*
Although Vincent wasn’tcertain how he was going to get out of this mess, a calm feeling came over him. Help would come soon, he had to believe it. But now he needed to stall Edgar and Augusta and convince them not to kill him.
Augusta seemed perplexed as her gaze darted between him and Edgar, who was still holding his bloody nose. Vincent wanted her to doubt the man she proclaimed to love. As long as she had reservations about Edgar, she wouldn’t shoot Vincent.
He tsked. “Your Grace, please reconsider. I’m thinking of your happiness. If you believe Edgar’s words, you will be forever in misery. He isn’t the man he’s led you to believe all of these years.”
More doubt crept into her baffled expression. Her eyes narrowed on Vincent, which worried him slightly. But he liked the way she threw Edgar a glare every now and again.
“Are you calling me a fool for believing that Edgar can make me happy?”
“No, Your Grace,” he quickly said. “I do not blame you. I blame Edgar. He is cunning, and he cannot tell the truth if his life depended on it. You are just a victim.”
“Listen to me, you little sliver of a man,” Edgar snapped as he continued to hold his nose. “I demand you stop talking this instant. All you are trying to do is gain your freedom, but I assure you, it’s our plan to kill you. It’s been our plan all along.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow. “Let me take a wild assumption here. By chance, are you the one who put sticker weeds under my horse’s saddle when Miss Middleton and I went for a ride in the park?”
Edgar lifted his chin haughtily. “That was I.”
“How very inconsiderate of you, especially since someone could have seen you do it, and it would have reflected on the duchess. Do you wish to ruin her good name?”
Augusta’s eyes widened, and she aimed a heated glare toward Edgar. “That wasyou?”
“Um… Well, yes, my dear.” He touched her arm, but she yanked it away. “You see, love, I was trying to get Lord Trenton out of the picture. I was trying to make him look like a weakling in front of your stepdaughter. I even tossed a rock through his window as a means to stop him from seeing Ellie.”
Vincent folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. “Your antics didn’t work. It made Ellie admire me even more.”
Edgar huffed. “I have had enough of your arrogance.” In a flash, he bent and picked up the knife from the ground. “It’s now time I end your life.”
Vincent silently scolded himself for not retrieving the knife the first time he’d kicked it out of the idiot’s hand. Warily, he watched Edgar to see what his next move would be. The man lunged, and Vincent moved out of his way, making him stumble into the wall.
With both arms in blocking position, Edgar circled Vincent, who sidestepped him. Knife or not, Vincent was not going to let this weakling draw any blood.
After the two men circled the room a few times, Vincent chuckled deep in his chest. “I thought you were going to end my life. After all, you must impress the duchess.”
“Oh, I will. Mark my words.”
“Not before I lay you flat, you miserable excuse for a man.”
Edgar shouted and lunged toward him, pointing the knife in the direction of Vincent’s chest. Vincent grasped the man’s hand in his crushing grip. Edgar struggled to compose himself, but the pain in his hand must have been too much to bear…even in front of the woman he professed to love.
Edgar screamed and sank to his knees. The knife dropped to the ground. This time, Vincent didn’t hesitate to remove the weapon from the other man’s reach.
“Actually,” Augusta said, raising her pistol to Vincent’s chest one more time, “you can give me the knife now.”
Vincent cursed under his breath. Could he get ahead in this battle of wits? “Of course, Your Grace. I’m not going to use it against you.” As he handed her the weapon, he prayed she would soon come to trust him. That would be the only way to win. “But it’s clear that Edgar shouldn’t be trusted with a knife, or anything harmful.” He glanced at the man on the ground. “He just cannot handle it.”
“Yes, Lord Trenton, I believe you are correct.” She threw a disgusted glare at Edgar. “Now I’m very upset that I spent so much of my energy giving in to this man’s wishes. He has never wanted my happiness, only his own. I see that now.”
“Your Grace,” Vincent said hesitantly. “What is it that you want? What will make you happy?”
She stayed silent for a few awkward moments as her eyes glazed with unshed tears. “For years, I wanted wealth and power. Now that I have married the duke, I have the money, but I still don’t have the power.”
“Pray, how exactly do you plan on getting the power?”
Edgar adjusted on the ground, sitting up slightly. “She wants recognition for taking over the money that the prince regent issued to some of the lords.”
“Edgar, hush!” Augusta shrieked, and aimed the pistol at him. “You have said too much.”
