Page 49 of The Allure Of Lord Devlin
“I’d stop trying to get free. You’ll break your wrists, very painful, and you still won’t be able to escape.”
Longton stepped into the box they were holding him in. Rage churned in his gut. Because of Longton, his father killed himself, and his family had suffered years of indignities. For such a small, innocuous looking man, Longton had caused enormous pain.
“Lord Devlin, you’re awake. I wondered if you’d come round at all. It pleases me because now I can tell you how, just like your father, you’ve failed.”
How he’d love to punch the smug bastard in the face. “Even if you kill me, I’ve won. I have proof and someone will reveal it.”
“I thought that was the case. Mrs. McTavish here denied the existence of such a paper, but after a little persuasion, she admitted the truth. Now I want to know where it is and who has seen it?” A man stepped out of the shadows. “Mr. Fillion is going to help loosen your tongue.”
He hoped he had the strength to endure. At least long enough for Sin and Tobin to rescue him. “Do your worst.”
Longton laughed. “Oh, did you think he was here to torture you?”
Only then did Devlin understand why Fiona was here. She’d have to die too, and Longton would torture her, expecting Devlin to reveal the hiding place of the parchment to help Fiona.
“For the love of God, just tell him,” Fiona begged as she began crying again. He hated to tell her that this was her fault. She should have sided with Devlin instead of betraying him. How could she not understand that you could never trust a man who’d sell out his country?
Devlin’s heart was pounding in his chest. Sweat peppered his skin, and he thought he was going to vomit. “If I tell Longton what he wants to know, we’re both dead.” He tried not to let his fear show, because they were dead either way. Their only hope was a well-resourced and planned rescue.
“I should have expected you to do something so dishonorable as to torture a helpless woman,” Devlin goaded. He would do anything to delay.
Mr. Fillion led Fiona to the other brick wall in the box and chained her arms up high like his.
“Helpless? She was trying to blackmail me. How do you think I learned of this parchment’s existence? Once I have this so-called parchment, which I still do not believe exists because if it was, it’s taken an awful long time to come to light, and you are both dead, then this matter is settled.”
“You can’t be that naïve.”
“With you gone, and the parchment destroyed, there is no way your friends can prove that it was me who was the traitor. ”
“But it would cast doubt. Others may investigate. A rumor may well start, just like with my father’s name. Conjecture will tarnish yours. My friends will see to that. Are you going to kill everyone who may believe my father innocent?”
“If I have to. No one is dragging my family down just because I had to gain money to save my estates. I did that the quickest way I could before anyone knew my family was having money problems. No one suspected the Longtons because I gave them no reason to. All I had to do was aid Napoléon with a few dates of grain deliveries, and I earned a fortune. England triumphed over him anyway, so all ended well.”
“Not for my father and my family, it didn’t.”
“Yes, well. Once suspicions were raised, I had to frame someone. I already have a person lined up to frame for your deaths. But I need to know what names to add to the list. Who else knows of the parchment?”
That’s when Devlin realized Fiona hadn’t revealed who else had seen the document. Did she know? His eyes flew to hers, begging her not to reveal more if she knew. He tried to wrack his brain. She’d been hiding outside Rosemary’s bedroom door the day the ladies had the jewelry box on the bed. Surely Fiona must realize where the parchment came from. Even if Longton killed them tonight, others, including the ladies, had witnessed the document, and they’d had it translated and copied. Would Longton get away with killing everyone who knew of the note’s existence? It didn’t matter. Longton was obviously mad. It meant the ladies and his friends were in dire danger.
He could see in Fiona’s eyes she knew, but for some reason she’d not told Longton. Was it because thinking there was only one person who knew about the document helped her blackmail him? Would she tell him now? But her lips remained tightly closed even as Mr. Fillion began gathering his instruments. Her head dropped to her chest and Devlin hated that she’d accepted her fate. She knew she would die, and she’d decided to take her secrets with her… unless she couldn’t withstand the torture…
At Fiona’s first scream, Devlin knew he’d never hold out. No matter what he thought of her, he couldn't let her be tortured. Devlin struggled against the chains, but it was hopeless. He screwed his eyes closed as bile threatened to choke him. He swallowed. “When I get free, you’ll wish you’d killed me when you could.”
“Oh, I’ll kill you, but I need the parchment first. I can’t risk it surfacing again.”
“You’re a dead man,” Devlin exclaimed and lunged at Longton, but the chains drew him up short.
Longton merely laughed while Fiona screamed and begged for it to stop. Soon her screams died as she fainted into blissful unconsciousness.
He could not let this go on. He would have to tell. Could he lie and buy them time? “Why did you pick my father?”
“You’ve already guessed. He took what should have been mine—your mother. I loved her, and he stole her.”
“He didn’t steal her. My mother never loved you. How could she? You’re a monster.”
“I had to marry a woman I despised. And then when I needed more money, I had a choice: murder her and marry again or sell a bit of grain to the enemy. Treason is such a silly word for what I did.”
He wanted to rip the man’s heart out with his bare hand. His father died for something Longton saw as selling a bit of grain. He sold out his country and framed Devlin’s father.
