Chapter 10 #3
“Now, Counselor,” the chancellor continued, “unless you have actual evidence of Miss Bernard being his lordship’s mistress, I suggest you stick to the things you have actual evidence for. Which, right now, doesn’t seem to be much.”
It dawned on Giselle that although there had been rumors of Heath’s affair with Mrs. Lane, that had been in his early years at Verdun.
Giselle looked more closely at the other women.
It was not as many as she’d have expected.
And some were far older than she, which she assumed was because they had only been friendly with Heath in his youth.
She was not the only one to notice. Mr. Pitney, during his cross-examination, asked, “Your Honor, could you have the ladies state their ages and exactly when they were . . . er . . . intimate with his lordship?”
As they began to do so, it became apparent that four had only been involved with Heath before he had gone to France and then only briefly.
She did some calculations in her head and realized he had only been sixteen then.
She shook her head. No wonder his parents had despaired of him.
He had begun sowing his wild oats young.
The two détenu women had been married, although both were widowed now. When they gave the dates of their involvement, it was around the same time when he had first kissed her. She remembered only too well how even then he had been quite handsome, flirtatious, witty, clever . . .
Lord, it was no wonder he had drawn so many women to him. He had been a strapping stallion. Still was, if she were honest, but with a greater measure of restraint.
Except when it came to her.
I knew I’d never be able to keep my hands off you the rest of the night if I got the chance to hold you in my arms for the space of one . . . damned . . . dance!
A sigh escaped her. The man did have a way with words. Not to mention, a way with kisses. And caresses. Perhaps Maman was right—he was a débauché.
Then again, he’d had many chances to whisk her away somewhere private and take her innocence, and he had not done so. He really had been trying hard not to “debauch” her. That showed him to have more character than Mr. Yates seemed to think.
Mr. Pitney went on to assert that very thing, providing for the chancellor the evidence that Mr. Yates’s attorney had not.
He offered as witnesses tenants of Heath’s who sang his praises for how much he had improved their situation since his return to England.
He had evidence that Heath was solvent, that Heath was helping the détenus by hiring them, that Heath owned several solid properties.
He emphasized that Heath was soon to be married, giving the boys the softening influence of a female in the household.
He even pointed out Giselle’s strong connection to the very respectable Duke and Duchess of Falconridge, who invited her to their home frequently, not something they would do for the mistress of anyone.
While that was true, it did worry her. What if someone made the connection between her and the “old tutor who taught her English,” the way Jon had done before he learned the truth?
Good Lord, what if anyone learned the truth? Heath did not seem to think it could happen, but she was not so certain. She would not for the world want anyone to make sordid assumptions about her father. That would hurt her half sister deeply.
She forced herself to put that fear aside, so she could hear what the lawyer was saying.
Mr. Pitney was showing how, as an older brother, Heath’s shepherding his young brothers through the difficult years of adolescence would have far more impact on their future—especially Evan’s as heir presumptive—than their distant cousin could possibly have.
By the time Mr. Pitney was done with his evidence, he had nearly elevated Heath to sainthood. So, it was no surprise to anyone that the chancellor granted Heath’s petition to be made guardian of nurture to the three boys.
Heath’s expression of relief bolstered Heath’s earlier claim that he wanted his brothers so he could guide them in life and not for any financial reason.
Yet when Mr. Pitney asked if the chancellor could also make Heath the boys’ guardian of common law, enabling him to oversee their finances, the chancellor refused.
“The boys’ father chose Mr. Yates for a reason,” the chancellor said, “and until Lord Heathbrook can show cause to have Mr. Yates removed as guardian of common law, Mr. Yates shall remain in that capacity. Court is adjourned until such time as one of the parties has more evidence to present.”
And that was that. Heath gave her hand a quick squeeze and a half smile. After all, he had expected the second pronouncement, so she knew he could not be too disappointed over it. This was only the beginning of his struggle as he had described it to her.
When Heath led Giselle and her mother out of the courtroom, followed by Mr. Pitney, they came upon Mr. Yates and his lawyer and the boys.
Mr. Pitney offered to take Madame Bernard home so they would have more room in Heath’s carriage for the boys. “Thank you,” Heath said as Giselle explained that in French to her mother, who agreed to the plan since she was already tired from the long day.
Keeping Giselle’s hand firmly in place on his arm, Heath walked over to his cousin. “We will be leaving for Longmead in the morning, Yates, so I would appreciate it if you could have the boys’ things packed and sent over to my town house tonight. I will be taking them back there with me now.”
“Of course,” his cousin said in the same stiff-necked manner he’d had in the park. He turned to the boys. “Evan, will you accompany the lads out to my coach and make sure none of you left your belongings in it?”
“Of course, cousin,” Evan said, and ushered his brothers down the hall to the entrance.
Mr. Yates waited until the boys were gone before stepping close to Heath. “If you do anything to hurt those lads, I will drag you back to court and make you pay,” the man surprised Giselle by saying.
“I’d never hurt them,” Heath protested. “They’re my brothers, for God’s sake.”
“Being their brother doesn’t automatically make you a man of good character.”
“Being Mother’s cousin doesn’t automatically make you one, either.”
Mr. Yates held himself stiffly. “Your father didn’t want you to have them.”
A muscle worked in Heath’s jaw. “My father made that decision based on who I’d been at sixteen, not who I became. I am a man now and not the boy I was then.”
“I certainly hope so,” Mr. Yates said. “Otherwise, I swear we’ll be back here in a month.”
As he walked away, she heard Heath say under his breath, “Oh, we will definitely be back here in a month, you arse. You won’t get away with what you’ve been doing heretofore with their money.”
“Are you all right, Heath?” Giselle asked. “You seem very agitated still. You have the boys now. Are you not happy?”
He ran his free hand through his hair. “I am, truly I am.” He smiled faintly at her. “I just don’t like that he tried to slander you in court.”
“His lawyer tried to slander me in court. It might not have been your cousin’s idea.”
Heath snorted. “Believe that if you want, but I don’t.”
“Yes, I know. But he does seem to have the boys’ best interests at heart.” She nodded over to where Mr. Yates was shaking hands with each boy in turn. When he held out his hand to Zachary, the boy threw his arms about the man’s waist, and Mr. Yates actually looked choked up as he hugged the lad.
“He may be stiff and formal sometimes, but Yates is the only father of any kind Zachary even remembers,” she said softly.
“You don’t think I realize that?” Heath said in a pained voice as he, too, watched the boys saying their goodbyes.
“I’ve been so focused on getting them back that it’s just beginning to dawn on me I don’t know a damned thing about raising children.
Hell, I was hardly around any in Verdun, and certainly not in Bitche. ”
“True. But except for Zachary, they are not really children anymore. They are young men. And you, of all people, should know how a young man ought to be raised. Clearly, you think your papa did a terrible job of it.”
“Who’s to say I won’t do the same?” Reaching over to squeeze her hand where it lay on his arm, he said, “What if I botch it? Yates has already ensured that they are wary of me. How on earth am I going to change that?”
“By being their older brother. You are not their papa, so do not try to be that. Instead, be their sympathetic brother. Listen to them. Ask them questions about what they want and need.” She patted his arm.
“Most importantly, try not to lose your temper. It is important that they see you restraining it.”
He gazed at her a long moment. “When did you get to be so wise?”
She blushed. “No one ever calls me wise.”
“Doesn’t mean that you’re not.”
Determined not to let him see how gratified she was by the compliment, she went on the offensive. “You will not think so later when I demand to know exactly how many women you have been intimate with in your thirty years.”
He gave a start. “What makes you think there were more than the six who were in court today?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please do not take me for a fool. A man does not gain a reputation like yours by being with only six women.”
He shook his head ruefully and lowered his voice. “Then it’s a good thing we aren’t really marrying. Because you have an uncanny ability to root out a man’s worst behavior.”
“I do. What is more, that kind of ability only improves with age.” She smiled coyly. “And you had best not forget it, sir.”