Page 100 of Make Mine a Marquess

She could do this. She was strong enough to face the man. Fear and anger knotted inside her, a volatile combination. No matter how many disturbing quakes she experienced in her serenity, she would keep her control. She told herself that he wasn’t worth it. No man was.

Phoebe found Landon standing with his back to her looking out of the drawing room window. Beams of sunlight from the large window glinted off his dark hair and kissed the rich outline of his shoulders in the navy coat. His muscular legs were encased in buckskin breeches and tall, polished Hessians hugged his calves.

She cleared her throat and he turned. Her heart lurched. His eyes met hers and she stilled, her heart fluttering traitorously in her chest.

“Miss Dawson, you look lovely.”

She stayed silent, her slippers frozen to the Aubusson carpet.

He took a step forward. She came to life then and took one back. He stopped. “I never had a chance to say goodbye the day you left Landon Manor.”

Her lips parted and she found her voice. “Is that why you are here, my lord? To say goodbye?”

He approached once more. This time she stood her ground. He would not intimidate her. Rather, a spark of anger flared in her chest. Now that the initial surprise of seeing him in her home had passed, her wits returned along with her courage. And her pain.

“You are upset with me? Please sit and allow me to explain my delay that day.”

Phoebe was aware of her maid, Anne, standing in the corner. “Leave us, Anne.”

“Miss?” Her maid looked taken aback.

“Leave us. You can stand outside if you wish. We will not be long.”

Anne curtsied and left, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Landon motioned to the sofa. “Will you join me? As I said, I had business and was delayed that last day.”

Phoebe remained standing. The idea of sitting beside him, even on opposite ends of a sofa, was untenable. He was so large and dominant and male. She didn’t fear him physically, only her reaction to him.

Weak. She’d been weak.

But not today.

“By business do you mean the arrest of Lord Willard for his involvement in the ship’s fire?” Her voice was cool, impersonal.

He nodded once. “It was unfortunate and upsetting. He is my cousin.”

At his continued lying, her temper flared bright and hot. Her lips thinned, and she threw words at him like stones. “Liar. You knew of his guilt all along. You have been lying from the moment you approached me in the gardens at the masquerade. I was part of your epic plan for revenge. Do not insult my intelligence with a denial.”

A strange expression crossed his face, almost pain. “Phoebe, let me explain.”

She clenched her fists so tightly her fingernails made crescent shapes in her palms. “Oh, you explained quite enough our last night together. Only it wasn’t to me but to Lord Willard in the hall outside my bedchamber.”

He stiffened as if she’d struck him. “You overheard.”

“Every word. What was it you said, ‘What red-blooded man could resist your betrothed? She was a ripe means of revenge.’”

“Phoebe, I didn’t mean it like it sounded. It may have been true at first, but then things changed. I swear that after I came to know you, I changed.”

She didn’t believe him. Not one word from his perfect lips. “I’ve been going over everything in my mind. Over and over. Finally, things make sense. You weren’t waiting for me that night because you couldn’t forget our first evening together. You’d searched my room for evidence, didn’t you? For something Willard must have hidden in my chambers. Otherwise, you would’ve had the constable arrest him much, much sooner.” It had been the ultimate lie to cover up his sleuthing when she’d walked in and found him standing in the center of her private chamber.

Landon stilled and she suspected his mind was churning with whether to admit the truth or come up with another explanation.

He ran a hand through his hair, pulling the strands back before letting them fall back into place. “It’s true. Willard hid letters to his hired assassin in your room. You surprised me by leaving the performance early.”

She’d never trust another man again. She wanted to scream and slap him.

Do not give him the satisfaction of showing you care.