Unaware of how much time passed, he rested with her until a movement in the doorway and a glow of light awakened him.
'Merripen.' Amelia's husky voice. She held a candle at the threshold.
Kev felt blindly for Win's cheek, laid his hand along the side of her face, and felt a thrill of panic as his fingers met cool skin. He felt for the pulse in her throat.
'Leo's fever has broken,' Amelia said. Kev could barely hear her over the blood rush in his ears. 'He's going to be well.'
A weak but steady throb lay beneath Kev's searching fingertips. Win's heartbeat… the pulse that sustained his universe.
Chapter Five
London, 1849
The addition of Cam Rohan to the Hathaway family had set the table for a new company. It was puzzling, how one person could change everything. Not to mention infuriating.
But then, everything was infuriating to Kev now. Win had gone to France, and there was no reason for him to be pleasant or even civil. Her absence had put him in the prowling fury of a wild creature deprived of its mate. He was always aware of his need for her, and the unendurable knowledge that she was somewhere far away and he couldn't reach her.
Kev had forgotten how this felt, this black hatred of the world and all its occupants. It was an unwelcome reminder of his boyhood, when he'd known nothing but violence and misery. And yet the Hathaways all seemed to expect him to behave as usual, to take part in the family routine, to pretend the Earth had gone on spinning.
The only thing that kept him sane was the knowledge of what she would want him to do. She would want him to take care of her sisters. And refrain from killing her new brother-in-law.
Kev could hardly stand the bastard.
The rest of them adored him. Cam Rohan had come and swept Amelia, a determined spinster, completely off her feet. Seduced her, as a matter of fact, which Kev still hadn't forgiven him for. But Amelia was entirely happy with her husband, even though he was half Rom.
None of them had ever met anyone quite like Rohan, whose origins were as mysterious as Kev's own. For most of his life, Rohan had worked at a gentlemen's gaming club, Jenner's, eventually becoming a factotum and then owning a small interest in the highly lucrative business. Burdened with a growing fortune, he had invested it as badly as possible to spare himself the supreme embarrassment of being a Gypsy with money. It hadn't worked. The money kept coming, every foolish investment returning miraculous dividends. Rohan sheepishly called it his good-luck curse.
But as it turned out, Rohan's curse was useful, since taking care of the Hathaways was an expensive proposition. Their family estate in Hampshire, which Leo had inherited last year along with his title, had burned down recently and was being rebuilt. And Poppy needed clothes for her London season, and Beatrix wanted to go to finishing school. On top of that, there were Win's clinic bills. As Rohan had pointed out to Kev, he was in a position to do a great deal for the Hathaways and that should be reason enough for Kev to tolerate him.
Therefore, Kev tolerated him.
Barely.
'Good morning,' Rohan said cheerfully, coming into the dining area of the family's suite at the Rutledge Hotel. They were already halfway through breakfast. Unlike the rest of them, Rohan was not an early riser, having spent most of his life in a gambling club where there was activity at all hours of the night. A town Gypsy, Kev thought with contempt.
Freshly washed and dressed in gadjo clothes, Rohan was exotically handsome, with dark hair worn a shade too long and a diamond stud sparkling in one ear. He was lean and supple, with an easy way of moving. Before taking the chair next to Amelia, he leaned down to kiss her head, an open display of affection that caused her to color. There had been a time in the not-too-distant past when Amelia would have disapproved of such demonstrations. Now she merely blushed and looked bemused.
Kev scowled down at his half-finished plate.
'Are you still sleepy?' he heard Amelia ask Rohan.
'At this rate, I won't be fully awake until noon.'
'You should try some coffee.'
'No, thank you. I can't abide the stuff.'
Beatrix spoke then. 'Merripen drinks lots of coffee. He loves it.'
'Of course he does,' Rohan said. 'It's dark and bitter.' He grinned as Kev gave him a warning glance. 'How are you faring this morning, phral
'Don't call me that.' Although Kev didn't raise his voice, there was a savage note in it that gave everyone pause.
After a moment, Amelia spoke to Rohan in a deliberately light tone. 'We're going to the dressmaker's today, Poppy and Beatrix and I. We'll probably be gone till supper.' While Amelia went on to describe the gowns and hats and fripperies they would need, Kev felt Beatrix's small hand creep over his.
'It's all right,' Beatrix whispered. 'I miss them, too.'
At sixteen, the youngest Hathaway sibling was at that vulnerable age between childhood and adulthood. A sweet-natured little scamp, she was as inquisitive as one of the many pets she had accumulated. Since Amelia's marriage to Rohan, Beatrix had been begging to go to finishing school. Kev suspected she had read one too many novels featuring heroines who acquired airs and graces at 'academies for young ladies.' He was doubtful that finishing school would turn out well for the free-spirited Beatrix.
Letting go of his hand, Beatrix turned her attention back to the conversation, which had progressed to the subject of Rohan's latest investment.
It had become something of a game to Rohan to find an investment opportunity that wouldn't succeed. The last time he had tried it, he had bought a London rubber manufactory that was failing badly. As soon as Cam purchased it, however, the company had acquired patent rights for vulcanization and had invented something called the rubber band. And now people were buying millions of the things.
'… this one is sure to be a disaster,' Cam was saying. 'There is a pair of brothers, both of them blacksmiths, who have come up with a design for a man-powered vehicle. They call it a volocycle. Two wheels set on a tubular steel frame, propelled by pedals you push with your feet.'
'Only two wheels?' Poppy asked, perplexed. 'How could one ride it without falling over?'
'The driver would have to balance his center of mass over the wheels.'
'How would one turn the vehicle?'
'More importantly,' Amelia said in a dry tone, 'how would one stop it?'
'By the application of one's body to the ground?' Poppy suggested.
Cam laughed. 'Probably. We'll put it into production, of course. Westcliff says he's never seen a more disastrous investment. The volocycle looks uncomfortable as the devil, and requires balance far beyond the abilities of the average man. It won't be affordable, or practical. After all, no sane man would choose to pedal along the street on a two-wheeled contraption in lieu of riding a horse.'
'It sounds quite fun, though,' Beatrix said wistfully.
'It's not an invention a girl could try,' Poppy pointed out.
'Why not?'
'Our skirts would get in the way.'
'Why must we wear skirts?' Beatrix asked. 'I think trousers would be ever so much more comfortable.'
Amelia looked appalled and amused. 'These are observations best kept in the family, dear.' Picking up a glass of water, she raised it in Rohan's direction. 'Well, then. Here's to your first failure.' She raised an eyebrow. 'I hope you're not risking the entire family fortune before we reach the dressmaker's?'
