An Unsuitable Bride (50 page)

“Yes, every page. Get on with it. I want to see it done.”

Slowly, the priest fed the pages one by one into the brightly burning fire. Flames flared as the paper caught, curled, and crumbled to gray ash against the logs. The viscount watched, his eyes on every page, and when it was done, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes with a little sigh. “Get out now.”

Father Cosgrove slipped from the chamber. If his work as amanuensis was over, then maybe so, too, was his servitude in the house of the devil. Maybe he could return to the quiet of the Benedictine monastery and resume his life of prayer and meditation.

Louis, the viscount’s valet and general factotum, appeared on the landing outside the antechamber to the viscount’s bedchamber as the priest emerged. “Is his lordship resting?”

“I believe so,” the priest said. “He sent me away.”

Louis nodded and entered the antechamber. He
opened the door to the bedchamber and stepped soundlessly into the room. The viscount was immobile in his chair, eyes closed, his head resting against the cushioned back. Louis went to the bed to turn down the coverlet, prop up the pillows, preparatory to helping his lordship to bed. He set a candle on the bedside table and stepped over to the viscount’s chair.

“My lord, will you go to bed now?” His voice was soft, and he laid a hand on Bradley’s shoulder. Instantly, he knew that his lordship was no longer in the room. The paper-thin, blue-veined eyelids did not flutter. The mouth was slightly open, and when Louis put his hand against it, there was no breath.

Louis stood for a moment looking down at the dead man. Not many would mourn the old man’s passing, but Louis had been with him for close on forty years, and the two had shared a bond of a kind. Louis would miss him.

He stepped quietly from the chamber, closing the door behind him. A message must be sent to Lord Blackwater on Upper Brook Street.

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