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His glare lifted from her and the steel glint in his brown eyes found target on Lachlan. “You touch her again and you’re a dead man.”
“And you’re a—”
“For blasted sake, Reiner—Lach—stop. You’re both big and strong and can kill the other. We all bloody well understand it.” Her hands flew up on either side of her, her palms to both of the men. “This is exactly why you can’t be in the same room together.”
Reiner’s look dropped back to her. “Fine. I will be on just the other side of the door to the billiards room. No farther.”
“Yes—thank you.”
Reiner spun and stalked to a side entrance of the ballroom, through the door that led to the billiards room.
Lachlan didn’t even wait until Reiner closed the door before stepping in front of her, his voice a roar. “So you think to now tell me I can’t hate that bastard?”
Her hand went to her hips, squaring herself to him. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
“If not him—then who? Who’s the man that murdered Jacob? Who should I hate?”
“It was Falsted all along. We had it right to begin with. He was the one.”
Lachlan’s head swung back and forth, his hazel eyes frantic. “No. You saw the agreement for the purchase of the lands. And I confirmed it.” His arm swung up to point at the side door Reiner had disappeared into, his words lifting into a deafening growl. “That’s the blackguard that ordered Torrie’s family land cleared.”
“Reiner knew nothing of the fire, Lachlan. Didn’t order anything.” Her arms clasped in front of her ribcage. “Nothing. Nothing of the clearings.”
“Lies he’s apparently been feeding you.”
“Not lies, Lach.” Her forehead tilted down and her eyes turned up as she pierced him with her gaze, her words even against his raging. “You cannot hate him for it. Not when you don’t ken the truth.”
His eyebrows arched. “And you do?”
“He’s my husband, Lachlan, so aye, I do ken the truth.”
Lachlan shifted on his feet, his clenched fists banging into his thighs. “He’s not your husband yet.”
She held steady under his slicing gaze, taking a moment, just one second to breathe before she opened her mouth. “Actually he is. We were married in Scotland. The marriage tomorrow is a ruse meant to goad certain people in attendance into…action.”
“Bloody hell, Sloane.” His right arm flew high into the air and he advanced toward her, his forehead throbbing red. “Action? What the hell does that mean? What blasted idiocy has been going through your brain? No—don’t even try to explain this lunacy to me. Not when you should be home at Vinehill where you are safe.” His rapid words didn’t cease, every word a shot barking into the air. “Because you obviously haven’t been in London like you said you would be. Did you even go there? All this time and I thought you were safely ensconced in our townhouse and you’ve been tramping about the countryside—for what? And now you’re married? You’ve always been too damn headstrong and this is reprehensible—marrying the damn man that did this to our family when you should be at home. Do you even ken what poor health Torrie is in—and you’re down here getting married—married.”
The last word thundered into the room, vibrating in her ears.
For all that Reiner had cleared the room, surely everyone in the castle had just heard Lachlan’s latest tirade.
She waited seconds until he was merely skewering her with daggers in his eyes and not about to launch into another tirade.
She opened her mouth, her voice just above a whisper. “I went after him, Lach. I went after Reiner. I wanted to see him ruined just as much as you wanted to see him dead after what we learned from Falsted.”
A long sigh seethed out his clenched teeth. “What did you even think you could do?”
“Falsted suggested I come and steal something from Reiner that would ruin him were it to ever see the light of day. I came to retrieve the item. To ruin him.”
Lachlan’s eyebrow cocked. “It doesn’t matter, the man should die a slow death.”
Finally.
The first words that her brother had spoken that weren’t vibrating with rage. They lauded her husband’s death, but at least they weren’t spewed out of control. Small progress.
She moved forward and set her fingertips on the side of his arm, meeting his unyielding glare. “He didn’t do it, Lachlan.”
“Like hell he didn’t.” He jerked his arm from her touch. “He duped you.”
