Page 64 of His Accidental Duchess

Theo deliberately did not explain whatactionhe might take, allowing Lord Downton’s imagination to fill in the gaps. Duels were, of course, illegal, but there were plenty of other ways to humiliate an enemy.

Theo was familiar with most of them.

Lord Downton’s eyes darted around, as if searching for a way out. He could, of course, simply stalk off. However, something kept his feet planted to the ground. His gaze landed on Anna, and Theo glanced at her too.

“Come now,” Theo said when nobody broke the silence. “Let’s hear what all of this is about.”

More silence. He glanced at Anna again, who studiously avoided meeting his eyes.

Well, that was not a good sign, but he could always deal with that later.

Lord Downton, however, seemed to gain confidence from Anna’s silence. “With all due respect, Your Grace, I think perhaps the Duchess and I will keep this matter between ourselves. It is… how shall I put this?Delicate.”

Theo regarded the Earl for a long moment until the man flushed and lowered his gaze.

“Is this gentleman bothering you, my dear?” he asked, without taking his eyes off Lord Downton.

“Yes,” Anna said, her voice only shaking a little bit. “Yes, he is. He accosted me, cornered me here in the ballroom, and made such awful, awful accusations about my mother. And he—” she broke off.

Theo longed to ask what she was going to say, but he did not want to distract himself. There would be time for that later.

Instead, he took a few steps forward so that Lord Downton was the one backing away. Theo stood a good head and shoulders above the older man and used his height to his advantage.

When one was tall and broad, it was remarkably easy toloom.

“Let me be clear, Lord Downton,” he said, his voice soft. “You will not approach the Duchess again. There can be no business between you, as she is my wife and therefore her business and her reputation are as precious as my own.”

“Now, look here,” the Earl began, but Theo continued as if the man had not spoken.

“I will not tolerate threats to my family. And, as the Duchess is now my wife, that includes her mother and sisters. If you continue as you are, Lord Downton, you will be sorry. Very sorry, indeed. You see—” He punctuated the sentence with a step forward, forcing Lord Downton to take another step back, bumping against the wall just as Anna had.

Theo did not stop, however, almost chest-to-chest with the man.

“You see, Lord Downton, I am the worst kind of enemy. I have the money, the power, and the spite to make a man’s life a living hell. I hold grudges, and I have no interest in biting my tongue to keep the peace. If I were you, Lord Downton, I would be very, very careful, indeed.”

There was a long, taut silence after that. Lord Downton’s face was white and livid. He glanced between Theo and Anna as if searching for answers.

Theo kept his gaze on Lord Downton. A cold, level stare was what was needed at a time like this. It showed dominance, showed who was making the decisions in that particular altercation.

Theo had plenty of experience with that sort of thing.

As expected, Lord Downton lowered his gaze first. “You have no idea what you are speaking of,” he snarled and made to storm away, not giving either of them a chance to reply.

At least, hetriedto storm away. Theo’s hand shot out like a snake as he passed, gripping his shoulder, his fingers digging in a way that he knew would leave small bruises.

“Remember what I said, good sir,” Theo warned, his voice dangerously soft. “The worst sort of enemy. Only a fool deliberately courts enemies, and certainly not men like me. Do you understand?”

He tightened his grip, making it clear that the man would not be escaping until he gave some sort of reply.

“You have made yourself clear,” Lord Downton snarled and then wrenched his shoulder free. He stormed away, disappearing into the thinning crowd.

Theo watched him go, not quite relaxing until the older man turned sharply into a hallway that led to the front door. No doubt he was leaving, humiliated by the exchange.

“It’s not over.”

He flinched at Anna’s words, glancing down at her with raised eyebrows. “I beg your pardon?”

Anna was staring after Lord Downton too, her face pale, her lips pressed together.

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