Page 53 of His Sinful Touch

“She didn’t.” Alex’s smile was thin and lethal. “But almost anything can be found with a little effort. I believe it’s time you left the house.”

Dearborn’s face flushed red. “You impudent—” He swung to face the duke. “Surely you are not going to allow your son to dictate to you.”

“Oh, I don’t think that he’s dictating to me—he was speaking to you, I believe. Now...as I said, I have a good deal of work awaiting me. Good day, Mr., um, Deerfield.” He offered his arm to the duchess. “Emmeline, my dear?”

“No.” Dearborn stepped between Broughton and the door, and everyone in the room stiffened, the duke’s three sons converging on him. Dearborn stepped back, pasting an unconvincing smile on his face. “Sir, think...what about the scandal? It will be all over the city that your family is keeping a young woman from her husband.”

Alex let out a bark of laughter. “Scandal? You think to threaten the Mad Morelands with a scandal? Half the city already thinks we’re completely outrageous.”

“I don’t know, Alex,” Megan said, strolling toward Dearborn. “Mr. Dearborn is right. It will make a great scandal—all the newspapers will have a grand time with it. Just think of the story—young bride flees her home and husband immediately after the marriage. Terrified. Bruised and battered. Not even knowing who she was. What could have happened to her? Why did a sweet young newlywed need to escape her husband? Then, of course, there is the noble family, moved by pity to protect her. It would make fascinating copy. Why, I’m tempted to write about it myself.” Crossing her arms, she fixed her challenging gaze on Dearborn.

Niles Dearborn’s face was now so deep a red he looked as if he might explode. “Everyone’s right. You are mad as hatters.”

“Father...” Peter went to Niles, his voice placatory. “Perhaps we should go.”

The young man reached out to take his father’s arm, but Dearborn shook him off. “You cannot keep her from me,” he thundered at Alex. “I am her legal guardian. Peter is her husband. You have no right. I’ll bring the law down on you. I’ll make you return her, and you’ll rue—”

“You do that.” Alex cut through his enraged monologue. “Be sure and bring the marriage certificate with you. Oh, and you’ll probably need a few policemen, as well.”

Dearborn was fairly trembling with rage, and his son grabbed his arm, more tightly this time. “Come, Papa.”

With a final glare at Alex, Niles turned and, yanking his arm from Peter’s grasp, stormed out of the room.

Chapter Eighteen

“WHAT A DREADFUL MAN.” Sabrina overheard the duchess’s pronouncement and turned away from the screen.

Her stomach was churning, and it was all she could do not to burst into tears. Lilah stared at her, eyes wide, face white with shock. For one painful instant Sabrina thought her friend was frightened of her, believing Dearborn’s lie that Sabrina was out of her mind.

But then Lilah said in a low voice, “How could he say that? I... We’ve known him all our lives! Oh, Sabrina.” She reached out, taking Sabrina’s hand and squeezing it tightly.

The door opened, startling them, and Alex strode into the room, his forehead creased in concern. “Sabrina?”

Lilah jumped to her feet. “They were lies! Everything Mr. Dearborn said. Sabrina has never had ‘episodes’ or acted daft. I am certain of it—I lived with her at school for three years, and I would have noticed.”

“I know.” Alex smiled faintly at Lilah’s indignant defense of her friend. “That’s clear to anyone who has met Sabrina.”

“I can’t imagine why Mr. Dearborn would act like this. He’s always been such a gentleman.”

“I’m afraid you mistake gentleman for good man, Miss Holcutt,” Con said, strolling into the room after his brother.

Lilah frowned at Con, but after that Sabrina lost track of what the others were doing, for Alex came over to her and took her hands in his. “How are you? I am sorry you heard that. I should have insisted you go up to your room.”

“No. I’m glad I heard it. The last thing I want right now is to be ignorant. There’s already far too much that I don’t know.” She smiled up at him. There was such emotion, such warmth in his eyes that she felt as if her heart might crack.

“I’d like very much to kiss you right now,” he murmured. She could see the truth of it on his face. “I wish my brother and Miss Holcutt were anywhere but here.”

“I... You know we cannot” was all Sabrina could manage in reply. The truly dangerous thing was that she wanted him to do just that. She longed to lay her head against his chest and hear the steady rhythm of his heart beneath her ear, as she had last night in the carriage. She ached to have the strength of his arms around her.

But it was weak and oh, so, wrong of her. Especially now, after what she had just heard and seen—and with the suspicion that was growing in her by the moment. She should tell Alex about the dream she’d had last night.

The words refused to come to her lips. It seemed as if to tell Alex would give them substance. Truth. Instead, she seized upon the other worry that turned her chest to ice. “I should not have come here. I shouldn’t have put your family in this position.”

“Nonsense. I thought we settled this last night. You’re not endangering my family, which is, by the way, quite capable of taking care of itself.”

“Yes, I know you are. You are all wonderful, kind people. But don’t you see? That makes it even more deplorable for me to bring scandal to your name.”

“Pfft.” He made a derisive noise. “Scandal is the last thing we worry about. What I said to Dearborn was the truth. Everyone already thinks we’re eccentrics at best, lunatics at worst. Dearborn’s claims would only be one more tidbit for them to chew on. Besides, he’s not going to create a scandal. It holds far more risk for him than it does for us. You could see the fear in his eyes when Megan was telling him what the press would have to say on the matter. He understands how badly your running away would reflect on him, and he doesn’t want that. Nor, I suspect, does he want newspapers digging into his affairs.”