Page 98 of An Unexpected Earl

Around her, she felt all three men stiffen at that insult. Marcus Braddock slowly folded his arms over his chest in such an imperial posture that the air inside the room turned cold. But Frederick was too wrapped up in saving himself to notice his blunder.

“You lied to me.” She blinked, her eyes burning with furious tears at all he’d cost her. “Just as you’re lying now.”

“I am not—”

“I saw the contract you made with Aaron! I know you paid him—and Arthur Varnham told me the rest. That’s what he used to blackmail you.”

He glared at her, his jaw working in anger, no longer attempting to defend himself.Thank God.At least he wasn’t that much of a fool.

“You must have had such a great laugh at my expense when you planned out how Aaron and I would meet that day in the park, when you gave him information about all my favorites so he would know exactly how to win my affection.” Fresh pain simmered inside her. But she needed to walk through the fire until it seared her heart to him and never let him inside there again. “How did you keep a straight face that day he came to the house to call on me for the first time, watching me beside myself with nervousness as I introduced you, when you’d known each other all along? Or the day you pretended to take him to our banker to introduce them?” The words strangled in her tightening throat, yet she forced them out, needing to utter them. “To go that far for money and revenge… Do you really hate me that much?”

“Yes!” he bit out. “Yes, I do.”

Something deep inside her shattered. Something she knew couldneverbe mended.

Slowly, she nodded, accepting this final destruction. “Then if I were you, Frederick, I would leave England and never return.”

“Self-exile?” he drawled sarcastically, rubbing at the red handprint marking his left cheek.

“Mercy,” she corrected. “That you don’t deserve.”

He gave a scoffing laugh. “You really expect me to do that? To walk away from the life I’ve created here, the power I have as an MP—”

“Yes,” Pearce answered for her, still waiting on the other side of the room. “Or I’ll make certain that you never see the light of day.” He folded his arms over his chest. “You’ll not come anywhere near her again.”

Frederick leveled a murderous glare at Pearce. All the hatred and disdain he’d always held for him surged unchecked to the surface. “I won’t go to prison. Varnham will protect his brother. He’ll have no choice but to rescind all the accusations he’s made once everything his brother has done is revealed. He’ll be the one in prison, not me. He’ll be at the center of talk across the empire, and no one will care what I’ve done.”

“I never said prison.” The threat in Pearce’s voice cut like ice, made all the more murderous by the calm way he issued it. “I’ll put you into your grave.”

“Why, you worthless, arrogant brute—”

Pearce dove across the room and grabbed Frederick by the throat, pinning him to the wall. He dangled there, his feet barely touching the floor. Frederick’s eyes grew wide, and gurgling sounds came from him as he tore at Pearce’s arm. But Pearce never moved a muscle to release him.

“No!” Amelia placed her hand on Pearce’s shoulder to hold him back. “He isn’t worth it.”

Pearce released him and stepped back. Frederick slumped against the wall, his hand going to his throat.

“You will swear out a statement to Mr. Rivers that you tricked me into a fraudulent marriage,” Amelia ordered, her gaze darting to Merritt, who nodded his agreement to assist her. “Then you will leave on the first ship for America.” She linked her arm through Pearce’s, not yet trusting him not to pulp her brother right there on the Aubusson rug. Frederick deserved exactly that—and more. But she simply wanted all of this to end, as quickly as possible. “Go home and pack your trunks. Take anything from the house you want, including whatever banknotes you’ve hidden in your study. Andnevercome back.”

Defeat dimmed Freddie’s eyes. His shoulders sagged.

“I’m free of you now, do you understand? You and Papa have no more power over me.” A sensation she’d rarely known in her life struck her—freedom. “You can never hurt me again.”

Frederick’s jaw worked as he stared at her, wisely saying nothing. She was certain he didn’t recognize the sister he knew within the woman confronting him. Most likely because that girl was gone. In her place was a strong woman who would never again let anyone control her.

He pushed himself away from the wall and hurried from the Armory. The duke and Merritt followed to make certain that he truly was gone. And to give Amelia and Pearce time alone.

Pearce turned to her and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. His eyes shone with love. “I’m so very proud of you for what you just did.”

“And me of you for not hurting him.”

He forced a half grin. “Only because I thought you might want to hurt him yourself.”

“He isn’t worth it,” she repeated, then closed her eyes when Pearce placed a comforting kiss to her forehead.

She stepped into his embrace and welcomed the strength and warmth of his arms as they encircled her. She rested her cheek against his chest and felt the soothing beat of his heart. This was where she belonged, right here in his arms.

Always.