The Scandalous Duke Takes a Bride (26 page)

“Wake up, man. I’ve a few questions for you before you’re thrown out in the gutter for the trash you are. Before your debtors happen upon you.” Another slap of Hayden’s hand against wet—bloody, she imagined—skin.

She bit the insides of her cheeks hard, hating the violence she allowed to rise in Hayden. Hating herself more for thinking herself safe from Miller and living so complacently, vulnerably, when she’d vowed never to do so again.

“Speak, man.”

A mumble of incoherent sentences was all that followed, then the disgusting sound of Miller spitting on the floor before he laughed, the sound broken and garbled as he wheezed in a lungful of air. Had Hayden broken the man’s ribs? Why did violence have to follow her everywhere? Was there something about her that incited anger in men?

She pinched her eyes shut tighter, hoping it would get the image of the valet bloody and beaten out of her head. It helped long enough for her to hear Hayden smack him hard across the face again and demand, “Answer me,” in a much firmer, more dangerous voice than previously.

“I’m fetching my master’s things.”

“There is nothing left of your master. Personal effects were cleaned out after his funeral.”

The man coughed and hacked up something from his throat before he spat again. Jessica swallowed back her disgust, unable to move, not wanting to listen, yet needing to know everything said between the two.

Hayden had told her about his run-in with Miller before, and while she didn’t know exactly what was said then, she knew she could never leave him alone with Miller in fear he’d have another man’s blood on his hands. And all because of her.

This wasn’t right, but she didn’t have the strength to stand up, to stop it; she didn’t have the might to move from where she crouched against the wall like some defenseless victim.

“What were you hoping to find?” Hayden asked in a voice that tolerated no argument. She was sure Hayden would hit Miller again if he didn’t answer this time.

“Nothing is ever truly lost forever,” Miller responded, cryptic as usual.

She grasped on to that thread of familiar that made her hate this man so much and steeled her nerves bit by bit.

“You had a chance to start new, and you pissed it away the moment you stepped off that boat.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m doing as my master wishes. Nothing more, nothing less. I made a promise, Duke, but of course you’re too good to understand exactly what that means for a man like me.”

When Hayden chuckled the sound slithered uncomfortably down Jessica’s spine. She took full responsibility for turning him into the man she suddenly didn’t recognize. Would he have ever acted so lowly, gotten his hands so dirty, if not for her?

She had to stop running away from this. What choice did she have but to face her fears once and for all?

She took her first calming breath since the whole ordeal with Miller had started, and pushed herself higher on the wall. Almost to her feet, she took another steadying breath and braced her stomach for the sight she was about to witness. She would face whatever came tonight. She was done shying away from the violence that had made up her marriage. Miller could not hurt her. He was helpless, really, without Fallon’s backing.

She turned away from the wall and toward the entrance of the room. Hayden looked up. She could tell he was surprised to see her, but he did not ask her to leave again. Perhaps he knew she needed to see this with her own eyes, witness his truth with her own ears.

Hayden grasped the lapels of Miller’s jacket and nearly lifted the man from the floor, since he was limp in Hayden’s arms and by all appearances too weak to stand on his own.

“What did you hope to find?” Hayden asked.

“What right have you to it? His Lordship always thought your friendship resembling that of a consort to the slut that was supposed to be his wife. Was it your bastard in her womb? Did you fuck the wench the nights you took her from this house?”

Hayden shook Miller once. Twice. The valet only cackled before coughing up another mouthful of blood and spat that on the floor next to Hayden’s boot. “Guard your tongue, man, or I’ll cut it out and damn your reasons for stealing into the house like a thief.”

Jessica walked farther into the room. Her fear receded with every step as she neared her foe. She felt no desire to act out against him; she just wanted to know his reasons for coming into her home.

What did he think to find?

“Why are you here, Miller?” Her voice was strong, not feeble and weak as she feared it might be.

“The bitch comes to your side quickly, Duke. You should be proud to have tamed the redheaded witch. She’s fierce but tamable with the right amount of force, my lordship always said. He brought her to heel in a fashion.”

“I’ll not warn you again about guarding your tongue.”

There must have been something in her look that stalled Hayden, for he raised his hand to strike the man again but dropped his fist as she approached and knelt next to Miller, where he hung precariously from Hayden’s grip.

She was unafraid for the first time in so many years that tears pricked at her eyes. Miller wasn’t deserving of them, though, and she shed none as they first blurred her vision before drying.

“Let him go.”

“Jess.”

She pressed her hand to Hayden’s strong jaw. “Trust me.”

Before long, Hayden released him. Miller thumped to the floor with a heavy thud.

“Does it bother you that I’m not afraid of you, Miller?” she asked, her voice calm and even.

“Don’t matter much to me. I’m not here for you, now, am I?”

“What good can you do for Fallon when he’s cold and lonely in his grave?”

“It’s his lasting wish that I destroy your life.”

The energy such hatred must take. That was probably what had killed her husband in the end. The poison he spewed out finally ate him up from the inside out.

“And how do you think to accomplish that? You’ve already ensured that I’m a laughingstock, the brunt of all jokes among the peerage. You’ve stolen the child from my womb in fear that it was not Fallon’s.” It surprised her how level her voice was when she’d avoided this man like the plague all the years he’d been in her husband’s service. “Look at you, Miller. You’re no better kept than a street urchin; you smell like one, too. Do you believe Fallon wanted you to live your life as a wastrel, running from those you are indebted to?”

“It never mattered what I wanted. I promised to bring you down so far that you were forced into a poorhouse.”

“What a fool you are.” She was proud that the disdain was sharp in her comment. Superior and without remorse, which was good for what she was about to tell him.

“Do you want to know one of my secrets, Miller?”

He looked at her with suspicion. Rightfully, he should. For he would not be long for this world if he didn’t run fast and far away from London.

“You don’t have any secrets. His Lordship told me everything.” He brought his hand up to his mouth and wiped the sleeve of his stained coat across his mouth.

“Oh, but I do have secrets. Many that you wouldn’t have been privy to once I tossed you out of this house.”

His hatred was so palpable that it should have caused her resolve and determination to falter. But it didn’t. Once the truth had been revealed about Miller and her husband’s involvement to destroy the baby in her womb, she’d had one important task to complete before the estate funds were completely out of her control.

“I purchased your gambling debts, you see.”

Hayden stepped closer, his legs brushing the bottom of her skirts.

“I used the money that would have been your annual wage toward your chits. I paid top dollar for some of them, and do you know what I did once I held them all in my hands? I gave them all away. Do you want to know who I gave them to?”

She didn’t think it possible for his color to fade to a wan, deathly yellow, but it did just that.

“Mr. Enders was ever thankful.” She paused, letting the name linger in the air between them. That had been the one thing she had control over once she’d learned the full depth of Miller’s betrayal and contribution in poisoning her. “You do know a Mr. Enders, do you not?”

She leaned in close to Miller’s ear to whisper what Mr. Enders had told her when she’d given him the chits with one request, one favor. Miller’s smell was fetid—as though he’d forgotten to bathe after sleeping in a gutter. It was as though death already clung to him.

While she’d been frightened of this man for so long, he no longer had any power to hurt her. His time was limited, and she’d not feel sorry about it when all she had to do was look outside to the roses in the garden to be reminded of what he’d done to her.

“He said to tell you … he’s coming for you and will catch you the moment he has word that you’ve crossed over into London. What he’ll do to you will make anything we can do amateurish. I suggest you run.”

She stood away from Miller and smoothed out the front of her dress. It was a nervous habit of hers, but she deserved the solace it brought for finally standing up to this man.

She placed her hand on Hayden’s arm when he made a move to grab the worthless man by his dirty cravat again. “Let him leave on his own.”

Hayden looked at her, eyes narrowed. It was obvious he didn’t trust her judgment in this. She wasn’t sure she trusted her own judgment right now.

On unsteady legs Miller stumbled toward the door. Not only did he look and smell like hell; it also appeared like he hadn’t eaten well since he’d been discharged from his position, for his clothes hung on his skeletal form like secondhand rags.

Jessica didn’t want to be anywhere near the culprit, so she stepped closer to Hayden. Despite her bravado, she wished his protective arms were wrapped around her. Hayden must have sensed her unease, for he stepped between her and Miller. The anxiety she felt was almost overwhelming.

Once Miller left the room, she’d breathed a sigh of relief.

Hayden turned, his expression questioning, worried, as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. She pressed her cheek to his chest and listened to the steady, soothing rhythm of his heart.

“Don’t move from here,” he said, releasing her. “I’m going to make sure he leaves and that he doesn’t have a way back into the house.”

She numbly nodded and hugged her arms around herself. Was it really over? Would she see Miller again after tonight? There were so many questions flitting across her mind. First she must assure Miss Camden that all was restored to normal order. What would Miss Camden think if she saw Hayden’s bleeding head? Jessica resolved to visit her guest as she waited for Hayden to rid the house of the abomination who was Miller.

Chapter 18

Oh, the things I dig up with regularity are sometimes alarming. What does that say about the depravity of society? The things I’m about to reveal this time are about a certain Lady H——. The most revered Lady H——. She has been caught in so compromising a position that word has washed the streets of London that her husband up and left her on her return from her country stay. I always knew she’d be caught in the act, as it were, before long. Her young Mr. T—— will probably go on to boast about his conquest, though I don’t see the attraction.…
Mayfair Chronicles
, August 1846 When Hayden came back into the house, Jessica was waiting for him on the stairs that led to the second floor. He stretched out his hand to brush his knuckles down the side of her face. She did the same, hating the evidence of his injury.

“Let’s get this cleaned up.” She couldn’t express how sorry she was for the cut on his head.

“The blood will wash away. I’m fine, Jess. Tell me you’re well, too.”

She nodded her head as she hugged him close. “I was so worried you’d be hurt. And then, when I couldn’t face Miller a moment longer…”

“Never feel bad about that. I had the situation under control, and I wouldn’t dare chance letting that man anywhere near you.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

“Come, we should adjourn to a more comfortable setting.”

He tried to lead her to the parlor on the main floor, but she needed to go up to her husband’s room. There was something there she needed to find. And aside from that, there was a bathing chamber where she could clean the blood from Hayden’s brow.

“There’s something I overlooked.” She took his hand in hers and pulled him up the rest of the stairs and back into Fallon’s private chambers.

She left Hayden standing in the spacious sitting area so she could wet some linen towels to wash away the blood smeared across his head. When she came out of the bathing chamber Hayden was sitting on the edge of a chair. He sat forward with his elbows on his knees and his head resting in his hands as though he held up the whole weight of the world. In some aspects he did hold up parts of her world.

She stood in front of him and dabbed away the blood. For such a small wound, it had bled a great deal. Once the evidence of the cut was washed away, she brushed her fingers through his hair and pulled him gently against her belly.

“Why did you let him leave?” Hayden asked.

“Because he had made his point in breaking into my home. What was I going to do, Hayden?” She searched his eyes, feeling great remorse for everything that had happened. Her hand reached out to touch the laceration high on his head. “I couldn’t watch you beat him to a pulp. I would rather have his blood on my hands, not yours.”