“She’s carrying your bastard,” the earl snarled.
The accusation would have alarmed Nando had it not been wholly impossible. Relief washed over him.
“My lord, the last time I bedded your wife was when you unfortunately happened upon us, well over a year ago. If the countess is indeed carrying my child, then she has miraculous capabilities of gestation that surpass her fellow woman. In other words, if your wife isenceinte, I regret to inform you that it is impossible for me to be the sire of the infant in question.”
But far from reassuring Lord Levering and calming him as Nando had hoped his revelation would, it only appeared to heighten his rage.
The earl’s lip curled. “This amuses you, you witless jackanapes? You’ll not be so pleased when you are on your knees, begging for your life, I’d wager.”
Ice trilled down his spine, but Nando refused to show Levering a hint of weakness as he held the man’s stare. “There is only one person I will get on my knees for, and it isn’t you.”
It was Eleanora. Thank God she wasn’t here in this room with him now.
Levering laughed bitterly. “You think I won’t shoot you? How wrong you are. I’ve already done it once before, you see.”
The earl was a madman, and he had just confirmed Nando’s and Tierney’s suspicions. He was responsible for the pistol shot that had thankfully gone awry that day. Levering had tried to kill him.
Tried and failed.
Anger chased the fear. Levering was going to pay for what he had done.
“Your aim is atrocious, my lord,” he taunted.
“This time, I will find my mark.” The earl smirked. “Of that, you may rest assured.”
“Are you saying you intend to shoot me here and now, with a house full of servants who will be instantly alerted by the sound of a gunshot?” he asked. “To say nothing of the guards I have stationed about the town house, all of whom are armed as well. How amusing you are, Levering. Either amusing or perhaps you are…what is the word in English…an idiot?”
As he delivered the stinging assessment, Nando inched toward the fireplace, where the sterling silver fire poker had caught his attention. If he could move nearer to it by distracting the earl sufficiently, there was a possibility he might reach the poker and at least have one means of defending himself.
Unless Levering shot him first, that was.
He shifted ever so slightly.
“Don’t move,” the earl warned him, voice harsh. “Stay where you are.”
Nando forced himself to speak, to offer more diversion and keep Levering off guard. “You say that I’m the father of Lady Levering’s child,” he continued conversationally, whilst moving another subtle inch. “But what of you? You are her husband, after all.”
“I haven’t been in that slut’s bed in years,” the earl snapped. “She has disgraced me, and I have nothing but disgust for her.”
Nando slid to the right just a bit. “If you hate your wife, then why do you want to kill me for bedding her?”
“Because someone has to pay for what she’s done. I should have forced you to that duel. If I had killed you then, she never would have fallen pregnant. But I needed the funds your brother offered. I allowed myself to be bribed. I was weak and imprudent, just as I was when I married that whore. I’ll not be made a fool a second time.”
“Actually,” Nando offered, “she would have fallen pregnant just the same because as I’ve already informed you, I am not the man who is fucking your wife.”
Another slight step. The poker was almost within reach.
“How dare you speak so callously? Although I suppose that I should not be surprised. You are nothing more than the whoremonger brother of a usurper king.”
“See here, Levering. My brother is no usurper.” Nando inched closer. “The House of Tayrnes is the only rightful heir to the kingdom. My uncle and his revolutionaries falsely seized power and started the Great War. Perhaps you don’t consultThe Times.”
“Silence!” Levering snapped. “Do you think I care about the history of your insignificant kingdom? Your nation is so pathetic that it could be crushed with a boot heel.”
One more incremental step. He could grasp the poker in a swift move and then throw it at the earl. His heart hammered painfully against his chest.
For Eleanora, he reminded himself.
For Bruno.
