Chapter 17 #2
The instant his father’s eyes narrowed at him, Theo’s heartbeat accelerated again.
It wasn’t often he was intimidated by his sire, but at the moment, he was beginning to feel like he was ten years old again and had been caught fighting in the dirt with Angus.
Theo glanced at his uncle, and his muscles cramped with painful tension.
Uncle Percy’s expression was as dark as his brother’s, but Theo thought his uncle was more worried than angry.
“You’ve not visited Melton House in almost a month, and you’ve missed the family dinner four times in a row,” Lord Melton said with a curtness Theo had only heard two or three times in his life. “Even prior to that, your visits to see your mother and me were growing more sporadic than usual.”
Theo swallowed hard at the harshly spoken words, scrambling to come up with a reasonable explanation for his comings and goings.
“I’ve been busy managing Melton Im—”
“So busy that you’ve not been seen at your townhouse in the past three weeks? Other than Jamie and Vincent lying for you, no one else has seen you.”
Theo winced at his father accusing his cousins of lying, and his father’s voice was calm, but icy with outrage.
He darted a quick look in his uncle’s direction, and Theo’s mouth went dry as Uncle Percy’s gaze narrowed on him with an astute look of assessment.
Knowing he was about to be put through the ring of fire, he rose from his chair and moved to stare out the window and down at the wharf.
“If this is about Genevieve, I have nothing to say.”
“Genevieve will be discussed in a moment. Right now, I’m referring to your regular excursions into the East End since Peter’s death.”
Shocked by his father’s words, Theo spun around to stare at him dumbfounded.
The earl waved his hand in the air in a silent command that demanded Theo give an honest reply, or there would be hell to pay.
Unwilling to reveal his connection to the Secret Intelligence Service, he grimaced with indecision, and his Uncle Percy cleared his throat.
“Perhaps now is the time to mention that I’ve experienced the an dara sealladh twice in the past week,” his Uncle Percy said with deep concern. “Both Peter and my brother Caleb have warned us that you and Genevieve are in grave danger.”
Stunned for a second time in less than two minutes, Theo slowly sank down in the desk chair to stare at his father and uncle in disbelief.
Fuck, Peter had reached out to Uncle Percy a second time.
And Uncle Caleb…the last time his deceased uncle had reached out from beyond the veil had been when his Aunt Louisa had first met Uncle Ewan years ago.
“Answer me, Theodore,” his father demanded, his voice harsh and forbidding. “Why have you consistently entered the East End since Peter’s death?”
“Forgive me, my lord, but I’m not at liberty to say.” At his soft reply, the earl sprang to his feet and looked at his brother.
“God help us,” Lord Melton snarled. “It’s true. All of it.”
Theo stiffened. What was true? His head began to ache as he struggled to determine whether they were talking about his having bedded Genevieve or something else.
Considering his uncle was here, he could only presume they were angry with him for having compromised Genevieve.
What other reason could there be for Uncle Percy’s presence?
If they were here because of Genevieve, any confrontation would end with his father and uncle insisting Theo marry her.
That was a command he’d agree to without hesitating, but Genevieve would balk at such an order.
Worse, she might even go to greater lengths by leaving home for parts unknown.
The question now was exactly how much they knew about Genevieve and him.
Schooling his features into an unreadable expression, he watched his father begin pacing the small office.
The earl’s focus had now switched to his brother.
“Suggestions?”
“They’re adults, Sebastian. We can’t control them.” Uncle Percy’s expression was grave with fear and pained resignation. Theo’s palms grew sweaty. Christ Jesus, his uncle wasn’t going to insist on him marrying Genevieve?
“And what are we to say to their mothers?” Clearly his father and uncle were worried about how his mother and Aunt Rhea would take the news of his having bedded Genevieve.
“We say nothing at the moment.” At his brother’s reply, Lord Melton glared at Theo’s uncle.
“Goddamnit, Percy, you know that’s not the answer. What do we tell our wives if any of them—” The earl shoved a hand through his hair as Theo’s uncle grew pale and the earl eyed his brother with deep regret. “Forgive me, Percy.”
Theo’s uncle gave a slight wave of his hand in the eldest Rockwood’s direction. The two men were silent for a long moment, although Theo’s father continued to pace the office floor. Theo frowned with confusion.
Was it possible their questioning wasn’t about him and Genevieve at all?
Could they be talking about something entirely different?
His Uncle Percy had stated Peter had reached out to him.
Had Peter told Uncle Percy that he’d not been alone in being the only member of the family working for the Crown?
That kind of information would upset anyone’s mother.
The earl came to an abrupt halt and whirled around to face Theo.
“I’m going to ask you a question, Theodore, and I want an honest answer. If you prevaricate or attempt to dodge answering the question, I’ll make you rue the day your mother gave birth to you. Do I make myself clear?”
There was a tortured light in his father’s eyes that shook Theo to the core.
His father was afraid, and in that moment, he knew what his father was upset about.
The Earl of Melton knew his son was spying for the Crown.
Theo nodded his understanding of his father’s demand, and the earl drew in a ragged breath.
“Are you doing intelligence work for the Crown, Lord Selbourne?” The earl’s jaw was hard with tension as he asked the question, and a tic had appeared in his cheek. Theo answered his father’s question with a solemn nod.
“Yes, my lord.”
The moment Theo spoke, the Earl of Melton swayed on his feet before he returned to his chair and sank down into the cushions, his face drained of color.
Alarmed by his sire’s sudden state of despair, Theo quickly pulled open the side drawer of his desk and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of whisky.
He poured the liquor into the glasses and offered them to his father and uncle.
To his surprise and dismay, the Earl’s hands were trembling as he accepted the whisky.
The sight brought Genevieve’s words back to him.
He was the heir to the Melton title, and Angus was the only other son his parents had to pass the earldom on to.
Guilt assailed him. It was something Genevieve had understood, and a vise wrapped around his chest.
It wasn’t just her past that had made Genevieve refuse him, it was her belief he needed to produce an heir.
But even if nothing happened to him, she was the only woman he would ever take as a wife.
The Rockwood line would live on through Angus’s children, Tilly’s son, or even one of his cousins.
He loved Genevieve far too much to marry someone else, all for the sake of an heir.
“Father, I know you’re worried, but I’m taking every precaution—”
“Peter took every precaution, too,” Percy Rockwood snarled. “And to think Genevieve…Christ almighty, to think she went back into that hellhole after escaping it years ago.”
“You know about Genevieve?” Theo choked out.
“Not everything, but we know Genevieve is involved,” Theo’s father said in an appalled voice, while he rubbed a hand down over his face.
“Although Jamie and Vincent haven’t confirmed their activities connected to the Crown, they’ve been covering for you, which means they must be involved. Am I correct?”
“Yes, my lord.” At Theo’s soft reply, the earl stiffened as if preparing himself for bad news.
“Your brother?” There was a note of stark fear in his father’s voice as he met Theo’s gaze.
“No, my lord. I won’t let him, and anyone working for the foreign section who knows him have been instructed not to tell him. He’s to remain in the dark as to what we’re doing.” Theo’s answer made his father sag in his chair in obvious relief.
“How long has Genevieve been working for the Crown?” Percy Rockwood demanded harshly, although Theo could hear the pain and horror in his uncle’s voice.
Theo didn’t reply, not wanting to cause Uncle Percy any further pain or fear.
But when the earl scowled at him, Theo met his uncle’s fearful gaze with regret.
“She was gathering intelligence for the Crown before Peter’s death.
” At his reply, his uncle’s face paled to a color one might see on a corpse.
Theo grimaced with regret at having cause more distress to his uncle, and continued.
“At the time, C was the only one who knew what she was doing. When Peter discovered she was working for the foreign section, he told her he would see to it she wouldn’t be allowed to work for the Crown. ”
“C? You mean Cummings?” his father burst out in an angry tone. “The bastard actually agreed to letting her spy for him?
“You know how persuasive Genevieve can be, and it’s a rare man who can say no to her when she sets her mind to do something.
The man really had no choice,” Theo said with frustration.
“Genevieve threatened to return to the East End whether C allowed her to join the service or not.
At least he had some control over her actions if she was working for him, but he made the mistake of allowing her to go in without a partner.
“Without a partner? Without backup?”
Percy Rockwood’s voice was an explosion of thunder that ricocheted off the walls of the small office. The Earl of Melton grabbed his brother by the arm and squeezed it hard.