Page 54 of The King's Man
Kit looked up at the handsome face and felt his flesh creep. He did not doubt that Morton’s means of ensuring complianceand duty would not be pleasant. He had some sympathy for the runaway bride.
‘And if I find the man who stole her away, I will kill him,’ Morton said in a calm voice. ‘I need her money to make good my estate again.’
‘We all need that sort of money, Morton,’ Kit scoffed.
‘Well, you won’t earn it playing cards, Lovell.’ Morton set down his hand.
Kit groaned and tossed his hand in.
‘It’s not my day today. As for our lost fortunes, the King himself is living on the charity of his cousin.’
‘At least you still have your estate, Lovell,’ Fitz said.
‘Half of it’s been sold off to pay the fines. The other half barely supports my family,’ Kit said.
‘Where is your estate, Lovell?’ Morton did not look at him as he dealt the cards.
‘Cheshire.’
‘Whereabouts?’ Morton persisted.
‘It’s at Midhurst,’ Fitz said before Kit had a chance to answer.
Kit glared at his friend. He’d had no intention of being that specific. Fitz’s tongue had been loosened by drink.
‘Who did you serve with during the war?’ Morton enquired, picking up his hand of cards, his face betraying nothing.
‘My father raised a regiment of foot.’
Morton’s eyes met Kit’s over the cards. ‘I would have thought you a cavalry man.’
Kit met the cold eyes. ‘I was loyal to my father.’
‘Did he survive the war?’
‘No,’ Kit said shortly. He could have addedhe died in my arms on the front steps of our family home with a musket ball in the chest. Even after all these years, the memory of his father’s death brought a knot of pain to his heart.
‘Well, I enjoyed the war,’ Morton said. ‘I miss those heady days.’
Fitz and Kit stared at him.
‘Enjoyed it?’ Kit said.
Morton did not raise his eyes from his cards. ‘We had some high times.’
‘You were with Goring,’ Kit replied, the distaste evident in his voice. ‘Looting, raping and destruction were your orders for the day.’
Morton looked up sharply. ‘And you were a saint?’
‘I’m not saying I was a saint,’ Kit replied. ‘And I’m not saying there weren’t times that I will remember with a degree of affection, but at no time will I ever forget that we fought a civil war and that the enemy were my own countrymen.’
Morton shrugged. ‘Own countrymen or not, if they were trying to kill me, far better I kill them first. Anyway, that is in the past. My concern now is to rebuild my future.’
‘And find your heiress?’
Morton shrugged. ‘I will find her. I know she’s in London. I’ve seen the little bitch. She can’t hide forever.’
God help her when you do find her, Kit thought. His sympathies were with the girl. Marriage to Ambrose Morton did not seem an agreeable prospect for any woman, let alone a woman of substance.
