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At least Heinrich had something right, though she’d never admit it. She couldn’t say anything because she was a terrible liar. Sara wanted her brother gone, out of this house. The longer he stayed, the more he would taint the memories here.
‘It’s not false. I’ve put a ring on it, so to speak,’ Lance said, standing straighter and taller, taking faux offence. ‘One that’s as precious and sparkling as Sara. The light of my life.’
He looked down at her, warm and kind, his eyes dancing with entertainment, and she smiled in return. She couldn’t help herself. The man was simply too much.
Lance cupped her cheek. ‘Ah. There it is. What I’ve been waiting for.’ He smiled back, and the moment became something precious between them.
‘Stop this fakery!’ Heinrich shook his finger at Lance as if he were scolding. ‘Sara, men like this only want one thing. He’s using you and when he’s done he’ll cast you aside.’
Lance turned, mouth a thin line. ‘Like your family used her?’
That stopped Heinrich in his tracks. His eyes widened. ‘I have no idea what you’re speaking of.’
‘I’m talking about another convenient arrangement to shore up your family’s power. This time to a man almost twenty years her senior, whilst she was still wearing mourning clothes. Since Sara’s first fiancé inconvenientlydied.’
‘You’re besmirching my esteemed family when your own is such a disgrace, an utter blight on the aristocracy?’ Heinrich fixed his cold, cruel gaze on her. ‘Sara, you were destined to be Queen, andthisis who you choose?’
Lance moved in front of her, shielding her from Heinrich’s censure.
‘I’m from one of the oldest families in the UK. Distantly in line for the throne, as Sara kindly reminded me before we announced our engagement. So you see, Harold, she’s not really trading down.’
Sara hadn’t spoken up enough in her life, and she didn’t intend to be a coward now. She stepped to the side to see Heinrich and Lance glare at each other, like circling bulls pawing at the ground.
‘I’mnotgoing home,’ she said, crossing her arms and trying to look resolute when her stomach churned in a sickening sensation. Her hands trembled. ‘I’ve done my duty. I did it for years. Now is time forme. Go. I’m happy here.’
Heinrich sneered at her. ‘You turn your back on the family and there will benothingfor you. When this man casts you aside and you come fleeing home you’ll be no more than the dirt on our soles.’
Even though she tried not to feel the pain of those words, they sliced sharp and true. She’d long suspected her only value to the family was in being sold off to the highest bidder. Today proved it.
Before she could say anything in response, the door opened and George walked into the room with a tray containing a teapot, a trio of cups and a bottle of brandy.
‘Tea, Your Grace.’ He placed it on a small side table. ‘And brandy if so required. Do you need anything else?’
‘Thank you. Please wait, I require a moment.’ Lance’s focus turned to Heinrich once more, his eyes the cold colour of a glacial moraine, hard and green. ‘Say what you like about me, but you willneverspeak that way about Sara. George, where are the duelling pistols?’
Sara froze, as if the ice on the surface of Lake Morenburg had cracked and she’d plunged into the frigid waters beneath.
George remained ever the professional, completely impassive in the face of the drama surrounding him. Although his mouth might have twitched at the corners.
‘Sadly, we have no ammunition. They haven’t been used in two hundred years.’
Lance cocked an eyebrow. ‘Hmm. That long?’
‘With the greatest of respect, sir, you’re not the finest shot.’
‘But I am handy with a rapier.’ Lance homed in on her brother once more, eyes full of deadly intent. ‘Swords, then.’
Heinrich blanched. ‘There will be no duelling.’
‘You always were a coward. Unlike last time, there’s no one to take your place today, so of course there will be duelling. Where are the rapiers, George?’
‘Behind you, Your Grace. Would you like me to retrieve them from the cu—’
‘No.’ Lance stormed to a cupboard and thrust open the doors, frowning. Sara rushed to him, heart pounding. She had to stop this. Heinrich merely paced, clenching and unclenching his hands, muttering expletives all directed at her fake fiancé.
‘Lance?’ She placed her hand on his arm. His muscles tensed under her fingers. She didn’t know what she wanted to say, other than to protect this man who was becoming precious to her in ways she couldn’t even begin to contemplate right now. ‘He was in the army. He fenced at school.’
‘I know.’ Lance’s voice was hard as he withdrew two terrifying swords from the cupboard. Thin, gleaming blades of steel. ‘Your brother and I have a history with weapons like these. It’ll be all right. I did fencing too. Don’t let your brother dim your happiness. I might become truly angry if he causes that to happen.’
