She would be clumsy with a lack of knowledge, but anything to keep her daughter safe had to be done.
Lunging towards the first knife she saw, her elbow drove into Vance’s ribs as she tried to shove him away. She struggled, forcing her thoughts off the hedge maze, trying to grip the table to ground herself, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t?—
The door to the kitchen banged against the wall, making the men spin around and Sibyl yelp.
The housekeeper entered, her eyes wide and her face pale. Mrs. Collier looked around at the men, her older face tightening as if she thought she could fight them off. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a figure stepped up behind her, and Sibyl tried to bite back a scream.
How many of them are there?
Her chest hurt so terribly as she looked at the new looming stranger.
Suddenly, her house stopped feeling like her home. It was no longer a safe place with too many men she did not know. She felt so, so alone.
“Leave Lady Kerrington alone, Mr. Vance,” the man ordered.
Sibyl started.
He is not with them?
Her eyes trailed over the man’s face, the thick, dark beard that covered his square jawline. His dark brown hair was slightly disheveled, brushing the nape of his neck. His broad frame filled the kitchen doorway, and Sibyl’s mouth went dry.
Are you here to fight them or take me? Are you another debt collector?
Her hands trembled, as he didn’t even spare her a glance. His eyes, dark as his hair, were narrowed on Mr. Vance.
“And what is it to you?” Mr. Vance challenged, laughing drily. “We are conducting business, and it will do you no good to involve yourself where you are not welcome.”
The man let out a dry laugh of his own as he stepped further into the kitchen.
Heavens, he wasbroad, and Sibyl was terrified.
“I believe I am welcome. But by all means, if you wish not to heed my warning, then so be it.” He tilted his head from side to side. “I will kill your men and fill the wine bottles they have emptied with their blood. And then, when I offer you a glass, youwilldrink it.”
Mr. Vance gaped at him. “Who are you?”
“You should have asked that before you challenged me.” The stranger cocked his head, a satisfied, dangerous smirk on his face. “I am the Duke of Stonehelm, and you do not want to make an enemy of me.”
Sibyl watched the confrontation with bated breath, unsure of what to do. What was the Duke of Stonehelm doing in her home?
She did not know the Duke, but she had heard his name through Isabella and her endless connections. Still, his face wasn’t familiar.
“Leave,” the Duke commanded once more.
He sneered at the stolen food, seemingly disgusted by how they had ransacked her kitchen.
Or perhaps he is sneering because he thinks the lady of the house is so weak that she has let them steal her food.
“Lord Kerrington’s debts belong to me now, and you may check with your employer if you doubt me,” the Duke added.
“Ha!” Mr. Vance sniggered. “Why would a duke take on an earl’s debts? What are they to you?”
The Duke said nothing at first, but his expression turned thunderous with menace. It was clear that he didn’t think these men were worth his words anymore, not if they did not believe him anyway.
Even Sibyl was having a hard time processing the situation. She wondered why a man in his position would willingly take on the debts her husband had racked up.
The Duke cocked his head slowly. “That is none of your concern. Whatshouldconcern you is my warning: step away from the Countess of Kerrington and her possessions, or I shall put you through that wall and leave you there for the rats to finish.”
Mr. Vance gulped.
