"Here," Maggie said, exchanging a glance with Xander as she poured them all another round. "No more talk of killing blue bloods. Not now. Let's just have a moment to clear our heads and think about the repercussions. We'll have another ale and reminisce about old times."
Xander clapped him on the back. "I think K needs to swim in a vat of beer. He's spouting utter nonsense."
But Maggie looked at him, and he could tell she knew he wasn't speaking nonsense.
* * *
His head swayed.
Kincaid staggered up against a door, blinking when his nose met wood. He rapped loudly, cursing under his breath, which stank of ale.
"Hold up!" someone called from inside.
He rapped again, trying to hold himself upright. Christ Jaysus. Couldn't go back to Malloryn's. Not like this.
Orla answered the door, blinking in surprise. "Jesus, Liam. What gin joint did you drag yourself through?"
He staggered inside and collapsed on the small sofa in the parlor just off the kitchen. The room was spinning, and he pressed the heels of his palms to his closed eyes to try and stop it. "Not gin. Ale. Bloody... bloody McGraw."
Soft hands tucked a blanket over the top of him. "Aye, I can smell it now. Did you bathe in it, or simply drink the entire barrel by yourself?"
"Mebbe... bit of both. Needed to clear me... head."
"Oh, I'm sure you did that."
He winced at the strident sound of her voice. "Orla, d'you ever wonder what life would have been like if Agatha never went out that night?"
Orla knelt on the sofa beside his hip. "Oh, you've had a rare gutful, haven't you? There's no point in stirring up the past. Agatha's free of her demons now." She patted his hand. "You're the one still carrying them for her."
He dragged his hands lower, making out her shadowy form in the darkness. His voice was very quiet. "I like her, Orla."
"Like... who? Oh." Orla's hand softened on him. "Then you should be telling Ava that. Not me."
"I can't." He stared at the roof, as if he could see straight through it. His uncle would be sleeping now. "How long... does he 'ave?"
"The doctor says maybe a few months."
Tears suddenly blurred his vision. "I should visit more."
"He knows why you don't."
"Aye." Kincaid scraped them out of his eyes. "But what's that say for me? 'E deserves more. He practically fuckin' raised me." He had the sudden horrific thought of what it would feel like, trapped in a bed, with nothing to do, no one visiting. "I just can't bear it, Orla. All I see is Ian. All I see is my f-future. All alone."
"Oh, Liam." Orla slid into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. "You know I'll be there for you."
And maybe that was worse, because she'd already given up so much of her own life to care for Will, and her father. He squeezed her tight, his voice roughening, "I won't do that to you."
"It's not your choice," she said simply, and kissed his cheek. "Go to sleep. You're drunk and feelin' the weight of the world tonight. You should talk to Dad about it tomorrow. There's still hope for you, Li. You said yourself your pasty-faced duke asked the Royal College of physicians to look into your case, and threw funding at the place to do it. You're barely past the first symptoms."
He turned his face into her hair, those old nightmares flashing through his vision again: the horror he'd felt the first time his legs went out from under him. A muscle spasm. That was all, he'd told himself. But he'd known then it wasn't. "Aye," Kincaid said softly, still staring at the ceiling. "They'll find a cure," he whispered, though he silently vowed if there was no cure, then he'd never burden Orla with another body to slowly bury.
Just as he'd never condemn Ava to the same fate.
Sixteen
WORD HAD GOTTEN round. Ava made sure of it, and when most of the Rogues were gathered in Malloryn's study the following afternoon, she handed out the small information leaflets she'd spent the night creating. The second the Duke of Malloryn arrived, she was starting this meeting.
With or without Liam Kincaid.
"Caterpillar mushroom?" Gemma asked, looking at Ava's neat notes with the expression of a woman who'd spent too many hours hearing about ferns and orchids. "This sounds fascinating, Ava. I can hardly wait."
Charlie nudged her. "Don't worry, the interesting part comes when Ava tells you what it does to a blue blood."
Suddenly Ava became the focus of every set of eyes in the room; Jack, the baroness, Herbert, and Gemma. Charlie shot her a wink.
The baroness cleared her throat. She'd already turned over the page, and was miles ahead of the others. "Blood and ashes, Ava. Are you certain?"