“It is this…” Gibson reached into his briefcase and pulled out several pieces of paper, which he passed to Dorian. It only took Dorian a few seconds of perusal to realize what they were.
He stared at them, his hands beginning to shake, as fear gripped every inch of him.
“These are articles of annulment,” he whispered, his gaze flickering back up to his solicitor.
“Indeed,” Gibson said. “And they have your signature on them. Do you really mean to annul your marriage so soon after it took place? I couldn’t quite believe it when I saw it. My colleagues told me not to come ask, that I shouldn’t question a duke, but I know you, Your Grace, and you never do anything so rash, so--”
“You were right to come to me,” Dorian interrupted. His insides had gone completely cold, as if they had been frozen over. “This is not my signature. This document was forg ed.” Dorian’s hand closed over the papers, curling them up in his fist. He glared with fury down at them. “This is the work of Lord Dubois.”
And they meant that he needed to leave at once. They meant that his wife was in danger.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“You’re making a huge mistake,” Leah said, with forced calm, as the barrel of the gun pressed into her head.
“I’m not making a mistake,” the ragged voice of Lord Dubois said from behind her. “I am making the only choice left to me after the duplicitousness with which your family has treated me. Now get walking.”
“To where?” she asked, her heart beating so loudly and so quickly in her chest that she was surprised she could even hear Dubois.
“To the other side of the lake,” he said. “And go slowly. No tricks .”
“So that’s your carriage down there,” she said.
“You noticed it, did you?”
“Of course I did,” she scoffed, her mind moving quickly. “One of my servants saw it earlier and sent me down to investigate. If I don’t return to the house soon, they will--”
“Don’t lie to me, Lady Leah,” Dubois said contemptuously. “There have been no servants down here. They have all been busy at the house helping with the departure of your sisters and friend. Do you think I did not plan this with all that in mind? I have been keeping tabs on you, and I knew exactly when I would make my move.”
Leah swallowed. “A servantdidsee it,” she said, raising her voice to an imperious tone. “He saw it from the top of the hill. Just because you didn’t see him doesn’t mean he wasn’t here. And you will refer to me asYour Grace.I am a duchess.”
“Your lies are futile,” Dubois scoffed. “You are just trying to convince me that someone knows where you are. But it won’t work. I know you are practically alone here, and I know that no one will come looking for you. Especially not your husband, now that you have left him.”
“I haven’t left him,” she snarled, even as she continued to walk forward, the gun pressing sharply into her head.
“Then explain to me why you are here when he is not,” Dubois said with a cold laugh. “And explain to me why he is drinking himself to death in London every single night.”
Leah’s heart clenched.He is drinking himself to death?Does that mean he regrets pushing me away? Does that mean he really might–
But now was not the time to think about that. She had to think of another plan. If Dubois couldn’t be scared into making a mistake, then she had to think of something else.
Perhaps she could leave a clue… some way of showing someone who came looking for her that she had been here. Something that would be ominous for them to see and perhaps alert them that something bad had happened. It was a long-shot, but she had to try.
As they approached the edge of the lake, Leah stopped.
“Keep walking!” Dubois commanded, but Leah didn’t. Instead, she turned around to face him.
It was one thing to feel the barrel of a gun in the back of her head. Seeing it was something else entirely. As she stared down at the gun that was now hovering between her eyes, Leah felt a wave of nausea come over her. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
Then her eyes snapped to Dubois’s. They were cold and filled with spite.
“Keep walking,”he snarled through gritted teeth.
“Or what? You’re going to kill me?” she said contemptuously. “I doubt it. You need me alive so that you can marry me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he said, his lip curling. “I’d rather see you dead than be cheated of my rightful bride.”
She made up her mind in an instant. As fast as she could, she dodged to the right, then began to run. As she did, she grabbed at the glove of her right hand, pulling it off of her.
