“This is your revenge, isn’t it? You want to bankrupt my estate, dispossess my son, just to feel vindicated.”
“Wrong. If I wanted revenge, my first act when I got off the ship would have been to kill you. I only want what I deserve. After all, the earldom’s prosperity was bought at the expense of my freedom. By the way, what did you tell our parents about my disappearance? Did they believe your lies, or were they your accomplices in selling me?”
Her brother looked down, taking his time to answer. No doubt calculating what to say.
“They had nothing to do with it,” he finally replied.
“He’s lying.” Alice spoke with quiet confidence.
The woman had an innate ability to spot when people were lying or concealing information. But in this case, it wasn’t difficult to discern the falsehood.
“The truth, Dunhaven, if you are capable of it.”
“Mother knew,” her brother got out in a rush. “She helped me cover my tracks. Father never found out. He was coldly furious when we told him you had eloped, ranted and raved about useless women, but you know how he was.”
Yes, she knew. Her father’s response was what she had expected. But her mother’s betrayal was another blow. She had known, of course, that her brother was mother’s favorite. She never hid her preferences. But even though her mother had never been warm or loving toward her, she would not have believed her capable of selling her own daughter.
“Betrayed by my own brother and mother.” She shook her head, curling her lip. “Forsaken by my father. God, this family is a nest of venomous snakes.”
“It’s not like you were so innocent,” her brother shot back defensively. “None of it would have happened if you had accepted the advantageous match our parents arranged for you. Instead, you had to go and act the wanton with his little brother. Admit it, you had a hand in your own downfall. Besides, you don’t seem to have fared so badly in the harem. I hear the women in those places are treated like princesses.”
She shot up from her seat. The first display of emotion, quickly controlled, to speak with low intensity. “You have no notion of what my life has been like. Do not presume to know. I’ve laid out my terms. Will you accept them or not?”
“What if I refuse?” her brother replied with a sneer. “What will you do then, sister? You need me as well. Without my generosity, you have nothing.”
“Wrong again.” She infused confidence into her smile. “I have jewels gifted to me by the pasha that are worth a small fortune. If I sell them, I could live comfortably, if not luxuriously, for the rest of my life. But I also have something even more valuable.”
When her brother merely stared at her, she knew she had him. “I have a story to tell. There wasn’t much to do in the harem. So I entertained myself by writing. Lurid stories. Embellished stories of all that went on in there. I have pages upon pages of diaries and tales. I will publish them. I will tell the whole world the story of how my own brother sold me for his gambling debts.”
“You wouldn’t dare. Your reputation would never recover after that.” Her brother’s pallid face had turned a mottled red.
She laughed without humor. “My reputation is already in tatters, thanks to you. I have nothing to lose,brother. I don’t care about society and its rules. My only aim is to survive and never be a victim again. So what is it going to be?”
“How do I know you will take good care of my son after I’m gone?” her brother persisted, real desperation coloring his tone now. She realized his son was, perhaps, the only person her brother cared about.
“You will have to trust me. But you must already do so, if you went to the trouble of ransoming me from the harem. You must have known I was your son’s only chance of survival, or you would have left me to rot in that place. Don’t think I believe for one minute you did it for me.”
At that, her brother’s face pinched. “I did do it in part for you. You may not believe me, but what I did to you has weighed heavily on my conscience. Impending death has a way of bringing a man’s misdeeds to the forefront of his mind.”
“If that is so, this is your opportunity to make amends.” She held his gaze unflinchingly.
“Fine, I accept.”
She did not allow herself to savor her triumph. It was not really a victory until all the documents were signed and everything was made official.
“John, could you have a solicitor here by tomorrow to draw the terms of the agreement?”
“I believe so, Lady Josephine. I’ll need to send a telegram to London.”
“Perfect. Please do so, my friend.”
John inclined his head.
“I believe I’m now ready to retire. I will meet your son tomorrow, after the papers are signed.”
“I’ll ask his nurse to bring him down tomorrow after breakfast.”
“Looking forward to meeting my nephew.”
