Dangerous (24 page)

“But what on earth could the motivation be in this case? Why would Jeremy want to kill Ringcross?”

“I don’t know. There are a number of questions to be answered. Among other things we must learn if there was any connection between Jeremy and Ringcross.”

“You seem hesitant, Sebastian. What is wrong?”

He glanced back over his shoulder. “The question I am
asking myself tonight is whether or not I wish to continue this investigation.”

“I thought that might be it,” Prudence said sympathetically. “I can certainly comprehend your reluctance to investigate a member of your own family.”

Sebastian’s mouth curved humorlessly. “Do not mistake me, madam. It is no concern of mine if Jeremy gets himself arrested for murder.”

Prudence was shocked. “How can you say that? He is your cousin.”

“So? Do you think that the scandal involved in having a Fleetwood arrested would bother me? Not bloody likely. It might be rather amusing.”

“Sebastian, we’re talking about murder here.”

“Yes, we are, are we not?” Sebastian’s smile could only be described as feral “It would be interesting to watch that bitch Drucilla and the rest of my charming relatives get a taste of Society’s brutal tongues.”

“Sebastian, that kind of gossip would devastate that side of the family.”

“Quite possibly. If Jeremy is arrested for murder, his mother would no doubt be banished from the
ton
. Society would turn its back on her just as it turned its back on my parents. It would be a most appropriate sort of justice.”

Prudence shivered. “You cannot mean that.”

“You think not?” The gold band on Sebastian’s finger glinted in the candlelight as he continued to pet Lucifer.

“You are the head of the family, Sebastian,” Prudence said very steadily. “You will do whatever is necessary to protect it.”

He reached for her without any warning. He caught hold of her shoulders and held her still in front of him. “This family,” he said through set teeth, “consists of you and me and whatever children we may be fortunate enough to have. I do not give a damn if all of the rest of those incredibly boring Fleetwoods hang.”

“You cannot mean that. One cannot dismiss one’s relatives simply because they are unpleasant or insufficiently amusing.”

“I assure you that the Fleetwoods had no difficulty at all dismissing my parents out of hand.”

Prudence framed his hard face between her palms. “Is it revenge you seek, then, my lord? If that is the case, why have you not already taken it?”

Sebastian’s hands tightened on her. “You think I have not dreamed of doing so?”

“I don’t understand. Your friend Mr. Sutton explained to me that you have it within your power to cut off funds to the rest of the family or even to get them all banished from Society. If you feel so strongly about punishing the rest of the Fleetwoods, why did you not exercise your power over them when you first came into the title?”

Sebastian’s eyes gleamed. “Do not doubt for one instant that I will exercise all of the power I hold over my relatives if they ever push me too far. But until then they are safe, although they do not know it.”

“Why are they safe?”

“Because I am bound by a promise. A promise I made to my mother as she lay dying.”

Prudence was stricken. “I thought your parents and brother were killed in that fall of rock you told me about.”

“I received word early in the evening of what had happened up in the mountains.” Sebastian’s voice was very distant. “I took a group of men from the village and went in search of my family. We reached the pass at midnight. We set up lanterns and started to dig through the fallen rocks and debris.”

“Dear God, Sebastian.”

“It was so cold, Prue. And there was a heavy fog. I will never forget the damned fog. We found them just before dawn. My brother first. Then my father. They were both
dead. My mother was still barely alive. She lived until sunrise.”

“I am so sorry,” Prudence whispered. “I did not mean to resurrect such tragic memories.”

“You may as well hear it all now. I have told no other living soul that the Fleetwoods are safe from me because with her dying breath my mother pleaded their cause.”

“Your mother asked you not to take revenge against them?”

“She knew that someday I would inherit the title. And she guessed that when I did, I would use the power it would give me to punish the rest of the family for what they had done to my father and to her. She did not want that to happen. She said the family had been torn apart long enough.”

“Your mother sounds as if she was a very kind and compassionate woman.”

“She was. But I am neither kind nor compassionate and I confess there have been times when the temptation to ruin the Fleetwoods in a variety of interesting ways has been almost irresistible.”

Prudence searched his grim face. “I can imagine.”

“Unfortunately, the oath I gave my mother has restrained me as effectively as an iron chain. ‘Give me your word of honor that you will not cause the Fleetwoods any harm for what they did to us,’ she said. She was dying. So I gave her my word. At the time it did not seem such a great thing. I had other, more important vengeance on my mind.”

“What other vengeance?”

Sebastian’s face was set in stark, inscrutable lines. “My only goal that day was to find the bandits who had been responsible for the rockfall. I was not thinking about Fleetwoods when I buried my family in those damn mountains. I was thinking about slitting the throats of those who had killed them.”

Prudence stared at him. “You went after the bandits yourself?”

“I took some of the men from the village with me. They were willing to help. They had suffered enough from the bandits, themselves. What they had lacked was a leader who could provide a plan of action.”

“You provided the leadership and the plan?”

“Yes.” Sebastian moved away from her. He went back to the window and stared out into the darkness. “It took me less than a week to come up with a way to lure the bandits into the trap. They all perished in it, every last one of them. I killed their leader myself.”

“Oh, Sebastian.”

His hand clenched the edge of the windowsill. “I told him precisely why he was dying as he lay bleeding to death at my feet.”

Prudence went over to Sebastian and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She leaned her head against his shoulder. “It was not your fault. Your father was an explorer. Journeys in wild lands involve great risks.”

Sebastian said nothing.

“It is not your fault that he took that mountain pass, Sebastian. Your father was an experienced traveler. He chose to cross those mountains. He obviously assumed it was safe to do so. It was your father who made the tragic mistake, not you.”

Sebastian still did not respond.

Prudence pressed herself closer to him. It seemed to her that he felt very cold. She had no more words. All she could do was share her warmth with him.

She held him tightly for a long time.

After a while she was aware that some of the tension had left Sebastian. He touched one of her hands that was clasped around his waist.

“Now you know the reason why I have never taken real vengeance against the Fleetwoods,” he said quietly.

“I see. But Sebastian, what will you do about the investigation? Surely you will not walk away from it.”

“No,” he said. “I admit that I am curious now. I want to learn the answers.”

“I knew it,” Prudence said with satisfaction. “I knew you could not just abandon the case.”

“But I have not yet decided what I will do with the answers that I discover,” he added softly.

“Sebastian”

“Calm yourself, Prue. I will not turn the evidence against Jeremy over to Bow Street. That would be a violation of my oath to my mother. But neither am I under any obligation to protect Jeremy if Bow Street discovers its own evidence.”

Prudence eyed him uneasily. “This sounds like another of your cat-and-mouse games that everyone says you enjoy playing with the Fleetwoods.”

“I only play such games when I am excessively bored,” Sebastian said. “Believe it or not, most of the time I have more interesting things to do than to go about baiting Fleetwoods.”

Prudence shook her head. “Sebastian, you should be ashamed of yourself.”

“No lectures, madam.” He turned around and touched her lips with a warning finger. “I am in no mood to listen to any of your sermons on responsibility and mature behavior.”

“What if I am inclined to give you such a sermon?”

“Then I shall simply have to find a way to silence you.” He drew her hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist. His eyes did not leave hers. “I’m certain I’ll think of some suitable method.”

“Sebastian, I am trying to have a serious discussion here.” Prudence could already feel the liquid warmth coiling inside her. She snatched her hand out of his grasp. “Do you intend to spend the rest of your life tormenting the Fleetwoods whenever you have nothing better to do?”

“As I said, I generally have better things to do. Fleetwoods are, by and large, a dull lot.”

“How fortunate for them.”

“Furthermore, now that I am a married man I have a duty to establish my nursery and set about the business of getting myself an heir. I expect I shall be well occupied in the foreseeable future.”

“You are incorrigible, my lord.”

“I work at the task.” His expression hardened again. “There is something you must understand, Prue.”

“What is that?”

“It is true enough that the Fleetwoods are safe from me. But only to a point.”

“A point?”

Sebastian smiled his coldest smile. “If one of them steps too far over the line, the promise I made to my mother will not protect them.”

“What do you consider stepping too far over the line?” Prudence asked cautiously.

“If my aunt or any of the others goes after you in any way, I want to know about it. I will crush whoever is responsible.”

“Sebastian
.”

“I vowed to my mother that I would not punish the Fleetwoods for turning their backs on her and my father. But nothing was said about what I could do to them if they insulted or offended my wife.”

“But Sebastian—”

“No, Prue. You bargained with me once on that score after my aunt insulted you during our engagement. I would have taken action against her then, but I allowed you to talk me out of it.”

“I do not believe you let me talk you out of it,” Prudence said. “You listened to reason and decided to behave in the noble manner one expects of a man of your status and power.”

Sebastian’s brows rose. “I gave in to your pleas, my sweet, naive little Prue, because we were merely engaged then, not married.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“At the time I was in a somewhat precarious position. I did not wish to anger my future bride to such an extent that she might call off the engagement. So I indulged her.”

“I do not believe you.”

“No doubt because you have convinced yourself that I am still Lucifer before the fall.”

“This is intolerable.” Prudence glowered at him. “Are you saying that now that you have married me, you are no longer concerned with the prospect of making me angry?”

“I much prefer you when you are in a charming, cooperative mood, my dear. But the fact of the matter is we are legally bound now.” Sebastian stroked his finger along the curve of her shoulder. He smiled when she shivered. “And we are bound in other ways as well, are we not? No matter how angry you become, you cannot walk out on me.”

“And if I did?”

“I would follow you and bring you home,” he promised. “Then I would make love to you until you shuddered in my arms, until you pleaded with me to take you. Until you could no longer even recall why you had been angry with me.”

“Sebastian.”

“Until you realized that what you and I have together is all that matters.”

Prudence looked into his candlelit eyes and caught her breath. “I warned you once not to think you could manipulate me with your lovemaking.”

He smiled slowly. “So you did. But I have always liked a challenge.”

“Sebastian, do not tease me, I beg you. This is a very serious matter.”

“I assure you I am taking it
very
seriously.” He caught her chin on the edge of his hand. “Attend me well, madam.
The vow my mother extracted from me will not keep me from punishing the Fleetwoods if they insult you or offend you in any way.”

Prudence tapped one bare foot. “I have the impression that you rather hope one of them does manage to step over this invisible line you have drawn.”

The devil’s own laughter danced in Sebastian’s gaze. “You are very perceptive, my sweet. And quite right. I would not mind in the least if one of them, preferably my aunt, crosses that line. But you needn’t worry. I give you my solemn oath that it will only happen once.”

“Because that is all the excuse you will need for taking retribution?”

“Just one offense,” he said softly. “One insult to you and I will see them banished from Society. I will cut their considerable incomes down to tiny allowances.”

Prudence was stunned by the implacable intent in his words. Her palms were suddenly damp. “Is that the real reason you chose to marry an unfashionable Original, then, my lord? Because you knew that only someone as odd as myself could manage to draw the insults you wanted from your relatives?”

Sebastian frowned. “Now, Prue—”

“Did you marry me just so that you would finally have cause to exact the vengeance you crave?”

“Don’t be a fool.” Sebastian’s lashes veiled his eyes. “Do you think I would tie myself for life to a woman whose only recommendation was that she was bound to annoy the Fleetwoods?”

“The thought crossed my mind, yes.”

Sebastian swore. “If that had been the only thing I required of a wife, I would have married long ago. I assure you that there are any number of females here in London who would have offended the Fleetwoods.”

“No doubt.”

“Use your admirable intellect, madam. I’ll admit I would
very much like to punish the Fleetwoods, but not at the price of marriage to a female who would have made me a totally unsuitable wife.”