Page 56 of A Love to Remember
“I assume you have a plan,” she said, smoothing down her skirts. “If Maitland finds Kirkwood’s finances are not what we have been led to believe.”
He nodded. “I have an idea. But I’d like to speak to the others before I outline what it is.”
“Yes, of course.”
She sounded abstracted and held herself stiffly, hands pressed to her stomach. “I know this is a lot to take in, but I swear I’ll protect you and Drake.”
She smiled up at him, her hands still on her stomach. “Thank you. You really are a fine man. I’m sorry. I just wish that when I see you my heart didn’t feel like it was about to break.”
She stood and pulled the bell. A moment later Booth entered. “Lord Cumberland will be staying with us for a few days. Please have the Garden Room readied for him. And Booth, please ensure that news is kept within these walls.”
“Of course, Your Grace. Should anyone ask, I shall say you have a second cousin staying.”
“Thank you.” She turned to Philip. “It will be hard to keep Drake quiet. He will be excited to see you. You probably heard him when you arrived. He’s in the ballroom playing the piano. Why don’t you go and see him?”
Philip stood, feeling bereft, as though they were strangers. Polite strangers. “Shall I see you at dinner?”
She nodded. “Yes. We’ll dine early, but I’m sure you won’t mind. You must be as tired from traveling as I.”
When she left the room Philip gulped down a tumbler full of brandy. Was his offer to stay his way of getting around his vow to Robert to never pass the title to his son? If he was forced to marry Rose, he could not be accused of benefiting from any heir they might then have. He was doing the honorable thing, not simply begetting an heir.
If he did have to marry her he’d simply have to ensure she did not get with child. That should not be too difficult; they had managed it for two years now.
His muscles loosened as he finally saw a way in which he could marry Rose and protect her while maintaining his vow not to have children. Now all he had to do was convince her that doing the honorable thing was the only way to keep her safe.
It wasn’t until he was watching Drake run across the ballroom toward him that he remembered her reason for any remarriage was to have children.
How could he deny her the child she wanted simply to keep his vow?
As Drake hugged him, Philip felt a longing so deep it shook his inner core until he swore his bones rattled.
He wanted a child, too. With Rose.
Chapter 16
It only took Maitland three days to discover Kirkwood’s true financial situation. What he learned was enough to have him braving the snow and cold to report to Philip in person.
“It is as you suspected,” he told Philip as he stretched out his long legs in front of the fire in the room Rose had set aside for Philip—the late Duke of Roxborough’s study. “Kirkwood’s son, Francis Gowan, has not only made some bad investments but he’s also raked up huge gambling debts.”
Maitland took a swallow of his brandy and shook his head. “The young fool has almost brought the marquess to his knees. I suspect Kirkwood has not yet used his position as Drake’s guardian and stolen from her because he knows I’m Rose’s investment adviser and therefore watch her—and Drake’s—finances closely.”
“Damn the man. And his son.” Philip almost wished Kirkwood had stolen money. Then, at least, there would be a case they could take to the chancery and leverage they could use to have him removed as Drake’s guardian. “So what now? We now know he has a motive. At the house party he certainly had means to harm the boy. But we have no proof. Without proof, the chancery will see no reason to remove him.”
Maitland’s brow furrowed as he watched the flames in the grate. “I’m not sure having him removed as Drake’s guardian would keep Rose safe anyway. What is to prevent him from arranging her marriage to his son, and then getting rid of Drake? Once Rose is part of his family, he can take his time staging an accident to kill the boy. And her.”
The very thought had Philip’s blood boiling in his veins. How dared Kirkwood try to harm those he loved? And yes, he could admit that he loved Rose. As for Drake, he thought of the boy as his own son. However, all that did was fill him with guilt as he was stuck between honoring his vow or living a wonderful life his brother never got to have. “Then what are we to do? We cannot simply sit by and let it happen.”
“Of course not.” Maitland crossed one leg over the other, leaned his head back against the chair, and studied the ceiling as he considered. “We have to catch him committing a crime that will see him ruined. Something that cannot be hidden or explained away. Only then will we be able to expose his true intentions to theton,and ensure protection for Rose and young Roxborough.”
“Do you have a plan?” Because he certainly didn’t. “How do we catch him without putting Drake in danger?”
Maitland grimaced. “No, I don’t. And the child’s already in danger. The problem for us now is that Kirkwood will not harm the boy himself. He’ll hire people to do his dirty work. That makes it devilishly difficult to prove he was the mastermind behind the deed. We’d need more than the word of a damned hired thug to make an accusation of murder-for-hire stick to a marquess.”
Philip didn’t like it, but Maitland was right. “Then we need to call a meeting of the Libertine Scholars. Grayson is one of the best strategists I’ve ever known. He might be able to come up with a plan.” Suddenly, emotion ripped through him like a hurricane. “God, I wish I had agreed to marry her now. Then Kirkwood would have nothing to gain from their deaths, and she and Drake would be safe.”
“You could still marry her.” Maitland hadn’t taken his attention from the ceiling. “Quietly, and by Special License. It’s not too late.”
Yes, it was. And that could be laid at his door, too. “Rose won’t marry me now. Not if she thinks I’m doing so out of duty.”
