Page 29 of To Tempt a Troubled Earl
“Easy for you to say! I’m only relieved Anne used our uncle’s name when she was in Gartside’s mother’s employ.”
Stabbing at his breakfast, Kit wracked his brains for a way out. One that didn’t involve Gartside escaping scot-free. He came up with nothing. Annoyingly, he liked the earl’s daring plan right up to the part that he didn’t, the last chapter.Trust me, Lando had said. And led by his bloody prick, Kit had.
Blind fury replaced his earlier panic, girding his loins. If he was going to the gallows, then it wouldn’t be without a fight. And he’d damned well take Tommy Squire, theAmerican, with him. He’d bet his bottom teeth that the slimy actor would waste no time implicating the earl if it gave him a chance of saving his own skin. Which would leave Kit where? A peer of the realm’s word against that of a tawdry actor and a card-sharping pickpocket, already being hunted by the runners. Which meant, taking the whole thing to its logical conclusion: Lando would walk away free, and Kit and Tommy would be swinging from a rope. His stomach roiled.
“Kit,” urged Lando. “I’m eavesdropping on your thoughts, and they’re heading in an unnecessary direction.”
“Unnecessary for you, perhaps.” Kit cracked his knuckles, quelling his overwhelming urge to throw something. “How wonderful it must be to have such station in life that one is above the law.”
Lando narrowed his eyes. “Really, now you’re being absurd. I’m telling you the law won’t have anything to do with this because no one will ever find out!”
“Forgive me,mylord,” Kit growled, “If I don’t share your faith. Everybody in that room last night will be livid when they discover the whole thing is nothing but a ruse. Fleecing Gartside will be the least of my worries.”
With a pained sigh, Lando shifted his letter piles to one side. “Right. Let’s address your concerns one at a time, shall we? Beginning with Tommy Squire. Who obviously already knows it’s a ruse.”
“He’ll talk. He’ll gossip. People can’t help themselves.”
Lando shook his head. “No, he won’t. I have no intention of divulging the exact story behind Tommy’s association with me, but I can assure you that, at knifepoint, or even with the hangman’s stool poised to be kicked out from under him, that man will never betray me.” He turned over his palm as if tapping off his fingers. “Who’s next?”
How coolly this harshly elegant man viewed him across the breakfast table. How chilly. He was once more behaving like the perfect stranger Kit first met in contrast to last night’s lover, so soft and pliant, melting in his arms. If Kit didn’t know better, he’d imagine the evening’s finale had been nothing more than a combination of wishful thinking and an excess of rich brandy.
“Now, let’s consider Gartside. We both agree he won’t spill the tale, do we not? When his bribe comes to light, he will flee and likely never show his face again in society. Given that you have little intention after this is over of joining society yourself, the chances of either of you ever clapping eyes on each other again are as remote as me wooing and bedding a second bride.”
Lando flashed a grim smile, exposing his small sharp teeth.
“What about the other two?” demanded Kit. “Their blunt may be safe, but they will lose a great deal of face. Lord Cobham is loud and brash. He has a short temper and won’t take kindly to being hoodwinked, even if the principal victim is the scoundrel who cheapened his daughter.”
Lando remained unperturbed. “Fear not, my friend. Within the last year, Lord Cobham has suffered two episodes of apoplexy, the second almost fatal. He has crippling gout, an excessive fondness for port, and a belly set to pop.” Lando cupped a hand behind his ear. “Hark, the angels are already trimming their wicks. I wager he’ll have hung up his dinner pail by the end of the year.”
After witnessing the older man trying to catch his breath while waddling to the dining table, Kit was in private agreement with the earl’s pithy assessment. Not that he would give him the satisfaction.
“When this is through,” Lando continued, “you should lay low—I suggest Rossingley would be an ideal location.” He smiled again, the seductive flirty one that had Kit so pathetically entranced despite his misgivings. “Until the poor man is sadly no more.”
Kit huffed, still wanting to throw something. Not only was Lando devilishly attractive, it seemed he also had an answer for everything. “What about Sir Richard, then? He’s in fine health, youngish too. And sharp as a rose thorn.”
This time when Lando smiled, it seemed quite genuine. “Sir Richard will hear the truth. But not until it’s all over.”
“Why ever would you do that?”
“Firstly, he’s my cousin. Blood is thicker than water and what reflects badly on me will undoubtedly reflect badly on him. Also, he detests Gartside as much as anyone—again, I am not at liberty to divulge why. Underneath that stuffy exterior, Sir Richard has a good sense of humour. In all honesty, he’ll be delighted at our cunning.” Another genuine smile. “And I am hoping to reward him in a manner that will please him, and possibly you, greatly.”
Kit huffed again. “Let me guess; you won’t divulge?”
“How well you have grown to know me,” replied Lando sweetly, “in such a short space of time.”
Damnation, the man was infuriating. And outrageously desirable, and with an answer to everything. He had a way of making Kit feel like he should trust him when it should have been obvious even to the blessed damask wallpaper, never mind the silent footman, that he shouldn’t. And if anyone else were to dismiss his concerns for his own liberty with such unflappable high-handed self-belief, then Kit would probably succumb to his physical urges and plant his fist against the man’s haughty, smug mouth. So why did he want to plant his own mouth against Lando’s instead?
“Good. Now we have that little contretemps out of the way,” said Lando, prising apart yet another wax seal with an exquisite bone-handled knife. “You still haven’t asked me how it’s really going to end.”
“With me possibly swinging from a rope—I thought I’d made that clear!”
The invitation card joined theenthusiastically declinepile, and the earl tutted. “Please don’t be overly theatrical, Kit darling. It’s far too early in the morning. What I mean is, you haven’t asked how we get to that part. How Gartside’s bribe becomes exposed without everyone discovering the entire land-selling scheme is a hoax.”
“No, I haven’t. It hadn’t occurred, what with being more concerned with keeping my head attached to my body. I assume you’re about to enlighten me?”
“Ah. Sadly not.” A frown touched Lando’s face. “You aren’t the only one of us wrestling with this. I must confess, that part of the plan has so far eluded me.” He examined another letter as if it mattered not a jot. “I daresay it will come, in time.”
“Well, that’s all right then,” grumbled Kit. “I’ll just sit around waiting until it does, shall I? Or do you have more shopping errands arranged for this morning? Or another pretty actor friend of yours, waiting to fool me and play the coquette with you and incite my…my ire? Unless you’ve tired already of jerking my puppet strings.”
