Page 16 of A Murder in Mayfair
“Who’s his heir?”
“Viscount Heywood, his oldest.”
“And Lady Scarlet?”
“Lord Throckmorton’s sole daughter.”
So she would be a sister to Lord Rodney and Viscount Heywood. “Why is her grandmother sponsoring her debut rather than her own mother?” It hadn’t been difficult to determine Lady Throckmorton’s eagerness to push her granddaughter in my direction. She’d brought the young lady to town to find her a husband. I was a ducal widower in need of an heir. Ergo, I was at the top of her list.
“Lady Throckmorton is an invalid, Your Grace. She never leaves Throckmorton Manor.”
“I see.”
“If I may, your Grace. You have a visitor. Your brother, Lord Nicholas. I showed him to the drawing room.”
“He’s been watered and fed?”
Milford’s lips quirked. “Yes, Your Grace.”
I walked into the drawing room to find Nicky seated by a small table on which the tea service rested. Whatever had been on the plate in front of him, he’d devoured it as nothing was left.
“Nicky.” I pointed to the empty plate. “I see you’re eating me out of house and home.”
“Not quite. I saved you a few crumbs.” He came to his feet and embraced me. Five years younger than me, we shared the same physical traits. Whereas I was the responsible one, Nicky was the optimist, and our youngest brother, Philip, the rebel.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” We were not strangers by any means, as we enjoyed supper once a week. But it’d been only two days since the last one.
He flashed a grin full of mischief. “I come bearing news, Brother. Mother is back in town.”
“Ah,” I said. “I thought she wasn’t due to return for another fortnight.”
“She moved up the trip. Apparently, fashions have changed, and she needs an entirely new wardrobe before venturing into society.”
“She’s always loved fashion. I sense a lightening of my purse.”
His brow wrinkled. “Why frown on something she truly enjoys? She had a difficult enough time with Father.”
Our father had been a strict disciplinarian who heavily used his fists. If any of us committed the slightest infraction, he took the strap to us. I shielded my brothers as best I could. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do as much for Mother, who was a regular victim of his drunken rages. He actually enjoyed beating her black and blue. And then one night, unable to bear her anguished cries any longer, I marched into their bedroom, ripped the strap from his hand, and used it on him. He never hurt her or my brothers again.
Not long after, he’d gone to the stables, ordered my favorite stallion saddled and ridden off drunk into the night. The next morning, we found him dead, his neck broken. My horse broken as well. I’d shot the stallion to stop his suffering.
“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to criticize Mother. She deserves to enjoy what she can out of life.”
“My apologies. I misunderstood.” His impish grin returned. “That’s not the only reason she returned. There’s another.”
“Oh?”
Nicky rocked back on his heels. Clearly, he was enjoying himself. “Mother intends to find you a wife this season. And she won’t be fobbed off.”
Not bloody likely. Approaching the sideboard, I poured myself a drink before turning back to Nicky. “A useless pursuit. She knows I don’t intend to marry again.” Once was more than enough. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you. You need an heir, Warwick.”
I sipped the liquor before clamping a hand on Nicky’s shoulder. “That’s what you’re for, dear brother. The ladies seem to like you well enough.”
In an instant, his grin vanished. “I don’t think so.”
“Something wrong?”
