Page 46 of Tainted Reasoning

“No, you aren’t,” Nicholas grinds out through clenched teeth.

“Again, husband dearest, fuck you.” Victoria smiles at him, and Nicholas raises an eyebrow at her, daring her to test him further. “I’m not missing this. I deserve it for all the years he closeted me away like a hermit, then sacrificed me without a second thought.”

“He gave you to me?” Nicholas reminds her of how they came to find love.

“No, he gave me away for his advancement in the society.”

“I think we should go,” William adds. He’s already slipping his feet into a pair of socks and shoes. “If Viscount Hamilton’s getting arrested, I want to see it as well.”

“I want to go too.” I say, pulling on my trainers.

Nicholas throws his hands up in the air.

“Am I the only one with any sanity?” He shakes his head and stomps back toward the door. “I’ll call for the car.”

The journey to Victoria’s and my childhood home is completed in tense silence. All of us willing the car to go quicker, so we can witness Viscount Hamilton being arrested. When we pull up the driveway, there are several other cars already parked. Some are marked police cars, and the others, I suspect, are unmarked ones.

William helps me out of the car at the same time as Theodore descends the steps of the manor house with a smartly dressed older man.

“A lawyer, just what my father needs,” Theodore addresses me while shooting daggers toward William and Nicholas.

“Will this be your father’s defense barrister?” The smartly dressed man asks. “I’m Detective Inspector French.”

“No,” I reply instantly. “Prosecution, maybe, but it’ll be a cold day in hell before I’ll defend him on any charges.”

“Have they taken him yet?” Victoria asks her brother. I know she’s nervous to see the man who gave her away like a chattel, but she holds herself upright with all the decorum of her new position as the Duchess of Oakfield.

Theodore shakes his head. “I don’t know what hold they have over you, Victoria, and you Tamara, but whatever it is has gone too far. False allegations against our father of tax avoidance. It’s ludicrous.”

“Tax avoidance?” Victoria and I both say at the same time.

“But what about murdering my mother?” I step forward, and the detective motions to some of the uniformed officers to be prepared in case things turn nasty.

“Murder?” Theodore exclaims with utter indignation.

“You want criminals, Detective? Then look no further than the Cavendish brothers. They are guilty of brainwashing, abuse, and god knows what else. They’ve turned perfectly intelligent women into lunatics. My father did not kill your mother. You want a culprit then, maybe, look closer to home.”

“He raped her. I’m your sister,” I spit at him.

“Detective, I want these people off my property.”

“It’s just as much my property as it is yours,” Victoria counters.

“No it’s not, Sister. Our father has more intelligence than the lot of you put together. He knew something like this would happen, so he signed everything over to me. Right before he disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” I feel my legs wobble, and William is there behind me, holding me up.

“Yes. I’ve not seen him since the night your mother was murdered. He’s been threatened by the Cavendish brothers for some time now. I know they killed their own father to take over the title, and I’ll not stop until I see them rotting in jail for what they’ve done. Now, I want you off my property. All of you.”

Theodore storms back up the steps of Hamilton Manor and slams the front door firmly shut behind him. The police officers give us funny looks and start to mill back toward their cars – all but the senior detective.

“Interesting,” he says, rubbing his beard and resting a hand over his rotund stomach.

“I think I might have a new case to investigate besides the one against Viscount Hamilton.” He bows his head, recognizing Nicholas’ status as the Duke. “Your Grace, Earl Lullington, I’m sure this won’t be the last you’ll see me, assuming Lord Hamilton’s accusations are true. If this young lady is a lawyer, you might want to start working with her on your defenses.”

As the detective walks away, Victoria slides down onto the steps leading up to our hated former home. Defeat is written all over her face.

“He’s got away with it,” I announce– almost in a dreamlike state.

William pulls me into him.

“Not yet. He may have won this round, but I’m not stopping now. That’s one of the good things about autistic people. Once we get a hard-on for something, we don’t give up on it easily.”

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