Seduced (27 page)

“Is that what you were thinking about when you
did
shoot at me a few hours ago?”

He tensed, freezing in his movements. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Liar,” she hissed as she came at him in a few long steps. “I
saw
you, Griffin. I saw you sitting on your horse and riding away with that odd turn of your foot. Don’t pretend like I don’t know it or know your gait when you ride. You were there tonight and I want you to talk to me about it
now
.”

Griffin slammed the saddle down on a table and stared at her. “I didn’t know it was you, Letty. I promise. O’Malley said that Jack had some woman he was seeing at that house and he sent me along with another man to…to…”

“Try to kill him,” she finished, her heart throbbing. Griffin was admitting this. He had truly been part of a murder plot against the man she loved. Against
any
man. “My God, Griffin, did you think at all?”

“I didn’t know he was going to shoot at him,” Griffin insisted.

“What did you think he would do? Have flowers delivered?” she snapped. “A man named Madman—how could you believe he had an innocent intention?”

“We rode up and I saw your carriage, I recognized the crest,” Griffin admitted, and in the pale light of the early morning, he looked like a boy rather than a man. “I tried to dissuade the other man about continuing, without revealing your identity. But he didn’t give a damn. He shot at you and Jack. I couldn’t do anything.”

The last was said on the hint of a whine, and she flinched. “You could have shouted a warning. You could have grabbed his gun.”

“And been shot myself?” her brother burst out.

Letty turned her face. She couldn’t look at him when he was being so selfish. Jack would have risked himself,
had
risked himself, to save her.

“You weren’t hurt, were you?” Griffin asked.

She looked at him again. “Do you care? Because I notice you didn’t come to my home to check. You slunk here where you intend to do, what? Explain your absence to Papa how?”

Griffin set his jaw. “He doesn’t listen to anything I say anyway, Letty. He’ll bluster and I’ll ignore him as is our pattern. Eventually he’ll puff himself out.”

She drew back at his dismissive, harsh words. “Are you so spoiled that you cannot see Papa is trying to protect you? That he loves you?”

“He loves what he can control. I’m not like you, I cannot just march into step when he says to do it. I
refuse
to do so.” His words were accompanied by a sneer, and Letty barely resisted the urge to slap the snide, prideful expression from his face.

“Committing to your duty is not something to scorn,” she said softly. “You could learn a great deal from men who do as they must rather than what they personally desire.”

Griffin’s face hardened. “I’m not going to surrender to the life of a landed gentleman who does nothing else. I’m going to be more.”

“Currently you are acting like less.” Letty held up her hands as if to beg. “Don’t you understand that this is not some child’s game? People have been injured, they’ve
died
in this war you’ve involved yourself in. Jack has vowed to do his best not to harm you, but only because I have asked him to do so, not because you deserve it. Even so, he can’t guarantee your safety if you continue on this course.”

“I wanted to work with Jack,” Griffin burst out. “All this is really his own fault.”

Letty ground her teeth together. “I came here to talk some sense into you. To prove to myself that you aren’t as selfish and empty as these events would imply. But you are breaking my heart, Griffin. You are making it difficult to defend or protect you.”

Her brother’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you should worry less about me and more about yourself. After all, I am not bedding a criminal.”

Now Letty let her hand fly as she hadn’t before. She slapped her brother as tears leapt into her eyes. He turned his face at the action, but swiftly his gaze returned to her. They were cold. Almost unrecognizable, and Letty’s heart hurt.

“You know
nothing
about me,” she whispered. “Or what pain I have been through. Nor do you know anything about my relationship with Jack. And if you were half the man you claim you wanted to emulate, you would turn from this course of action before you lose everything you hold dear.”

“Sorry, m’lady,” came a heavily accented voice behind her. “But your kin ain’t turnin’ from nuttin’ a’tall
.”

Griffin straightened as his stare shifted to a spot over her shoulder. Letty took a long breath and turned slowly to find herself face-to-face with a huge man. He had clearly been a brawler at one point, for his nose was caved in until it was almost flat. He had a wicked scar that stretched from the corner of his lip all the way to his right ear. And he was massive, with a shock of red hair and a heavily furrowed brow.

He was also pointing a long-barreled pistol at her, much like Griffin had been a few moments before. Only this man held his steady and looked well and ready to use it.

She could hardly breathe, but managed to swallow down a little fear. “Madman O’Malley, I presume.”

He laughed, a husky, low sound that seemed to come from deep in his chest. “Aye, lass. The very one. And I believe
you
are Lady Seagate. A great pleasure to meet you, at last. I think we’re goin’ to get along fine.”

Jack had no idea how many hours he’d been up. Underground there was no sun, but his clock said it was after eleven and he doubted that meant in the evening. He had been working nonstop since Letty’s departure, looking over maps and intelligence to try to pinpoint where Madman O’Malley and his gang might be holed up.

He felt no closer to that answer, and he was beginning to get frustrated.

The door to his office opened, and without looking up he said, “Hoffman, have you heard back from Duff and Giles? It shouldn’t take them so long to follow up on the leads in the Rookery.”

“The Rookery?”

Jack squeezed his eyes shut and counted to a slow five before he looked up. The voice at his door wasn’t Hoffman. It was his brother. And when he finally looked at War, he found his brother’s arms crossed across his broad chest and his mouth in a thin, hard line.

“It’s all Irish there, Jack. If you’re looking for Madman, they’re going to protect their own.”

“Bloody hell,” Jack said, rising to his feet. “What are you doing here, War? Go to Idleridge with your family, I’ve already told you I don’t need your help
or
your interference.”

War arched a brow at Jack’s bluster, but didn’t budge. Of course he didn’t. And his brother was like a goddamned tree, so it wasn’t as if Jack could physically shove him out the door.

“You’re wrong. You
do
need my help. To be more specific, my
family
needs
our
help.”

The air whooshed out of Jack’s lungs and he staggered around the desk. “Has something happened to Claire? The children?”

War shook his head, and Jack almost sagged against the desk in relief. If his situation had caused harm to his brother’s wife…he didn’t think he could live with himself.

“If they are safe, be grateful and—” Jack began.

“It’s not my wife you need to worry about,” his brother interrupted. “It’s Letty.”

Jack stopped talking, stopped moving, stopped breathing as a rush of terror swept through his body. He felt cold, tingly, and his heart began to throb wildly.

“Letitia?” he asked.

War nodded. “I have someone here who can explain better than I. Mr. Condit, will you come in?”

Jack wrinkled his brow. Condit? That was the name of Letitia’s husband’s lover. Her friend, against all odds except for the fact that she was kind and accepting. War stepped aside and the tall, rather handsome man Jack had seen going into Letitia’s house what seemed like a lifetime ago stepped into his office. The man was pale, nervous as he looked around Jack’s lair with a shudder.

“I know you,” Jack said, leaning forward. “I know a lot about you.”

Condit shot a glance at Jack and said, “I imagine you do. Letty told me you two had grown…
close
.”

“Wait, you didn’t say that when you showed up at my home an hour ago,” War said. He turned his attention to Jack. “Are you
sleeping
with Letty?”

Jack met his brother’s stare. “She’s a lady, War. I’m not going to—”

War turned away with a curse. “You’re sleeping with her. Well, that would explain all her questions about you and the talk of taking lovers. Claire told me her suspicions, but I didn’t believe it. Damn it, Jack, what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I wanted her and that she wanted me.” He shot another glance at Condit, who was not looking at either man. “She needed something and I was happy to provide.”

“I’m not certain this conversation does anything to help Letty,” Condit interrupted. “Please, might I have a moment alone with Mr.
Jack
Blackwood, Mr. Blackwood?”

War sighed. “Fine, but I’m not leaving. And I’m helping you.”

His brother turned on his heel before Jack could argue and left the room, slamming the door behind himself. Once he was gone, Condit took a step toward Jack.

“Obviously Letty told you about my situation with her husband, Lord Seagate.”

Jack folded his arms. “The situation where the two of you hurt her so badly, made her feel so unwanted? Yes, she mentioned it.”

Condit blanched. “I
know
that we did Letty wrong. And yet she has never been anything but the kindest and best of friends to me. I adore her, truly, and with all my heart. And that is why I don’t want to waste time dancing about the subject. Tell your brother the truth if it will ease your mind to do so, to punish me. I’m ready to have my life blown up if it comes to that. If it will allow you to focus on Letty.”

Jack let his gaze flit over him, sizing him up. The man in front of him was such a gentleman, he hadn’t expected him to be so bold. He had to respect that. “I told Letitia that I would not reveal her secret or yours. I’ll hold to that, for it has nothing to do with our current situation.”

Relief slashed across Condit’s face briefly, but then he nodded. “Let me explain what happened tonight. Letty called me to her home very late. Once there, she admitted she had taken you as a lover. Not only that, but that she cared for you quite deeply.”

Jack flinched. “A fact I do not deserve.”

“We shall see if that is true, for Letty has a way of determining the truth behind the façade.” Condit shrugged. “If she loves you, that would indicate there is something in you worth loving.”

Turning away, Jack shook his head. He couldn’t think about that now. Couldn’t face it or the murky future. “What happened next?”

“She told me that her brother was involved in some battle you are fighting over your territory. She wanted to go see him.”

Jack pivoted back. “I told her not to do so.”

“Yes, so she said. And she also mentioned a guard watching and following her. She asked for my help in thwarting that guard by bringing my mount to the back of the house so she could sneak away on him to meet with Griffin.”

The blood was beginning to drain from Jack’s face and his head spun. “Please tell me you did not entertain that foolish notion.”

“She was insistent and claimed you were being overly protective.” Condit shook his head. “I could see she was also desperate and that she would get her way in the end with or without my help. So I agreed.”

Jack lunged toward him, catching his lapels and shaking. “You let her evade my guard?”

Condit paled at Jack’s attack, but he didn’t struggle. His voice wavered slightly as he choked out, “Yes. She said she’d go to the home of her parents—she was certain her brother would come there after whatever happened last night. She also vowed she would return within a few hours. But eight o’clock came, then nine, and there was no Letty.”

“Oh God.” Jack released Condit and backed away, as if distancing himself from this man could stop the truth. It didn’t.

“I went to her father’s home and found my horse in his stable.” Condit dipped his head. “But there was no Letty there, and no Griffin either. Her parents had seen neither of them and didn’t believe they had been there. I immediately went to your brother’s to see if I could convince him to help me contact you.”

Jack’s vision blurred and he sank onto the edge of his big desk. “What time did she go to see her brother?” he croaked out.

“Around four this morning,” Condit said softly.

Jack glanced once more at his clock. It was nearly half past eleven now. More than seven hours since Letty had last been seen. Seven hours for God-knew-what to happen to her.

“We must find her,” he whispered, then his voice elevated as if out of his control. “We must find Letitia
right
now
.”

The door to his office opened and Hoffman entered, War fast on his heels. Hoffman must have heard his final cry, for he said, “There will be no need to find Lady Seagate. O’Malley has her and he’s calling you out. He wants to meet you. And he’s made it clear—”

Hoffman held out a hand. In it was a long, thick strand of chestnut hair. Jack took it with shaking hands and lifted it to his nose. There was no doubt from the vanilla scent that it was Letitia’s.