His father watched him. The man had been prowling around Barrett, sniffing like a wolf looking into a flock of lambs. Watching for a weakness. A blink. ‘Which daughter is it?’ his father asked. ‘Which is it you’re sniffing after?’
Ice touched Barrett’s chest, but he looked his father in the eye. ‘All of them, of course.’
The old man scratched his chin. He looked out the window, eyes lost in thought. Then he turned to Barrett. ‘You thinking of marriage?’
‘What? Marriage? What is that? A noose around your neck that never kills you but just stops you from being alive.’ He quoted his father’s words back to him.
‘Eh,’ his father said. ‘I know when you’re planning something. It’s a woman.’
‘No. It’s not.’ Barrett met his father’s eyes.
‘You’ve never been as good a liar as I am. I’ll tell her what you’re really like.’
Barrett didn’t speak.
‘You can’t marry,’ his father said. ‘You’re not my legitimate son. If you marry, I’ll tell the world.’
‘It doesn’t matter now. No proof, either way. They’ll say you’re insane.’
‘No. I’m mad.’ He laughed. ‘It sounds better.’
‘So it does,’ Barrett said and put the food on the table at his side. He rested in the chair, letting his eyes close while he listened to his father muttering.
A pillow flew by his head and he picked it up and tossed it back on to the bed.
He stared at his father. ‘This may be your house, but that doesn’t matter as I’ve taken it from you. This is your house in name only. I’ve lived in it my whole life and it is as much mine as yours. Summers and Nettie are loyal to me and I can make sure the new servants they’ve hired are as well.’
‘I kept the wrong child,’ his father sneered. ‘And I should have tossed you under the wheels of a carriage.’
‘Too late now.’ Barrett smiled. ‘I’m not walking in front of any carriages with you around.’
Barrett dozed throughout the night and opened his eyes once when the sun rose, then he drifted back to sleep.
A sound woke Barrett, but he didn’t move. He heard his father leaving the bed, slipping out the door and shutting it with a quiet snap. Five times he’d baited the trap and five times his father had slept through the night and long into the morning.
He opened his eyes and looked at the empty bed, waiting, hoping he’d hired just the right man.
He rested one elbow on the chair arm and his forefinger over his lip, then he leaned back and shut his eyes, waiting for footsteps.
When he heard running on the stairs, he kept his eyes closed until the door opened.
He stood, internally braced.
His father walked in with a smirk on his face. ‘I brought the magistrate, Barrett.’ He turned to the weathered man with him. The man took in three breaths without releasing any air when he looked at Barrett.
The Viscount pointed to Barrett. ‘I want him out of the house. Now.’
The magistrate looked like he’d rather be in a fiery pit at that moment. ‘Begging your pardon, Mr Barrett, but I believe the Viscount has a right to his own house. If I’m not mistaken, it is his house.’
Barrett looked at the magistrate. ‘You’ve known of his rages.’
‘Not a crime in a man’s own house.’ The magistrate paused.
‘Entailed,’ the Viscount snapped. ‘And a good thing, too. He would have robbed me of it if he could. He’s always hated me and I’ve done the best for him. He’s wanted for nothing.’
‘I’ve increased your fortune tenfold,’ Barrett snapped at his father. ‘I’ve robbed nothing from you. Only added to it.’
‘Only for yourself.’ The Viscount raised a fist. ‘Only for yourself. You took my money little by little. I didn’t see it happening until a few years ago. As soon as I realised what was going on, you locked me in a room and brought people in to keep me there. You gave my staff a choice, be loyal to you or they would be out of a job. Well, things are changing.’
‘Mr Barrett. If you won’t go, I’ll have to get some help.’ The magistrate spoke. ‘A man has a right to live in his own home.’
‘And take those little rats with you. Summers and Nettie,’ his father called out. ‘I can’t stand the sight of them.’ The Viscount trembled in his excitement.
‘You can’t keep me from here,’ Barrett said. ‘I’ll be back.’ He stood, unmoving except for his lips, and he stared at his father. ‘Your blood is in my veins and my grandmother’s blood as well. Take that for what it’s worth.’
The magistrate reached for Barrett’s arm. ‘This is a sad day when a son acts so to his father. You can’t threaten a viscount in his house. Or lock him in.’ He jerked Barrett’s arm. ‘You’ll leave now and I’ll see that you won’t be back.’
Their steps thudded down the stairs and to the front entrance. The new butler gave a nod as Barrett walked by and the new housekeeper stood just beyond his shoulder, the scar above her eye telling of her youth on the docks.
After they stepped through the door, and before they moved in sight of his father’s windows, Barrett turned to the little man. ‘Are you certain you can watch over him?’
The man grinned at Barrett, but he didn’t loosen the hold on his arm. ‘Yes. I’ve spent my life fighting bigger men than me. I did as you said and hired two others. With that and the new servants you have inside the house, he shouldn’t move a whisker without us knowing. I’ll be sure to convince him just as you said. He’ll believe we’re protecting him from you.’
‘If he starts getting difficult, get a message to me and I’ll visit, and you can toss me out again. I’ll raise a bigger conflagration than any he’s ever done.’
The magistrate moved closer to Barrett. ‘Don’t worry, he’ll hear no good of you from my lips.’
Barrett nodded and stepped in the direction of the street, out from the eaves of the house, and could feel his father’s eyes staring into his back. Jerking his arm from the magistrate’s hand, Barrett stalked away from the man. ‘Leave me be,’ Barrett called out. ‘You’re making a mistake.’
‘Nothing worse than an ungrateful son,’ the magistrate shouted after Barrett. ‘The Viscount deserves better than you.’
Barrett didn’t look back. Freedom burst into his veins. He turned his head down and kept his feet steady as he walked away, each step leaving his past behind. He’d been released from his gaol. His lips turned up and he lowered his gaze more, not wanting anyone to see anything different.
Annie. He could hardly wait to see her.