He announced, “I need a horse. Now.”
“I’ll come with you,” Julian said.
“No. I need you to do something else, actually.”
Within the hour, Ronan was back in the saddle. His body was tired still from yesterday’s strenuous activity. But it didn’t matter. He could fix this problem once and for all. He didn’t have to turn Isla away, and she didn’t have to leave him. They had other matters to sort out. But if they could overcome this, couldn’t they overcome anything else? When he loved her that much––
He tightened his hands on the reins. He did love Isla. He had for some time. And he wasn’t going to let her go.
This bolstered Ronan on the ride through town to Lord Dunn’s estate. It was still an early hour, nearly nine, when he arrived. Sliding from the saddle, he looped the reins near the front door and strode up.
“Er, I’m sorry, we’re not receiving at this hour––oho! Good sir! We are not!” The butler stammered when Ronan elbowed his way through the door and stormed down the hall.
He would not be stopped. The house was unfamiliar, but it was smaller than his and would have fewer rooms. “Where is Dunn? I need to see the master of the house. Immediately! Dunn! Where are you?”
The third doorway led to a drawing room where the older man was lounging with a plate on his lap. Ronan rammed inside.
Dunn staggered up in surprise, the porcelain breaking about his feet. “What is the meaning of this? How dare you?”
“No, how dare you?” Ronan shoved him back down. The man fumbled back into his seat but forced himself back up as he went on. “Where is she? Where is my wife?”
The miffed expression immediately gave way to a sly smirk that had Ronan balling his hands into fists. “Oh, your little duchess? Surely she told you. She’s done with the likes of you. She knows who has the real power here, Your Grace,” he added snidely.
Ronan had lectured himself on the way that he would be polite or at least respectful. To be the gentleman his family had wanted him to be.
Instead, he grabbed Dunn by the collar and slammed him against the nearest wall. “She is still my wife, and she will remain my wife for the rest of our days,” he barked.
“Then why isn’t she with you?” Ronan didn’t have an answer for that and Dunn knew it. The older man laughed and the sniffed. “It matters not. She’ll do anything to protect her sister.”
That was new to him. “Margaret? Lacey?”
Anger surged through him. Because they were Isla’s sisters and now his family. He would fight for them just as much as she did. He would do anything to protect them. And to hear that a cruel, snivelly-sort of man like Dunn dared to threaten his family was unacceptable.
“I said I would marry one of them. Her mother shook on it. Hardly a lady, I know, but it still stands. And if Isla backs down…” Dunn tutted with a dramatic pout.
The whole of the matter came together. Ronan’s jaw tightened. Rage soared through him. He could see it now. Dunn finding Isla, cornering her some place at the ball. Making his threats to marry Margaret and reveal the truth about their debts. Maybe he had toyed with them in a way that had Isla feeling like she had no choice, that no one could help her.
I didn’t help her, did I? I didn’t do what I should have as her husband. I shouldn’t have let her left. I should have figured out what was really happening. If only I had paid better attention.
There was much Ronan wanted to amend with his wife. And he would, he determined, the moment he was done with this man.
“You won’t have her,” Ronan announced. “In fact, you will never see, speak to, let alonetoucha single MacLaren lady for the rest of your pathetic life, Dunn. Do you hear me? Never. Because you may think you have some secrets, but I have some of my own. Or should I say, yours.”
Dunn’s smirk slowly slid off his face. His eyes narrowed. “You don’t know anything.”
Technically, Ronan didn’t. He knew this. Julian knew this, which was why he was back at the clubs already to focus more on Dunn’s past partnerships and friendships amongst society. If Dunn wasn’t afraid to manipulate a duchess, then he was surely causing trouble elsewhere.
But Dunn doesn’t have to know a thing.
“This isn’t your first foray into blackmail, is it? Only someone like you would know about forged documents,” Ronan blustered with confidence. “You’ve always had eyes watching you, Dunn, and I’ll bring them to the front now. No one will ever invite you to another function. No one will ever do business with you again. You’ve made too many bad investments. What happens when people start connecting your name everywhere? The banks will close their doors and lenders will avoid you like the plague until you have nothing.”
Please, lord, make this work.
“No. No, you can’t. You couldn’t,” Dunn choked out, the fear growing in his eyes.
Ronan could hardly believe it. He almost laughed in relief. But he tightened his grip on the man instead. “I can and I will. You had no right interfering in my marriage, Dunn, and no right to trouble the MacLarens. I will destroy you publicly and legally until you no longer dare to set foot in London. Maybe even England.”
“No, no, I can make this right. I can fix this. I’ll give you back the documents from the MacLaren family too,” Dunn offered.
