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“He wishes to protect you—”
“Why are you on his side?” She pouted.
“I am not. I am always on your side, but that does not mean I do not understand him.” His words were not wrong. I had used my position to get closer to her, but I could only come as close as she allowed.
“Then let us go to Gretna Green,” she proposed with a smile.
“Do you truly wish for that? Fine.” I took her hand in mine. “Let us go at once.”
“Wait!” She pulled back as I knew she would.
“See, it is not what you want, and I know it. You desire your brother’s blessing, and this is not how we shall gain it. You must return home.”
She frowned but knew it to be the truth as well. Reaching over, I pulled her hood over her head.
“Where is your horse? I shall ride back with you,” I said.
“I walked.”
“You what?” I stared at her with my eyes wide, then glanced down at the hem of her dress to see it was stained. “Alone, at night, you—”
“Someone would have noticed or heard the horse,” she whispered back. “I have walked here many times in the past.”
I could, once more, understand her brother as I fought the urge to tell her never to do so again. She very well could have found herself in the greatest danger.
“I see the worry in your eyes, but I promise you, staying home was often much more dangerous for me.”
“Even still, promise me you will not go out alone at night again.”
She would not answer.
“Verity.”
“Fine, I promise.”
I did not trust that, but I said nothing as I led her to the door, then released her hand. Luckily, Mrs. Stoneshire did not have many customers, but there was still the risk of running into a guest or two.
“How did Mrs. Stoneshire allow you in here?” I whispered to her.
“I paid her, of course.”
“Of course,” I said as she came out into the hall. However, as she did, another person entered the hall. Her brother.
Fuck!
If his eyes could have turned red from fury, they surely would have. He gripped the gloves in his hands so tightly they damn near tore.
“I came back to find her here and was returning her home,” I said to him quickly.
He looked only at his sister and moved to the side. “Return to the carriage.”
“Evander—”
“Do not test me.” He nearly growled. “Return to the carriage at once.”
She looked at me fearfully, but I simply stepped aside as well, allowing her space.
“Please, brother, do not hurt him,” she whispered, but he would not look at her now. Instead, his menacing glare was upon me. He waited for her to reach the bottom of the stairs before he walked forward. I entered the room, for at least there, he could see nothing was out of order.
“You are to pack your things, Dr. Darrington, and leave here at once,” he ordered upon entering.
“You may forbid me from your estate but not from here, Your Grace,” I said to him.
His jaw clenched, and he stepped closer to me. Maybe to keep from shouting, maybe to strangle me, I was not yet sure. “What is it you want?”
“I thought I had made it clear: I wish to marry—”
“Do you desire her for her dowry? Is that it? If so, I shall disinherit her.”
Now it was I who struggled to contain my anger. “I may be a bastard, Your Grace, but I am not poverty-stricken. Regardless of her dowry, I have more than enough for both of us.”
“Not working as a doctor.”
“As I told you, my father is—”
“So, it is his money you mean to take for yourself?”
“Is that not your situation as well? Like every other nobleman in this country, are you not simply taking from your fathers before you?”
“You are just like him.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “What I have is mine by inheritance—”
“As is mine. Do not think that my brother or my father are similar to yours. The situation of my birth was unfortunate, but he has cared for me and provided what he can all the same.”
“You say this now, but one day, your father will be gone, and you shall watch your younger brother—Alexander, I believe—and jealousy—”
“Again, you mistake me for Fitzwilliam!” I shouted in his face. “Can you only see and relate to others based on your own family and experience?”
“Let us say you are correct,” he shot back. “Let us say you are provided all you need. You will still never have what she needs. A respected title. All the girls she has ever known shall become the lady of somewhere. They shall stand esteemed in society. While you will cause her to live with her head bent in shame. If you truly cared about her, you would see this and leave for her own sake.”
