Her bottom lip trembling and her eyes glimmering with the sheen of tears, she nodded again. “Go.”
More disheartened than he had ever been in his life, Drake rose and bowed to the three of them. “Good afternoon, ladies.” Then hehurried out, damning the ill timing of whatever his fool uncle had done this time.
As soon as the front door closed behind him, he confronted John. “What the bloody hell has he done now?”
Striding alongside him, the loyal stable keeper gave a sad shake of his head. “Himself got a letter. A rough-looking sort delivered it. Yateston said soon as himself read it, he sent for you. Said you had to come quick. Life or death, he said.”
I should have left him on his own and let him stew in the mess he created.Drake didn’t say the words aloud, knowing that the three remaining staff of Wakefield Manor as much as worshipped the ground his uncle walked upon. Why they did so, he would never fathom, but their loyalty was unshakable.
He arrived at his uncle sitting in the entry hall, head bowed, and the letter in his hands.
“I am so very sorry,” Uncle George whispered as he handed it over.
There were only seven words written in large, bold letters on the paper bearing the name of Rum and Catherty Counting House preprinted across the bottom:We know, and you both will pay.
Drake went cold as death. Those words could mean only one thing. “How do they know, Uncle? What have you not told me?”
“They beat it out of me,” Uncle George said, keeping his head bowed. “That day in the garden.”
“You said they asked nothing. You said you told them nothing.”
“I lied.”
“And now you have damned us both straight to hell.” Drake threw down the paper and turned away before he lost his temper and struck the old man. “You realize the power you gave them? Not only do you still owe them money, but you handed them my neck in a noose for impersonating a peer to save your sorry arse from the death threats.” Drake hit the wall with his fist, cracking the plaster. “They willblackmail us now, you ignorant bastard. You do realize that, do you not?”
“What the hell was I supposed to do?” his uncle shouted. “Taken the beating and remained silent?”
“That is what an honorable man would have done. A reformed man trying for a second chance.”
“Well, we both know I have never been an honorable man. Nor am I reformed. I simply ran out of options.”
“You selfish bastard. I should have let them kill you.” Drake shook his head. “But in honor of my father and the image of the man I once thought you were, I risked everything to save you, and now I am just as ruined.”
“Not if you marry that girl,” Uncle George argued. “With that dowry, you can pay them off.”
“They will bleed us all dry! There will never be a way topay them off. Are you that great of a fool?” Drake shook his fist, aching to slam it into his uncle’s jaw. “As long as you live, they have this lie to hold over my head.” He grabbed hold of the bath chair’s armrests and went nose to nose with the sniveling man. “They own us both now, you old bastard. Our lives are not our own.”
His uncle bared his teeth. “Then kill me. Bring us both some relief.”
“Do not tempt me,” Drake said with a low, throaty growl, then pushed himself away before he did the old man damage. He paced in a tight circle, raking his hands through his hair. “I do not see a way out of this. We have no money. No credit. All I have is this land, and I will not part with my father’s land.” He glared at his uncle. “Hewas a man of honor. Unlike you.”
“Then what do we do?” Uncle George asked with a weary flip of his hands.
“I do not know.” Backed against the wall, Drake slumped to the floor with his head in his hands. He had as much as lost his preciousFelicity, and now this. He had half a mind to take his uncle to Rum and Catherty and hand him over.
“You could sell part of the land,” Uncle George quietly suggested. “Your father often bemoaned having so much to watch over.”
“I willnotsell my father’s land.” Drake drew in a ragged breath and blew it out. “This house and that land are all I have left of him, and I have dishonored that memory enough. You squandered all of yours. Keep your bloody hands off mine.”
“Well, it probably would not be enough, anyway.”
“We will never have enough to satisfy them. Have you not realized that by now?”
His uncle blew out a dismal huff and folded his gnarled hands in his lap. “I suppose all we can do now is wait.”
“Wait?”
Uncle George nodded. “They will send their demands in a few days. They wish to give us time to stew about what they intend to do with us. Much like cats, Rum and Catherty enjoy toying with their prey before they go in for the kill.”
