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“John, be careful!” Margaret cried.
John put up a hand to steady her. “All shall be well,” he assured her.
There was tense silence that followed, and John realized that he did not have his pistol on hand. So be it. He would use his bare fists if he had to.
“So, you love her?” Darkmoor asked, clasping his hands behind his back.
“I do. And she loves me in return.”
Darkmoor turned back towards the coach and smiled at Margaret, which made John’s skin crawl. He then turned back towards John. “That is very amusing. Do you understand the nature of this arrangement?”
“I do, and it is ghastly.”
Darkmoor held his smile. “Yes, I suppose to the outside eye it might appear as though it is. But you understand that I can take care of her. And from the look of your apparel,” Darkmoor looked him up and down, “I cannot imagine that you can do the same.”
“I shall take care of her heart,” John replied with great conviction.
This caused Darkmoor to laugh. “That is very funny. And you think such matters are important?”
“As I told you in the tavern, I think that these matters are of the utmost importance.”
“I see.” Darkmoor turned to Margaret once again. “Do you love this man?”
Margaret froze. John could not take his eyes off of her. Finally, she faintly nodded, and even from that distance, John could see tears in her eyes.
“Now, the truth has been revealed,” John went on. “So why don’t you trust her to my care so that Margaret can live a happy life?”
Now, Darkmoor’s eyes were narrow and dark. His jaw was clenched as Darkmoor said, “You stupid young man. You lust for her, do you not? Well, I suppose that I do, as well. But do you really think that your lust is love?”
John paused. The anger and fury that rose in him was so overwhelming, he had to prevent himself from taking Darkmoor by the neck. So, the old cad lusted for Margaret? If he thought that he was going to satisfy that lust, then Darkmoor had another thing coming.
“Considering that you are marrying a girl whom you purchased and is several years your junior, don’t you think it inappropriate to talk of lust?”
Darkmoor shrugged. “Why should it be? We are men, after all. These are the matters of life.”
John felt his face color in fury, but as for Margaret, she was pale as a ghost. It disgusted him that she had to overhear this conversation. When it came to matters of the flesh, it required privacy, trust, and devotion. John could give her all of these things, whereas Darkmoor could not.
“I would like to end this conversation now,” Darkmoor said, pulling a pistol from the inside of his coat.”
“John!” Margaret called out in terror.
His heart did not quicken. He gazed at Margaret, showing her that he was not afraid. Darkmoor went on, “Now, I am going to step back into my coach and return home. It is best if you do not follow us, for this pistol might then be pointed at Margaret.”
Now, John felt the fear and panic. Darkmoor was so deranged, and John sensed that he was not bluffing. John calmly stepped back and willed himself to inhale.
