“He’s the earl now,” Lady Vickers responded, flicking her fingers in Sebastian’s direction. “And he’ll be
a damn sight more palatable than Robert here.”
Robert, Annabel thought, looking down at Lord Newbury. She hadn’t even known his given name. It seemed strange, somehow. The man had wanted to marry her, he’d attacked her, and then he’d died at her feet. And she hadn’t even known his name.
For a moment they all just stared down at him. Finally, Lady Vickers said, “Damn, he’s fat.”
Annabel slammed a hand against her mouth, trying not to laugh. Because it wasn’t funny. It wasnot funny.
But shereally wanted to laugh.
“I don’t think we will be able to get him down to the saloon without waking half the house,” Sebastian said. He looked over at Lady Vickers. “I don’t suppose you know where his room is.”
“At least as far as the saloon. And right next to the Challises. You’ll never get him in without waking them up.”
“I was going to wake my cousin,” Seb told her. “With one more person we might be able to do it.”
“We won’t be able to move him with five more people,” Lady Vickers retorted. “Not quietly, anyway.”
Annabel stepped forward. “Maybe if we…”
But her grandmother cut her off with a sigh worthy of the Covent Garden stage. “Go ahead,” she said, waving an arm to the connecting door. “Put him in my bed.”
“What?” Annabel gasped.
“We’ll just have to let everyone think he died having his way with me.”
“But—but—” Annabel gaped at her grandmother, then looked at Lord Newbury, and then at Sebastian, who appeared to be speechless.
Sebastian. Speechless. Apparently, this was what it took.
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Lady Vickers said, clearly irritated with their lack of action. “It’s not as if we haven’t done it before.”
Annabel sucked in her breath so hard she choked. “You…what?”
“It was years ago,” her grandmother replied, snapping her hand in the air as if batting away a fly. “But everybody knew about it.”
“And you wanted me tomarry him?”
Lady Vickers planted her hands on her hips and stared Annabel down. “Do you really think now is the time to make complaints? Besides, he wasn’t that bad, if you know what I mean. And your uncle Percival turned out quite nicely.”
“Oh my God,” Annabel moaned. “Uncle Percy.”
“Is apparentlymy uncle Percy,” Sebastian said, shaking his head.
“Cousin, I should think,” Lady Vickers said briskly. “Now then, are we going to move him or not? And I still haven’t heard either one of you thanking me for throwing myself on the bayonet here, so to speak.”
It was true. As much as her grandmother had got her into this mess, insisting that Annabel marry Lord Newbury in the first place, she was certainly doing her best to get her out of it. There would be a terrific scandal, and Annabel didn’t even want to begin to imagine the cartoons and caricatures that would appear in the gossip papers. Although somehow she suspected her grandmother wouldn’t mind a little notoriety in her old age.
“Thank you,” Sebastian said, apparently finding his voice first. “It is much appreciated, I am sure.”
“Come along, come along.” Lady Vickers made littleget to it motions with her hands. “He’s not going to move himself into my bed.”
Sebastian grabbed his uncle under the arms again, and Annabel moved to his feet, but as she wrapped her hands around his ankles and began to lift, she heard a very peculiar sound. And when she looked up, her eyes wide with horror at what this had to mean…
Newbury’s eyes opened.
Annabel shrieked, and she dropped him.
“Almighty God,” her grandmother cried out. “Did neither of you check to see if he was even dead?”
“I just assumed,” Annabel protested. Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t seem to slow her breathing down. She sagged against the edge of the bed. It was like the time her brothers had thrown sheets over their heads and jumped out in front of her on All Hallows’ Eve, only a thousand times worse. A thousand thousand.
Lady Vickers turned her glare on Sebastian.
“I believed her,” he said, setting Lord Newbury’s head gently back down on the carpet. They all peered over him. His eyes had closed again.
“Is he dead again?” Annabel asked.
“If you’re lucky,” her grandmother said acerbically.
Annabel shot a frantic look at Sebastian. He was already staring at her, with an expression that clearly said,You didn’t check?
She tried to answer with her own widened eyes and hand signals, but she had a feeling she wasn’t making herself clear, and finally Sebastian just said, “What are yousaying ?”
“I don’t know,” she moaned.
“You two are worthless,” Lady Vickers grumbled. She marched forward and then crouched down.
“Newbury!” she barked. “Wake up.”
Annabel chewed on her lip and glanced nervously at the door. They had long since stopped trying to be quiet.
“Wake up!”
Lord Newbury started to make a moaning, mumbling sort of sound.
“Robert,” Lady Vickers snapped, “wake up.” She slapped him across the face. Hard.
Annabel looked up at Sebastian. He seemed as stunned as she was, and just as happy to let her grandmother take the lead.
Lord Newbury’s eyes opened again, fluttering like a sick cross between butterflies and jellyfish. He choked and gasped, trying to prop himself up on his elbows. He looked at Lady Vickers, his eyes making a few last incredulous blinks before he said, “Margaret?”
She slapped him again. “Idiot!”
He fell back down. “What the hell?”
“She is my granddaughter, Robert,” Lady Vickers hissed. “My granddaughter! How dare you!”
Every now and then, Annabel thought, her grandmother’s love for her shone through. Usually in the most peculiar ways.
“She was supposed to marry me,” Lord Newbury sputtered.
“And now she’s not. That doesn’t give you license toattack her.”
Annabel felt Sebastian’s hand slip into hers, warm and comforting. She gave it a squeeze.
“She tried to kill me,” Newbury said.
“I did not!” Annabel lurched forward, but Sebastian tightened his grip on her hand, holding her back.
“Let your grandmother take care of this,” he murmured.
