Page 89 of The Duchess in His Bed
She rose gracefully to her feet. “Thank you, Doctor. Johnny, will you be good enough to see him out?”
“I can see myself out. Thank you, my lady.” He gave a brisk nod. “Gentlemen.”
Then he strode from the room. No one moved until the front door made a hushedthunkas it was closed, no doubt as a result of the physician’s effort not to disturb them further.
Without a word, Lord Wyeth went to the decanters and poured his mother a sherry. Then he offered Aiden and Finn each a glass of scotch. “Make yourselves comfortable, gentlemen.”
They seated themselves while Wyeth took a glass of scotch for himself before dropping down into a chair with a gust of a sigh. “Well, that’s that, then.”
“You’ll need to take over all your father’s duties,” the countess said.
Wyeth lifted a slender shoulder. “That won’t be much of a bother. I’ve been taking on more responsibilities of late anyway.” He studied Aiden. “Are you the bastard who was paying my father a princely sum each month?”
Most people spat the termbastardas though it left a foul taste in their mouths, but Wyeth wove a semblance of respect around it as though it reflected a badge of honor.
“Until Finn here visited him a few months back and put an end to it.”
He nodded with what appeared to be admiration at Finn. “Are you, then, the bastard who broke his arm?”
“I am.”
“Did he cry out?”
“Screamed like a baby.”
The viscount grinned. “I imagine he did.” He brought his attention back to Aiden. “How did he manage to extort you?”
“Finn was arrested for stealing a horse he didn’t steal. They were going to transport him to Australia. I knew the earl had influence. So I asked for his help, wrongly believing he would care that his blood was being sent halfway around the world. He’d only do it if I paid him a portion of the earnings from my gambling establishment.”
“So Finn went free for a fee.”
“No,” Finn said curtly. “I wasn’t transported but I served five years in prison.”
Wyeth scoffed. “Naturally. Our father is not known for going beyond the bare minimum—”
“He’s not ourfather,” Aiden said.
The viscount’s scrutiny was long and assessing, but Aiden never averted his gaze. Rather he met it head-on with an assessment of his own. He saw very little in this man’s mannerisms reminiscent of the earl’s, found his concern, loyalty, and devotion for his mother to be redeeming qualities.
“No, I suppose he’s not.” Wyeth tossed back his scotch. “Be grateful for that. Your records regarding how much you gave him are probably far more accurate than his regarding how much he took from you. Send me the figures and I’ll see that every farthing is returned to you.”
Aiden exchanged a surprised glance with Finn before looking over at... his mother. He supposed he could refer to her as that without feeling guilty about not reserving that particular affiliation for his mum. The countess seemed rather relaxed, with a small smile playing over her lips as though she was enjoying watching the exchange. “I was under the impression that the earl’s financial situation is a... challenge.”
His brother—his full brother—grinned. “His is. Mine is not. Whenever he and I would get into a row regarding the near empty coffers, he would give me a portion of your payment in an effort to bring me to heel, so I would learn how difficult it is to manage money. In addition, to punish my defiance, he placed the running of the estate into my hands so I would see how far the coins wouldnotgo. He, however, taking very little interest in my affairs, remained unaware that some friends and I are very keen on investing. And we’re quite good at it.”
The last was said very simply. A fact. Not a boasting. And Aiden realized he could come to like this fellow very much indeed.
Lord Wyeth leaned earnestly toward him. “You should not have been required to pay him to see to his duty regarding hisson. I have lived my life with the rumors that he has over a dozen bastards. That he spread them around London as one might manure. He is not a man who commands respect among his peers, which made me all the more determined to be one who does. I believe in paying my debts. I would not be living as comfortably now as I do if not for what you paid him. To be honest I should have sought you out some time ago, but I wasn’t quite certain you’d welcome the one he kept.”
“You had no choice in that. None of us had any choice. But I would say we all made the best of our circumstances.” He came to his feet. “Now that we know you’ll be safe, countess, Finn and I are going to take our leave.”
“I’m glad you all were finally able to meet,” she said. “I hope something lasting can develop between you.”
Aiden grinned at the viscount. “Our sister Gillie owns a tavern, the Mermaid and Unicorn. You’ll have to join us there for a drink sometime.”
“I’d like that very much.”
He turned his attention back to the woman who’d given birth to him. “If you find yourself in need of anything at all, send word to me.”
