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“Why must you take such vulgar modes of transport, Colter? You have a perfectly lovely carriage-and-four at your disposal. It’s unseemly to travel about London in hired hacks.”

Colter leaned forward, gave his mother the customary peck on her cheek. She smelled of lavender, a familiar, powdery fragrance he always associated with her. He straightened, a dark brow cocked.

“You make it sound as if I arrived in the butcher’s cart.”

“You might as well have.” Lady Moreland flicked an elegant hand at the maid to indicate where she wished her breakfast tray set. When the servant had gone, she turned to regard her son with an arched brow. “I’m pleased you found time to visit me. I began to wonder if I had offended you in some way.”

Colter braced one arm atop the mantel where a cheery fire burned behind brass firedogs. “You know why I don’t come more often.”

“Yes. I do.” She perched daintily upon an upholstered settee, still youthful and graceful despite her years. “Your father has inquired about you.”

“Has he.” Colter shifted restlessly. “Why?”

“Can a father not inquire about his son without undue suspicion?”

“Other fathers, perhaps. Not mine.” Colter moved past his mother to stare out the window into the gardens below. Stone statuary graced fading flower beds, and a fountain trickled cold water from a jug held by a Grecian goddess. Venus, he thought, though Attila the Hun would be more appropriate for the Moreland garden.

“Really, Colter,” his mother said behind him. “You should make more effort to compromise.”

He turned to face her. Thin sunlight streamed through the windows, creating an aura around Lady Moreland that was almost ethereal. She resembled an elegant stone angel, save for the faint lines of strain that fanned from the corners of her eyes. Her hand shook slightly as she poured hot chocolate into a cup; rich aromatic steam rose in wispy tendrils. She didn’t look at him, her attention focused upon the silver tray laden with biscuits, cake and serving ware.

He scowled at her obvious tension.

“What has he been on at you about? Don’t deny it. You can’t even look at me. Christ above, what tear is he on now that he’s upset you?”

Anger edged his words, made them hard and brittle so that his mother set down the china pot and folded her hands in her lap before she looked up at him.

“It’s that business with the East India company. The new docks that he’s financing have gone beyond the budget, and he’s convinced that his uncle is involved in a scheme to ruin him.”

“Given Philip’s propensity for idleness, I find that accusation unlikely.” Colter shrugged when his mother made a small sound of dismay. “You must admit all the animosity seems to come from my father. While Philip may resent the fact that my father inherited when fever took the first heir, he hides it well enough. And he’s too bloody lazy to scheme.”

“You shouldn’t talk about your great-uncle that way. Or your father, for that matter. Really, whatever has gotten into you lately? You were once quite pleasant. Now—”

“Now I’m the reckless Lord Northington, heir to a title and my father’s reputation. I can no longer afford to be pleasant. If Grandfather had only lived awhile longer, perhaps we could have all been set free. It was a damned nuisance that he contracted a fever and shared it with the only heir capable of decency. My father’s lucky star again, that he inherited after all.”

The countess looked distressed, and Colter cursed his harsh tongue. The same fever that had taken the sixth earl and an uncle had also taken his older brother Anthony, the heir, an unexpected death his mother still deeply mourned and his father cursed.

He crossed the small sitting room and sat beside his mother on the striped brocade settee in front of the fire.

“I’m in a wicked mood, ma mére. It has nothing to do with you. I’ll go up and see him before I leave. I always do, don’t I?”

“Yes.” Blue eyes not quite as bright as his stared at him with a searching penetration. “You always do your duty. You’re an honorable man.”

“Don’t let that get about. I want nothing to sully my reputation as a scoundrel and a rake, if you don’t mind. It’s much more convenient to have anxious mamas avoid me rather than push their horse-faced daughters in my direction.”

A faint smile touched the corners of her lips. “Not even your sullied reputation will divert some, I’m afraid. Your presence at a fête has been requested by one of my dearest friends, and I trust you won’t disappoint me.”

Colter lifted an ironic brow. “How grim.”

“Just make an appearance. You aren’t required to stay long.”

“Which of your friends is ruining my evening with a room filled with chattering ninnies, may I ask? Or do you intend to surprise me—God, it’s not Lady Throgmorton, I trust.”

“No, not even I would be so cruel as to make that demand of you. It’s Lady Leverton. She’s been my dear friend for some time. Her daughter was just presented to the prince and is to be wed next summer, but apparently wishes to enjoy the small Season. She also mentioned that her cousin’s daughter from the Colonies will be presented. A charming girl, I understand. Quiet, and not prone to giggling or stammering. I find that refreshing these days.”

Colter thought of Harvey and the young woman who had accompanied Lady Leverton. He was wrong. London was small enough for coincidences, after all.

And it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

“Since you ask it of me,” he said, and saw his mother’s surprise, “I’ll let you fling me to the wolves. Just don’t expect me to linger for the coup de grace.”

“Really, Colter.”

“Ah, now I’ve earned your reproach. I should offer my apologies to you.”

“Yes, you should. But all will be forgiven if you pay particular attention to Lady Leverton’s cousin. I’ve been assured she has excellent manners. Be charming enough to assure her success, but do not be too charming. No sense in giving the wrong impression to either the young lady or to Lady Leverton.”

“Now I see your plot. You’re a disgraceful schemer, and should be ashamed, but I see that you have no scruples at all. You know I hate to be charming.”

“But you do it so effortlessly when you choose.” Her smile was serene. “You surprise me, Colter. I thought it would take much more to wring an agreement from you.”

“You know I’ve never been able to refuse anything you ask of me.”

“Then I ask that you be agreeable to your father. Ah. I see that doesn’t get an immediate response from you. Are you more able to refuse me now?”

“Let’s just say I’d rather clean the Aegean stables. It would be less messy, and far more successful.”

Unperturbed by his observation, she said, “Excellent. Now, be so good as to visit your father before he sends Brewster down to fetch you. He’s already in a rare mood. Try not to quarrel with him.”

Rising to his feet, Colter regarded his mother for a brief moment. She sat erect as she always did, her bearing innately aristocratic. It was a posture he had come to associate with times of duress, an indication that the earl was behaving toward her with more than just his usual perversity. He bent over the hand she held out to him.

“I’ll visit the dragon, but I make no promises. He can hire whipping boys. I refuse to be one.”

“Just—” She paused, then said softly, “Just try to remember his illness.”

“His illness has little to do with his nature. If you prefer to forget that, I choose to remember.”

The countess said nothing, but her eyes held a sorrowful recognition of the truth. He felt like a bloody bastard reminding her of it.

The earl was irascible as always, made even more petulant by his chafing against the infirmity that kept him confined to his chamber most of the time. His valet, Brewster, hovered nearby, tending him solicitously despite the old man’s impatience.

“It’s about time you had the decency to answer my summons,” Moreland growled, glaring at Colter from beneath a heavy shelf of brow. “You’ve become damned insolent.”

“Yes. Is there something specific you wished to speak with me about?”

Moreland’s glare held evidence of his old vigor, but his hand shook as he gripped the coverlet over his legs with a knotted fist. “It may interest you to learn that one of our ships is apparently lost at sea with a valuable cargo. Or perhaps your business acumen isn’t sharp enough to understand what that means to our financial interests.”

The earl glared up at him, his insult left hanging in the air. Colter shrugged.

“No, probably not. Will it affect my inheritance?”

The earl’s jaw clenched; a muscle leaped beneath his pitted skin. “It should have been you who died instead of Anthony. He was a fitting heir, with a true sense of his heritage. Damn you, you’re your mother’s son—a weakling, a profligate without proper appreciation for the Moreland heritage!”

“Yes, I certainly agree with that. Tony should have been your heir. He aspired to your legacy, after all, while I prefer my amusements to be willing.”

Colter’s gaze was riveted on his father, but he heard the soft click of the closing door that indicated Brewster had deemed it wise not to be privy to this particular conversation. The valet was noted for his discretion, a wise habit that had kept him in the earl’s employ for the past twenty years.

“I never know what the bloody hell you’re talking about these days,” Moreland snapped. The bank of windows behind him filtered light that softened the earl’s sagging features but not his harsh tone. “You make these obscure remarks that are completely incomprehensible.”

“Yes, so it seems. Do you refer to the India, by any chance? It is reported to have gone down off the islands near Lubang. She was carrying a full cargo of spices and specie, according to my sources.”

Moreland snorted. “Which we can ill afford to lose. As you are a major shareholder in the company, and now the family representative, you must meet with the board. A cursed business. First, the docks have gone beyond budget and now this! We have creditors who’ll want an explanation for the ship’s loss.”

“No doubt. The obvious explanation will certainly not suffice. I presume Leatherwood has the ship’s manifests and budget reports I’ll need.”

“Yes. Placate the board, Northington. We must have time to recover from this loss. We can’t risk losing investors. It would cause far too many complications.” The earl squinted up at his son, his mouth set in a bitter slash. “I’ve often wondered if my father somehow knew the trouble it would cause me to have you on the board. If he’d only left me those crucial shares…”

As the earl’s voice trailed into silence, Colter reflected that his grandfather had certainly known what he was doing. The former earl had done what he could to curtail his heir’s access to the family fortune. As no doubt the present earl would continue to do to his own heir.

“Do not,” the earl added tersely, “speak of this to my uncle. The less Philip knows at the moment, the better I like it.”

“I wasn’t aware Philip was involved.”

“He’s not. Or shouldn’t be. But curse him, he manages to find out about my business affairs far too often, and I don’t trust him.”

“Such familial devotion,” Colter observed dryly.

“No more so than he’s exhibited for me. He has always thought the title should belong to him upon the death of my grandfather. ‘The younger son should inherit his father’s estate, not the grandson,’ he said. Rubbish!”

“So you claim, yet I’ve never heard a word spoken about it from Philip. He seems quite content with his inheritance. He enjoys being an idle gentleman.”

Moreland snorted. “Don’t be fooled by his pretense of complacence. You consider me ruthless, but I assure you that my uncle has refined the art.”

Colter didn’t reply. There had always been rivalry between the two men, and though Philip Worth—Lord Easton—may indeed be the epitome of a wastrel, Colter had never known him to act with any malice.

Unlike his father, who had acted with malice too many times to count.

The earl flapped a hand at his son, an indication he was being dismissed. Brewster returned to tend him, a silent, efficient valet fussing over the blanket draped over the earl as if there was no one else in the room, as if Colter had already departed.

He left the house without seeing his mother again, his boots echoing in the wide, empty cavern of the entrance hall, the gleaming black-and-white marble floors spotless and sterile. The quiet peace of the house was deceptive. Beneath the facade of serenity lurked a cesspool of anger and corruption. The earl thrived on it. Until his illness, he had instigated scandal and schemes without a shred of restraint. Only his wealth and title had saved him from ruin.

It fell to his son and heir—the unwanted heir—to walk a fine line between his father’s tainted reputation and the necessity of maintaining the facade without being tarnished by the same brush. Publicly he would not denounce his father, but privately, he did all he could to show his contempt for the man the earl had become. It had become a game of sorts between them. A serious game in which winner took all.

Christ, it was just as bitter a regret for him as for his father that Anthony had died from that fever. There were times he felt trapped, imprisoned and raging against the invisible bars of his cell.

He welcomed strife, welcomed a challenge, welcomed anything that would distract him. Why not? It was better than the reality of his situation, the trap that closed in around him a little more every day.

It wasn’t the mechanics entailed in the myriad technicalities of a vast shipping business that he found stifling, for that could be energizing if he was left to his own devices and decisions. But it was intolerable to be in the position of having his every decision supervised and examined as if he was still a schoolboy at Eton.

If not for his mother, he would have damned the title and the money and left long ago, taken the Grand Tour that Napoleon had denied him until His Majesty’s invitation to lead an army against the Corsican. It was not as he had first envisioned touring the Continent, with the smell of gunpowder and stench of death in his nostrils, the screams of dying men drowning out everything but the instinct to survive. He had learned the art of killing, refined it, then been sent home to be civilized once the war ended.

It was difficult. Acquired savagery still surfaced at times, still seethed beneath the thin veneer of civility. So he’d left England for a while, traveled, seen places in the world that were exotic and dangerous. He’d gone to South America, Spanish California and New Orleans in the American South, and when he’d come home at last, it was to find his entire life irrevocably changed.

Had he remained in England, he would probably have died of the same fever that had killed his brother. It was an ironic twist of fate that he’d survived legions of French while Anthony—the heir, the golden son—had died at home in his bed.

There were times Colter almost envied him.