“Well, considering he is the key to my escape, I have no choice. And in the end, I believe Redfield will be a good match for you. He is rich and powerful in the world of organized crime, and he is old.”
“That is what makes it so dreadful to marry him,” Violet pointed out.
Her father sighed. “Yes, but think, my dear. He will bedeadsoon. And then you will be a widow with unimaginable wealth and power. And if you are smart enough to birth him a son before he dies, you will have even more power, as you will have control of the estate until your son comes of age. Even then, you will be able to exert a great deal of influence over him.”
Violet glared at her father. “My dream in life is not to become a wealthy widow. My dream is to have happiness and joy, love in my marriage, and children that I don’t treat as pawns in power games.”
Jebediah smiled. “You will change your mind once you have tasted power. Everyone who tastes power learns to love it.”
Violet rolled her eyes and looked away.
There was a long moment of silence. Then, her father asked, “Do you not want to know why you are my favorite child?”
“Not really,” she drawled, still not looking at him.
“Come, you must be curious,” he said, and she was pleased to note the tinge of disappointment in his voice.
Does he really want us to have a moment of closeness after all these years of treating me as if I was nothing but a burden?
She looked back at him, and she knew that it was pure hate that radiated from her.
“I already know why I’m your favorite, Papa,” she spat. “It’s because you believe I am the most similar to you of all your children.”
Jebediah looked pleased. “Indeed, I?—”
“But that is the problem with you, isn’t it?” she interrupted. “You do not want to see your children for who they are. You only want them to be copies of you because there is no one that you truly love in this life except yourself. It’s disgusting, really. The only way you could like one of your children is if you think they are similar to you. But ironically enough, that is exactly why we arenotalike, despite what you may think. I can love people other than myself. Idolove people other than myself. Therefore, no matter which ways we might be similar, they are purely superficial. In all the ways that count, you and I arenothingalike.”
Jebediah’s eyes had narrowed, and there was a sour look on his face now.
“You are truly ungrateful,” he spat, “just like your mother and your sisters. You could have learned from me, you know, and become as adept at bending the world to your will. But no. I see that in the end, you want to take after your mother and be sentimental.”
“Yes, I do,” she declared.
She knew that no matter what happened next, this was one of the most important moments of her life. It was the moment when she finally told her father exactly who she was.
“I love the Duke,” she said. “To whom I will always consider myself married. You may be able to take away my power, you may force me to marry a man I despise, you may have power over my body and my freedom, but there is a part of me you will never have power over, Papa—my heart. And in my heart, I will always be married to James Bolden, the Duke of Attotrton. And that is why we will never be the same. I love him.”
The words seemed to reverberate through her. She had never said them out loud before; she had barely even allowed herself to think them. But now they seemed to pour out of her, and they lit her up like she was glowing from the inside.
Her father’s face was contorted with disdain, as if the very mention of love was offensive to him. “Well, that is your prerogative, I suppose. But for now, let us worry more about who you arelegallymarried to, because we are here, Violet.”
And it was true. The carriage began to slow, and Violet looked out the window to see the Welsh port town of Barry rising around her.
“We’ll stop at an inn, and then you can rest and have time to wrap your mind around your new circumstances,” her father said. “Tomorrow, you will get married.”
“I’m to be married tomorrow?” Her heart leaped with hope.
That will give James more time to find me!
She wondered if she could buy herself even more time.
“What about the annulment? Doesn’t it have to be filed and approved before I can remarry?”
“My solicitor will make sure it is backdated. Fear not, my dear. You will be married by the end of tomorrow, I will be on my way to America, and then you can be married to whomever you wish in your heart.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Miss Violet Crampton,” Lord Redfield drawled, his eyes glittering as he bowed over Violet’s hand.
