Alexander straightened. “Juliet?”
Martingale nodded. “Yes. You see, Marianne has abandoned her.”
Leaping to his feet, Alexander glared at the man. “That is not true and you know it. You gave Marianne a month to find a new arrangement. She has now and Juliet will join her shortly.”
“Do you think anyone will believe that?” Martingale drawled, remaining in his seat despite the fact that Alexander towered over him, fists clenched at his side. “When they find out Marianne has whored herself out to a beast in the countryside, will they blame me for finding another arrangement for the child?”
Alexander felt the color drain from his cheeks. He knew Marianne loved her sister deeply. The idea that she could lose the girl would shatter her. “Another arrangement?” he repeated. “What the hell are you saying?”
“I cannot take her, Your Grace,” Martingale said. “I’m not equipped and there are no other relatives. So what will become of her, I am not certain. She might go to an orphanage, perhaps. Or a workhouse.”
Alexander let out a cry of anger and grasped Martingale by his cravat. He yanked the man to his feet and twisted the fabric in his hand, effectively cutting off the air to Martingale’s lungs as he shoved him back against the wall. He leaned in, enjoying how the bastard was turning purple as he clawed at Alexander’s hands.
“What do you want?” he growled, and slowly relaxed his grip, letting the other man have air at last.
Martingale sucked in long breaths as his color returned to something more normal. He struggled in Alexander’s grip, but couldn’t escape. “I-I want money,” he burst out. “You’ve bought one of my cousins, haven’t you? And now that I see you, it’s clear you care for Marianne somehow. Perhaps you would buy the other and solve both our problems.”
Alexander stared at him, this bastard in a perfect outfit with his perfect hair and perfect face. He wasn’t scarred like Alexander, buthewas the monster in this room at the moment. And all Alexander wanted was to save Marianne from him. Save her from the pain of losing her sister.
Save her because he loved her.
That realization hit him in the gut and nearly buckled him. But he stayed strong because that was what she needed him to be. He slammed Martingale back against the wall once more, hard enough that the prick’s head bounced against it and he let out a whining cry of pain.
“Where is she?” Alexander growled. “Where is Juliet?”
“Still at home,” Martingale gasped. “She’s still at home. I stopped by to see Marianne three days ago and found out where she had gone from a servant. I have not yet cast Juliet out and I don’t have to. I only want some compensation for the trouble. It isn’t asking much.”
“Here is what you are going to do,” Alexander hissed, bringing his face close to Martingale. “You are going to leave that child alone. I will come to fetch her straight away. I will come myself, and if I find that even a hair on her head has been harmed, I will cut you down in the street. In the street, sir, do you understand?”
“And what will you give me?” the little weasel asked.
Alexander was almost impressed by his singularity. Most men would have pissed themselves by now and simply be begging for their lives.
“Aside from allowing you to continue to breathe?” Alexander asked, twisting the cravat again ever so slightly. “I will pay you five thousand pounds. But for that I want more than Juliet. For that, I want your silence. You willneverspeak of Marianne’s bargain with me, not to a single soul. You willneverbother her ever again, nor make light or sport of her father’s misdeeds in public or private. If you do, I will make sure you pay.”
“Five thousand pounds?” the man repeated. “That hardly seems enough for—”
Alexander narrowed his eyes. “The other option is that I kill you and bury you in my garden, Lord Martingale. Do you think that I won’t? You called me a beast—would you like to test that theory?”
“N-No!” Martingale burst out. Alexander released him when he tugged against his grip this time. Martingale immediately deposited himself on his ass on the parlor floor as Alexander walked away.
“Excellent. Then we’ve come to terms,” Alexander drawled, pleased to see that Martingale’s throat was red and rubbed from his cravat being tightened there. It would do the man good to see the bruised reminder of what had happened here. “Now get out.”
Martingale hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course.”
He said nothing more, but hustled from the room. Once he was gone, Alexander poured himself a drink and slugged it back, his mind twisting not on the bargain he’d just made but the realization Martingale’s arrival had forced him to make.
He loved Marianne. But did that change things between them? Did he deserve to love her after all he had done? After what he had caused in the past?
He didn’t know, but he suddenly wanted to see her. He strode from the parlor and into the foyer, where Jones was watching Martingale ride down the drive like a demon army was pursuing him.
“Good, I see the trash has taken itself away,” Alexander said.
“Quite, Your Grace,” Jones said, his tone a little more smug than Alexander would have expected. Alexander smiled slightly at the butler.
“I was surprised that Lady Marianne did not join us. I would have thought she’d rush right in when she heard her cousin had joined us.”
Jones turned toward him. “I’m sorry, Your Grace, Lady Marianne has not returned.”
