the hope of keeping Ruby from finding where he’d gone too soon. He didn’t want her to hear what he had to say to her uncle.
“You unfeeling bastard,” Hector growled.
Lord Vyne’s head snapped up from the papers he’d been reading on his desk. “I beg your pardon.”
“Don’t pretend. You just couldn’t for once be a decent human being.” Hector spared a single glance for Blackwood, but Vyne was the one he wanted to gut right now. He’d pondered the sudden abduction attempt all night and concluded Mr. Roper simply did not have the ability to abduct his own grandson without help. Vyne had to be behind the abduction himself. “How could you try to send Pip away from her?”
Lord Vyne, seated still, put his hands on the arms of his chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lie. “You waited till dinner when the servants were busy below and used Blackwood as a distraction to keep Ruby away from the child.”
Blackwood rose from his chair. “What child?”
“Ruby has a son, born within a marriage the family never approved of. While you were being charmed after dinner, Blackwood, I returned upstairs, only to be confronted by two assailants. They were trying to abduct Ruby’s boy. I would bet they were here on his orders.”
Vyne’s face mottled red.
Blackwood moved to stand by Hector’s side, looking down at the earl with disdain. “I don’t recall you ever mentioning Mrs. Roper’s offspring. In fact, you implied she was unencumbered.”
“Vyne likely thought the existence of the boy would scare you off.”
“I like children.”
“Enough to become a father to Pip?”
“No, I am not in a position to do that. Not for anyone,” Blackwood admitted. He folded his arms over his chest. “Now I understand why he kept throwing his niece at me instead of discussing when he’d be paying off his debt.”
“One has nothing to do with the other, I assure you,” Vyne promised. “Not that I was involved in any abduction.”
“Most likely, he wished to lessen his debt somehow by joining your family to his, delaying talks of any repayment to you for quite some time.”
Blackwood scowled. “Lord Vyne, I shall have to decline any delay to that repayment. I will accept full payment by luncheon today, and then I will be on my way. My wife is expecting me to reach home by Christmas Eve.”
Vyne gasped. “You’re married?”
“For some time, and I already have children. Six,” Blackwood promised.
Hector couldn’t help but laugh at Vyne’s shocked expression. “Congratulations. Six children and a wife, too. Imagine that.”
“Twin’s. Three sets of boys,” Blackwood said proudly. “I’ve kept my family far away from London and what goes on there, but they’ll be moving to the new estate soon.”
“How marvelous,” Hector exclaimed and it was the best news he’d ever heard.
Lord Vyne’s face was slowly turning purple and that was good, too.
“Congratulations to you, too,” Blackwood murmured. “I think Mrs. Roper will make an excellent wife for someone who can appreciate her best qualities and protect them.”
Hector nodded. “I’m sure she will marry well, and soon. But first, I need to make sure her uncle understands the error of his ways.”
Blackwood slapped Hector’s shoulder. “Do me a favor—don’t kill him. I can’t get money out of a dead man.”
“Oh, he’ll live, but not happily, I should think.”
“Oh, and while we’re confiding in each other—stay away from my sister once you marry. My sister is a complication you do not want in your life,” Blackwood suggested with a bland smile.
Hector had nearly forgotten all about kissing Blackwood’s sister. “I assure you, I will keep a distance,” he promised. He was done with all women—except Ruby.
He waited until Blackwood was gone before he faced Lord Vyne again. The man seemed decidedly uncomfortable and blessedly silent. Good. Hector had a few things to get off his chest. “For years, I’ve watched you manipulate those around you with no thought to their happiness.”
“The concerns of my family are no business of yours,” Vyne snapped.
“That’s where you are very wrong. I’m connected to your family now. My sister is about to deliver Clement’s first child.”
Vyne’s eyes were wide. “A grandchild?”
There was complete wonder in Vyne’s voice. Hector narrowed his eyes. “Well. Well. Well. Didn’t you know about the coming babe?”
Vyne sat up a little straighter. “No. My son is neglectful in his duties and failed to inform me.”
“I’m not surprised you’re the last to know.” He smiled coldly at Vyne. “Do you imagine Clement will allow you to spend any time with your grandchildren