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A sudden click behind her drew her attention, and she narrowed her eyes.
“Jane?” she asked, a little confused, for the maid had been gone but a few minutes. The door opened as the golden handle was pushed down. Bridget turned fully and when the door opened wide enough to allow a view of the person behind it, her heart dropped, and a gasp escaped her.
Standing there, in the shadow of the dark hallway behind him, was none other than Lord Bragg.
“So, here you are,” he said with a sneer. “Hiding out with the duke.” He shook his head. “I am disgusted, Bridget. Utterly disgusted. My future wife is betraying me already, before the vows are said. You are no better than the common—”
“Stop!” Bridget called out, determined not to let the man talk down to her anymore. “It is over, Oliver.”
“Over?” he replied, his eyebrows raised so high that a deep frown appeared on his forehead.
“Over,” Bridget repeated. “You and I shall never wed. I never wanted to. You-you are…” She stopped speaking, aware that she ought not to provoke him. She was in a precarious situation, to say the least, alone in a chamber on the second floor of the house where she was hiding, without any escape.
She had to remain calm. If Oliver was there, then chances were that Graham would follow soon. He had to. Her mind raced as she put together the practicalities of the sudden change.
“What am I, dearest Bridget?” Oliver asked in a tone that dripped with sarcasm. “Speak your mind if you are so determined.”
Bridget shook her head. “It does not matter. The marriage is off. I will not marry you.”
He scoffed. “Is that so? Remember that I hold your family’s fate in my hands. I own your father’s debts. I could demand payment in full. Where would that leave you? Homeless. Oh, or do you think that dearGrahamwould take you on?” He let out a snicker that chilled her to the bones.
“Graham is a good man. He will do what is right. Unlike you, he has true honor.”
“Is that so?” Oliver said and walked toward her in slow, measured steps. His eyes sparkled with pure evil, and the corners of his mouth twitched the closer he came. “And what if I tell him how his sister died?”
Bridget ground her teeth so hard, her jaw hurt. “The truth? That you killed her? He already knows.” She held back from telling him that the constable was almost certainly on his way to find him. However, the expression on his face indicated thatshe had already said more than she should have. A shadow flitted across the man's face butthen it was replaced by another smirk.
“Is that the truth you told him? That I did it?” He clicked his tongue. “A liar and a cheat.”
Bridget narrowed her eyes but said nothing, allowing Oliver to carry on speaking. “I shall have to tell him the truth, then. The real truth.”
“And what, pray, is that?” Bridget said, her voice shaking.
“Thatyoukilled his beloved sister. Out of envy. You wanted me right from the start. You wanted to elevate yourself by marrying me, but Mary got in the way. She took your chance, your opportunity, so you acted,” he grinned. Bridget shook her head, determination soaring through her.
“It is a lie, and we both know it. You are the one who murdered her in cold blood.”
“So? I shall deny it,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “I will insist it was you. It would not be the first time a young lady has taken matters into her own hands. After all, the sole stronger force than desire for love is the all-consuming longing for status and security.”
“He will never believe it,” she hissed.
“And why is that?” Oliver taunted. Bridget took a deep breath, about to defend herself when the door creaked again.
“Because I know her. And I love her,” Graham’s deep, strong voice said as he stepped into the room. Bridget's heart leapt, wishingshe could run to him,hold him. Oliver stood in the way. Mary's haunting words came back to her asthe man she loved and the man she was supposed to marrysquared off—the danger that had hung over them for so long, finding them at long last.
Graham would try to save her, she knew. Yetthe deranged look in Oliver Bragg's eyes indicatedhe'd stop at nothing. And if Graham did try tostop him, he might kill him. The idea of losing himsent shivers of dread and despair throughout her body.
Bridget wanted nothing more than to tell him to leave, to run, to save himself. But she knew he would not. He would stand up for her. He would do whatever it took to stop Bragg—even if it cost him everything.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
Graham clenched his fists as he entered the room, trying to prevent himself from punching Oliver Bragg in the face. Hearing him threaten Bridget with his outrageous lies had enraged him enough while he stood outside her chamber listening. That fury, however, paled in comparison to the onehe felt when he saw the pain on herface upon entering.
Their gazes briefly met, and he hoping to reassure her of his faith in her simply by looking at her.
“Well, well,” Lord Bragg said. “If it isn’t the Duke of Hertfordshire himself. Decided to join us, have you? To save your damsel in distress from the big bad wolf? Valiant, courageous indeed,” he mocked.
Graham sneered and took a step forward. “I’ve come to bring you to justice.”
