Page 94 of The Princess Stakes
“Careful, sir,” Rhystan warned. “You are treading in dangerous territory, insulting a duke’s guest in his own home. One would think you had a wish to meet with pistols at dawn.”
“Dueling is illegal.”
“We both know that peers are beyond the law, especially if it’s a matter of honor. If I call you out, yours would be in question, wouldn’t it?”
Sarani felt her belly quail at the threat. Goodness, no. He could not mean to fight Markham on her behalf. Her gaze scanned the room for Ravenna or even the duchess. The dowager duchess would not allow it, would she? But when Sarani found her, the duchess’s face was as implacable and as merciless as her son’s.
Sarani found her voice and stepped forward. “Stop this.”
Markham’s mouth twisted. “How dare you command me, girl.”
Rhystan opened his mouth, but Sarani forestalled him with one hand. She did not make a reply to the vice admiral but instead scanned the ballroom. Almost everyone was staring at her, expressions varying from curiosity to contempt. None of it signified, but she wanted to take in each and every face.
She did not control anyone else’s actions, only her own.
Her cold gaze returned to Markham, the man who had taken so much from her, stripped her of her very dignity as if it’d been his right to do so. “I am not a girl. I am a princess of Joor, and you will address me as Your Highness.”
She exhaled and surveyed the guests. “My father was an Indian prince, and my mother was a countess of English and Scottish birth.” She held her chin high. “My parents met and fell in love. I never knew anything but love from them. However, what I received from most of the outside world was just the opposite and much like what I see here: scorn, derision, and fear. I am not ashamed of who I am.”
She turned to Rhystan with a soft smile and then caught the duchess’s gaze and finally touched on Ravenna. “I thank the Duke of Embry and his family for taking me in when I had no one to turn to. They offered me safety when I needed it most.” She took in a clipped breath, knowing the next part would be the hardest. “However, I am no longer engaged to the duke. The purpose of our engagement was to keep me safe from the man who murdered my father.” Amid the loud gasps and whispers, she felt Rhystan tense at her side. “But now that the assassin is in the hands of the police, I think it’s best to release the duke from our betrothal.”
She narrowed her eyes at Markham for so long that he shifted in his scuffed boots, his face turning puce. “The truth, sir, is that you are the disgrace, not the duke. Not just for maligning me or for taking it upon yourself to punish someone for being different but for being so small-minded that you cannot see past your own ignorance. I pity you. The world is a big, big place, and you are but one measly, inconsequential prick.” Sarani smiled. “I mean speck.”
“How dare you insult me?” he fumed.
“I dare because I have a brain in my head and a tongue capable of articulating my thoughts. I am not afraid of you, Markham.” She smiled a shark’s smile. “However, if you want me to make it truly simple for your tiny little brain to comprehend, I dare because I outrank you.”
Markham’s face turned the color of an overripe tomato, and he lunged forward as if to strike her, but before he could get close, he was restrained by several large footmen. Sarani blinked as Her Grace’s voice cut through the noise. “Fullerton, this man is trespassing and is unwelcome in this house.”
As the butler and footmen dragged a kicking and screaming Markham out, Rhystan disappeared for a moment but then returned with a satisfied smile on his face. Sarani shot him a questioning look. His grin widened. “We’ll see howhelikes being knocked out, thrown on a wagon, and shipped to Australia.”
“Can you do that?”
“He threatened and blackmailed a peer. It’s the least of what he deserves.”
Sarani opened her mouth to reply and then gaped in surprise when the duchess stepped up beside her and took her hand. She nearly keeled over in shock. Her Grace’s face was so hard it seemed made of marble as she addressed the now-silent throng. “If any of you are of the same opinion as that loathsome man, feel free to join him.”
When Ravenna came to stand on one side of her mother and Rhystan stepped up to Sarani’s other side, Sarani reeled at the absolute declaration of support by one of the most powerful families in England. In defense ofher.
She couldn’t breathe, her throat was so clogged with emotion.
When all was said and done, a good number of the guests left. They’d come for the scandal and gotten one, and they were simply too set in their ways to change.
Among those who remained, Sarani recognized the French marquis and then froze in recognition of another. She went mute, her body shaking, as the man approached.
“Lord Beckforth,” she said. “You’re here.”
The earl smiled. “Does that surprise you?”
“I thought all Englishmen were like Talbot and Markham. And that you would want nothing to do with the half-blooded daughter of your disowned aunt.”
He laughed, and for a moment, she saw traces of her mother in his smile. The familiar sight of it made her eyes burn.
“I would like to invite you to dinner, if that’s not too forward. I’d love for my family to meet you and for you to get to know us. You are welcome to stay at Lockhart Manor for however long you like.”
Sarani’s heart soared. “I would love to meet them. Thank you, Lord Beckforth.”
“Henry,” he said. “My name, dear cousin, is Henry.”
