for a stiff reply. “You are mistaken. I’m Jane Croft, not whomever you’re referring to.”
“Changing your name doesn’t change who you are.” Brooke grinned widely. “Don’t deny it. Your eyes give you away, so like his.”
Even stiffer: “You obviously have the wrong address. Whoever you are looking for doesn’t live here. Now I must ask you to leave.”
Brooke still wasn’t daunted, but before she could reply, Harriet barged in, demanding, “Where’s my grandchild?”
“I beg your pardon,” the young woman said curtly. “Who the deuce are you people?”
“Mother, wait,” Brooke cautioned. “This is Ella Wolfe, the child’s mothe
r.”
The amber eyes were quite angry now. “No, I am not! Please leave.”
Brooke quickly said, “I’m Dominic’s—was Dominic’s fiancée, but I hope to be that again. I love your brother. He still loves you very much and is deeply pained by the loss of you. Your mother still grieves and misses you terribly. The circumstances of your death are what stand between your brother and me. But once he knows that you’re alive—”
“You can’t tell him!” Ella actually looked appalled, but then tears began streaming down her face.
Harriet was obviously disappointed that she wouldn’t be taking a baby home today as she’d hoped, but her words weren’t accusing, merely curious, when she asked, “D’you know you have two graves?”
Ella swiped the tears off her cheeks. “I should hope so, I arranged for both.”
“May we see the child?” Harriet asked hopefully.
“No,” Ella said protectively. “I don’t even know who you are or how you found me when I took such extreme measures to make sure no one ever would.”
Brooke explained, “We didn’t know we would find you, not when you wrote in your diary that the baby left you no choice but to take your own life.”
“No, I didn’t. It left me no choice but to go away to have her. I never considered killing myself and my baby.”
“But Dominic said you wrote that you were going to seek ‘peace and solace in the sea.’ ”
“That I wished I could, not that I would, but that was at my lowest point of heartbreak, just a brief tearful thought. But I had to keep the truth from Dominic to keep him from committing murder and ending up in prison for the rest of his life. And the only way to do that was to disappear. I didn’t think to pretend to be lost at sea until I sailed past the body of that poor woman on the beach. It was my maid, Bertha, who pointed it out. We stopped to investigate, and that’s when the idea occurred to me, to fake my death. I asked Bertha to put my locket on the corpse. You should have heard her complaints, I’m sure they heard them back in Scarborough. So I did the deed, as distasteful as it was, and sent her back on foot to fetch my jewelry so we’d have money to support us, since I couldn’t withdraw money from my bank, not after I was ‘dead.’
“I intended to give my baby to the foundling house, but once I had it, well, it was love at first sight. The Turrils were disappointed that I’d changed my mind, but they offered me an alternative, to come live with them and raise my child here. It was a satisfactory arrangement for me, since I hadn’t really decided where to go after the birth. And they’ve been wonderful surrogate grandparents. Now I insist you tell me how you found me. The abbess swore—”
“It wasn’t her. She even denied writing that letter I found of hers in your fan. But one of the nuns confided a lady had come to them during the fall of that year. I only hoped it had been you, but the nun was sure you didn’t survive the complications of the birth.”
“I nearly didn’t. It was ghastly.” Ella shuddered.
“The nun implied you and the child might have died that night, but since she wasn’t certain, my mother was determined to look around every last corner, so we came here with high hopes to at least find your baby if it did somehow survive, so we could bring it home where it belongs.”
“It belongs with me.”
“Yes, of course it does. There’s no question about that now. We mean you no harm, I promise you.”
Some of the stiffness went out of Ella’s shoulders, enough for her to admit, “I knew what the consequences would be for my foolish actions and reckless heart, but I was in love. I even knew his faults, but I was sure I could help him to overcome them. We met secretly so often, I expected I’d get pregnant, so it was no surprise when I did and I was thrilled. I thought it would get us to the altar sooner. More fool me. But even so, I couldn’t bear the thought of him dying at my brother’s hands, or what would happen to Dominic because of it. I feel terrible about the pain I’ve caused my mother and my brother, it troubles me deeply, but the alternative would have been much worse.”
“But what you feared would happen did happen. There were three duels fought over your death, though neither opponent died. But the Prince Regent intervened and your brother has signed a pledge to give up his vendetta for good. I’m sorry that my brother refused to marry you. He’s such a cad. But truly, there’s no longer a reason for you to stay here. Go back to your family, Ella. It will be a dream come true for them.”
But Ella was suddenly frowning. “I didn’t know Benton had a sister, in fact, I’m sure he doesn’t. Who are you really?”
Chapter Fifty-Six
BROOKE WAS MORE NERVOUS than she let on as she waited in the parlor to see if Dominic would even receive her. But she knew he was back in London. Alfreda had a note from Gabriel waiting on her when they got home last night, telling her he and Dominic had returned from Yorkshire yesterday.
So much depended on this meeting, her future, Ella’s future, even Dominic’s own happiness. And if she didn’t do this just right, if she couldn’t give him back his sister, then he might hate her even more.
Why couldn’t this be simple? Why did Ella still even want to protect a man who had betrayed not just her trust but also Dominic’s—his own friend? But the wolf that entered the parlor a few moments later wasn’t the one she was expecting to see.
“Storm!” Brooke cried in delight, jumping up and putting her arms around the dog and burying her face in Storm’s soft white hair.
“You’re kissing the wrong wolf,” Dominic said as he walked straight to her. He didn’t look angry; in fact, he was smiling. Had Ella changed her mind and was already home?
But Dominic was suddenly kissing her and her thoughts scattered every which way. She wrapped her arms around him. She hadn’t forgotten the strength beneath her hands, the earthy smell of him, the tantalizing taste. But the thrill was new; it included such relief she could barely contain it. He wanted her!
He picked her up, moved to the sofa, where he sat down to cradle her on his lap, but not before kissing her again and again. Her bonnet fell back on the seat behind her, her hair came loose and tumbled over his arm. Someone closed the door for them. It still wasn’t locked, but she was too happy to care.
But she was so shocked when she heard him say, “Marry me, Babble,” that she forced them to stop. She was so obviously incredulous that he grinned. “And here I thought having Storm at my side would greatly improve my chance to persuade you. Did it not work?”
She was still shocked, but peered deeply into those amber eyes. “You actually want to marry me now?”
After one last tender kiss, he told her, “I wanted to from the night we made love. You’ve affected me in so many ways—your tender care of me, your concern, your courage, your determination. You got past my defenses so easily, despite who you’re related to. I’ve never known anyone quite like you, Brooke Whitworth, and I want to share the rest of my life with you.”
She started to cry even as she smiled at him.
He rolled his eyes and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “It never ceases to amaze me how women can produce a water fountain for the wrong reasons.”
Brooke laughed and helped him get the tears off her cheeks. “I’m deuced if I know.” But then she said in surprise, “But you let me leave your house. Why did you do that if you already knew?”
“Because I had the thought that without the Regent’s edict casting a pall over us, I could ask you to marry me and you would know it’s what I want, not what I was forced to do. And I would know it’s what you want, if you accepted. I didn’t want us to start our marriage under those forced conditions. So even though I’m still annoyed with my mother for interfering, if you say yes now, I will thank her profusely.”
Her smile got brighter. “Of course I want to! I did as soon as you stopped growling at me. But the day I left, I was very much in love with you. So why didn’t you come to me and ask me sooner?”
“Because your choice had been denied you with me
. I wanted you to have it back and all normal options with it. I wanted you to choose me, to be absolutely sure of your feelings before I asked you to marry me. You made me love you. I wasn’t sure if you felt the same. And you deserved to have that Season you had been looking forward to.”
“The Season I haven’t been enjoying without you at my side? That Season?”
He looked abashed. “I’ve been miserable, too, and taking it out on everyone. But I loved you enough to wait for you to enjoy a bit of the Season. Well, I thought you would. However, I hear you ended up with many suitors. Perhaps I should have stayed in town to bare my teeth and snarl at a few of them.”
She grinned. “You’re pretty good at teasing. Were you always?”
“Only with my sister. She was easy to tease.”
Ella! She’d nearly forgotten and now felt like groaning. His reaction could go either way. He might not want to give his word that he wouldn’t kill Benton. He might get angry at his sister for putting him through such grief. She wondered if they could get married first before she told him. . . .
Seeing her worried brow, he asked, “What?” But then he guessed. “You’re remembering that silly bargain of yours, aren’t you? Not that you had anything to bargain for.”
She blushed. “No, you told me that on the ride home from the ball. But why haven’t you asked what brought me here today?”
He hugged her closer. “Something other than your unspoken feelings for me?”
“Yes, although I did have high hopes that it would lead to what just happened. I did so want to end your grief and now I can. Your sister isn’t dead. She’s very much alive.”
He shot off the sofa, leaving her on it. For a moment she thought he was going to accuse her of lying, his expression was so anguished. “How can this be? Her body was found!”
“That wasn’t her.” Brooke quickly added, “And she’ll come home if you’ll swear you won’t kill the father of her child.”
“I’ve already made that pledge.”