The woman turned a shade of red more often seen on the beets served in her stylish dining room. “How dare you. Does Viscount Rockford know how low bred his so-called chief of security is?”
“You’ve been following my career. I’m flattered. His lordship knows everything he needs to know about my origins.” Rob narrowed his eyes. “He hired me to track criminals to their lair and to ferret out those who harbor them.” He pinned her with a look that would have shaken most people.
The countess, as he well knew, was not most people. He wouldn’t have thought her color could get any darker, but it did, as she huffed, attempting to speak. A sound above their heads gave her an excuse to break eye contact.
Rob peered up to see Viscount Ashmead leaning over the railing. As he watched, Marj joined the boy.
The countess turned her outrage on them. “What are you doing out of the nursery? Higgins, return those children to their nursemaid immediately.”
The butler took two steps before Rob barked. “Stay right where you are, Higgins. Kindly take us to the earl first.” The butler paled at his tone of voice. The little viscount, however, bit his lip to keep from laughing. Rob winked at him, and the boy winked back.Good lad!
“Will someone kindly explain the commotion to me.” The earl himself emerged from a door Rob knew led to his study, still buttoning a hastily donned coat.
“This ruffian has sullied our home and needs to be removed,” the countess shouted.
If the earl’s resemblance to their commander startled Goody and Gibbons, they had the good sense not to show it.
Clarion ignored his mother. He took in the men, their appearance, and the pale face of his butler. “Benson! We didn’t expect you. I take it this is a matter of some urgency?”
“It is, indeed. Lucy has been attacked, and one of my men is dead. We tracked Miller to your estate.”
The earl drew a deep breath. “Mother, you appear to be in distress. Go to your quarters and rest. Higgins, fetch the countess’s maid to attend her, while I have a word with my brother and his men.”
The alarming color appeared to drain from the woman’s cheeks, perhaps due to her son claiming the bastard as his brother. Rob had little time and no concern for her emotional well-being. “Actually, Clarion, your mother may want to hear what we have to say. We will require assistance from your people.”
The earl nodded.
“Come into the breakfast room in that case. You look like you could use refreshment.” The earl glanced up at his children. “You lot, get back up to the nursery. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Will you come and read, Papa?” Marj called.
Clarion’s eyes softened. “You know I will. Prepare for bed, but tell Miss Graham you have my permission to wait for me.” He didn’t wait to watch them scramble off. “Mother, you will join us.”
“You will not speak to me in that tone, earl though you may be.”
“I said, join us.” Ice and steel couldn’t be much colder or harder than the earl’s tone. He didn’t wait for her reply. He led them to the family quarters.
Rob turned to the footman still holding the lamb and reminded him, “I won’t be long. Don’t move.”
“But sir, if it soils…”
“Clean it up.”
The breakfast room boasted sturdier chairs than Rob feared, though he and his men, armed and still in their dirt, appeared utterly out of place there. Memory of the countess’s voice berating Maddy in this very room the day he left Ashmead flooded him. He watched the sour old woman parade through the door, and her persona shrunk in his mind.Did I ever see her as a dragon? She’s more like the troll under the bridge.
“Brandy, gentlemen?” the earl asked. He raised a decanter.
“Really, Clarion, you can’t pretend this is a social—”
“Quiet, Mother. This is serious business, indeed, and you will treat it with the respect it deserves, or I’ll have you removed once you hear what Robbie wishes you to hear.”
The fear lurking in her eyes startled Rob and stiffened his resolve.The old woman knows something. While the earl filled glasses, he said, “First, I should assure you that Lucy is well and uninjured, thanks to Corporal Goodfellow here.”
“Where is she, and who is seeing to her safety now? If they tried once, they—whoever they are—may try again.” Clarion handed Rob a glass.
Rob respected him for asking. He explained the arrangements he left at Willowbrook, and the earl appeared satisfied. “Goodfellow witnessed it. I’ll let him tell you what happened from the beginning.”
The corporal began, but the three men took turns telling the tale until they reached the place where they left the woods, and the trail disappeared. Neither the earl nor his mother interrupted them, though the countess’s mouth pinched tighter with every word.
