Aislynn saw Mary approach. She didn’t know if the lady had overheard the commotion and come to investigate, but she was grateful for her interference, nonetheless. She wasn’t certain what Cordell might have done to the earl had the lady not arrived to settle the dispute.
“Mrs. Spade!” The earl huffed out his chest. “One of your patrons has insulted me most grievously. I insist that he be tossed out on his ear or you will lose my valuable interest in your establishment as well as that of my colleague.” He gave a haughty sniff. “I trust I can count on your consideration in this matter.”
Mary’s gaze shifted between Cordell and the earl before she offered a slight smirk of her own. “Now that ye mention it, Lord Parkson, my girls have complained about yer tiresome company, so I think I shall do the right thing and revoke your membership and that of Lord Wrexville starting now.” She gestured behind the men and the giant who had met Aislynn at the front door appeared to stand menacingly. “Good evening, gentlemen. And I do use that term loosely.”
Amid a string of curses and grumbles, the two men were escorted out. Once they were safely out of earshot, Mary turned to Cordell. “I have been wanting an excuse to rid my house of those two scoundrels but I wonder if ye did not just make things worse on yerself.”
“That is my problem to worry about, not yours,” he returned evenly. “Although I do thank you for your kind assistance.”
Mary nodded, but before she could go, Aislynn stepped forward. There was still the matter of her own frustrations that needed to be resolved. “Would you mind if I stayed here as a paying tenant?”
Mary hesitated.
“I can offer you what I had paid my previous landlord.”
Cordell moved to her side. “No. I will not stand for it.”
Aislynn whipped her head toward him. “You have nothing to say about it. This is not your decision to make.”
“You need my protection?—”
“I am not alone here. And Mary seems to have adequate enough protection for all the women who stay beneath her roof.”
Cordell’s jaw clenched. “Do not do this because you are angry at me for what occurred just now?—”
“I was never meant to stay with you indefinitely, Mr. Steele. It was always temporary and the longer I remain the more talk will spread. Not only that, but it is time I stop allowing fear to dictate what I do and where I go.” She turned back to Mary. “Surely you cannot deny me that much dignity.”
It took a moment but Mary soon inclined her head. “Wait for me in my private parlor.”
As Cordell went to follow her, Mary threw out a hand and caught him in the center of the chest. “Let her go.” Her hand fell to her side when she saw he wasn’t going to fight her. Not yet, at least. “She is not going to listen to anything ye have to say right now. She is in a fine state of affairs.” She lifted a brow. “What happened between ye?”
Cordell scrubbed a hand down his face. “Something I never planned on happening,” he murmured.
Her eyes widened. “Does this mean ye have finally allowed yer cock to sample a lady’s southern delights?”
He glared at her, his silence condemning enough.
“I wondered if I would ever see the day,” she murmured but then added, “If ye do not give her some space to comprehend the situation, ye are going to push her too far and lose everything ye might have gained. I do not think that is what ye want.”
Cordell was fighting a battle within himself, but reason won out in the end. “No. It is not what I want,” he admitted. “To be honest, I am not sure of anything at the moment except for that.”
“Then let me give ye some advice,” she said gently. “Take this time to focus on apprehending yer killer. Give her the space she needs or ye are going to regret it.”
Cordell was wondering if he might regret several things, but since it was obvious that Mary wasn’t going to budge on this matter, nor was Aislynn, he reluctantly gave in. “Very well. I will go, but inform me of the moment something changes.”
“Ye have my word.” With that, Mary headed toward her personal parlor, and although Cordell wanted nothing more than to follow suit, he forced himself to depart.
When he arrived home, the first thing he noticed was the silence. He headed upstairs to where The Wolf had been convalescing, and while he didn’t think the man would have heeded his warning, the room was blessedly empty. Apparently, he’d also decided that he had overstayed his welcome.
Cordell couldn’t say that he was grateful that the criminal had left. He had ensured that the man lived to see another day, so that should have been good enough. He certainly hadn’t appreciated his interference with Aislynn by planting those seeds of doubt in her head. It had been difficult enough for him to try to prove his sincerity without adding The Wolf’s wild conjectures about Cordell’s personal history into the mix.
His steps soon took him to Aislynn’s door. He paused with his hand on the knob before pushing it open. He was immediately assailed by her scent, a mixture of femininity and light florals. It was something special, something that specifically belonged to her. His chest ached with her loss, the robe thrown haphazardly over the side of the chair.
He picked it up in his fist and clenched his hand around the material before he tossed it back down and forced himself out of the room. He would deal with sending her things over to Spade’s later. He could not endure the sweet torturous memory of her right now, not when he was feeling so raw.
He headed to his study and poured a stiff drink, downing the brandy in one burning swallow. After a few more splashes of the amber liquid, he decided he was feeling languid enough to endure the rest of the night without her. He imagined he should be swamped with guilt after what had happened between them, but other than feeling as though he had made a terrible misstep which had hurt her, he could not find the requisite upset that he thought he would be suffering. For so long he’d vowed that he would not give in to his carnal nature, thinking that could be the root cause of his father’s evil. Although he had been faithful to Cordell’s mother as far as he was aware, something had caused his brain to malfunction. During his studies at the asylum, his many observations on which he had been allowed to sit in because of his revered position in society that had opened many doors that would have otherwise remained closed to him, Cordell had taken note that many of the patients had suffered from feverish bouts of lustful imaginings. It was that threat and the concern that he would not be able to take the necessary precautions to keep from fathering a child that had made him abstain for all these years while, ironically, gaining the label of a libertine.
He snorted, a shake of his head reminding him that there was a higher purpose that demanded his immediate attention. He could dissect the unsavory parts of his life once he had captured this murderer and he could be assured that Aislynn was no longer in any harm.
