Page 54 of The Beastly Earl

“Even if I were, that you would suggest, let alone think Gilbert could kill someone is preposterous. He's a child.”

“A child who's demonstrated he's capable of killing animals.”

“Animals fascinate him.”

“Fascinate?” Ewan stared at his mother in disgust. “He tortures them before he kills them, my lady. We both know it's more than possible he's responsible for not just that poor girl's death, but the other girl too."

"You don't know that," Lady Argaty exclaimed with a note of alarm in her voice.

In spite of the rancor between them, Ewan saw the fear in his mother’s eyes as he met her gaze. He’d never thought his mother capable of love, yet it was the only explanation for her refusal to believe Gilbert might actually be capable of murder. Ewan had thought himself impervious to feeling anything for his mother except anger and dislike, but it was impossible not to feel pity for the woman as she clearly struggled with the idea that Gilbert had killed two people.

"I should never have allowed Gilbert to stay when I came home. He belongs in an asylum.”

“No.” The dowager countess sprang from her chair as fury twisted her face into an ugly mask. “This is his home. He belongs here with us—me. You have no proof he was involved in anyone’s death.”

At her strident response, a low noise of what might have been anger echoed out of Gilbert. The sound made Ewan shift his gaze back to his brother. Gilbert was studying him with a malevolence that filled him with dread. Until this very moment, somewhere deep inside him, he'd wanted to believe his brother hadn't killed the two women. The venomous glint in his brother's eyes made him realize it had been wrong to hope for such a possibility.

Ewan's heart slammed into his chest as he remembered his brother trying to force his way into Louisa's room. Christ Jesus if something had happened to her—he stopped in mid-thought unable to contemplate the worst.

“Arrangements will be made immediately for him to be sent someplace where he cannot harm anyone else."

“I will not let you send him away,” Lady Argaty said viciously as she sprang to her feet.

"Gilbert wants pretty lady." The guttural words rolling out of his brother was a vicious punch in Ewan's gut as he and his mother jerked their attention to the man seated on the floor.

"What pretty lady, my darling?" Lady Argaty said gently as she stroked her second son's brow.

"His pretty. He wouldn't let me see her."

"See her?" There was a note of puzzlement in Lady Argaty's voice before she stiffened then slowly straightened upright to pin her gaze on Ewan.

"How did you know Gilbert wasn't in his rooms, my lord." Scorn twisted his mother's lips as she met Ewan's gaze. "You were with her, weren't you? That's how you knew."

"How I came to know of Gilbert's whereabouts is not your concern."

"You settled yourself between her legs quickly, Ewan. I'm surprised she even allowed you near her. What will the household think when they discover what's happening between you and that woman?"

"If you do anything to soil Louisa's reputation or do her harm, you'll answer to me, mother."

"I am not your mother." Abhorrence made her lips twist at his manner of address. "Gilbert is the only son I have. You are a bastard."

"I know full well how much you despise me, mother." It was impossible for Ewan to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he met the dowager countess's gaze glittering with hate.

"Do not ever, call me that again. You are not my son." The virulent scorn and contempt on his mother's face made him bite down on the inside of his cheek.

"Elspeth, please." The raw emotion in his aunt's voice made Ewan glance over his shoulder at her to see a look of horror and fear on Wallis's face. Her expression puzzled him, but he pushed aside questioning his aunt and turned back to his mother.

"Disavow me all you like, mother," he bit out between clenched teeth, deliberately refusing to acknowledge her insane assertion. "Perhaps you're the one who needs to be sent away, not Gilbert."

With the speed of a snake striking its victim, his mother lunged forward and slapped him. The strength of the savage blow made his head snap to one side. His cheek stinging, he eyed his mother with cold resentment. Eager to distance himself from her hate and venom, Ewan turned away only to have his mother tug viciously on his artificial limb to prevent his departure. The device pinched painfully at his skin causing him to draw in a hiss of air between his teeth.

"No. I will no longer continue this farce," the dowager countess spat out as she looked at her sister. "Tell him, Wallis. Tell him how you parted your legs for another master of Argaty Keep years ago, just like Mrs. Morehouse."

Guilt and regret crossed his aunt's face as Ewan looked at her in confusion before shifting his gaze back to his mother. The dowager countess's expression was contorted with a rage that made him believe her capable of killing, just like his brother.

"Do not bring Aunt Wallis into—"

"You are not my son." His mother shouted with a rage that made him jerk in surprise. "He forced me to lie to everyone. He wanted a son so badly he was willing to put a bastard in place as his heir."