Page 140 of The Earl She Once Saved

“To declare me unwell, to have me confined somewhere quiet, where no one would think to look.”

Rage moved through Rafe with frightening calm. “He threatened you.”

“He stood too close and for a moment I was afraid of what he might do next."

“Did he touch you?”

"No. But I believe he would have, had I not stood my ground."

Rafe looked back toward Edgeworth. “I will kill him.”

“No.” Verity’s voice sharpened. “You will not make him a martyr and yourself a murderer.”

“He threatened to imprison you.”

“And while the law calls me his wife, he may find men willing to help him.”

Rafe forced himself to release her wrist. His hands wanted violence and had nowhere safe to put it.

“I cannot remain beneath that roof waiting to discover whether he means to possess me or be rid of me,” she said. “I would rather take my chances upon the road.”

Rafe did not ask her to run away with him. He wanted to. The words rose so swiftly that he nearly spoke them. He imagined taking her beyond Roland’s reach, to some place where the Thornlow name meant nothing.

But Verity had spent years making Edgeworth her ground. Asking her to abandon it would only make another man responsible for choosing her life.

Instead, he said, “You will not face him alone.”

Her expression closed. “You cannot promise that.”

“I can promise where I shall stand.”

“Between us?”

“Yes.”

“Even though he is your brother?”

“Especially because he is.”

The mare shifted behind her. Verity rested one hand against its neck.

“I will find a way to end this,” Rafe promised. “Whatever Roland threatens, he will not take you anywhere.”

“He is the earl.”

“I do not care.”

“He is my husband.”

“I know.”

The words hurt as much as they always did.

Rafe held her gaze. “He will still have to come through me.”

Verity searched his face. He watched her weigh the promise against everything she knew of his name. The fight in her did not disappear. It settled into something steadier.

“If I leave,” she whispered, “he will follow or turn his anger upon those who remain … and that is you.”