“Aye. Bloody bastard.”
“Claude apparently instructed his henchmen to bring you to him. They found me instead and decided to use me to lure you out.”
“I am going to tear Claude limb from limb,” Hawker growled. “The irony is that I would havegiventhe blasted title away if I could. Would’ve investigated legal avenues—”
“As far as I’m aware, there is no law that will supersede the line of inheritance.” A chill swept through her. “The only way for Claude to inherit is if you die.”
“To me, Grant Reid is already dead. It wouldn’t be a problem for ’im to die again.”
She blinked as the implication sank in. “You would consider faking your own death?”
“It was a possibility. But not now,” Hawker said savagely. “Not after Claude involved you. Twice now, you could have been hurt, and I won’t bloody stand for it.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“I’m going to capture the bastard and drag ’im to the magistrates. See that ’e’s charged with attempted murder and kidnapping. Thanks to you, we’ve apprehended the cutthroats ’e hired. From the sorry looks o’ them, they’ll sing like birds to save their own ’ides.”
She mulled over his strategy. As plans went, it wasn’t a bad one. Except for the inevitable outcome.
“After you take care of your cousin, then what? Will you take your rightful place as the duke?”
She managed to keep her voice neutral even as grief squeezed her heart.
I always knew you were too good to be true. Too far beyond my reach.
In that instant, she realized the extent of her self-deception. She hadn’t been trying to fend off Hawker with her bickering and prickly attitude…she’d been trying tokeephim. Because having him at arm’s length was better than having nothing of him at all.
“Like I said, I don’t want the cursed title.” Hawker’s expression was bleaker than the drizzly sky. “Once Claude is behind bars, I’ll think o’ something—”
“I assume the dukedom comes with property?”
He slanted her a look. “Aye.”
“And an estate?”
“Several,” he said cautiously.
“Then there are people—ordinary, hard-working folk—who depend upon the Ryedale holdings for their livelihoods,” she said flatly. “Surely you’ve considered them.”
“They are not my problem.” He clenched his bristly jaw, scything his hand through the air. “Not one o’ them showed me an ounce o’ kindness when I was a lad. Some o’ Claude’s cronies were the sons o’ the tenant farmers, and they didn’t ’esitate to follow ’is orders. To bully and intimidate me and those they perceived as weak. They were as bad as the Ryedales.”
“Because they did not have a proper role model. They followed the wicked example set by your family. But if they were shown an alternate path, one carved out by a leader who cared about doing the right thing, who showed care and compassion rather than greed and cruelty, then their futures could turn out differently.”
He snorted. “You’re far more o’ an optimist than I am.”
“I’m a realist. I know that people who’ve made mistakes can still rise above their circumstances…because that is what happened to me.” She drew a breath. “If I hadn’t met Lady Fayne, I would still be part of a gang. Stealing, conning, fighting half-naked in mud for the lewd pleasure of men. I would not be the woman I am today.”
Hawker reached out, catching her hand. “You would ’ave found your way. You’ve courage and ’eart. All you needed was an escape route.”
“And you could give that to your people.” She kept her gaze steady even as her heart shattered with impending loss. “You owe it to them to try.”
“I don’t owe anyone a damned thing.” Contrasted against his stark black patch, his exposed eye burned with green fire. “I’ve spent sixteen years creating a new life for myself, and you’re telling me to throw it away. Over a legacy I don’t give a rat’s arse about.”
“I’m not telling you to toss anything away,” she protested. “I’m suggesting that you consider the consequences of your actions. Not only for yourself, but for the innocent people—women and children—who depend upon the Ryedale estate for their survival.”
“Would you marry me if I became the duke?”
At his question, the blunt intensity of it, her heart stumbled into her ribs.
