The Vicious Viscount

chapter 26

Chapter twenty-six

A month later

Malcolm was feeling a wave of emptiness, ever since he woke up he could not identify the feeling. But he had dreamed so pleasantly, with a certain person visiting his dream. He could see her twinkling smile and hear her laughter, her lips against his skin it was so vivid that he never wanted to wake up. She was running towards him as he caught her tightly and spun her around, her laughter echoing, his own laughter in it. With a jerk he launched up from bed and ever since he had woken with iritation. He told himself it was temporarly, just like six years ago when for two years she haunted his dreams until the sound of her voice and face had gone blank. Would he have to live another two years in torture?

Would he ever be free of the cast of spell she threw upon him?

It meddled his thoughts and made him insane, snapping at his employees back and forth, he was in grim mood and everyone could tell in the house, like a caged animal wanting to break free, "What has gotten into you" his uncle entered the study without his aproval. Not that the bloody man could ever follow it.

His jaw tightened as he focused on the files, his uncle took a seat in front of him, "I shall had never allowed annabelle to take over your work, woman and their lack of knowledge" he clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair. Malcolm gritted his teeth, he had drowned himself in work and never left it, it was not annabelle. But he would rather die than tell his uncle who had occupied his thoughts.

His uncle would never believe the woman he warned him off had yet again won to capture his heart, she had always had it. He had been a bloody fool to believe different.

"Make sure of it" he grumbled instead.

Ruthfourgh was rolling brandy between his fingers as he smoked a cigar, "Edwards and Walter will be coming over, we need to discuss the trading issue" he started and puffed out.

Malcolm nodded before putting in, "And Hastington"

Ruthfourgh  held the cigar between his fingers and stoped, "What?"

"Lord Hastington, marquess. Apperantly he wanted to speak in person" He continued, knowing exactly the reason. It was nothing about trades and their association, it was about his daughter who was perhaps still gone. Only god knows where she is.

Ruthfourgh nodded curtly, "I gather that, after that man has been benefical for our business, "

He did not bother to listen to his uncle who demanded more proporties and drew a new plan of tripling their markets, in any other time he would put in his word. His uncle stoped suddenly when he saw that the viscount was not paying attention, he was sometimes staring blankly off to the wall behind him, his lips were thinned and it looked like a new person was in front of him.

The viscount once neatly looking attire was now lazily done with no care, but it was the tired looking face that had got Ruthfourghs attention, "Are you paying attention?,"

He watched the annyonace on his uncles face, "Has something happened when I was gone? The business---" he continued rambling about work and Malcolm released a breath that he did not know he was holding. While he loved work, it drove him forward he cast his mind to when he did not speak of work.

When he spoke of anything else.

It had never occurred.

"Nothing have happened," he bit out impatitently. He respected his uncle, but by god if he continued to get on his nerve he would show him the door himself.

"How could that come when you have never blanked out, you must stay focused Malcolm! People are counting on you! You are worshiped, and pathetic feelings has no place in it" Ruthfourgh bursted. Malcolm controlled his anger, his uncle was right. He could not dwell on that woman any longer, "Continue were we left"

One hour of working on their future plans and filing pappers and accounting the door knocked as a servant notified that the lords had arrived. Ruthfourgh stood up to greet the men and show them in, within five minutes three men entered the study as Ruthfourgh closed the door.

Malcolm stood up, "Lord Hastington, Edwards and Walter" Malcolm greeted briefly with handshakes and gestured them to take a seat, the sudden tension in the marquess face was not unnoticed. But he acted civil, as he took a seat.

"Lets start," he cleared his throat and they dive into business, both Edwards and Walter being cooperative and forming a mutual benifical, The marquess was awfully quiet and seemed to observe the viscount rather than agreeing or disagreeing. Malcolm held his gaze firmly, "What have you to say in this, my lord" he called him out making everyones attention now on him.

Lord Hastington brazed his arms around the chair answering, "While it would remarkably not end up in failure since you have your mind set," he started and Malcolms watched him cooly, "If I had a word on it I would rather do something for the people to feel involved, more subjectily rather than objectivly wont you say" Hastington finished and the low grutal was coming from Ruthfourgh who squeezed the burned cigar on a trey, before he could say anything Malcolm was calm in the notion and regarded the marquess with curiousty, "You mean to say that working mens word on our markett would sufficate more?"

"Why not, after all isnt they the ones working?" The marquess savagessly input. It was not making the viscount look bothered the single bit, but it did on his uncle, "The viscount do not need some pathetic opinions, that's for charity work"

Lord Hastington shrugged on the notion, "Everyone needs an opinion now and than, after all how could you know if your in fault or right?"

"A high titled man is not in need of that, now that we have seemed to get into some kind of agreement I will see you gentlemen out" Ruthfourgh seemed impatient and awfully tensed, one could say that he was even nervous. Malcolm did not regard him, "We are not finished, and I say when we are" he glared at his uncle.

He was curious of why the marquess had not agreed on him when any other man would, but Malcolm knew he had come for a word of his missing daughter, who probably got kidnapped before she came to the ball. "Lord Edwards and Walter, your dismissed, Ruthfourgh show them the outdoor"

Ruthfourgh followed his words before glancing between him and the marquess who know openly glared at the viscount, and malcolm deserved it, since annabelle did not inform him of the letter six months ago. The poor man had thought his daughter was at the ball, no another one was masqureading as his daughter. And he did not want to say her name to him, deep down somewhere far down he could not let harm come to her way, hell if she did not deserve it.

"Your daughter had not come to the ball---" Malcolm started but was cut of coldly, "When I thought of you being a good choice for my daughter I was not aware of how much you had changed, my lord" he started and Malcolm was not quite sure if he understood, what the bloody hell did he mean by the statement that he had changed? As if he knew his question he told, "Your father.. I was aquanted with him and had a great friendship, he had told me everything about you, I had not anticipated that you would turn into the man you are today" it was disappointment on the marquess face, one that shocked the viscount, his father maybe was not stern and cold, he was known of compassion and solidarity, "Although you are a spiting image of your father, I cant say the same on your personality"

Malcolm lost his control and bit out, "Do not brush around the bush, for I have no time to waste.  One can hardly speak when not knowing what their being accused of, I was about to say that I had heard no words of your daughter since the letter you had sent shortly before the ball," he calmly finished, without telling that another woman played as his daughter. The marquess was In bewilderment, "That cant possibly be true...."

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