“Look at me,” Agatha demanded through gritted teeth. “That little bastard you have in this house? The entiretonis soon going to know about him. They are going to know that the Duke of Ravenshaw fathered him, and they are going to know that you were the pathetic, social-climbing fool who let him humiliate you by having you raise his own bastard. And that is not all. Oh, not at all, that is just the beginning.”
“You will not threaten that child!” Caroline snapped, her bravery pushing through as she still refused to look at her mother.
She could feel Agatha’s fury rolling off of her in hot waves, making the small space hard to breathe. Still, she refused to give in.
“Look at me when I am talking to you!” Agatha seethed, “I said look—”
Caroline squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her stepmother’s cruel grip begin to curl painfully around her chin, but before she could fully clamp down, her hold vanished, and the sound of Damien’s low, feral tone spread a balm over her pounding heart.
“Do notdaretouch my wife,” he snarled viscerally.
Caroline’s eyes snapped open, and she let out a breath of relief as she saw him standing next to Agatha, his hand wrapped firmly around her wrist and holding it up and away from Caroline’s face.
“Unhand me!” Agatha seethed, staring up into Damien’s eyes.
Damien looked down at her with an expression that made Caroline grateful she was not on the receiving end of it.
“You will leave this house,” he said quietly. “Now. And you will thank whatever good fortune you possess that there are guests within earshot, because I assure you, Mrs. Mason, if there were not, this conversation would be ending very differently.”
Agatha drew herself up.
“You would not dare—”
“Try me,” he said simply. “I am quite certain that you did not receive an invitation to this party,” he stated coldly. “Leave, or I will toss you out myself.”
Agatha continued to glare at him as she rubbed at her wrist.
“You are already on the path to ruin, Your Grace. Surely you do not want to expedite the journey by hurting a woman,” she answered coldly.
“Do not test my manners, Mrs. Mason, or you may find yourself woefully disappointed,” Damien countered, keeping his eyes on her as he moved between Agatha and Caroline, creating a wall of intimidating height and muscle between them.
“I have every right to be here! I am your mother-in-law! You will show me the respect that I deserve!” Agatha demanded, and to Caroline’s surprise, Damien let out a cruel chuckle.
“You are nothing, and your awful threats prove that,” he replied. “So hear me very carefully, Mrs. Mason,” he said, his voice dropping low enough that only the three of them could hear it. “If you ever come near her again, I will make certain that every shameful, desperate thing you have ever done becomes the only thing this city talks about. And I promise you, I am very good atmaking certain things are talked about.”
As he said so, the door blocking them into the corner swung open, and two footmen appeared with the most serious of expressions.
“Is all well, Your Grace?” one man asked.
“It seems there was some confusion, and this lady has shown up at the wrong estate,” Damien answered, still glaring down at Agatha. “Do help her make her way back outside. And make sure shestaysoutside.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the footman replied and stepped forward.
“Do not dare lay a hand on me, you lowly thing!” Agatha snapped as the footman reached for her arm. She turned back to Damien with another glare, but even as she did so, she took a step back.
“Mama,” Lilian called, appearing behind the footmen. “I think it is time for us to leave.”
“You will regret this,” she hissed as she stepped around the footmen and took Lilian’s hand.
“No,” Damien replied, watching her closely as she and Lilian moved backward. “But you will if you set foot back into this house or touch my wife again.”
“Come along, please,” the footman urged.
Damien kept his back to Caroline until Lilian and Agatha were out of sight. Then he turned to face her, and her racing heart slowed as she saw his eyes, only a second ago filled with rage, were now full of worry.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his deep voice unbearably soft. “Did she hurt you?”
Tears still stinging her eyes, Caroline shook her head.
