“I will do that then, m’lady. And you are not to worry, the boy is fine.”
Easier said than done, she thought as she climbed into the carriage followed by Brant. There were several things to worry about. Who would try to steal her son? In all the years they had lived at Myrtledowns, the baron’s ancestral home, no one had troubled them, not even Maynard’s family who had resented the loss of title and land a lot in the beginning. Nor did they have the kind of fortune that would prompt an attempt at kidnapping. They had never even dealt in politics. That left only one thing.
Lady Mallam had tried to steal her son. The woman was either going to do to Ilar as she had done with so many others, or use the boy to make Olympia do as she bid her to. If it was not so frightening it would be funny. The woman had no idea what she had been about to steal or that hell would rain down on her because she had attempted such a thing.
Taking a deep breath she told Brant all Hugh had said and he frowned. Then a tight look came over his face and she knew he had just reached the same conclusion she had. She moved to sit beside him and, after a moment of tense silence, he put an arm around her shoulders and held her close. He may have thought he had understood the full truth of what his mother was, but, even if he did, it had to sting to hear of yet another sin she had committed.
Or tried to, Olympia mused, and actually smiled. Letitia had just poked the wrong wasp nest. Now her family would come in droves and what she had not already found, they would uncover for her.
“I am so very sorry,” Brant said and kissed the top of her head.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Believe me, Brant, our family is littered with bad mothers, and fathers, and a few others, and when a Wherlocke is bad, it can get ugly. Our mothers walk away from husband and children. Our fathers walk away, too, but not as often. One cannot choose one’s parents. We do not all get someone like Stone.”
“No, we do not. Henry is a very lucky child. Stone not only loves his son and has no trouble revealing that but he is a good man, a stable man who does not shy from work, drinks little, and, I suspect, was utterly faithful to his mad wife.”
“They are a treasure. Most of the men in my family, when they wed, they hold to vows taken. I think that is one reason the wives walking away because they cannot abide what we are, thinking we are all Satan’s children or some idiotic thing, is such a hard blow. It is also why so many of the men in my family are rather slow to marry.”
“Who can blame them?”
“Well, we have instituted a few new family rules. The one who wants to marry someone who is not gifted is to tell the person they want to wed before the wedding. On hand will be one of the ones who have Argus’s gift. In most cases, the proposal, sometimes even the intent to wed, can be taken from the person’s mind. Not completely, of course, but it is not something I can understand all that well, either because it is beyond my ken or because the ones who have the gift just cannot explain it clearly. As we all agreed, better the heart break before the wedding and the children.”
“It truly can be more of a burden than a gift then.”
“Aye, although acceptance gets easier with each generation, with the distance from the past of witch hunts and fears of Satan in anything or anyone unusual. Your mother, however, well, I could easily be made to believe she is the child of Satan.”
“I begin to think she is ill in her mind.”
“But not in the usual way. There has never been anything to make people think her even a little odd. I still believe she was born with something missing.”
“Like a conscience.”
“You are certain her men did not hurt the boy?”
“Hugh would not lie about that. My other concern is how Ilar managed to escape being taken. He used his gift. I gather my library is now a mess. They even managed to capture one so we might finally have some answers, some witness we can use against her.”
“That would be a good thing but I believe I will not get my hopes up.”
Olympia rested her head against his shoulder and tried to still the fear writhing inside her. She needed to make plans to keep Ilar safe until Letitia Mallam was no longer a danger. She could not do so when she was so tied up with fear for her child.
Brant’s mother had borne six children yet she had not one maternal bone in her body. The woman treated children, even her own, as nothing more than merchandise. Coming from a family that, despite a long history of one parent deserting the other and fearing the children, loved children dearly, she did not understand such a woman, could not understand her. It was going to be difficult to defend against such a woman. Olympia found comfort in the thought that Lady Mallam was not a woman to do her work herself.