Page 84 of Rules for a Bastard Lord
“I’ll do what I can,” he promised.
“And I won’t expect a penny until she’s recognized.”
“Then my grandfather will pay it,” Bluebell said, her words soft and hesitant. As if she couldn’t quite believe it would happen. Smart woman.
“One more thing,” Eleanor said, her eyes dancing with excitement.
“We don’t have anything else—” he began, but she folded her hands together and hit him with her most delighted smile.
“I want the truth, Bram. How did you really get Lord Haims to dower his bastard?”
Bram groaned. “I talked to him.”
“I don’t believe it. The man is an ass. He’d never pay that exorbitant an amount unless you did something dire.” She looked over to Bluebell. “That’s the only reason I have hope for you. Bram has already done it, you see. Lord Haims had a girl by his mistress, but refused to take care of her. Wouldn’t educate her or anything. Bram made him educate and dower her. The girl married a barrister and they’re quite happy. So you see, he’s done it before.”
But he didn’t get the man to legitimize the child. And he certainly hadn’t convinced Haims to marry the mistress. That was what he’d been hired to do, but even then he’d known it wasn’t possible. He got the mistress money and helped the girl build a good life.
“I just talked to him, Eleanor.” And threatened to expose the man’s enjoyment of being tied up and spanked. As a rule, Bram didn’t care what a man did in his leisure time. But certain high-ranking politicos did not want their peccadillos exposed. And given Bram’s overblown reputation for exposing spies and murderers, thetonwould believe whatever salacious thing he said about Lord Haims.
But he’d promised not to reveal that, and so he refused to answer Eleanor.
“You must have hit him,” she said. “But there weren’t any bruises. Did you hurt his dog?”
“What? Why would I touch—?”
“It’s well known that he adores that dog more than his wife. You must have at least threatened his dog. Did you catch him alone? In a dark alley where you had already chained up his animal?”
“I went to his house.”
“That’s where the dog was.”
“I didn’t touch his dog!”
“But you wouldn’t have to, would you? Just threaten it.”
He let his head drop back as he glared at the ceiling. Good Lord, now he would have to make up something ridiculous just to satisfy Eleanor’s lurid curiosity. But then Bluebell saved him.
“Did he have gambling debts?”
Bram shrugged. Nothing out of the ordinary. “A few.”
“And did you throw your knife at him?”
His head snapped up. “What?”
Too late. Bluebell had already taken up the tale. She did what everyone did. She spun up a story that would be absorbed into the legion of ridiculous stories about him.
“You know he can do that, right? Take a knife from his hip and fling it dead center, quick as a wink.”
“Dead. Center.” Eleanor breathed the words like she was speaking holy text.
“Oh yes. I watched him skewer any number of trees.”
“Trees? Why ever would you hit trees?”
“He was defending me from a massive pig. They’re quite dangerous in the country. Largest pig I’ve ever seen. I could have been trampled to death.”
Well, that was probably true. Damned thing was huge.
