Seducing the Ruthless Rogue (50 page)

“I’ll appreciate you staying out of my marriage.”

“She defended you,” Tessa spoke up.

“What?”

“She defended you, you bloody damned stubborn Scot,” Mikala said, never one to watch what she said among friends or family.

“Cassie was not feeling well, a headache—”

“Not caused from drinking,” Mikala interjected.

“She went to the retiring room in hopes of finding a little peace and quiet.
 
I’m not sure what all was said, but evidently there were several derogatory comments about your birth.”
 
Tessa blushed.

“They were calling you ‘The Scottish Bastard’.
 
You know that term you threatened Cassie to never call you again, and she was only talking about your character, not your birth.
 
Also, what Tessa is too kind to mention, is they were talking about what they would like to do with you, in an intimate scenario.”
 

“They also must have made a snide comment or two about Cassie.
 
When we found her, she was just addressing the situation.
 
Mikala and I backed her while she vented her spleen.”
 

“That woman that you so quickly judged and condemned as having gone home
drunk
put those debutantes in their place,
Director McKenzie
.
 
She told them what you did for this country so that they could gossip about others.
 
Only as an afterthought did she defend herself.”

“The headache intensified to a migraine.
 
She could hardly stand the light and could barely walk with our assistance,” Tessa said, “but somehow she managed to hold herself together enough to tell those girls exactly how it would be.
 
You need to apologize to her for what you thought.”

“There’s another thing, she loves you,” Mikala said.

“Kala, I don’t think you should get involved in this,” Gabe said.

“Perhaps, but then I think someone should have intervened with us.”
 
She swung back around and looked at her brother-in-law.
 
“Besides looks, I’m having a difficult time determining what exactly she sees in you by the way you treat her.
 
You need to open your eyes and see what a wonderful wife you have before she’s gone.”

“She’s leaving?
 
I ordered her not to,” Mack spoke for the first time since Mikala’s tirade began.
 
He started to step around the group when a firm, feminine hand halted his progress.
 
He looked down to see the hand attached to Mikala.
 
“What now?” he asked between almost closed lips.

“You don’t listen to anything.
 
It would serve you right if she did leave you, because again, you don’t deserve her.
 
Mack, I have never in my life been so furious with you.”

“Whose daughters did she anger?
 
Perhaps I can go and fix the situation.”

“I can’t believe you,” Mikala snapped.
 
“You are willing to beg people to forgive Cassie for defending you because it might bring you some sort of personal gain?
 
You would let people demean the both of you?
 
You sicken me,” she snarled.

Mack took a menacing step forward when he felt himself slammed backwards into the tall brick wall that enclosed the yard.
 
He was looking into the familiar face of his brother.

“You will not approach my wife in anger.
 
Do you understand?”

Mack said nothing.
 
“I asked if you understood?” Gabe asked, slamming Mack against the wall once more.

“Yes,” Mack muttered, but Gabe did not release him.

“I hope to hell you wizen up between here and your house.
 
When are you going to figure out that what you have at home is worth a hundred times any one of those people in that house?
 
And what would it matter if you were in control of the War Office the rest of your life?
 
You excel at it.”
 
He let go of Mack and the other man stumbled slightly before regaining his footing.
 
“You had better get yourself in order and figure out what you want in life.
 
I only hope it’s not too late.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come now, Mack, naïveté does not become you.”

“What in bloody hell are you talking about?”

“Men are lusting after your wife everywhere she goes.
 
She is the talk of London.
 
Should someone talk persuasively enough, it would be easy enough to lure her away from you.
 
You would never see her again.
 
I imagine she would get treated a hell of a lot better by any one of them.
 
She could be someone’s mistress, including Prinny’s.
 
No ties, free to do as she wishes.
 
Mistresses usually are treated better than the wife.”

“Gabe!” Mikala yelled when she saw Mack swing his fist.
 
Gabe ducked then landed an upper right in Mack’s mid-section before following through with a left-hook to his chin.
 
Mack’s head popped back against the wall causing him to see stars before he slid to the ground.

“Come on,” Gabe grabbed Mikala while Derek led Tessa away.

“Should we just leave him there?” Tessa asked, concern lacing her voice.

“He’ll come around eventually,” Gabe said.

“I hope,” Mikala muttered for an entirely different reason.

Chapter 27

Fat raindrops fell on Mack’s face.
 
That was the first awareness he had after the altercation with his brother.
 
There were only a few drops to serve as a warning before the torrent followed.
 
He placed his hand on the drenched grass and pushed himself up.
 
His abdomen ached and his chin felt bruised.
 
Mack rubbed a hand along the back of his head and winced when he felt a knot.
 
He looked down at his sodden clothes and knew he could not be seen by the people inside the Bathurst house.
 
He kept to the perimeter of the yard until he found a gate.
 

It must be later than he thought because only a few coaches remained in the queue of those waiting for their occupants.
 
Mack turned up his collar and walked towards his house.
 
He kept trying to stop his mind from replaying the altercation between himself and the two couples.
 
But as much as he tried to stop it from playing in his mind, it would not be silenced.
 

She defended you.

Only as an afterthought did she defend herself.

She loves you.

You sicken me.

What you have at home is worth a hundred times any one of those people in that house.

She loves you.

Men are lusting after your wife.

It would be easy enough to lure her away from you.

She loves you.

She could be someone’s mistress, including Prinny’s.
 

Mistresses usually are treated better than the wife.

She loves you.

She loved him, but how did he feel about her?
 
He was possessive of her, but was that love?
 
Mikala was right.
 
He had been willing to rush into that house and throw himself at the mercy of those strangers after what Cassie had done.
 
The rain continued to pour as he walked along the deserted London streets.
 
Had he felt the need for approval so strongly that he was willing to seek it from strangers?
 
Was the approval of strangers and colleagues more important to him than that of his wife and family?

“Damn, Laird—”
 
He cut himself off from finishing the thought.
 
That path of thought led to nothing but hatred and blame.
 
It was also time, Mack realized, that he quit laying the blame on someone else’s door.
 
At some point he had to take responsibility for his own decisions and mistakes.
 
Mack rounded the corner and saw most of the windows blazed with lights in their home.
 
A soft glow could barely be seen where Cassie’s bedroom was located, or the bedroom she had been occupying.
 
He walked up the short path to the front door and it opened just as he approached.
 
Chilton stood on the other side.

“Good evening, sir.”

“Chilton.
 
Did Mrs. McKenzie make it home?”

“Yes, sir.
 
They are seeing to her now.”

“They?”

“Yes, sir.
 
Mr. Chang and a friend.”

“Thank you.”
 
Mack trudged up the stairs and entered the room.
 
Only one small candle struggled to fight the darkness that encroached on the room.
 
John and Chang stood back as a small Chinese woman placed long, thin pins in Cassie’s skin.
 
Pins?
 
“What the hell are you doing to my wife?” Mack yelled, forcing his way into the room past the two men.

“Sir, wait,” John held up his hand, but Mack ignored him and pushed past him.
 

Mack reached for the shriveled old woman, determined to stop her when he went flying through the air.
 
He landed on his back, staring at the dark ceiling.
 
Chang stood over him in a position that clearly indicated he would do whatever it took to protect his mistress.

“Missy Cassie in good hands.
 
You hurt her if remove pins.
 
Mingzhu is healer.”
 
The little woman turned and began chattering animatedly to Chang.
 
“Mingzhu said you bring bad
qí
in room.
 
Must leave.
 
Not good for Missy Cassie.”

“I will not leave.
 
She’s my wife!
 
Let me up.”

“Go away,” he heard a weak moan from the bed.

“Cassie, we need to talk.”
 
He approached the bed.
 
“I can’t take this.
 
This is ridiculous.
 
If you won’t remove these bloody pins, I will.”
 
He reached for one and the old woman slapped his hand, speaking gibberish.

“Please, sir,” John spoke up.
 
“She is so much better than when she first arrived home.”

The woman began talking once more, making shooing motions with her hands.
 

“Come, sir.
 
You’ll feel better after you’ve changed out of those wet clothes.”

“I don’t know about that,” Mack muttered.
 
They went through the connecting door that led to the master’s suite.
 
Upon entering, Mack saw a bath set up in the corner and steaming water rising from it.
 
A shiver overtook him as footmen entered carrying more buckets.
 
“Well, John, it seems as if you’re moving up in ranks.
 
No more carrying my bath water.”

“Yes,” the man chuckled as he tugged at the superfine.
 
“This will be three sizes too small for you by the time it dries.”

“So it will.
 
Cassie.
 
Was she really that bad?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it, sir.
 
She could not function.
 
Her maid and another had to come in and undress her.
 
They said she was like a rag doll.
 
And sick.
 
I thought I would see her stomach lying in the chamber pot before it was over.
 
Chang called it a migraine.
 
Said she has had them before.
 
He left the house as soon as she arrived.
 
He was back within the hour with Mingzhu.”

“And the needles?”

“Since Chang has come to be part of our household, I have been reading up on the Chinese and their beliefs.
 
It seems there is a practice called acupuncture that involves these thin needles.
 
They can help with all sorts of ailments if applied correctly.”

“And this bad ‘
qí
’ she told me I was bringing?”

“I’ll have to look again, but if I remember it is how energy flows.
 
They believe energy is everywhere.
 
In us and around us, and there is both good and bad.”

“And I am bad.”

“I don’t think one is always bad.
 
I think you’re just having a bad night from the looks of it, sir.”

“That is an understatement.”
 
Once both boots were removed, Mack dismissed John.
 
He pushed his pants off and tossed them in a wet heap in one of the empty buckets the footmen had left behind, then he walked over and sank into the bath, sighing as the hot water chased away the chill.
 
A timid knock sounded at the door before John walked in once more.
 
“Yes?”
 
Mack leaned back against the lip of the tub and closed his eyes once more after seeing who entered his domain.