“The hell you’re not, you stupid fool.” Jamieson crossed the room in two great strides. He clocked him with one beefy right hook to the jaw. Jack stumbled back against the wall and slid slowly to the floor, the bottle of whiskey clattered against the wood beside him. Jamieson picked him up by the shirtfront, hauling him to his feet. “What do you mean, leaving my daughter high and dry after promising her marriage?”
Jack shook his head to clear the ringing. “I-I don’t deserve her.”
Jamieson shoved him down into a leather chair. “That may be true, but you’re the one she wants, so you better get yourself together, get your ass back to Stoneleigh, and grovel at her feet.”
Jack put his head in his hands, leaning forward, shoulders bent.
Jamieson’s voiced softened. “Listen, son, no man ever deserves a woman like Vivian.”
His head came up, and he did not even try to hide his misery.
“Jack, I know how the things in your past can haunt a man. The life I’ve led, it’s full of misdeeds and regrets. But you have to let the past go. We can only control our actions here and now. And sometimes we can’t even control that.”
Jamieson sat down heavily in the other leather chair. “You know Vivian’s kidnapping was my fault. I was the target of Dubois’s plan.” Jack shook his head in denial, but Jamieson maintained his position. “No, if it hadn’t been Moreau it would have been some other henchman.”
“I accepted the job. I let Vivian involve herself in searching out the traitor.”
“Like you could have stopped her from helping you even if you had insisted. We both know Vivian doesn’t listen when she has an idea going on in that head of hers.”
Jack let a brief smile surface. Wasn’t that the truth. He secretly wished it had been Vivian who crashed through his door bent on thrashing his hide. He desperately wanted to see her, to touch her again. Jack rubbed his fingertips into his temples.You idiot, she is better off without you. You can’t keep her safe.
“This is my life, and it’s inherently dangerous. I fooled myself into thinking I could keep her safe.”
“Listen to me, Jack. She loves you, and if you let her, she will make you a better man for loving her back. Trust me, the love of a good woman saved my life, and gave me a beautiful daughter.” Jamieson let the statement sink in before he said, “Maybe this will help.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a letter. Handing it over he said, “Your brother asked me to give this to you when I found you.”
“Andrew knows then why I left?” Jack grimaced as he slid a thumb under the edge of the envelope.
“Well, I was mighty upset earlier when I spoke with the Duke about his gutless brother.”
Jack opened the letter, surprised to see it was from Adam Winters and addressed to his brother Andrew. He scanned the message and then re-read the entire missive again. A sense of elation slowly washed over him. Could it be true?
“Well, what’s it say, boy?” Jamieson demanded.
“My brother’s request I be offered immediate retirement from the Foreign Office has been approved. The King concurred with his argument that I am quite indispensable to the dukedom as the guardian of his heir in case of his death.”
Jack stood up a bit unsteadily from his chair and walked over to gaze out the window. Retired spy. He liked the sound of that. How had his brother known what he truly wanted? Andrew always had a way of taking matters into his own hands.
He turned to find Jamieson smiling from ear to ear. “Come on. Let’s get your sorry ass sobered up and get some sleep. We have a long ride ahead of us tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Not ready yet to admit Jack’s desertion to anyone else, Vivian stayed holed up in her room. Her kidnapping had not been made known to anyone outside the family, except for Jones and the boys’ nanny, both of whom could be trusted explicitly not to gossip. She had made excuses that she did not feel well and gladly remained burrowed under the covers with her misery. But she could not hide forever. Gabi bustled into her room, opening up the curtains and letting in some sunshine.
“What is going on, Vivi? I have never known you to hide out like this. It has been three full days since you arrived back. Are you truly feeling ill? Did something more serious happen with Moreau’s men?” She sat on the edge of the bed. “You know you can tell me anything.”
She took one look at Gabi’s large brown eyes filled with concern and sat up quickly to reassure her. “No, nothing worse than the physical bruises happened. I am just worn out, I guess.”
“Good. Now, do you know where Jack is? Everyone is wondering, and I said I would find out from you.”
She bit her lip. “He had to go back to London to take care of some of this business with Dubois.” The lie rolled easily off her tongue. “I can’t imagine why he didn’t tell his family before he left.” She could not yet stomach having pitying looks cast her way. Why was it she still protected Jack, even with his betrayal, from the censure of his family? This was ridiculous. She needed to get out of this bed and go find Jack. A horrible thought crossed her mind. What if he had already set sail?
“In fact, I think I will join him in London,” Vivian said. “Let’s make preparations to leave after luncheon today.”
“What? No, that’s not possible. The ball is tonight, to close out the house party. To celebrate your engagement. You cannot leave. We can travel back tomorrow.”
“But how will we celebrate my engagement without Jack?” Or without Jack ever coming back?
“I will admit it is a problem. Let’s talk to the duchess. She will know the right thing to do.”
