Page 61 of The Undesirable Duke
“And I am aware that the Duke cares for you deeply and wishes to protect you as well. He is only doing this to keep you out of harm’s way.”
“Timothy,” Lillian sighed.
“Please, allow me to finish. This is important.”
Lillian crossed her arms and, despite the burning questions which were quickly filling her mind, she paused and waited for Timothy to resume his monologue.
“You must understand that we only wish the best for you. It is my duty as your brother to ensure that no harm comes to you. And while it may appear that Yarmouth is cold-hearted and does not care for you, that is not the case. It is quite the opposite. He cares for you too much to allow your reputation to be ruined.”
“So his intent to leave London and allow Mother to marry me off to Lord Bertram is his way of showing how much he cares for me? That does not make a shred of sense.”
“It is the only way he knows how to protect you.”
Lillian shook her head in disapproval.
“Are you finished?”
Timothy rolled his eyes and nodded solemnly.
“I am.”
“Wonderful. Do you still have the threatening letter?”
“Indeed. Why do you ask?”
“Could you bring it to me?”
“It is in my bedchambers.”
Lillian nodded and rushed to the stairs.
“Please, hurry.”
“I do not understand,” Timothy huffed as he followed Lillian to the stairs, then along the corridor to Timothy’s bedchamber.
Inside his bedchamber, Lillian waited anxiously as Timothy retrieved the letter from the drawer of his writing desk, and brought it to her.
Staring at the letter and the note card side by side, her eyes widened, and a loud gasp escaped her.
“What is the matter, sister?”
“Look,” Lillian said and showed the letter and the note card from the flowers to Timothy, side by side.
Timothy examined the pages and then stared at Lillian in disbelief.
“I do not believe it.”
“It was written by the same person, Timothy.”
“No, it cannot be.”
“Lord Bertram is the one who wrote this letter. He was the one who wrote the article and ransacked the Duke’s home,” Lillian stated with the utmost confidence.
There was no doubt in her mind that Lord Bertram was the culprit. She was rather surprised that the man who had shown interest in her, the man who wished to court her, who had sent flowers to the house, and who had given her expensive gifts, was the same man who was set upon ruining the Duke.
Why had he sent her a threatening note? She could not believe that it was because of his interest in her. Yet… when she considered the matter, she was sure that Lord Bertram felt threatened by the Duke and wished to ensure that he would not stand in Lord Bertram’s way, would not disrupt Lord Bertram’s wish to marry Lillian. It seemed that Lord Bertram had decided that he would not allow the Duke to take the opportunity away from him. But… She was not sure – after all, the first article had been published even before she had first met the Duke… So, surely, there was something else involved – but why else might Lord Bertram wish to harm Yarmouth’s reputation? It was all very confusing.
“Are you certain?”
