Rescued By A Viscount(71)

The butler gave him a gentle smile. “If you will follow me, I will take you to her.”

“Before we do, Plimley, can I thank you for caring for Miss Belmont for the years you have known her?” Simon felt someone needed to thank the man for his support of Claire, and as her family did not know of her sleeplessness, he thought it was up to him.

The butler stopped briefly. He didn’t turn but gave a deep sigh before simply nodding his head and continuing on.

Interesting, Simon thought, following his very straight back. Did the man have no faults? His voice didn’t annoy and his appearance was stunning. Perhaps he had one toe that turned in, or maybe his ears were over large. Moving closer, Simon saw the perfectly shaped ears and dismissed the last. Plimley was not alerting Claire that they were here. In fact, he was taking them right to her, which was another point in the man’s favor. He wondered if it was a chore to be so perfect? Simon had certainly never perfected the art. He heard the raised voices then, as they reached a closed door. There was both a male and a female voice, and he guessed the latter belonged to Claire, as he didn’t think Lady Belmont could yell like that.

“You are a hypocrite, Mathew. You sit in the House of Lords and work for the poor, bringing attention to the conditions in which they are forced to live and work, yet you cannot even take the time to acknowledge your brother’s child.”

Definitely Claire, Simon thought.

“You defied me, Claire, and traveled to Liverpool alone. You have brought shame on this family.”

Releasing Louis, Simon lowered his feet to the ground.

“Stay with the handsome man now, Louis, and he will take you to the kitchens for some food. All will go well,” he added as the boy shot a worried look at the door behind which Claire was arguing with her brother. He couldn’t understand what was being said, but he understood the anger behind the words.

“Aunt Claire is all right, Louis. I promise you.”

The boy took Plimley’s hand then, and the butler led him away.

“I did what you should have done, Mathew. What your responsibility as head of this family should have been.” Claire’s voice was lower now; she was no longer shrieking at her brother.

“You are a disgrace, sister. No man will have you now, and I demand you leave London at once. I wish never to set eyes on you again!”

Simon opened the door on those words, the handle crashing into the wall as he pushed it wide. No one, not even her brother, spoke to Claire like that. Stalking forward, he passed his now open-mouthed betrothed and grabbed her brother by the shirt front. “I will have her, Belmont. She is to be my wife, and you had best watch how you speak to her in the future.”

“Wife?”

Simon released the man to prevent himself from planting a fist in his face. It would not be a good start to his nuptials if he struck his future brother-in-law.

“Your sister has a heart bigger than any I know. She is brave and beautiful, and you should be bloody worshiping her. She went to collect Louis because he is your brother Anthony’s son, Belmont, and she is willing to give up everything in her life just to secure the child’s safety. Have you no idea of her worth?”

Before him, Mathew Belmont seemed to wilt before his eyes.

“How dare you treat her so callously? She is worth ten of any lady I know.”

“You wish to marry my sister?” Belmont whispered.

“I do, and Louis will live with us.” Simon did not look at Claire but heard her sniff. “Would you turn your back on your nephew, Belmont, because he was unfortunate enough to be born out of wedlock? Are you like so many of the others who live among us, a shameful bigot just because you were lucky to be born on the right side of the sheets?”

Ashen now, Mathew looked at his sister.

Simon looked at her, too. Her skin was pale and her eyes over bright. She was close to tears but apparently reluctant to let her brother see her shed them. Her close-fitting riding habit hugged the body he now knew intimately. Her hair was plaited in two long tails, with one sitting higher than the other on her head, which suggested she had done the job herself. She still wore her dirty boots, and in his eyes, she had never looked more beautiful.

“Simon, you should have stayed with Louis and your aunt and uncle. Coming here and saying what you have–”

“We will marry, Claire, so it would be in your interest to get used to the idea, and Louis is with me–in fact he is in your kitchen with Plimley.”

“You brought him to London?”

“He would not let me leave without him. He wanted to see his aunt, who, incidentally, I’m bloody furious with. How dare you run from me again?”