Ambersley (Lords of London) Read Free Page B

doing?” From the shadows, an elegant woman clothed in mourning approached to stand behind the lad, her hands on his shoulders. The two shared a striking resemblance, not the least of which was the unfriendly look mirrored in both their eyes.
     
    Minton smiled. “Lady Vaughan? Forgive my intrusion at this hour. My name is Nigel Minton. I’m a solicitor, and I have business to discuss with the heirs of Reginald Vaughan.”
     
    “ He wants money just like all the rest,” Curtis said, clearly bored by Minton’s brief speech.
     
    “ Hush,” his mother hissed. She took hold of the lad’s ear and pulled him backward. “Return to the schoolroom, and if you run off on Miss Trent again, I will be very displeased.” She released him, and the boy fled deeper into the house, swallowed up by the dark interior until only his footsteps could be heard clomping up the stairs.
     
    Lady Vaughan turned back to Minton. She was a tall, handsome woman, mature but not old. He estimated her age to be ten years shy of his own five-and-forty. Unpowdered raven curls haloed her face in the latest style while the dark clothing she wore accentuated her pale face and angular features. A half-smile curved her lips, but her pale blue eyes remained aloof. “Forgive the boy. He’s still distraught from Reginald’s death.”
     
    She tossed off the comment as though her son’s emotions were an unpleasant weakness. If he were to hazard a guess, Minton would say the lady before him had never been distraught about anything in her life.
     
    “ It’s understandable.”
     
    She inclined her head briefly. “Do come in.” The black bombazine of her gown rustled as she bade him follow her into a spacious and well-lit parlor.
     
    “ I am sorry to hear of Lord Vaughan’s death.” Taking the chair she offered, he laid his hat atop the cherry side table.
     
    Lady Vaughan seated herself on the divan. “Yes, everyone is sorry, yet they all want their due.” Meeting his gaze, she became suddenly businesslike. “Tell me, Mr. Minton, what it is you want from us.”
     
    Her demeanor encouraged him to exercise caution with his information. “Reginald Vaughan was bequeathed something from a client of mine.”
     
    Her brow furrowed. “He never mentioned a bequest.”
     
    “ I doubt he knew of it. Nevertheless, with Lord Vaughan’s death, this bequest would pass to his eldest son. Would that be Master Curtis?”
     
    Lady Vaughan leaned forward in her chair. Minton may have imagined the predatory gleam that flickered in her eyes, but couldn’t deny the uneasiness that washed over him. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but instead released an audible sigh.
     
    “ No.” She gave the single word emphasis by rising, agitation clear in the twitch of her skirts.
     
    He started to stand, but she stopped him with a gesture. “Curtis is the second son, though, I must say we have every reason to believe his elder half brother is dead.”
     
    Her words dashed Minton’s hopes. “Dead?”
     
    “ Ha!” Lady Vaughan’s bark of bitter laughter caught him off-guard. “ If we are lucky. Derek is the offspring of Reggie’s first wife—Alicia Coatsworth Vaughan. I’m sure you know her notorious story.”
     
    Though Minton didn’t often follow gossip of the ton , he remembered the scandal surrounding Alicia Vaughan thirteen years before. The woman had murdered her lover during a secluded tryst. Arrested, she’d accused her husband of the murder, but he’d never been charged. During her trial in the House of Lords, the young baroness had named many of her lovers, thereby besmirching the reputations of many top families and making her husband an infamous cuckold. The most notorious murderess all London could recall, her life had ended tragically by a public hanging.
     
    Clearly, the current Lady Vaughan held little affection for her predecessor. But her acidity toward her stepson puzzled him. Best to know the worst. “I’m sure her death