He was glorious.
Chauncey’s bearded face was red with anger. His gaze was filled with hatred and was centered on the baron in the center of the room. He strode across the floor in a matter of seconds until he was nose to nose with Lord Wayford. Both Pippa and her aunt looked on helplessly as the two men faced each other.
“T-this is my home?—”
“I don’t give a damn.” Chauncey shoved his forefinger into her uncle’s chest, hard. Pippa could do nothing but stare at him, mesmerized; his face was twisted in a deadly sneer, chest heaving. “If I ever hear you say another curt word to or about my wife, I will pummel you like the scum you are.”
“H-how dare you?” Lord Wayford yelled, visibly shaking as he stared up at Pippa’s husband.
“How dare I?” Chauncey asked, his eyes in a murderous haze. “It was you who conspired with my father to separate us and then blackmailed him once you discovered the true father of Maggie’s child.”
“We both know that you had no intentions of marrying the girl. I did you both a favor saving her from you.” Spittle flew out of her uncle’s mouth, sliding down his chin.
“I had every intention of marrying her. A part of me has always been in love with her, even as a boy.” The confession stole Pippa’s breath as she gazed at her husband with an insurmountable need.
“I wasn’t going to allow you to ruin her chances of an advantageous marriage. She should’ve repaid me for taking her in after her parents died?—”
“Repay you?” her aunt shouted, rounding on her husband. “It was my father’s fortune who kept us all well fed. Those funds belonged to my sister and myself. I had every right to care for her daughter under my roof, and you squandered it all on gambling and women!”
“I gained nothing from our marriage. While your father was alive, I couldn’t touch your funds.” He flung his hand at her aunt. “It was all her parents’ fault. Then I was saddled with her, another mouth to feed.”
Chauncey lunged at Lord Wayford, grabbing him by his lapels and pulling the smaller man to him. “I want you out of thishouse tonight. If I ever see you near my wife or yours again, I will not be responsible for what I do to you.” His whispered words were deadly, causing Pippa to shiver. “You think I don’t see the bruise on Lady Wayford’s face? You are a coward who preys on women, and I will not allow you to harm anyone in my family ever again.” Chauncey shoved her uncle away, causing the other man to fall to the ground before he scurried back and ran out of the room.
She wasn’t sure if her uncle would be out of her aunt’s life permanently, but she hoped they had seen the last of him. He was a vile and cruel man, and her aunt deserved to be free.
“Will you be all right without him? What about his debts?” Pippa asked, panic filling her at the thought of her uncle’s debtors coming to take what little her aunt had.
Lady Wayford gave her a small smile that did not reach her eyes. “I’ll be fine. We can sell the house. I can go live with one of your cousins.”
“You can stay with us.” St. Clara reached out and grasped her aunt’s shoulder. “I’ll inquire about Lord Wayford’s debts tomorrow. You should not have to suffer because of your husband.”
“Thank you, St. Clara. You have been so kind. I’m so thrilled you two found each other again.” Pippa’s aunt squeezed his hand, and the act warmed Pippa’s heart.
“No one is happier than I am,” Chauncey said, gazing over at Pippa, sending sparks of awareness through her.
She still needed to discuss her laboratory with him, but for now, she would bask in his overwhelming kindness to her aunt.
“Good. Now, you two should get back to Bennett House.” Her aunt ushered them toward the door.
“I’m not certain we should leave you alone with him here,” Pippa said, worried that Lord Wayford would be cruel to her aunt when she and Chauncey left.
“It will be fine.” A determined look spread over her face. “Besides, I have more to say to my husband. You go to your new home, and I’ll see you three tomorrow.”
Her aunt looked from Pippa and Chauncey over to Newt who was lounging on the floor sleeping as if there was not a grand shouting match right in front of him.
Leaving her aunt alone in the house with a man that had been nothing but cruel and conniving left Pippa uneasy. Picking up Newt, she allowed Chauncey to guide them away.
As they exited the smaller townhouse, a cool breeze swept around them, and the setting sun casting a glow over the deserted streets of Mayfair. It was only then that Pippa remembered she was indeed cross with her husband.
Stopping in the space between the two townhouses, she turned to him, tilting her head to the side to peer at him. “What did you do with my laboratory?”
Chauncey ignored his wife’s persistent questions as he led her through their home and to the garden. When he was a boy, the garden had been the one place he could explore away from the watchful eye of his father. It was where he’d first heard a crying girl who stood in front of a tree.
His plan had been to save the surprise for the following day where he would beg her to forgive him and stay with him forever. She was correct that he was not the victim, and taking on the pain of the past was taking away from his mother. He knew nowthat he could not dwell on it any longer; he had to move forward with his life and his family.
Pippa was his family. She, his brother, Maggie, his niece, Emily, and Lady Wayford all needed him to be a better man than his father.
Stopping outside of the small greenhouse that had been abandoned for decades, he turned to face his wife, her brow crinkled in question. She was adorable in the rising moonlight, the wind whipping around her, brushing loose strands of her hair against creamy skin.
