Even if that meant multiplying her own.
CHAPTER20
When the pounding on the door began at nearly midnight, Vaughn wasn’t asleep. The rest of the household had gone to bed shortly before, but he remained in his study, staring at an untouched whisky and wishing he could make his mind stop.
But the pounding interrupted it all and he rushed to his feet to answer the door before it woke the entire house. When he threw it open he gasped in shock.
“Arabella?” he said, blinking at the sight of the petite woman on his front step.
She grunted as an answer and shoved past him into his foyer. “You arse.”
He leaned back. “I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me.”
He blinked at the bright anger in her eyes, the sharp judgment that she made no attempt to hide despite their disparate positions in the world. He did like her with all her fire, even if he didn’t understand what was happening here.
“I’m certain I must deserve this ire, but perhaps you can tell me how. Why don’t we come into my parlor?”
In reality, hedidthink he knew how. Evie must have told her sister that he left her after finding out the truth. If she’d done that, that could only mean he must have deeply hurt her and he hated himself for it. Hated this entire ghastly situation and how it tore his world to shreds and made him behave in ways he ought never have done.
Arabella huffed out a breath but followed him when he led her to the room.
“May I get you a drink?” he asked.
“No.” She folded her arms.
He leaned back against the edge of the sideboard and crossed his ankles. “I assume this is about Evie.”
“Of course it’s about Evie, I don’t give a damn about you lot unless you affect peopleIlove. And you do, my lord. Oh, you most certainly do.”
There was a flare of joy that worked through him at that statement, locked in amongst the anxiety and tension. He wanted to affect Evie, to know he did so was a great source of pride. But not hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her.
“I surmise she came to you after I left her this afternoon.”
“Oh yes, she did, but someone came toherfirst. Do you know that Southwater showed up at her home after you stormed off in a tizzy?”
He scrambled to attention as he thought of the last time Southwater had come to her. How cruel the duke had been, how driven Vaughn had been to protect her. That had led to their first kiss. That had opened a door to all this. It felt like a lifetime ago and he’d thought it ended the matter, Southwater had spoken to her so dismissively. But now he’d returned?
“Did he hurt her?” he asked.
Arabella’s breath caught. “You would fear for her safety even though you’re angry.”
“Of course. Evie is very important to me. Whether I’m frustrated by her lack of openness or not, I would never want to see her hurt, either emotionally or, God forbid, physically. But tell me, what did he do?”
“He didn’t hurt her,” Arabella said, and now her tone was a little calmer, less adversarial. Like he’d passed some test.
He let out a breath of relief, but then shook his head. “He must be as worked up as Florence at the turning of the tide against them. Did he want Evie to do something to help them overcome it?”
Arabella folded her arms. “My sister came to my home, weeping over you, torn about what to do. She made Silas promise not to bring this to you, but I never promised a damn thing, so I’m here.”
“Torn about what to do?” he whispered. “What did he ask her to do?”
“Go back to him,” she said, and met his eyes. “He wants her back, he wants to abandon your wife and try to return to what he had before he destroyed both your worlds.”
There was a moment when it felt like an explosion had gone off in Vaughn’s parlor. His ears rang and his vision blurred and he fought to maintain some composure in the face of this entirely unexpected news.
“Why—why would she even consider going back to him after what he did to her?” he asked, shaking his head. “Why would that be something she was torn over when he doesn’t hold half her worth?”
