Page 30 of The One With the Rogue Duke

“You’re saying sabotage?” Tempy repeated, incredulously.

And this was why she hadn’t told anyone. Not even hinted at it. If her own sisters didn’t believe her, why would anyone? It was a nightmare to live in this again. And Alec was dead. She shouldn’t have to live through this terror again. But even from the grave he was proving her to be a liar.

So many years wasted. Being under his thumb. Under his eye. Under his body.

She shuddered.

So many tears wasted. Trying to make sense of his lies. Trying to reconcile the truth—reality—with the fictional tales he would weave of where he had been, who he’d been with. What he was drinking. And how much. What he had gambled. What he had purchased. What he had sold.

Enough.

Enough years and far too many tears had been shed for him.

“I’m not lying,” she declared, right as the song came to an end. “The Earl of Sanmel was sabotaging his own estate. Still is, even from the grave.”

And then the worst thing happened in the silence.

A high pitched, grating voice, the very one belonging to the Countess of Bramleigh, asked from just behind her shoulder, “Did you say the former earl was sabotaging his own earldom?”

Ignorance was her best option at this point. Just plain ignorance at even hearing the question. Pretend as though she didn’t hear it and it would go away. Surely—

But then an even worse thing happened in the second round of silence.

A deep, resonating voice, the very one belonging to Ash, Duke of Quelston, the man whose mind she was hoping to change about her. The man she needed to ask her one very important question regarding her future. The man she needed to now think the very best of her. That being, that she was competent. Graceful. Wife-worthy. Or…at the absolute very least, sane.

He did ask one question, and it was a very important question—all things considered. Just…not the one she wanted to answer.

“Did you say, sabotage?”

Chapter 18

Verity

This was the moment of truth. The moment where everything could come crashing down. The moment that she had spent years of her life avoiding.

It had taken making herself into a fortress not to crumble under Alec’s constant manipulation of her mind. She had proven to herself that she could remain strong, be resilient, and not be the laughing stock of the ton. Only to show up now. In this moment. Where the truth—that should set her free—would only ensnare her into the clutches of scandalmongers that would relish in the juicy gossip that she’d lost her mind.

And worse than that, she could lose Ash for good. No man would willingly marry a woman so away with the fairies.

He had been so close. Within her grasp. And everything in the future had carried a sparkle. A chance. She could have had it all. Even…love.

Now it would all come crashing down with one simple truth that no one would believe. But that was the thing about Verity. She would never—never, upon her very soul—allow herself to be crushed. The world could drop its boulders onto her path. People could throw their stones. And if she had to spend the rest of her life crawling out from under them, so be it. She wouldn’t give up—she would never give up on herself.

Even though she had everything to lose, she finally spoke the truth. “Yes, I said sabotage.”

***

Ash

“You mean to say that the Earl of Sanmel was sabotaging his own estate?” Ash shook his head on a ragged sigh.

“Yes. That’s precisely what I mean,” Verity’s clear tone rang strong as every guest had their eyes trained on her.

“I believe it—”

“—and I don’t care if you don’t believe me—wait. What did you say?”

“I said I believe it.” Still in shock, Ash dragged a hand down his face.