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“You have tested my patience long enough, tonight,” Michael told him. “Brother, cousin, or friends, aside. You attempted to kill me and forced yourself upon a woman that did not ask for your affections. I think you have forfeited any rights you may have had upon this world.”
Kitty made a small, fearful sound and Michael turned to her finally. “And I suppose you are here in tears because you were an accomplice in these plans?”
“No!” she protested earnestly. “No, I promise, I tried to convince him not to do any of this when he told me. I merely stole a letter, that is all I did. I promise.”
Michael looked to Lydia finally. “You have heard her whole story?”
“She was behind publishing my scandalous letter, yes,” Lydia told him. “Has she been deceitful and tried to ruin me? Absolutely. However, I dare not say she is guilty of attempting murder.”
Michael turned back to Kitty, giving her a stern look. “You stay put until we determine what to do with you.”
Only a few minutes passed before pair of constables came running up the front steps and into the front sitting room. They made short work of handcuffing Joseph and pulling him out of the room. He protested them, insulted them, shouting, and resisting their attempts the entire time. Michael felt embarrassed by his profanity, especially in front of all the ladies present.
“You will pay for this!” Joseph cried as he was finally dragged from the room. “I will not hang for this!”
As his shouting faded, Michael took a seat finally in the chair that Joseph had previously occupied. He ran his hand across his face, exhaustion catching up to him. He forced his eyes open to find Lydia watching him with concern. He smiled fondly at her, then realized that the rest of the family was still watching.
“We are terribly glad that you are safe,” Lydia’s mother told him. “You gave us quite a fright in your absence.”
“I should have known something was wrong when you did not return,” Lydia added, tears glistening in her eyes. His heart went to her and everything she had gone through that night.
“You must have been very scared, and very brave tonight,” Michael said gently.
Lionel came close to where Michael sat, drawing up a chair, interrupting the tender moment he was sharing with his new bride. Ranora sat in a chair in the back of the room, fuming with anger at the entire situation.
“I am terribly sorry that is how you found out,” Lionel told him, leaning forward on his knees. “I had hoped that you would never know the truth of your parentage.”
“I’m sure the shock of this evening is still settling in,” Michael guessed. “I have not quite processed what this all means yet.”
“It has been a big day,” Lydia’s mother agreed. “In just a few short hours you have been married, someone has tried to kill you, and you found out that your father is your uncle, and vice versa.”
Michael shook his head, trying to rid himself of the fuzziness inside.
“How do you plan to keep the secret of your parentage?” Francis asked from the corner of the room.
“What do you mean?” Michael asked, sitting back in his chair to level his gaze with Francis.
“Surely, news of your illegitimacy will get out,” he continued.
Michael glared at him. “What are you saying, viscount? Are you blackmailing me?”
“Good heavens, no,” Francis claimed, holding up his hands. “I just mentioned it would be a shame for anyone to find out that you are not rightfully the Duke of Marigold.”
“Uncle!” Lydia cried. “It does sound as though you are pressuring Michael.”
Francis shrugged, refusing to admit whether he was or not.
Michael sighed. “I simply cannot care about a single other thing tonight, or this morning. Whatever hour of the day it is. Viscount, if I must lay an allowance on you, I would. I’m sure that we will discuss many such things when finalizing my wife’s marriage contract. For now, keep your mouth shut about my parentage.”
He wiped his hands over his face and looked past Lionel to his aunt. “What about you, Aunt? Are you going to threaten me with exposure too?”
She had the good sense to look shocked. “Heavens, no. I should not want to be exposed to such a scandal. Having a son as an attempted murderer is enough ridicule for a lifetime. I could not bear the embarrassment of having a bastard nephew, especially by my own husband.”
Ranora’s speech made Michael laugh out loud, which caused her to glare at him.
“I’m terribly sorry,” he excused. “I do believe this morning’s adventures have caught up with me.”
He was thoughtful a moment, musing on the revelation. As much as he wanted nothing more than to take Lydia and return to his bed, he leaned forward again.
