Lady Gone Wicked (Wicked Secrets)(7)

I’ll take care of everything.

That, she thought sleepily, was a very good idea.

If only Alice could save her from Nick.





Chapter Six


A knock on the door came hard and loud early the next morning, startling Nick with its urgency. The blade slipped, causing a sharp sting on his chin, but he paid it no mind. That knock could only mean one thing. He strode to the door and wrenched it open.

“Adel—” He swallowed the rest of the word as he came face-to-face with his confounded brother. “Oh. You.”

Nathaniel stared at him. “What happened to your chin?”

“My chin?” Nick felt the sting again and touched his finger to the spot. It came back red and sticky. “You happened, damn you.”

Nathaniel followed him inside and shut the door. “You shave yourself?”

Nick gave him a withering glance and put a cloth to his chin to stem the bleeding. “We cannot all be heir to an earldom. Some of us are mere misters.”

“You are such an ass,” Nathaniel grumbled. “Don’t tell me you can’t afford a valet, because I know Father offered you an allowance. It’s enough to support you quite comfortably.”

“I didn’t want his damned money.” Nick shrugged. “I’d much rather make my own.”

A look of supreme annoyance crossed Nathaniel’s face, but he shook his head. “No, I won’t let you bait me, brother. We have important matters to discuss.”

“Such as?”

“Such as one Miss Adelaide Bursnell, identical twin of my betrothed. Presumed dead until eight hours ago, when she suddenly appeared on my father’s doorstep very much alive…although slightly worse for wear.” Nathaniel crossed his arms and cocked his head. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Of course not,” Nick said, deliberately making the truth sound like a lie.

Nathaniel studied him with narrowed eyes. “Liar.”

Nick grinned.

Still. As it happened, he knew very little about Adelaide’s miraculous appearance, and that vexed him greatly. Shortly after his return to Hampshire to hunt a dangerous spy—who had mistakenly attempted to assassinate Nathaniel instead—he had discovered Adelaide.

But that had raised more questions than it answered. It had been a year since the birth, and her family had believed her to be dead the entire time. Where had she been? What had she done for money? How the devil had a lady—raised to be decorative rather than useful—managed to survive for a full year on her own?

She couldn’t have.

So, who had helped her?

And, most important of all, why had she chosen now for her resurrection?

“Her family mourned her for a year. Hell, their entire town in Northumberland believed her dead.” Nathaniel raked a hand through his hair. “How will she account for that year? If anyone discovers she is alive and without a husband, her reputation will be in tatters, and she’ll take Alice’s down with her.”

“What is that to you?” Nick asked curiously. He hadn’t pegged his brother as the sort to cry off and leave a lady to the wolves of society—especially considering he and Nick had recently come to blows over that very thing—but if Nathaniel did that, he would hardly be the first hypocrite to inherit a title.

His brother gave him a baffled look. “Alice wouldn’t like it, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Nick dabbed the cloth on his chin and looked at it. No, still bleeding. He pressed it to the cut again. “Are you here to defend the lady’s honor? Challenge me to another duel, perhaps?”

“You will marry her, Nick.”

“If she asks nicely.”

His brother took a menacing step forward, and if Nick had not spent the past half decade facing down much more dangerous beasts, he might be quite alarmed. Really. Apparently, Nate was in no mood for teasing.

“I take it you are not aware of our agreement, then?” Nick waited for a response, but his brother merely watched him silently. “After Adelaide shot me, we decided that our best course of action is marriage. Upon our return to London, I will court her for a proper amount of time, and then we will marry.”

Or, better still, they would not marry. But there was no need to share that small detail.

“Why not marry now, with a special license?” Nathaniel asked, still eyeing him with suspicion. “Why wait? Why risk someone from Northumberland recognizing her in London? It is not inconceivable. Many families are here for the season.”

Nick hiked his brows. “Your own engagement was only just announced. How would it look, do you suppose, if Adelaide and I were to marry first, in all haste, while you and Alice take your time? Before either of us had set foot in a London ballroom? Do you think that would help her reputation?”

Nathaniel paused. “Good point.”

“Yes, I thought so.”

He pulled the cloth from his chin, again checking the cut. The bleeding had stopped, finally. “Was there anything else, or can you see yourself out?”

Nathaniel didn’t answer. He was contemplating the floorboards, frowning. Suddenly, he blinked and looked up. “She shot you?”

“Indeed.”

His brother rocked on his heels as he surveyed him from head to toe. “You don’t look like a man who’s been shot.”