Page 59 of Thief Taker

Kit sighed. “If you’re afraid of a repeat performance, I can assure you I need a little longer to recover even when I’m wide awake. And I’ve not slept all night.”

“Aye, well,” Elias agreed with a surprised smile. “You’re not the only one. On both counts.”

“Then I imagine we’re safe.”

Elias wasn’t so sure; it wasn’t his cock that he feared, it was his stupid, swelling heart. Keeping his hands behind his back, he reluctantly stepped into the dressing room.

“That oil gets everywhere, doesn’t it?” Kit said with a rueful smile.

Elias choked out a laugh. “Aye. Worth it though.”

“Mmm,” Kit said with such warmth in his eyes that Elias had to look away again.

Snatching the reins of the conversation, he attempted to drive it back on track. “Did you know Marlborough was involved in a conspiracy last year? An acquaintance of mine uncovered it. Something to do with protecting planter interests in the West Indies.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” All the warmth fled from Kit’s eyes, his voice heavy again. “They’re the sort of men who take the law into their own hands.” He gave a soft, wry laugh. “No, a conspiracy doesn’t surprise me at all.”

The sort of men who take the law into their own hands.

That, Elias could believe. He said, “Could your brother’s troubles be part of this conspiracy? We’ve yet to understand Marlborough’s interest in the estate. Or your brother.”

Kit sat up in the bath, frowning. Elias tried not to stare but it was damn near impossible—especially when he saw the black ink over Kit’s heart. Behind his back, Elias clenched his fingers; the temptation to touch was overwhelming. “Could there be some reason Marlborough wants power over James?”

Now that was an interesting question.

“There’s the daughter,” Elias mused. “I know it’s only household gossip, but if Marlborough is looking to make his daughter a countess…”

“Force James to marry by holding Ashbourne to ransom?” Kit considered the idea. “I wouldn’t put it past him, but…” He frowned. “It would be a great deal of effort to secure his daughter a title. Her fortune alone would suffice for most men.”

“You’d know better than me,” Elias conceded. “But whatever the reason, Marlborough has your brother in a vice. I’m convinced he’s the one forcing Rowsley to take…extreme measures to secure funds.”

Not that Elias felt sorry for the man; he’d see hell freeze over before he took pity on a viscount. But increasingly, he was convinced that Marlborough was the villain at the heart of this mess.

Kit ran a hand over his wet hair. “Even if I can stop this, it won’t help James, will it? His situation would be made worse.”

Worse than Kit could imagine.

“I should at least talk to him again,” Kit went on, “he’s still my brother.” Lying back in the bath, he stared at the ceiling. After a moment, he smiled. “James would invent the best adventures when we were playing in the woods as boys—dragons and trolls and all sorts of wild creatures. He’d draw them, too. He had quite the talent for it. We’d spend days in the woods, fighting monsters and hiding away from—” He sighed. “Of the three of us—me, my brother and sister—it should have been Charlotte who inherited the title. Better suited to it than either of her foolish younger brothers.”

Leaning against the doorjamb, Elias said, “You ain’t so foolish.”

Kit opened his eyes. “Am I not?”

There were a multitude of questions in his look, more than Elias could understand. So he just shook his head. “It’s not foolish to want to protect your family.”

“No matter the method?” Kit sat up. “Even if it’s…criminal?”

“You mean stealing the disentailment deed?”

“As an example.”

Elias smiled. “The way I see it, that’s no crime. Marlborough ruined your brother—used his weaknesses against him—and now he holds his debts like a gun to his head. Your lot might call them debts of honour, but to my eyes it’s no better than highway robbery. Men like that deserve what’s coming, and I’m happy to see they get it.”

Kit bowed his head, his hair falling forward and dripping water into his face. “I’m sure you are.”

“Listen,” Elias said, suddenly appalled by the idea of Kit being drawn deeper into his brother’s mess. “Let me do it. I’ll get into Salter’s and find the deeds. Don’t want to make a thief out of yourself, sir.”

He pushed the hair out of his eyes. “But you’d make a thief out of yourself?”