Page 87 of The Counterfeit Scoundrel
He grinned at her, she smiled warmly at him, and Bishop had to look away. If he wasn’t there, he suspected these two would be going at each other with wild abandon. He’d already decided he shouldn’t be the arbiter of divorce, creating a false scenario for a woman. Marguerite had been correct there—withsome thought, planning, and effort, he could make a difference for a good many more women. It was what he’d spent all morning striving to outline and explain to his man of affairs. He’d already informed Mrs. Bennett that he wouldn’t pretend to have an affair with her, but would help her pursue another avenue for acquiring what she wished to achieve. He’d also sent a missive to Mrs. Winters apprising her not to send any more ladies his way as he’d be unable to accommodate them.
He turned back to his guests to find their gazes on him and not on each other. “Actually, I’ve been searching for a building. Yours sounds perfect. If you’ve time now, perhaps we could begin working out some particulars.”
“What the devil game are you about now?”
Looking horrified, Perkins was rushing in two steps behind the shouting man who stormed into Bishop’s library the following morning. It had been several months since Bishop had seen his father, not since the last divorce case when the old man had arrived to proclaim that Bishop was naught but an embarrassment as a son. His words had spurred Bishop on, determined to assist more women, and in doing so, bringing further mortification to his father. A game, Marguerite had correctly surmised, that the elder Blackwood didn’t even know they were playing.
“My apologies, sir,” Perkins began.
“It’s quite all right. You’re dismissed to tend to your other duties. I’ll see to our charming guest.” And it was quite easy toseehim, because Bishop had begunworking with the draperies drawn aside so the sunlight could filter into the chamber, and he could look out on his gardens whenever he wished.
Perkins quickly disappeared as though aided by a magician’s hand. Bishop’s father advanced, slapped his large hands on the desk, and leaned forward, fury turning his dark eyes black. “I offered double what that ship was worth and have been informed the papers are ready for me to sign. I am now obliged to deliver the requested funds. Why have you not made an offer on it?”
Because the missive he’d finally sent to his man of affairs had read:Offer nothing. Let go anyone you have hired to keep watch of his activities. His business is no longer mine.
“I have no need of a ship. I would think you’d be pleased.”
His sire slammed his eyes closed, and his jaw went so tight that it was a wonder Bishop didn’t hear bone cracking. “I haven’t the funds. I told the owner I could get him an exorbitant amount. He promised to give me half.” He opened his eyes, defeat mirrored in them. “I know you’ve been purchasing everything I want. Why not this?”
“Because I no longer care.”Because I want—need—you out of my life. I’m forfeiting the game for something much more important. I’m letting go of the anger and the hatred. However, they won’t be replaced by their opposites. What I feel for you is absolute nothingness.
“I was so certain you’d come through, I promised to pay what I offered if you didn’t. This will put me inthe poor house or worse, debtor’s prison. Think of the shame that will bring you.”
“Your actions have no bearing on how I regard myself.”
“I’m your father, deserving of your respect.”
“You may have planted the seed, but you’ve never been myfather. The first time I saw you strike Mum”—he shook his head—“afterward, I begged her to leave you, for the two of us to run off together. I was only five, but I promised I would protect her. However, she loved you. Wouldn’t abandon you.”
His father shoved himself off the desk, walked over to the window, and gazed out. An eternity seemed to pass, and Bishop wondered if his father was traveling a path of memories. Finally he placed his hand on the glass, as though he wanted to reach through it and touch something significant. “Your mother loved her flowers. She would have fancied your gardens. I was not a good husband. I acknowledge that. But I didn’t kill her.” He looked at his son. “Truly, she fell down the stairs.”
“I don’t believe you.” He’d even considered hiring Marguerite to get at the truth, but after twenty years, what evidence would remain? “However, even if you didn’t push her, the way you treated her is unforgivable. If you ever barge into my residence again, I shall have you arrested for trespass. Recently, I’ve come to know an inspector at Scotland Yard rather well. I think he would accommodate my request without much bother. Now, if you’ll be so good as to leave, we are done.”
His shoulders slumped, with the mien of a defeated man, the elder Blackwood shuffled out. Bishop shouldhave felt a measure of victory. Instead, he felt loss for all the years when he’d thought he’d been in control of his life, but that man had still maintained some power over him. No longer.
Breathing deeply, he could have sworn he inhaled the lingering fragrance of violets.
Chapter 28
“How is it that one can be both the darling of Society by assisting Scotland Yard in apprehending a murderer as well as a disgrace for possibly cavorting with the top-ranked scoundrel of the Season?”
Daisy rolled her eyes at Bellingham’s eldest, Viscount Townsend, who would one day inherit the earldom.
“If you cared at all for your reputation, Cousin Rob, you wouldn’t be speaking to me here within your family’s ballroom.” Where the elaborate ball was already underway. The orchestra, situated on the level above, had been enticing dancers onto the floor for at least an hour now.
“I care so little for my reputation, Cousin M, that I’m going to claim a dance with you in a bit. That I would associate with such a scandalous person should ensure I’m not bothered by mamas striving to marry their daughters off to me. Although to be honest, I hadn’t really expected you to show.”
After reading the speculation in the latest gossip rags, she’d certainly considered sparing herself the humiliation of suffering through cuts directly. But she’d not shared with her aunt that her heart had beenshattered into a thousand tiny shards, and her niece not appearing would have made her worry. In spite of the fact that Daisy had been correct and was being approached by more clients, the victory seemed a tad shallow, since she was unable to share it with Bishop.
“Marguerite has more backbone than you, Rob,” her cousin and his brother Jack said. “She’s not going to let a few tawdry words dictate her behavior.”
She was actually quite touched that all four of Bellingham’s children, his three sons and one daughter, had been surrounding her since her arrival, forming a sort of moat that no one in thetonhad yet found the courage to swim across.
“I think it’s disgraceful that the gossip rags can print speculation with no proof,” Adelia said. All of nineteen, she was expected to make a good match by the end of the Season. Her eyes warmed and she offered a secretive smile. “Although if you were to whisper in my ear the truth of the matter, I can hold a secret.”
“The truth of the matter is no secret. There was never anything salacious between us. He was a client, nothing more.”
“But so devilishly handsome. He has the look about him of a man who truly knows how to kiss a woman properly.”
