Allie had no doubt he would succeed eventually. The man was too bloody single-minded to do otherwise.
But for now, Queen Victoria considered Kendall, at barely twenty-seven years of age, a bit too young for the title of Prime Minister. She preferred more seasoned statesmen like Lord Aberdeen for the position.
That didn’t stop Kendall from campaigning, however—collecting political favors and governmental influence the way other men amassed horses or lovers. Every duke needed a hobby, she supposed. Kendall had chosen his.
“I instructed the coachman to drive an aimless route through the city,” Kendall said into the coach’s silence. “I will inform him when we are to return home.”
Ah.“Giving yourself adequate time to castigate me?”
“There is no need for the servants to overhear our private business.”
“Is that what you call my captivity now? Our ‘private business’?”
Was it her imagination, or did Kendall sigh at her words? His right knee bounced in the dim light.
Allie jerked her chin away and stared out at the gaslit streets passing by, the cobblestones glistening with evening dew.
Why did her foolish heart still faintly pang at the sight of her twin’s distress?
He kidnapped you,she bitterly reminded herself.He has spent the last eight months ensuring you have no options other than the paltry ones he offers you.
“I know you are angry with me—” he began.
“Understatement that.”
“—but matters do not need to be like this between us. We can be allies—”
“Allies?!Porca miseria!Do you even understand the meaning of that word?”
“Watch your language, Lady Allegra.”
“LikehellI will! Would you prefer I use the Englishdammitinstead?”
“I would prefer for you to cease this endless waspishness. United, we could—”
“We willneverbe allies, Kendall. You left me a prisoner at Hawthorn for nearly eight months—my every move watched around the clock and scarcely a word from yourself. London has been no better. My entire existence is a cold misery at present. Those are not the actions of an ally.”
Kendall’s back stiffened, his eyes black pools in the darkness. “I clothe you in silks, and instead of gratitude, I receive accusations of—”
“Bah!You dress me in silks for the same reason a horse merchant brushes out a filly’s coat—you wish to attract a high-bidding buyer when the brood mare goes to auction. Only the venue, Tattersall’s or Almack’s, marks the difference.”
“I grow weary of your recalcitrant behavior and crass tongue.” Kendall gave her his profile, staring out the window. “You would be wise to not provoke me.”
Allie nearly snorted in reply.
Misbehavior was the only weapon she had at her disposal. She would continue to make his life a living hell until he set her free.
“And as I keep repeating, you do not have to tolerate my ‘crass tongue.’ Merely return the two things I prize most—the Salzi Mine and my freedom—and you shall never see nor hear from me again.”
“Your absence is not my aim, Lady Allegra. I value your comfort and happiness.” He whipped his gaze back to hers. “Besides, our mother deeded the mine to our father, and well you know it. The mine belongs to the dukedom now.”
“Mamma signed it away under duress. To save her life and possibly my own. Could you truly have forgotten how those events played out? I remember you raging about it at the time.”
The guttering street lamps rimmed a muscle twitching in Kendall’s jaw. “Those events occurred in another life, Lady Allegra. Do not think me the soft boy I was then.”
Tossing her head, Allie turned away, gazing out her window once more. The yellow glow of the gaslight reflected off the low-hanging clouds and the spires of Westminster Abbey looming ahead.
Shehatedthinking upon their parents’ grim history and the gaping wound of Tristan’s loss that had resulted. And yet, with her brother following so closely in their father’s vile footsteps, the pain of the past blazed bright.
