“What are you talking about?” She was sure that Lord Cain was merely trying to scare her, but it irritated her all the same.
Lord Cain smiled. “I arranged everything so that you and I could finally be together, my love. It was one of my most ingenious ideas, I must say. Redfield and your husband played so perfectlyoff of one another. They are both so suspicious by nature, untrusting, and aloof—which, in the end, makes them easy to manipulate.”
Although moments ago she had been sure this was all nonsense, she now felt her heart begin to race and her mouth dry.
“What are you talking about?” she repeated, her voice deadly.
“I am trying to save you from the monster you were forced to marry!” Lord Cain said proudly. “You will thank me soon, my beauty.”
Rosalie felt the anger burst forth from her. She was sosickof this nonsense! So sick of everyone in her life trying to control her and manipulate her. And most of all, she was sick of people calling Nathan a monster when she knew he was anything but.
“Howdareyou?” she whispered. Her eyes had become slits, her lips were pressed so close together they formed a thin line, and her hands were in fists by her side. “Howdareyou speak about my husband like that? He is no monster. Yes, he may be prickly on the outside, but inside, he is one of the kindest, gentlest, and most generous men I have ever known. These rumors about him being a monster couldn’t be more false, and I won’t hear them any longer! My husband isn’t a beast: he is the Angel of Carramere!”
She was speaking too loudly, she knew, and undoubtedly heads were turning to stare at her, but she didn’t care. It was time thattonfind out who the Duke of Carramere really was.
Lord Cain laughed. “Oh little love, you almost sound as if you care for the monster! How touching…”
“Idocare for him,” she spat, drawing herself up and glaring at him straight in the eyes. “In fact, I love him!”
The moment she said it, she realized it was true, and an electric thrill seemed to go through her. Shelovedhim! Of course, she did. It was so obvious to her now that she almost laughed. She had been falling in love with him for some time, and after how he had rescued her from the caved-in floor, it hadn’t been in doubt any longer.
A smile spread across her face, and she did allow herself a laugh. Even though she was furious at Lord Cain, she couldn’t help but feel dizzying happiness as the love she had been too stubborn to let herself feel washed over her.
Lord Cain, meanwhile, looked astonished.
“You love him?” he repeated, incredulity lacing his voice.
“Yes,” she said, and nothing had ever sounded so sweet to her ears. “I love him. And the moment I see him, I’m going to tell him because he deserves to hear it from me as soon as possible. And then hear it every day for the rest of our lives.”
Lord Cain blinked and swayed slightly, as if the thought of her loving the Duke was so shocking to him that it had rearrangedhis entire sense of reality. Which, for a narcissist like him, it probably had.
“But you cannot love him!” he spluttered. “There is not a romantic bone in that man’s body! He is cold and cruel. Iloveyou, Rosalie, with every fiber of my being! I would shower you with love and affection every day for the rest of your life. I would worship the ground you walk on. I already do! There is no one whose love burns brighter or more passionately than mine.”
She scoffed, and it seemed to hit him like a slap across the face. “Your idea of love is entirely self-centered,” she said. “It is about how you see yourself, not at all about how you see me. And love? You do not love me. If you loved me, you would not have manipulated and hurt me like you did. You would not have tried to use me for my father’s wicked schemes. That is not love. My husband has never manipulated me, he has never lied to me or used me, and he has never hurt me. He might not be showy or effusive, but he shows me he loves me in his everyday ability to be the man I need him to be.”
“But his reputation—there is no way a man of that reputation can treat you well!”
“It is all lies. Everything about his reputation is lies.”
Lord Cain’s mouth had fallen open. For several seconds, he seemed to be trying to collect himself and think of something to say. At last, he settled on an expression of condescending amusement.
“Ahh, I see what you’re doing,” he simpered. “You’re still trying to convince everyone here that it is a love match so that Lord Redfield will believe your little scheme to invest in his opium business.”
What? How did he know about that?But she’d barely had time to ask herself this when he continued, “But you don’t have to pretend to me, little pet. You can be honest with me that the man is a cruel, merciless beast and that you long for the day when I will spirit you away.”
“Spirit me away?” Now it was her turn to laugh derisively. “There is nothing I want less. And you are very lucky my husband didn’t hear you say that because if he had, he would not hesitate to put an end to you. In fact, I am going to tell him about this conversation, and then he is going to make you regret speaking to me like this andonce againignoring my request that you leave me alone.”
Her voice was raised even higher now, and she no longer cared if anyone could hear her. This felt even better than speaking to her father had. While the conversation with her father had depressed her more than it had empowered her, this felt different: she felt truly powerful standing up to Lord Cain. Apart from her father, he was the man who had hurt her the most, and she was not going to let men like this walk all over her anymore.
“In that regard, my dear, you are entirely correct.”
The deep, resonant voice sounded from behind them, and Rosalie and Lord Cain both turned at the same time to take in the dark, furious figure of the Duke of Carramere.
As much as Rosalie rejected her husband’s nickname, she had to admit that in this moment, as his cloak swirled around him and anger and protectiveness emanated from him, Nathandidlook a little bit like a beast. But a beast that had come to her rescue, so she couldn’t be disappointed.
“I am going to have to ask you to step away from my wife, Lord Cain,” Nathan said, taking a step closer to them. He had never appeared so tall or so fearsome, and Rosalie found her body drawing toward him as if he were a magnet. Her cheeks flushed, and she felt warm and safe at the thought that he had arrived just in time to make sure Lord Cain didn’t harm her.
“How are you here?” Lord Cain hissed although at the same time, he took a step backward. “You are supposed to be arrested by now and on your way to prison!”
