Busick slammed the desk. “Lecherous Markham is always up to no good. Is the woman unharmed?”
“Yes. Something other than Markham naked gave her a fright. The widow was upset, mumbling about her lost husband’s ghost, not the fiend’s tampering.”
“So you didn’t interrupt them?”
Gantry shook his head.
His friend had a special talent of interrupting couples engaged in the fleshly congress. And the fellow had suffered greatly from his second wife’s flirtations and her rumored infidelity.
The viscount went to the sideboard and poured a glass of brandy. “Your uncle is innocent of ravishing the governess, this time.”
Busick tapped his thumb along the deepest scar on the writing surface of the desk. “Markham’s not my uncle. He was Colin Jordan’s uncle from his father’s side.”
“Yes, your poor father and your cousin’s mother were siblings.”
“Correct. I’m no part of Markham. The ‘uncle business’ was to curry favor, since Jordan and I lost our fathers early, but the man is no good and has always been no good. Association with him leads to schemes for money or leisure.”
“Money and leisure are no vices. Your pockets are flush, and before the war, you had quite a number of leisurely pursuits.”
Busick sat back in the chair, smiling to himself at his history ofleisurely pursuits. “Ah, the things peacetime affords a man.” A man steady on both legs. “Yes, leisure has its place. We’ll see how full my dance card becomes once Hamlin is back in order and I’ve fully recovered.”
“Your recovery has been for more than a year, hasn’t it?”
Almost two. “Yes.”
“I’m devoted to you, Duke. You said you were wounded in the Battle of Badajoz. I expected weakness from a poorly set leg, not that you can barely walk. How bad was the break?”
It was more than a broken bone. Much more. “I’m not a complainer, and words don’t change anything. I’ll get steadier now that we are out of the carriages. We’re not as young as we think we are.”
“Duke, you should be off that leg before you walk with a permanent limp.”
“More reasons to be away from Town. Now that we’ve located the child, Hamlin is the perfect place to finish healing. No expectations of social engagements out here.” No visits by his mother and her newest special friend, either.
“You’ll continue to live as a hermit?”
“Yes, particularly since my friends make married life so appealing.”
Gantry tugged at the wilted knot of his cravat. Then he shook free the scarlet ribbon at his back, loosing chestnut locks in dire need of shears. “It has its moments, if there’s trust.”
Gantry sighed, and Busick imagined fire launching from the viscount’s dragon nostrils.
“You and your ward will live here in the country?”
“Of course, and your family seat is not too far away.”
“But my father’s there. I’d rather stay here or return to my sister’s in Bath to collect my girls. I needed to be away. This is a welcome distraction.”
Gantry clasped the wrought iron poker. “Fatherhood, when your personal affairs are in shambles, is difficult. Repington, you sound mighty prepared to be an instant father.”
“Yes,” Busick said. “I’ve planned for the task, strategized every aspect. I’ve conferred with all the women who formerly filled my dance card, the women I’ve allowed others to marry.”
If his friend’s frown drooped any lower, it would burn in the hearth flames. “You did what, Duke?”
“Many of my former conquests are now friends, more or less. Among them are countesses, duchesses, or respectable ladies of fashion in their own right, all with dozens of children between them. You couldn’t buy such wisdom.”
Pressing at his skull, Gantry closed his eyes. “So, each of these doves—they sent advice? Duke, you’re a lucky man. A lesser one would’ve been tarred and feathered.”
“I’ve received mostly warm salutations.” Busick lifted his index finger. “And just one death threat. Jove has favored me.”
