Adelaide was playing the harp in the music room, her fingers dancing across the strings, when Daniel came in to announce a visitor. Her heart leapt, in the hopes it might be Jasper. They had parted on fond terms, with Jasper promising to visit again later so he might discuss proceedings with Ephraim. Breaking an engagement was no easy task, and they would have to keep their ensuing courtship quiet for several weeks until it could be formally announced. A wedding would have to wait a short while, but she did not mind too much. Jasper was worth waiting for.

However, she held a great deal of remorse in her heart for the way that Leah had discovered them beneath the willow tree. She had not intended to cause her friend any pain, nor had she intended to be deceitful. It was her love for Jasper that had forced her to do it. Still, her guilt lingered. Leah’s motives for wanting to marry Jasper were somewhat uncouth, but in proclaiming her love for him, Adelaide had left her in a rather uncertain situation. Nobody came out of it looking particularly good.

Indeed, there had been a great deal to think about since Jasper’s departure. Fear, happiness and guilt, equally balanced in her mind. Had she been engaged to a less dangerous man, it might have been simpler. However, she knew Reuben would not accept this new scenario without a dispute. She did not know if Leah would go through with her threat of revealing everything to Reuben, but she now knew Leah to be a ruthless woman.

I pray you may find some forgiveness in your heart for us, Leah. Do not reveal this to Reuben, I beg of you. Let me reveal it to him in my own time, once I am certain that it can be done in a peaceful manner.

“Who is it, Daniel?” Adelaide asked.

“It is the Duke of Bradford,” he replied. “Shall I send him in?”

Terror shivered up her spine. “Yes, though I shall require Rosemary’s presence. Might you ask her to come here?”

“Of course, My Lady.”

Before Rosemary could arrive, a figure darkened the doorway of the music room. Reuben stood on the threshold, his dark eyes narrowed in Adelaide’s direction. She rose from the harp stool and curtseyed, her legs trembling. If Rosemary did not arrive soon, she did not know what might happen.

“Your Grace, I had not expected to see you today,” she said, biting back the waver in her voice. “If you will wait a moment, I have sent for my chaperone.”

“We do not need a chaperone,” he insisted, stepping into the room. He closed the door behind him and turned the lock, trapping them in the music room together.

“Your Grace, you and I cannot be alone together,” she gasped, her eyes wide in fear.

He smiled. “Why ever not? You and I are to be married. We are already engaged. There is no shame in us spending a moment together in private.”

She stepped backwards, wishing she were in the library where she might have escaped into the garden. “I must insist that you open the door, Your Grace. This is most improper.”

“As improper as you confessing your love to another man?”

Tense silence drifted between them.

He knows…oh my goodness, he knows. Leah must have gone to him. She must have told him everything she saw. He shall destroy me. He shall murder me here and now, squeezing the life from me until there is not a breath left. He shall make me pay for my insolence.

“I had hoped to speak with you myself,” she said, mustering the courage to speak. “Miss Green had little right to come to you. I wished to explain everything to you, in person. I did not want you to hear of this in this manner.”

He shrugged. “It is of little consequence to me, Lady Adelaide. You cannot break our engagement. I will not allow it,” he said. “I plan to have you as my wife. That has not changed. I had hoped you would marry me willingly, but I can see that I need to assure you of my affections. A little incentive, to make you see that I am the proper choice.”

She frowned. “You must understand that I can no longer marry you, Your Grace. Much has changed. I did not intend it to,” she murmured. “You sent me away from the alleyway, but I heard what you did to Lord Rowntree. I know you hurt him, though I do not know how badly. You must see that I cannot marry a man who would brutalize someone in such a vulgar fashion? Indeed, it made me fear for my own life.”

“As long as you obey me, you have no reason to fear me.”

“Be that as it may, I cannot marry you.”

He smiled, the grin scaring Adelaide to the core. “As I say, I have been remiss. Clearly, I have caused you some concern, that has led you to confess your love to an inferior specimen like Lord Gillet. And so, I feel I must offer a small incentive, to persuade you otherwise—to persuade you that you will marry me. I am certain that, by the end of our discussion here, you will have changed your mind on the matter.”

“I will not,” she insisted, her tone fierce.

He took a step forward. “Either you agree to marry me, Lady Adelaide, or I shall ruin your family.”

She paused. “What?”

“Either you agree to marry me, or I shall tear your family down,” he repeated. “I have the means to destroy your father, and yourself and your mother shall be dragged down with him.”

“You are lying in order to frighten me.”

“I am not, my love,” he said, moving closer. “You see, your father involved himself in a foolish speculation with the spice trade. He lost most of his fortune when the ships carrying the spices were sunk in the Atlantic. In order to recuperate his losses, he entered into a furtive business contract with Lord Rowntree. In return for certain tasks, Lord Rowntree offered him the sum of his losses. Half before he undertook the tasks, and half after they were complete. The silly old goat took the money, in order to pay for your dowry.”

Adelaide stared at him. “No…”

“Yes, my sweet,” he went on. “I knew all of this through a mutual contact, who kept me well informed. My dear, illegitimate sister, in fact. She works for Lord Rowntree. Without her, I would not have had the means to blackmail your father. I have not yet done so, but I had intentions to ask for an increase on the dowry, once he had completed his tasks for Lord Rowntree. Which he has done, by the way.”

Adelaide shook her head, tears glinting in her eyes.

“I also intended to use this knowledge to achieve further compensation from your father, upon the event of our marital union,” he continued. “A small, yearly sum to use for my own amusement. I am telling you this as I still plan to go through with my actions. I am not one for balking from a venture such as this, regardless of how circumstances may have changed.”

“I do not believe you,” she whispered.

“That does not alter the fact that what I speak is the truth,” he replied. “Your father threatened a parliament official, in order to gain information on two members. You may have read about them in the newspapers—Mr. Palmer and the Marquess of Tavistock?”

She balled her hands into fists. “You are lying.”

“I am not. Your father gathered incendiary information on the two men, which has led to their public downfall. As such, Lord Rowntree has taken their places in parliament for himself. He now sits as the Right Honorable Member of Parliament for both of Bath’s seats. That is all your father’s doing.” He paused, a triumphant smirk on his face. “Not only that, but he was supposed to steal a scepter from Westminster Abbey on Lord Rowntree’s behalf. I put a stop to it, as I would hate for my wife to be seen as the daughter of a known criminal, but your father intended to go through with it. Had I not stopped it, he would have done.”

“You cannot prove a word of this,” Adelaide remarked stubbornly.

“Oh but I can, my love. I ensured I had copies of all the letters that were sent between Lord Rowntree and your father—my dear sister gave them to me. If you do not agree to marry me, I will use every scrap of evidence I have in order to ruin your entire family. You will be destitute. Not even Lord Gillet will be able to save you—do you really believe his mother and father will allow him to marry you, when all of this is revealed?”

She stared at him in abject horror. He had backed her into a corner, both figuratively and physically. She could barely bring herself to believe that what he was saying was true. However, the memory of Lord Rowntree’s warning came careening back into her head. Secrets are being kept from you…it was never a sickness, it was never consumption. No, it was this. My father was involved in a fraudulent arrangement with Lord Rowntree. That is the secret. It cannot be denied.

Truly, though it pained her, she understood why her father had done it. Without his fortune, he would have had no choice but to bring the family into destitution. In order to protect them, and to prevent that from happening, he had struck up the deal with Lord Rowntree. All of it had been done for the sake of those he loved. She could admire that, even though the idea of what he had done sickened her to her stomach.

Now, she had to decide what she was going to do about Reuben. He held all the cards, but there had to be a way to turn the tables. Reuben’s past was infamous. Surely, there had to be something within his dark history that they could use to escape his threats?

Jasper will know what to do. Perhaps, we may even utilize Lord Rowntree. I do not want to involve him, but we may need to fight fire with fire. He is a despicable man in his own right, but he sought to protect me. That affection he has towards me may be enough to persuade him to aid me now. Maybe, he can redeem himself of the awful things he has brought my family into by assisting us in this matter. Yes… Jasper will know how to proceed. He will be able to advise me on Lord Rowntree. I just need to buy myself enough time to resolve all of this.

“Then… you leave me no choice,” she said quietly.

He looked surprised. “What is your answer?”

“I will marry you, Your Grace. I will adhere to my side of our contract, as I promised.” She fixed her gaze upon him. “But, I must have your assurance that you will not blackmail my father. I must be certain that you will not ruin us.”

“If you marry me, you have my word.”

“Then, so be it. I shall marry you.”

He flashed an eerie grin. “I am glad to hear it. See, I knew you would change your mind by the time we finished our conversation. Now, you must allow me to kiss you.”

Panic seared through her veins as he approached. He leaned in slowly, giving her a moment to turn her face to the side. He chuckled softly as his lips grazed her cheek, leaving a cold smear that left her shuddering in disgust. She could not understand how everything could change so rapidly, but now she found that she loathed Reuben with every fiber of her being.

You will pay for this, Reuben. You deserve everything that I shall rain down upon you. The only wife you shall have is the devil on your shoulder. They shall be your only company from the depths of despair, once I ruin you in the way you have threatened to ruin me.