“It does not matter. I will do whatever I must.” She exhaled, shaking her head.
“Whateveryou must,” Evan hummed.
“Yes,” she said, her voice stronger now. “I will not stand aside while my father condemns my sister to a life she does not want.”
“You are quite passionate about this,” he said, but that much was obvious. What else would compel a lady of her standing to visit him at an ungodly hour like this? He realized that he had already made a decision, and now, he was just…playingwith her.
She was fun to play with.
“I am. And you are capable of stopping it,” she repeated.
“And why should I stop it?” he asked her.
“Because you can. Because you have influence, power—things I do not have.”
“True,” he shrugged. That was the answer he had expected.
“And because you are not a cruel man,” she added quickly, watching him closely. Nowthatcaught him off guard.
It was not usual for him to be recognized for his generosityof all things.
“Who told you that?”
“I… assumed,” she stammered.
“I see.” His expression gave nothing away. “You assume I am not cruel simply because I have not been cruel to you.”
“I do not think you are without cruelty, but I do not think you are heartless either,” she swallowed.
Clever girl.
She was playing to his empathy now. Though—it was a surprise that she had assumed he had any.
“Help me,” she pressed, stepping closer now. “You have the ability to put an end to this marriage to him.”
“Yes, but,” he interrupted, “that does not mean I intervene in matters that do not concern me.”
“You have nothing to lose, Your Grace. And if you do this… if you help me…” She exhaled, gathering herself. “Then I owe you.”
His eyes flickered at that.
Ah.
I owe you.
They were words he had heard many times before in many situations when he had pulled people out of trouble. But somehow, they had never sounded so sweet as they did now.
“Very well,” he murmured.
“You will help?”
“I never said that,” he teased even though he had already made his decision long before.
Frustration flared across her features. “Then what?—?”
“I said,” he interrupted, stepping forward until there was only a breath of space between them, “that you have my interest.”
She swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”
