Her Wicked Proposal novel Chapter 57

Cedric frowned. That had indeed made things clear, not only of the architect, but the motives behind his actions. Hugo's intent was destruction, but his motivation was revenge. It seemed the League's past sins were at last coming back to haunt them.

"I know, I know. But no one outside the League would understand." Cedric slumped back in his chair as though the weight of decades of worry had settled on his shoulders. "I just warned Anne not to leave the residence unattended because of him. What would you advise we do, other than be vigilant?"

"That is the problem. I haven't the faintest idea."

Ashton was as much of a strategist as Cedric, and to not have any idea how to handle a situation was unsettling.

"I've been preoccupied of late, and Waverly's involvement in these attacks has been so concealed that I have had little to go on in the way of evidence. One cannot go to a magistrate purely with one's instincts and vague connections. To make matters worse, Waverly has left London again. I believe he is preparing for whatever he has planned next."

"If only we knew which one of us he means to target." Cedric let out an exasperated sigh.

"Unfortunately, there is no way to know. I always believed that Charles would be his true target, but it seems he means to do away with all of us."

"Over what happened to Peter? That sin isn't on our hands alone."

"No, but he holds us responsible."

"What the devil is wrong with that man that he can't let his grudges go?" Cedric muttered.

"You know it's more than that. It has everything to do with Charles's and Hugo's fathers. There was some bad blood between them I heard. Our interference on Charles's behalf put us on the funeral pyre with him. And losing Peter in the river only gave him more wood to burn." Ashton shifted in his chair as though restless.

"I would not change a second of that night. I would dive in after Charles again."

"As would I. But I wish..." A long moment of tense silence followed as both men were plagued by dark memories of how they had saved one, but failed another.

"How is Charles?" Cedric hadn't spent much time with him in recent months. The man was far too fond of pulling pranks in the hopes of lightening Cedric's mood, which almost always backfired.

Ashton sighed. "He still has the nightmares, but he's been better recently. That doesn't stop me from worrying about him, though."

"You think you can cure him of his nightmares?"

It was the truth. Ashton had been the only one among the five original members of the League who never lost control, who never let his passions rule him. In the wake of his calculating seductions he'd left countless victims. Almost all of his conquests had been related to his successes in the business world. One night he would bed an opera singer who was mistress to a shipyard owner. The next night he was pinning the daughter of a banker to a wall just off an assembly hall, persuading her to reveal her father's secrets. Ashton could be completely ruthless.

"Yes, well, a leopard cannot change its spots," Ashton muttered.

Cedric crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you so sure? Godric and Lucien have proved that saying false."

Ashton was silent a long while.

"Some men are fated to be fortunate. I don't count myself among them."

"Damn the Fates, Ash. Make your own luck. Look at me and Anne. Against all odds we are stumbling our way toward happiness. Who's to say you can't do the same?"

Ashton let out a loud, amused laugh. "Marriage suits you, Cedric. It truly does. Now, off you go. Find that wife of yours and give Lucien some competition on the begetting of heirs."

It was Cedric's turn to laugh. "Only you could phrase that so indelicately as to make me sound like a prized stud." Cedric got to his feet, retrieved his cane and headed for the door. It was time to go to his study and have his steward assist him with some letters. Then, once he finished his business, he would find his wife and surrender his self-control. He wanted to make love to her, regardless of whether she remembered him; he wanted to love her, to seduce her into loving him. If that made him a villain, then so be it. He was a rogue, after all.