“Indeed.” Her dagger-sharp gaze sliced into him. “Shall we discuss what I learned…Your Grace?”
Eight
Pearl followed Hawker deeper into the woods. Far enough that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard by the blackguards they’d left tied to the trees. When the chloroform had worn off and she had come to, she’d almost laughed to discover that her erstwhile kidnappers hadn’t bothered to bind her or check for weapons. They’d probably decided that since she was a female, and one with a petite build, it wasn’t worth the bother.
She’d made them pay for underestimating her. Once she’d subdued the bounders and instilled the fear of God in them, she’d demanded information. What they’d given her had sent her reeling.
Hawker is a blue blood. A bloomingduke.
Staring at the broad back in front of her, she wondered how she could have missed it. In retrospect, his nobility was so dashed obvious. Despite his rough and casual manner, he carried himself with the confidence of a man who has known his worth from birth. His honorable character and learnedness were further evidence of his privileged upbringing.
As they reached a small clearing ringed by oaks, she simmered with anger. Hawker had deceived her. Manipulated her hopes and desires.
He made a fool of me…just like Daniel did.Pain knifed her chest.And this time, it hurts even more.
Because this time, what she felt wasn’t a young woman’s infatuation. Over the last year, she had fallen in love slowly and steadily, Hawker wearing down her defenses like the sea does a rocky shore. Only a man like Hawker could have rekindled her dream of love; only he could crush those same hopes to smithereens.
Hawker turned abruptly to face her. Precipitation somewhere between rain and snow had resumed sprinkling, beading on his hat and greatcoat.
“I didn’t mean to lie to you,” he said gruffly.
“But you did,” she said coldly.
He had the grace to look discomfited. Shoulders hunched, he asked, “’Ow much did those bastards tell you?”
“Enough for me to know that you’re the blooming Duke of Ryedale.” Hearing the betraying quiver in her voice, she lifted her chin. “Did it amuse you to sleep with a servant, Your Grace? To hear me say that I’d sworn off blue bloods whilst I was sharing a bed with a bleedingduke?”
“Christ, o’ course not.” He sounded appalled. “Pearl, you know me. I’m your colleague and lover, the same man I’ve always been. The only thing that’s changed is, a week and a half ago, I inherited this damned title. A title I never wanted and ’ave been running away from since I turned sixteen.”
“Who runs away from being a duke?” she scoffed.
“I do. Because that title—my family—isshite.” His expression fierce, he balled his hands into fists. “The Reids only want two things, money and power, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get what they want. They don’t give a damn who they ’arm—in fact, if you get ’urt, you’re the one to blame. It’s your own bloody fault for being weak. For being a failure.”
Hearing the roiling emotion in his voice, Pearl had a sudden intuition.
“Your eye,” she said quietly. “Did your family do that to you?”
He gave a curt nod. “My cousin Claude. My uncle’s eldest and a right nasty cove. When we were adolescent lads, Claude and ’is cronies were torturing a stray dog. I refused to join in, and ’e turned on me instead. Jabbed me in the eye with a stick. At least the beast got away in one piece.” His smile was mirthless. “I wasn’t so lucky.”
Horror percolated through her. “What about your parents? Did they intervene—”
“My sire was as bad as Claude. Never shied away from using ’is fists on me or my mama, who died when I was eight. When my father saw what Claude had done, ’e told me I deserved it for being weak. Next time, ’e said, it would be worse. That was when I decided to leave Yorkshire and never go back. I ’aven’t been part o’ that world for sixteen years. Since I became a man, I’ve been making my own way in the world, and that’s ’ow I like it.”
Pearl’s anger at Hawker began to dissipate. While he was a blue blood, his life clearly hadn’t been as carefree and easy as she’d assumed. He’d suffered just like she had and found a way to survive. Found the courage to abandon his cruel legacy for a life lived on his own terms.
A thought occurred to her. “Does Lady Fayne know that you’re a duke?”
She didn’t know why it mattered. But if he’d been truthful to others but not to her…
He shook his head. “I ’aven’t told anyone. It’s only been two weeks since I found out, and it came as shock because I ’ave…’ad two older half-brothers. They took after our sire, being ruthless and cruel, and I never expected that they would perish in their prime. But apparently, that was what ’appened. The duke and his two older sons were on a boat that had an ‘accident’ and capsized. There were no survivors.”
Hawker’s grim tone spoke volumes.
“You don’t think it was an accident?” she asked.
“It ain’t a coincidence that no Duke o’ Ryedale ’as ever survived past the age o’ fifty,” Hawker replied. “While murder ’as never been proven, men in my family die unexpectedly at an alarming rate. And someone always stands to benefit from the duke’s early demise.”
She chewed on her lip. “Before you arrived, those lackeys confessed that they were working for a man named Claude…your cousin, I presume?”
