Page 51 of The Jilted Duchess
“A visitor?” He glanced over his shoulder, wondering who would be visiting right now—wondering whether it had anything to do with whatever had happened to Alexandra.
He made his way down to the foyer. When he saw who his visitor was, his heart nearly stopped.
Viscount Elderglen was waiting with his hat in his hand, and Hector thought—he knows. Whatever it is, he knows.
He knew how Alexandra felt about her father, how little she trusted him. Immediately, he was filled with mistrust as well. If this man knew something about what had happened to the duchess, he was going to give that information up. And if he had any responsibility for it, he would pay.
“Did she make it home?” the viscount asked.
Hector inclined his head but did not speak.
The viscount sighed. “We saw her running away—my other daughter and myself. And when Penelope went to the garden to see what had happened, she saw him there.”
A shiver of dread crawled up Hector’s spine. “Saw who?”
“Your brother, Your Grace.” The viscount shook his head. “I believe he tried to bother her in the garden. I don’t know more than that. I don’t know what happened between them. And I’m sure she won’t tell me. My daughter has no trust in me, and that’s my own fault, I know that. But I had to at least make sure that she had gotten home safely.”
“Aye,” Hector said quietly. “She’s here.”
“Good,” the viscount said. “I’ll leave you be, then.”
“Lord Elderglen?”
The viscount looked up at him.
“Thank ye for lettin’ me know about this,” Hector said.
“I haven’t always taken care of her,” the viscount said. “And I can only hope she’s faring better with you than she did with me. But whatever happened today…” He squared his shoulders. “We both let her down, Your Grace. We both let her find herself alonewith that man. I’m trusting you to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”
“I can promise you it willnae happen again,” Hector said darkly. “He’ll never see her again as long as he lives.”
And if I have me way, that willnae be very long, a voice in his head growled.
He did his best to silence it. He needed to be practical now, not fly into a rage. He needed to make sure he handled this in the best way possible so that he could ensure there would be no consequences for Alexandra. All he wanted was to protect her.
He found the butler and said, “I’ll be back in a while. If the duchess wakes up in me absence, let her know that I’ll soon return and she’s not to worry.”
The butler nodded. Hector grabbed his hat and coat and was out the door before he could get caught up in his own hesitation and doubt.
If the viscount’s report was true, then the unthinkable had happened—his brother was back in London. And if that was the case, Hector was fairly confident of where he would find him.
The difficulties between the pair of them were going to be settled once and for all.
He readied a horse and rode off toward his stepmother’s house, knowing he would find his brother there. And when he did, there would be hell to pay—he would see to that.
He cannae put his hands on my wife. Even if all he did was bruise her—even then, I willnae allow such things to go unpunished. He will regret what he’s done. By the time the sun sets on this day, he will be beggin’ me forgiveness for daring to so much as look at her. He will be pleading with me to let go and to act as if it had never happened.
And he will never ever have that. I will never forgive anyone who causes harm to Alexandra—I swear it by everything I am.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Hector, what—what are you doing here?”
Hector ignored Miriam’s indignant stammer altogether. She was not entitled to any answers from him, and she’d not be getting any.
Rather than that, he focused his attention on Benedict.
The younger man had the audacity to smirk at him, setting his teacup down in its saucer. “Well,” he said. “The bastard returns home at last. What seems to be the trouble, Hector? Did you have trouble managing that marriage of yours? Couldn’t keep your wife in line? Did she do something to disgrace herself? Or perhaps she simply realized she ought to have waited until the more preferable brother deigned to give her his attention, rather than settling for the scraps?”
