Clever girl.
And yet it was not pride or relief that he felt. Leo was vexed by a simple piece of jewelry. It irritated him immensely to see it around her neck. It was an irrefutable fact. The moment he found out that this was Greyhaven’s gift, he had to fight with himself not to pull that thing off her neck and throw it away.
“There you are, Leo.”
If there was ever prize for worst timing, this one would be by far the best candidate. Because still lost in his irrational rage, Leo heard the last voice he wanted or needed.Aaron.
Slowly, afraid that he would for sure snap in the middle of the ton, Leo turned only to see his half-brother regard him with a smile on his face. Leo ground his jaw, his hands curled in fists, quite eager for a demonstration of all that he had learned in the ring. Surely, it was a shame to leave these lessons go to waste.
“Aaron,” Leo said with a warmth reserved for tombs.
“Always so sour, Leo,” Aaron chuckled. “Are you not enjoying the splendid party?”
“I was merely seconds ago. A pity you had to ruin the effect by arriving.”
“Ah. The Duke of Mildenhall.” Aaron said with a smirk. “Tell me, does it ever get tiring, playing the part of the unmovable mountain? Or do you enjoy watching the rest of us scramble at your feet?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Leo hissed, and he looked at the man with a cold look that would have frozen the sunrays touching the grass around them. “I rarely look down.”
This barb hit the mark. Aaron’s charming face dissolved into resentment, raw, ugly, deep. Aaron was not quick enough to hide it and Leo was certain he was not even trying. The younger man gathered his senses quickly and smoothed his expression.
“Oh, but I hear that youdolook down.” Aaron’s voice administered venom in the right dosage, not to kill immediately but to poison slowly. “At a certain Viscount’s daughter.”
Leo’s blood boiled. Today would be the day he would occupy the ton’s rumor mill for a different kind of scandal. He was going to pulp this insolent, insufferable cub to the ground. To think that he can put Prim in his mouth.
“Aaron, I would strongly advise you to choose your next words with the outmost care for your well-being. In fact, it would be most prudent not to talk at all.”
If Aaron heard the very real threat in Leo’s voice, he chose to ignore it. Leo starting writing in his mind the letter that his mother would receive, informing that one of her sons met an untimely, if entirely justified, demise. A small, cruel smile played on Aaron’s lips, relishing the sight of Leo’s formidable composure stretched to its most flimsy, gossamer threads.
“I was merely going to point out that the poor girl has been tangled in a very nasty business, wouldn’t you say?”
Aaron moved, circling just at the edge of Leo’s reach, his voice dark and muted and deceptively light.
“First the sheets” Aaron hissed over Leo’s shoulder. “Who knows what other threats may befall on her?”
Leo’s fury gave way to razor-sharp focus. This was not just Aaron coming to gloat that he tangled Prim in a scandal with him. No, this was something new, worse, darker. He turned around and eyed Aaron. Seeing the pure panic in his eyes, Aaron let out a chilling sneer.
“Aaron, what did you do?” Leo’s voice carried deep.
Such was his fury that others that didn’t her clearly what he was saying, they moved away to avoid the menacing energy he was exuding.
“Me?” Aaron said, bringing his glass to his lips, looking at Leo over the brim. “I am simply appreciating the hospitality.”
“Talk or I will make sure this is the last thing you will ever appreciate,” Leo hissed.
“Perhaps you had better focus on your courtship. You shouldn’t neglect her for too long.”
Leo felt cold sweat run down his spine. This scoundrel was threatening Prim. He had the nerve! Leo looked at the spot she last saw Prim. She was not there. He scanned the gardens to locate her blonde hair. Nowhere. Breathing heavily, still pinned on the spot, he looked for the twins. Where the twins were, she would be by their side. He breathed with ease when he found thegirls by the biscuits table. Only for his heart to drop once more. The twins were alone.
“A crowded party is such a labyrinth, isn’t it?” Aaron’s voice dripped hatred, closer to Leo now. “So easy for a young lady to get lost.”
The control that Leo was clinging on, snapped. Still, he didn’t waste his time with Aaron. It was a complete waste of time and Leo dreaded with a primal fear that Prim was running out of it. Without another word, without a glance back at his brother’s triumphant face, Leo turned and plunged into the crowd.
Where are you, Prim?
His jaw was ready to crack, the tension in his body unbearable. No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find Prim anywhere. Aaron was right, damn him. The gardens were vast, the estate big. It was truly a labyrinth. A labyrinth! The maze!
Leo turned, his movements losing all aristocratic grace as he almost run to the direction of the maze, the one their host warned that it was disused. This was his half-brother’s doing. He lured her there. Leo didn’t even want to think what his purpose was. It soon wouldn’t matter.
