Theo’s jaw tightened as he glanced at Bernadette. She stared right back at him and moved closer a step. “Theo,” she said softly. “Please.”
All at once, his doubt seemed to fade. He dipped his head and said, “Of course I will allow you to do this here if you insist. But I want protections in place. Guards at the ready. And I think Bernadette shouldn’t be here.” He paused. “Or Valaria.”
But anyone could see that Valaria was nothing more than an afterthought. She even smothered a smile into her palm before she said, “As much as I appreciate your gallantry, Bernadette and I both want to be here. We might not be in the room, but we can be with Mrs. Desmond and Hilde, as a distraction, if nothing else. And as support for Flora when this is finished.”
Theo rolled his eyes and paced off, his hands clenched at his sides. Callum followed him and the two talked quietly by the fireplace for a moment.
“He’s going to allow it,” Roarke said as he placed an arm around Flora’s waist. She melted into his side a little and looked up at him. She was still spinning from his declaration of love a short time ago. How she wished she could only celebrate that joyous connection rather than have to plan to sever a much more unpleasant one.
“I hate that we must put them in this position,” she murmured. “All of them.”
“They’d do anything for you,” Roarke said, and then leaned down to kiss her cheek. “And so would I.”
She looked over to find her friends all staring at her. At them. She cleared her throat. “Roarke and I are together,” she said with a shrug. “Truly together. And if Valaria and Callum are going to sneak kisses, then I demand the same allowance.”
She paused and waited to see if they would argue or laugh at her teasing. Relief filled her when all of them smiled. “Duly noted,” Callum said.
“Let’s get our plans set,” Theo added, and he touched Bernadette’s hand quickly as he passed by her and stopped in front of Roarke and Flora. “The first step is to invite those monsters here. As soon as possible. And then we have to decide what you’re going to say.”
“I know what I’m going to say,” Flora said, pushing her shoulders back. “So all I need now is a quill and paper. I want to finish this.” She glanced over at Roarke. “Because I’m very much looking forward to what comes next.”
CHAPTER22
Flora had felt certain when she penned her brusque, direct note to Thomas and his siblings the previous day. But from that moment on her confidence had faded, replaced with fears. At least she hadn’t had to face them alone. She had remained at Theo’s the night before and Roarke had stayed with her. They’d shared a bed but hadn’t made love, just held each other and talked about what would happen once her stepchildren arrived.
They hadn’t, she’d noticed, talked about after. Perhaps because until this was resolved, it was too terrifying to consider what could be taken from them.
Now she paced the parlor. Roarke, Callum and Theo stood at the fireplace, talking softly together. Roarke looked at her from time to time, holding her gaze, drawing a deep breath so she would do the same. A comfort without even touching her.
There was a knock at the door out in the foyer and she froze, her hands shaking as she listened to Theo’s butler welcome their very much unwelcome guests. She recognized their voices as they came closer up the hall, even though she had not heard them for years. The children hadn’t included her in anything once she’d moved to Kent’s Row.
“The Duke of Sidmouth,” Theo’s butler said, and Flora jolted a little. She would never become accustomed to the fact that Thomas was duke now, not his father. No matter how many years Stuart was gone. “And Lord Philip and Lady Gertrude,” the butler continued.
He stepped back and the three entered. It was like a storm blew in when they stepped into the room, everything felt darker and laced with more tension. Flora stared at them in their peacock finery, looking down their collective noses at her. Three years gone and all of them looked older, their cruelty aging them at a faster rate. Gertrude was only a little bit older than Flora, but she looked ten years her senior. Thomas still looked down his nose at her like she was a bit of shite on his boot.
It was Philip who made her shiver. Philip who she knew had been the one to orchestrate the attack on her in the country. Philip who had always haunted her steps when she was married to his father, making her uncomfortable with his intense regard. Now he looked her up and down with hatred that burned in his eyes like an inferno.
“Good afternoon,” Theo said, his tone taut and very much unwelcoming. “Thank you for joining us.”
Thomas looked at Theo, then Callum, then Roarke, and smirked. “A whole army of men to protect you, is it, Flora? It seems my thoughts on your virtue were correct.”
Roarke made a move toward his cousin, but Callum caught his arm and held him steady. Flora stood slightly in front of him as she held Thomas’s gaze evenly. “I think I need a guard after you all tried to kill me.”
Thomas’s brow wrinkled and he looked genuinely confused. Gertrude didn’t, of course, as she had reported the plan to Roarke. She dropped her chin and stared at the ground beneath her feet. But Philip smiled, and it was terrifying.
“Kill you?” Thomas repeated.
Flora glanced up at Roarke and could see he was considering this response just as she was. Did the duke truly not know what had happened?
“If you want to talk to us,Flora,” Philip said with a smirk, “then why don’t you talk to us rather than hiding behind these people?”
“I would not have a guest in my home threatened,” Theo said evenly. All the teasing and playfulness that he normally carried on his face and in his tone was gone now. This was a man not to be trifled with. “Blackvale and I will step to the other side of the room if you require privacy, we aren’t leaving, Your Grace.” He arched a brow at Thomas. “And we will not have this discussion again.”
“Very well,” Thomas said, waving the dukes off and following when Flora motioned their group toward a section of the room beside the window. It looked down over the garden far below and yet she took no comfort in the light and airy expanse.
She folded her arms. “Let me begin by saying that I know what you have done. What you demanded Roarke do in order to hurt me. And all for money.” She glared at them. “Your father would be so disappointed in you all.”
Thomas and Gertrude at least had the decency to blanche at her statement. Philip only seemed to seethe further.
