14. Chapter 14

The very air around Nemity smelled of musty decay. Thick with it.

And this was the room that saw the most people in and out, so one would think fresh air would come in with visitors.

It did not. And the weight of the stench was starting to make her dizzy.

Or it could be that she hadn't been able to stomach food since Susannah died.

She wouldn't be able to eat properly until she knew Georgette and Jacob were hers. For they would be hers. She couldn't leave them to this monstrous temple of spite and damnation that was rotting from the inside out.

Standing, Nemity glanced around Lady Agnes's drawing room, trying to stifle her breathing to low, shallow breaths. As it was, she knew the stench would linger in her hair for days if she didn't wash it out when she got to her townhouse.

The heavy thunk of the cane Lady Agnes insisted on using—far too heavy for her slight frame—clunked in the hallway outside the drawing room.

Nemity straightened her shoulders, pulled her chin up and plastered her most serene smile on her face.

Lady Agnes made her way into the room, her small frame covered in layers of black clothing. Black dress, black shawl, black cap with a black veil. The woman did love a good mourning period. All the better to exclaim her piousness to the world.

Lady Agnes ignored her presence, so Nemity waited until Lady Agnes had sat on a wingback chair by the fire and settled herself before speaking.

"Lady Agnes, it was kind of you to see me during this difficult time."

Her shriveled top lip lifted in a snarl. "Susannah has died. What could you possibly need to speak with me about?"

Nothing to do now but get into it. Nemity drew a deep breath into her lungs. "My apologies in bothering you. I am sure you are in deep mourning. I know I am."

Her shrewd eyes cut into Nemity. "Be quick about it, Miss Wheldon, as you know I do not care for your sort, nor ever cared for your corrupting influence upon Susannah. What is it you want with me?"

"I would like to ask you to give Georgette and Jacob to me. I?—"

"What? No. Absolutely unthinkable."

"Please, Lady Agnes, please listen to my offer. The children will always be yours, of course, but I would like to raise them. I will bring them to you anytime you wish to see them. Susannah wished this as well."

"No. It is preposterous." She lifted her cane and cracked it onto the floor. "You are a single woman. Why would I ever let you take those children? You? An aging spinster with one scandal after another trailing her. Absurd you would even think to come here and ask me such nonsense."

Well, hell. She was truly, to her ashen bones, against this.

Still, Nemity maintained her composure, nodding and not letting her smile falter as she took in all the barbs Lady Agnes threw at her. "Except I have changed. I have asked for forgiveness for all my sins, and have forsaken all my wicked ways."

"That will get you nowhere, begging for forgiveness. I will never allow those children to even be near a strumpet like yourself."

The old witch really was against her very existence. Panic set into her chest and she glanced about the room, looking for something—anything—to save this conversation from the complete disaster it was.

Her eye caught sight of Callum's back outside the window of the drawing room, standing at the front gate to Lady Agnes's townhouse.

Heaven strike her down, it was worth the chance.

"I am sorry, Lady Agnes." Her hands clasped together in front of her. "In my haste to speak about the children, I have not been clear."

"Clear how?"

"That I now strive for nothing more than to be a good, obedient wife."

"Hah." She squawked out a laugh. "Good obedient wife—you do no such thing. You did not marry, did you?"

"No. But I am engaged. My fiancé is waiting for me outside."

"Outside? Why in the world wouldn't he accompany you in?"

"I asked him not to. You do not know him and I didn't want to introduce a new person to you. I remember how you do not like new people."

Her ancient eyes going to thin slits, she jammed her cane into the wooden floor and stood, moving to the window. She stopped in front of it, looking out the glass to where Callum was standing alongside the front gate, waiting with his hands clasped behind his back.

Lady Agnes's look swung to Nemity, her crooked forefinger pointing out the window. "That one is yours? He is a beast."

Nemity kept her serene smile in place. "Not so much a beast, as a large man that has found a way to control me."

"Control you?" She scoffed another laugh. "I know that is not possible. I remember how many torrid scandals you nearly brought Susannah in upon."

Nemity took a step toward her. "Please, if you will just meet him, I imagine your opinion of the situation may change."

"You think you know me so well?" She lifted her cane in the air and jabbed it at Nemity. "You think you can control me so well? I am old, but I have not lost my mind yet."

She shook her head. "I would never think anything of the sort, Lady Agnes."

"Hmph." She turned to the window, a frown jutting up her thin lips. "I will make my own judgment on this man you intend to marry. Banns are posted?"

"No. We have been in Scotland, so intended to marry there."

Lady Agnes's face managed to wrinkle even more than it was. "Spits. A Scottish marriage is not appropriate by any means."

"Of course, as I remember. The Scotland wedding was merely because of our location and that we wanted the marriage to happen soon. Either way, we intended to post banns and marry here in England once we were in town. But after I found out about Susannah's failing health, we travelled immediately to London as I have only been concerned about her and the children, so we have not had the opportunity to move forth with our plans to marry."

"Hmph." Her weathered hand waved in the air. "Fine. Bring him in."

With a quick nod, Nemity spun and hurried out of the townhouse and to the front gate. "Callum, I need you."

He looked down at her, his right eyebrow lifting. "Need me for what?"

"I need you to come inside and go along with whatever I say. Please." She slipped her hand around his and squeezed it, trying to infuse the desperation of her current situation through her grip. "Lady Agnes is watching. Judging at this very moment. Please just do this for me."

To his credit, the second she said the old bat was watching, Callum forced the warmest smile onto his face as he looked at her, like he was a lovestruck gentleman under her spell.

So quick it took her a second to catch up with him. It was unnerving, how he could react so fast and know the exact face to put forth.

She just hoped he could continue the fa?ade for the next several minutes—enough to convince Lady Agnes she was telling the truth.

"Whatever you need." He lifted his fingers to touch her cheek in the softest way, then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and they walked up the steps to the townhouse.

Moving into the drawing room, Nemity drew her hand away from his arm and stepped toward Lady Agnes.

"Callum, allow me to introduce you to Lady Agnes Dierten. Lady Agnes, this is Mr. Lonstrick."

Lady Agnes moved past Nemity, her nose high as she inspected Callum at close proximity. Her eyes ran him up and down. "He is large. But pleasant enough to look upon. But I imagine you needed a large man."

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Agnes." Callum bowed deeply—obnoxiously deep—but it seemed to tickle Lady Agnes's sensibilities and she smirked.

Nemity had never seen the woman smile, much less smirk.

Nemity shuffled next to Callum, slipping her hand under his left arm and pulling herself tight to his side as she looked up at him. "Before she invited you in, I was telling Lady Agnes about our engagement. How we were set to marry in Scotland, but then news of Susannah reached us and we rushed posthaste to London to see her."

"You were?" He slid his right hand over her knuckles, his grip tightening on her hand.

His face still doted on her, while the pressure of his grip told her he didn't care for this.

Didn't care at all.

She could have warned him, yes, but then he wouldn't have come in.

She nodded, her face solemn. "Yes. I was telling her how I was saddened to see our wedding delayed, but that getting to London before Susannah passed was of utmost importance."

Lady Agnes tapped her cane on the floorboards for attention, her stare on Callum, suspicious. "Nemity has said you two intend to marry in England as well."

Callum looked to her, nodding. "As is only right. A Scottish wedding is not at all proper. We intended to do so as soon as banns could be posted and cleared."

Lady Agnes's lip turned into a sneer. "No special license?"

"It is not necessary. I am a man of rules and propriety and a special license screams of people with no control." He patted Nemity's hand. "I would wait as much time as needed to marry Nemity."

The squint on Lady Agnes's eyes tightened, then relaxed and her stare dropped to Nemity. "You have finally found your match then, silly girl?" Her gaze lifted to Callum. "She was always like this, a flighty dolt in the seasons, waiting for great love instead of being sensible and making a match with a well-heeled gentleman like Susannah did."

As much as it pained her to agree, Nemity nodded. "I did not have the fortune of fates that Susannah did early in the marriage mart. My choices were unfortunate, yes."

"Unfortunate?" Lady Nemity scoffed. "You were scandal after scandal, Miss Wheldon. Your mother made the worst mistake of making Lord Hedstrom your guardian—that man let you do whatever was flitting through that empty brain of yours, and he allowed all of those scandals to happen."

Callum cleared his throat, ready to say something, but Nemity leaned into him, cutting him off. "You will be pleased to know that Mr. Lonstrick has had the proper influence on me and I have left the chasing of scandals to the past."

Lady Agnes skewered Callum with her shrewd eyes.

Nemity stared up at him. "Dear Callum, can you please tell Lady Agnes how you strive to make sure I am at all times proper and obedient. How when I stray, you are quick to correct me and set me on the proper path."

Callum coughed and she knew, without a doubt, that he was going to ruin this for her. Ruin it because he thought she was raving mad, wanting to take on these children. Mad and entirely unsuitable for it.

He coughed into his hand once more, clearing his throat. "My apologies, Lady Agnes. The London air is a change for me. I prefer the countryside."

"Nonsense, I haven't been out of London in forty years and these lungs keep pushing air in and out," Lady Agnes spat out.

He inclined his head to Lady Agnes. "You are clearly made of sterner stuff than I, Lady Agnes. And yes, I do strive to keep Nemity in line. She can be brash and impulsive, but there has been nothing that a swat with a cane hasn't fixed." He looked down at Nemity and smiled lovingly.

Nemity almost blew up into a thousand pieces but managed to keep her mouth clamped shut. She had to for the children. Had to swallow every single nausea-inducing moment in this drawing room for them.

Lady Agnes, however, took like honey on a stick to this conversation and nodded with enthusiasm as she lifted her heavy cane and patted the side of it. "Spare the rod, ruin the child. A cane is truly the only way."

Callum inclined his head to the old bat. "We are in agreement on that score, my lady."

A little bit of bile slid up Nemity's throat.

She knew what Callum was doing, saying—he was doing it for her. But still. Just the words curdled her stomach. Especially knowing how much Susannah had suffered under Lady Agnes's cane.

The old woman's pinpricks of eyes centered on Callum, then slid to Nemity. "You will come to Vauxhall Gardens three days from now. A grand fireworks display is planned. I want Lady Gernstill and Lady Turgh to meet this gentleman as well. Then I will give you the decision on my niece and nephew."

"Yes, my lady." Nemity gave her a quick curtsy. "We won't take up any more of your time today. Thank you for seeing me." Nemity gave her a nod. "May I ask that Georgette and Jacob continue to stay with me for the next few days?"

"They are not at their townhouse?"

Nemity blinked, startled. "No. I thought it would be easier at Susannah's household to make arrangements for her burial without the children under foot."

"I see. That is fine." Lady Ameila flipped out her scraggly fingers. "Leave me."

With a quick smile, Nemity rounded Callum and they walked out of the drawing room. Her grip on Callum's arm digging in, her fingernails near to cutting through his jacket.

The wicked old hag.

She didn't even know where the children were. Didn't care. Didn't care until it provided her the opportunity to have power over something. Over someone.

She just should have taken Georgette and Jacob up to Scotland and never said a word to Lady Agnes about doing so.

Lady Agnes probably wouldn't have even remembered she still had any relations left.

Vicious crone.

She may rue the day she got into the arrangement with Lady Agnes. But she would do it. Do it for the children. For Susannah.

She needed to save them from Lady Agnes if it was the last thing she did.