Mine Till Midnight (The Hathaways #1)(67)

Amelia didn't look at him. She picked up a cup of tea with her free hand and took a careful sip.

"Mr. Rohan," she heard Beatrix ask, "are you going to marry my sister?"

Amelia choked on her tea and set the cup down. She sputtered and coughed into her napkin.

"Hush, Beatrix," Win murmured.

"But she's wearing his ring?

Poppy clamped her hand over Beatrix's mouth.

"Hush!"

"I might," Cam replied. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he continued. "I find your sister a bit lacking in humor. And she doesn't seem particularly obedient. On the other hand?

One set of French doors flew open, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass. Everyone on the back terrace looked up in startlement, the men rising from their chairs.

"No," came Win's soft cry.

Merripen stood there, having dragged himself from his sickbed. He was bandaged and disheveled, but he looked far from helpless. He looked like a maddened bull, his dark head lowered, his hands clenched into massive fists. And his stare, promising death, was firmly fixed on Cam.

There was no mistaking the bloodlust of a Roma whose kinswoman had been dishonored.

"Oh, God," Amelia muttered.

Cam, who stood beside her chair, glanced down at her questioningly. "Did you say something to him?"

Amelia turned red as she recalled her blood-spotted nightgown and the maid's expression. "It must have been servants' talk."

Cam stared at the enraged giant with resignation. "You may be in luck," he said to Amelia. "It looks as if our betrothal is going to end prematurely."

She made to stand beside him, but he pressed her back into the chair. "Stay out of this. I don't want you hurt in the fray."

"He won't hurt me," Amelia said curtly. "It's you he wants to slaughter."

Holding Merripen's gaze, Cam moved slowly away from the table. "Is there something you'd like to discuss, chal?" he asked with admirable self-possession.

Merripen replied in Romany. Although no one save Cam understood what he said, it was clearly not encouraging.

"I'm going to marry her," Cam said, as if to pacify him.

"That's even worse!" Merripen moved forward, murder in his eyes.

Lord St. Vincent swiftly interceded, stepping between the pair. Like Cam, he'd had his share of putting down fights at the gambling club. He lifted his hands in a staying gesture and spoke smoothly. "Easy, large fellow. I'm sure you can find a way to resolve your differences in a reasonable fashion."

"Get out of my way," Merripen growled, putting an end to the notion of civilized discourse.

St. Vincent's pleasant expression didn't change. "You have a point. There's nothing so tiresome as being reasonable. I myself avoid it whenever possible. Still, I'm afraid you can't brawl when there are ladies present. It might give them ideas."

Merripen's scorching black stare flickered to the Hathaway sisters, lingering an extra second on Win's pale, delicate face. She gave him an infinitesimal shake of her head, silently willing him to relent. To reconsider.

"Merripen? Amelia began scratchily. The scene was mortifying. But at the same time it moved her that Merripen was so protective of her honor.

Cam silenced her with a touch on the shoulder. He leveled a cool stare at Merripen and said, "Not in front of the gadjos." Jerking his head in the direction of the back gardens, he headed to the stone staircase.

After a brooding hesitation, Merripen followed.

Chapter Seventeen

When the pair was out of sight, Lord Westcliff spoke to St. Vincent. "Perhaps we should follow at a distance to prevent them from killing each other."

St. Vincent shook his head, relaxing in his chair. He reached for his Evie's hand and began to play with her fingers. "Believe me, Rohan has the situation well in hand. His opponent may be a bit larger, but Rohan has the considerable advantage of having grown up in London, where he's interacted with criminals and remarkably violent brutes." Smiling at his wife, he added, "And those are just our employees."

Amelia had no fears for Cam's sake. A fight between the two men would be like wielding a cudgel against a rapier... the rapier, with its superior grace and adroitness, would win. But that outcome brought its own perils. With the possible exception of Leo, the Hathaways were intensely fond of Merripen. The girls wouldn't find it easy to forgive someone who had harmed him. Especially Win.

Glancing at her sister, Amelia began to say something consoling, when she realized that Win's expression was not one of fear or helplessness.

Win was annoyed.

"Merripen has been injured," Win said. "He should be resting, not chasing about after Mr. Rohan."

"It's not my fault he got out of his sickbed!" Amelia protested in an indignant whisper.

Win's blue eyes narrowed. "You've done something to stir everyone up. And it's fairly obvious that whatever you did, Mr. Rohan was involved."

Poppy, who was listening avidly, couldn't resist adding, "Intimately involved."

The two older sisters glanced at her and said in unison,

"Shut up, Poppy."

Poppy frowned. "I've been waiting my entire life for Amelia to stray from the straight and narrow. Now that it's happened, I'm going to enjoy it."