Brotherhood 02 - Broken Promise (4 page)
Read Brotherhood 02 - Broken Promise Online
Authors: Laura Landon
Austin had known Lady Fledgemont would be beautiful. He’d heard the actress had the look of an angel. He didn’t know why, but he thought that meant he’d find a woman with golden blond hair instead of the rich auburn coloring Lady Fledgemont had. Combined with her unique features, she had an intriguing look, an earthy look that stirred his blood.
“He’s a very handsome lad,” Austin said, pulling his thoughts away from where they wanted to go. From the adoring look in her eyes, she obviously loved her child too much to care which one of his parents he took after.
Jonathan took that moment to turn his head and release the teat from his mouth. He flapped his arms and legs excitedly, then looked up at his mother and blew a stream of white frothy bubbles. Lady Fledgemont’s eyes glistened with merriment and she laughed at her son’s antics.
The sound was rich and sincere. Before he could erect the wall he always kept around his emotions, the sound drew him to her like metal to a magnet.
He took a step back. Perhaps if he separated himself from her, the net she’d thrown over him wouldn’t seem so binding. Perhaps if he put a barricade around his emotions he wouldn’t feel so exposed.
“You’re not married, are you?” she asked.
The question took him off guard. Their conversation wasn’t going down the expected path, though he wasn’t sure at the moment what path that might be.
“I’m sorry,” she quickly added. “What I meant was that you don’t have children, do you?”
He shook his head. “No, to both your questions. I’m neither married, nor do I have children. Is that important?”
She laughed again, unleashing another shower of shimmering air to cascade around him.
“No, it’s not important, but
if
you were married with children, you’d realize that even the children most lacking in features are beautiful in their mother’s eyes.”
His gaze caught hers and he said the first words out of his mouth. “But in your case, it would be impossible to have a child who wasn’t beautiful.”
Her cheeks turned a brilliant pink and she lowered her gaze.
Austin mentally called himself every kind of fool imaginable. Why had he said that? He could have stayed focused on his mission, asked her any of the hundred questions the detective in him needed to ask. Instead, he told her she was beautiful.
What was wrong with him? He was behaving like the
‘old’
Austin. The Austin he’d been before the war. The Austin who flirted with beautiful women and sought their company. The Austin who enjoyed the fairer sex and being with them. The Austin who still had something to offer a woman. But that Austin was dead.
The Austin he was now had taken too many lives to count, both on the battlefield and off. The man he’d become had ruined the lives of countless families here in England, including the Earl of Penderly’s. The soul inside him was black as tar. And now he was paying compliments to Penderly’s daughter-in-law as if it didn’t matter that she was a widow—a widow who’d obviously loved her husband very much. A widow who’d been in mourning less than six months.
He mentally reprimanded his inexcusable behavior, then assumed the cold, impersonal detective he’d become since the war and turned to face her. “So, Lady Fledgemont, what is our next step? How do you see this dilemma resolved?”
The baby’s bottle was empty and Lady Fledgemont placed Jonathan to her shoulder and patted his back. “You know what I want. I’ve made myself clear from the start. I want to be left alone. I want the Earl of Penderly to believe I am dead. I don’t want him to know Jonathan exists. The question is, what do
you
intend to do?”
She rocked little Jonathan harder, which was the only indication of her nervousness, her unease. She was obviously a woman who’d always been in control, but in this she wasn’t. And she knew it.
“I won’t give Jonathan away. He’s my son. I’ll never give him up.”
“No one is asking you to give him up,” he said, needing to ease her mind.
“You are, if you’re intent on telling Penderly about him.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Then you will go away from here and forget you found us?” The expression on her face filled with hopefulness.
“No.”
Her expression died.
“I intend to visit the Earl of Penderly once more and ask some questions. I want him to convince me he doesn’t intend to harm you.”
“And the babe?”
“He won’t harm the babe either. I promise you that.”
Her expression darkened. She was evaluating how much she could trust him, both with her own life, and that of her son.
“I need your promise that you’ll wait here until I return from talking to Lord Penderly. We’ll decide then what steps to take.”
“You want me to meekly sit here like a lamb awaiting the slaughter?”
There was anger in her eyes. Fury in her expression. He needed to calm her. “No. You will not be sacrificed. Nor will your son.”
“Then what?”
“All I ask, Lady Fledgemont, is your promise to remain here while I speak to your father-in-law. If he is responsible for the attempt on Jonathan’s life, I’ll protect both you and your babe. I’ll take you where I know you’ll be safe.”
“And if you aren’t convinced he’s responsible?”
Austin hesitated. He considered avoiding the truth, but one look into her eyes told him that would be the wrong choice. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
She gave her babe a secure hug, then rose with him. She placed him in a cradle near the warmth of the hearth and gave him the knotted rag toy with which to play. When she turned to face him, he saw the resolve in her expression. He almost breathed a sigh of relief. She would trust him enough to give him the time he needed to discover whether or not the Earl of Penderly had lied to him.
“How long will you be gone?”
“No more than a few hours.”
“And when you return?”
“I will tell you what I discovered.”
She nodded. “I need a promise from you, then.”
“What promise?”
“That you’ll return alone. That you won’t bring Penderly here.”
“I give you my word. I won’t bring Penderly here until I’m certain you’ll be safe.”
She slowly turned then sat in the chair by the table. “Gregory always warned me to be cautious. He said, as Lady Fledgemont I needed to be more discerning. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps in this case he would encourage me to trust you.”
She shifted her gaze to her babe. He was cooing contentedly as if the world weren’t a very dangerous place in which to live. With a deep sigh, she lifted her chin. “As Lady Fledgemont, I give you my promise to wait for you.
If
you promise you will return alone.”
“I will.”
“Very well.”
“Thank you.” Austin turned to the door. “I’ll show myself out.”
He left the room, then let himself out of Lady Fledgemont’s neatly kept house. He’d meant what he’d promised. If he doubted one word of what Penderly told him, or if even one flicker of doubt crossed his mind while they visited, he’d race back here and take Lady Fledgemont and her babe where no one would ever find them.
No one for whom he was responsible would ever lose their life again. He couldn’t live with the guilt if they did.
He lived with enough guilt the way it was.
Austin handed his hat and cloak to the Penderly butler and waited in the entryway to be announced. The Penderly town house was as elegant as any he’d seen. More inviting than most. His impression of the home where Lady Fledgemont and Jonathan would live was positive. He waited to see if something dispelled the feeling. That would determine what he decided to do.
“Lord Penderly is eager to see you, sir,” the butler said when he returned. “Please, follow me.”
Austin followed the butler down a long hallway and entered the room after he’d been announced.
“Captain Landwell,” Penderly said, rising to greet him. “You couldn’t have come at a better time. I was just explaining to my family that I’d hired you to find Miss Flemming.”
Austin scanned his surroundings. He’d expected to meet Penderly in private. Instead, the room was crowded with strangers.
“Allow me to introduce you.” Penderly stepped to one of the two ladies seated on the settee. “Estelle, you remember Captain Landwell. Landwell, my wife, Lady Penderly.”
“Of course.”
Austin bowed. “My lady.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Captain Landwell. You were the officer who came to see us after Jarrod died.”
“Yes, my lady. I was.”
“I remember how kind you were. And now you’ve come to help us again.”
Lady Penderly’s eyes grew damp and Austin lowered his gaze before his courage left him.
He hadn’t expected to see Lieutenant Dunstan’s mother again, hadn’t expected to revisit the loss and hurt for which he was responsible. “Your son was a very brave soldier, my lady. It was an honor to serve with him.”
“Thank you, Captain Landwell.”
Penderly placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder in a show of tenderness, then turned to her companions. “And this is my sister-in-law, Mrs. Jasper Dunstan.”
“Mrs. Dunstan.”
“Captain Landwell.”
“And my brother, Jasper Dunstan.”
“Sir.”
“Landwell.”
“And my two nephews, Wesley Dunstan, and Stewart Dunstan.”
Austin acknowledged each of them.
Penderly motioned to the chair where he’d been sitting. “Sit down, Captain. I was just explaining to my family that I’d hired you to find Miss Flemming. Have you found her?”
Austin sat and Penderly pulled a chair next to the settee where his wife sat.
“I’m close. I know the direction she took when she left Wakemoor and the last place she was seen.”
“Oh, Richard.” Lady Penderly grasped her husband’s hand. “We’re close now. I can feel it. It won’t be long and we’ll have her with us.”
The excitement in Lady Penderly’s eyes was clear for everyone to see. The look in her husband’s eyes matched it.
“There is that possibility,” Austin said. He couldn’t help but give them hope. He’d taken so much from them. Once he was sure she would be safe, he vowed to give them the daughter they wanted—plus more. A grandson. An heir. As soon as he was sure the threat to Jonathan’s life hadn’t come from anyone in this room.
“You can’t be serious, Richard,” Penderly’s brother said with a shocked look on his face. His wife wore an expression that matched her husband’s.
“Oh, I am, Jasper,” Penderly countered. “We both are. We lost both Gregory and Jarrod. If I hadn’t behaved in such a foolish manner, Miss Flemming would be part of our family now. And Gregory would most likely be alive. I owe the woman Gregory loved the life he would have given her.”
“I don’t believe this, Estelle,” Leonora Dunstan said. Her flushed cheeks evidenced her fury, the bitterness in her voice emphasized it. “The woman was an
actress
. And who knows what else.”
The room turned deathly quiet.
Lady Penderly was the first to move. With a display of inborn grace and refinement, she sat back against the cushion as if she’d expected this reaction and wasn’t shocked by it. She answered in a voice that was calm and quiet. “It doesn’t matter what she was before she met our Gregory, Leonora. She was the woman my son loved. And so will I.”
“I know you lost Gregory,” Jasper Dunstan said. “And Jarrod. But you haven’t lost everyone. You have Leonora and me. You have Wes and Stewy.” He motioned to his two sons sitting at opposite ends of the small sofa across from them.
All eyes focused on the two young men. Austin especially studied them.
Wesley was the older, perhaps twenty-five or -six, and Stewart was the younger. Austin guessed him to be twenty-three or –four,—far too old to be referred to as Stewy.
Wesley sat straight on the sofa, his back stiff and his hands clasped tightly in his lap. It was his expression, though, that drew Austin’s attention. His eyes narrowed in resentment as Penderly revealed his intentions. His jaw clenched in anger, his lips pursed in irritation. It was obvious that his uncle’s news didn’t please him in the least.
His younger brother’s reaction was quite the opposite. The only term to describe Stewart’s present state was…boredom. Austin doubted if he’d even heard what was being said, or cared. From his expression, he was planning his evening’s entertainment while being forced to endure this family meeting.
Austin compared one brother to the other and couldn’t imagine any two brothers being more different.
“I know we have your family, Jasper,” Penderly added, “and Estelle and I are both grateful for everything you’ve done. Especially how you consoled us after we lost Gregory and Jarrod. But this is different. Miss Flemming would have been our daughter had I reacted differently to Gregory’s news.”
“You don’t know that,” Leonora Dunstan countered.
Penderly hesitated. “Yes, I do. I…do.”
“But you said you haven’t found her yet, Captain Landwell,” Wesley Dunstan said. “Isn’t that right?”
Austin thought twice before he answered. “I said I know the place she was last seen.”
“Is it close?” Lady Penderly asked.
“Yes, it’s close.”
Lady Penderly clasped her hands to her heart then reached out to her husband. “Did you hear that, Richard? She’s close.”
Penderly took the hand his wife extended then looked at Austin. “She’s in London, isn’t she? I was certain she’d come back here. It’s what she knows. Where she feels comfortable.”
Austin didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. Penderly’s oldest nephew bolted to his feet and stalked across the room. When he reached the fireplace, he turned.
“If you know where she is, why didn’t you contact her? Why didn’t you bring her with you?”
Austin studied the loathing on Wesley Dunstan’s face. Austin recognized anger when he confronted it and Wesley Dunstan seethed with fury.
“I didn’t bring Miss Flemming with me because I wanted to make sure I understood the benefits Lord and Lady Penderly wanted me to offer. I didn’t want to make promises I couldn’t keep.”
Lord Penderly rose. “Very wise, Captain Landwell. Perhaps we can adjourn to my study and discuss what Lady Penderly and I are prepared to offer.”
“That won’t be necessary, Richard,” Jasper Dunstan said. “It’s time Leonora and I took our leave.” He held out his hand and helped his wife to her feet. “Since I can’t condone what you intend to do, I doubt I’ll have anything constructive to add to your folly. Come, boys.”
Dunstan escorted his family toward the door. Before they left, Leonora Dunstan turned. “Please, think what you’re doing, Estelle. Think what this will do to your standing in Society. What it will do to the girl. No one will accept her. She’ll be shunned. And so will you.” She dabbed at a tear that ran down her cheek. “So will we. So will my boys.” She swiped her hand through the air. “All of us.”
“We’ve survived worse,” Lady Penderly answered. “We have to do this, Leonora. For Gregory.”
“Oh!” Mrs. Dunstan cried as she rushed from the room.
No one moved until the front door closed behind the Dunstans.
“Well,” Lady Penderly said on a sigh. “That went as expected, didn’t it, Richard?”
The Earl of Penderly lifted his chin and bellowed a deep, sincere laugh. “Yes, my dear. Exactly as expected. Now, Captain.” He turned his attention to Austin. “What exactly would you like to know?”
The Earl of Penderly outlined everything he intended to do for Lady Fledgemont, including the staffed house he would give her, the generous allowance that would be hers, as well as anything else she asked for. There would be nothing their daughter-in-law lacked if it was in Penderly’s power to give it.
When they finished, Austin stood to leave.
“I have one more question,” Penderly said.
Austin turned.
“Did Gregory and Miss Flemming marry?”
“Yes. I found records that they did.”
Lady Penderly’s hands flew to her mouth and the earl grinned an open smile. “That’s wonderful news. We prayed they had. It truly makes Miss Flemming our daughter.”
The Earl of Penderly patted his wife’s hand, then turned back to Austin. “How soon can we anticipate welcoming Lady Fledgemont into our family?”
“It shouldn’t be long. It’s too soon to give you a definite time, but I’ll be in touch when I’ve made the arrangements.”
“Very good. We’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
“Yes,” Lady Penderly echoed. “Thank you, Captain Landwell. This is the second time we are in your debt. If there’s ever anything we can do for you—”
Austin held up his hand to keep her from finishing. “You’ve already done enough. You gave me one of the finest soldiers it was ever my pleasure to command.”
Tears sprang to Lady Penderly’s eyes and Austin gave a quick nod of farewell then left the room before he saw the raw pain he knew would be on the earl and his wife’s faces. He owed them so much.
He owed them a grandson to replace the son he’d stolen from them.
…
Austin hired a hack and made his way back to Lady Fledgemont’s small house. He told the driver to take his time. He needed to think. He needed to evaluate what he’d discovered at Penderly’s, and separate what he knew for a fact from what his gut instinct told him.
There were several things he believed. One was that someone had tried to kill the babe. But his gut instinct told him that neither the Earl of Penderly nor his wife was responsible for the attempt. He’d stake his life on it. Not once was a baby mentioned. His gut told him that no one in the room even knew there was a baby.
But if someone had tried to kill the babe, at least one person knew about Jonathan. But who?
Austin considered all the guests gathered at Penderly’s town house and evaluated their reactions to the news. Wesley Dunstan’s open display of anger came to the forefront. He would bear watching. It was possible that he was behind the attack. Until he knew for certain, Austin wouldn’t risk taking the babe to Penderly’s. Little Jonathan’s safety was of the utmost importance.
As the hack neared Lady Fledgemont’s house, he realized his biggest challenge would be to convince her to at least meet with Lord and Lady Penderly. Only then would she realize that they weren’t a threat.
Perhaps they could accomplish this in baby steps. Perhaps he could convince her to meet with Lord and Lady Penderly without them knowing there was a child; without them knowing their son had given them an heir to inherit the title.
That was the most logical way to proceed. Once Lady Fledgemont met her late husband’s parents, she’d see how sincere they were. How desperately they wanted to provide for her. The same as their son would have done.
Once they realized there was a babe, their elation would be that much greater. Then, perhaps a small bit of guilt would be lifted from his shoulders.
The hack stopped in front of the house and Austin got out. He paid the driver, then followed the walk the same as he’d done earlier. He knocked on the door, thankful that this time he wouldn’t have to force his way in.
His heart increased its steady pounding but he ignored the voice that told him the reason for his eagerness was because he was anxious to see her again. He couldn’t be. Any reaction he had when he was near her was because she needed his protection. Because she was a woman alone in the world with a babe to care for. Because taking her and her babe to the Earl of Penderly would restore the family he’d destroyed. It had nothing to do with the way his blood warmed when he was near her, the way his heart raced.
He knocked again, certain she was busy caring for little Jonathan, or perhaps upstairs and didn’t hear him. When she didn’t answer on the third rap, he turned the knob, certain it wouldn’t open. She wouldn’t forget to lock the door when an attempt had been made on Jonathan’s life already once.
The knob turned easily and the door opened with a push.
Austin’s heart hammered in his chest, his blood pounded against his ears. He raced inside and checked the kitchen first, then took the stairs to Jonathan’s bedroom three at a time. He ran down the hall and threw open the door, praying he wouldn’t find Lady Fledgemont or Jonathan dead inside.
He stepped into the room and looked around. They weren’t dead. They hadn’t been harmed. Because they weren’t there.
Austin raced down to the kitchen. The glass jar she’d used to feed Jonathan was gone along with the rag toy the babe chewed on and the blanket Lady Fledgemont wrapped him in when she fed him.
She hadn’t taken much. He doubted she’d remained long enough after he left to consider what items needed to be packed. And what about money?
He raced through the rest of the rooms downstairs and stopped when he reached a small study. The drawers to a desk were still open and the lid to a metal box stood ajar.
He breathed a sigh of relief. At least she had money to see to her needs. Money to take her far away from him.
He stormed across the foyer and slammed the front door hard when he left the house.
He couldn’t believe what a damn fool he’d been. Why on earth had he trusted her promise to wait for him to return? If he’d done something so stupid during the war he’d be dead by now.