Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom(106)

Griffin scoffed at him. “What a load of rot. That’s what you do, Dominic. You control the flow of information so you can keep us all dancing like puppets on the end of a string.” His gaze jumped to Justine, freezing her, before returning to the other man. “It’s what you did with us, wasn’t it? Why did you bring Justine into this household? Surely you could have found someone more suited to the task, couldn’t you? Someone not as likely to be harmed by her association with me. Why, then, didn’t you?”

The logical part of her knew it was a very good question—she’d thought of it herself—but it was not one Dominic was likely to answer. Besides, if she didn’t break the spiraling tension in the room, the fur would begin to fly and the results would be ugly.

“Yes, that’s all very interesting,” she said, “but we seem to be wandering away from the point.”

They both stared at her as if they’d momentarily forgotten she was there. Or as if she’d lost her wits. Probably the latter.

“I mean the immediate point, which is to secure the baby’s safety. That should be our first order of business, don’t you think?” she asked.

Dominic broke first, reaching over to pat her hand. “Thank you for reminding us, Justine. The baby’s safety, as well as yours, is our immediate concern, is it not, Griffin?”

His voice held a taunting note that reminded her of how very annoying and childish men could be. But it was unexpected in Dominic, and it told her just how much Griffin had managed to ruffle him.

Griffin crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course I agree, but don’t think you’ll be avoiding my questions forever, Dominic. We will have this discussion whether you wish it or not.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dominic responded in a blighting tone. “But if you wish to speak with me when you return to London, I shall place myself at your disposal.”

Griffin murmured something under his breath that sounded like bloody bastard, but Justine chose to ignore it.

“Well, now that we have that settled,” she said in a bright tone, “what’s next? If we are leaving town today, I still have to pack and help Rose with the babies.”

“Rose will be coming with us,” Griffin responded. “But she’ll be leaving little Sammy behind. We need to draw as little attention as possible. Keeping one baby under wraps is difficult enough. Keeping two is well-nigh impossible, so I’ve instructed her to make other arrangements for her son’s keeping for the next few weeks.”

She stared at him, aghast. “Griffin, how can you think to separate her from her baby like that? She’s still weaning him.”

He sighed and rubbed the spot between his eyebrows, suddenly looking tired. Clearly, the night was finally starting to catch up with him. “My love, I do wish you would have more faith in me. Rose informs me that Sammy is now fully weaned, and that her mother can care for him for the next few weeks. In fact,” he added sarcastically, “Rose made a point of telling me that only having one baby to nurse will seem like a rare treat.”

Justine winced with guilt. What with all the excitement these last few days, she’d shifted most of Stephen’s care onto Rose. “That’s my fault. I haven’t been doing my share, but I’ll correct that.”

“You will not,” Griffin said, now looking both annoyed and tired. “I will not have my wife playing nursemaid. If we need more help, we’ll hire it when we’re set up in the country.”

She frowned. “That hardly makes sense given that we’re trying to keep the baby’s presence a secret. I’m perfectly capable of looking after him.”