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Victoria couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“That’s blackmail! You can’t keep my money from me!”
“I can, for now. Just to be sure you’re going to stay at home and not run off in the middle of the night.”
“You’re giving me even more of a reason to run.”
“Once you’ve slept and thought about it, you’ll know what I did was the right thing.” Blackmore nodded towards the door. “Now, go inside. And make sure to sleep well, Miss Hayward.”
Victoria knew she had no choice. She wouldn’t be getting out of this. Her heart sinking, she turned and started to get indoors. Only to stop when Blackmore spoke again.
“Victoria?” His voice was softer now, almost resigned. “It’s going to be all right. I promise.”
Victoria didn’t turn around. She didn’t know what to say to that. Instead, she pushed into the house and shut the door as quietly as she could. Then she sagged onto the stairs, buried her face in her hands, and began to sob.
***
Rafe woke up in a bad mood. He had barely had any sleep because of that woman. She had thrown his schedule out the window completely.
He understood why Victoria wanted to run away. He wanted to do it himself. But what possessed her to do it that way? Victoria had to have taken a leave of her senses. The thought of her being out there on her own and knowing harm could come to her left Rafe feeling cold. She had no idea about the real world.
That just made Rafe more annoyed. Victoria Hayward was going to be more trouble than he wanted to deal with. She was going to fight him every step of the way.
He couldn’t blame her, but Rafe didn’t want to handle it. He just wanted to go back to America.
But that was out of the question. Leaving the country as soon as he married was going to cause an uproar, and Rafe wasn’t about to take Victoria on the ship with him. That wasn’t fair to her. They were both stuck here.
And he had no idea what to do with her.
Rafe was fiddling with his cravat, trying to get it right, when there was a knock at the door. Sighing, he turned away from the mirror.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Charlie stuck his head into the room, giving him a beaming smile.
“Morning.”
“Charlie!” Relieved to see his friend, Rafe crossed the room and clasped the other man’s hand. “I hope you weren’t too bored while I was away.”
Charlie grinned.
“I can hardly get bored around here. There’s so much to do.”
“Why are you in Whitby, anyway? You asked me to meet up with you once I got back.” Rafe gestured at his surroundings. “Which is why I’m staying in a public house instead of my own home.”
“Well….” Now Charlie was blushing. “Amelia said that her mother owns a coffee house in Whitby, and I wanted to see what the mother was like before I say I’m keen on her daughter.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. Of course, it would be about a woman.
“You’re really smitten with my maid, aren’t you?”
“Can you blame me? She’s a ray of sunshine.”
“If you say so.” Rafe yawned loudly and went back to the window. “Fine, we’ll go and have breakfast there. Just let me sort out my cravat first. It’s not doing what I want.”
“Where’s Manning? Didn’t he meet you here?”
“I gave him time off while I was in London. I can mostly take care of myself, and he deserves a break.”
