Murder at the Opera by D. M. Quincy

Author:D. M. Quincy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS

CHAPTER 17

“You had better come inside.”

Pale-faced, the boy came to his feet. “You did know.”

Atlas set a light hand on his nephew’s shoulder to usher him into the welcoming warmth of his sitting room, where Jamie had lit a fire. He then excused himself just long enough to change out of his wet clothes before rejoining his nephew and pouring them both a drink.

“Yes, I knew.” Atlas handed the boy a brandy. “But I have not known for long. I only recently became aware of Francis Pike’s existence.”

Nicholas held the crystal with both hands and took a long, deep swallow.

“Go easy.” Atlas settled into his chair, filling the soft grooves his body had imprinted onto the cushions. “Are you accustomed to imbibing?”

“My father was with Mrs. Pike well before he married.” Nicholas’s eyes glistened. “He consorted with that woman while he was wed to my mother, and then he moved his doxy into our house after my mother died. It is as if he cared nothing for my mother.”

“How did you find out?” Atlas spoke in a gentle manner. “Did you run into Francis?”

He shook his head. “My father told me. I have never met this man who is supposedly my brother.”

“Your half brother.”

Pain clouded Nicholas face. “I am not my father’s eldest son.”

“What does that matter? You are his sole legitimate son and his heir. You will be the Marquess of Vessey one day. Not Francis Pike.”

“I inherit the title and Francis receives our father.” Nicholas bottomed out his glass. “Hardly a fair bargain.”

Atlas frowned. “What do you mean about Francis getting your father?”

“I have never had a family. Not really. Father did not want me to be tainted by his mistress and her children. I have long known that I have two half sisters. But I have never seen them.”

Atlas had no interest in protecting Vessey, but at the same time he did not care to witness his nephew’s suffering. “It is not unusual for a man to keep his by-blows away from his legitimate heirs.”

“That is just it. I was the one who was kept away. Mrs. Pike and her children lived with my father at Stonebrook while I was sent away to live at school. I rarely saw my father, and I had no other family.”

You could have had us, Atlas wanted to scream, but he did not because the last thing Nicholas needed at the moment was to feel the weight of Atlas’s long-simmering resentment toward Vessey.

“But the worst part of it all was how my father showed such disregard for my mother. To keep a mistress before, during, and after their marriage. First Mrs. Pike came between my mother and father, and then she came between my father and me. That woman ruined both of our lives. And my father allowed it.”

Atlas took a long draw on his brandy and forced himself to he consider his words carefully. “Many noblemen have a mistress, even if they are wed.”

“Would you keep such a loose commitment to your wedding vows?” Nicholas asked sharply.

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