Page 49 of The Phantom Duke
The butler reached an open doorway and stepped inside. “Your Grace, my lord,” he said.
Damien did not wait for the butler to step aside before entering the room. He remained in the doorway, letting his massive form fill the space. Shelidan might feel comfortable threatening orphaned children and young women, but Damien strongly suspected the man would crumble when faced with another man. Especially one as intimidating as he. Damien smiled thinly, a dark part of him reveling in the prospect of utterly terrifying such a weak-hearted man.
Gray-haired and hawkish Shelidan rose from behind his desk. “Your Grace,” he said. “What a pleasant surprise.”
Damien smiled thinly. “Pleasant, indeed? Regrettably, I cannot say the same.”
Without being bidden, Damien entered the room and stalked across the study floor. Shelidan’s smile wavered a little. “I assume that you have come on some urgent matter,” the earl said. “It is rather late.”
Rather than answering, Damien approached the sideboard and reached for the decanter of brandy, filling one crystal cut glass with the amber spirit, aware of Shelidan’s eyes upon his back.
Damien lingered for a heartbeat longer, letting the tension grow in the room. Then, he turned back to Shelidan. Damien stormed across the room, letting his steps fall heavily. Once he reached the desk, he moved deliberately too close to the earl, so the man was forced to crane his neck back to meet Damien’s eyes.
“For your nerves,” Damien drawled, placing the glass on the desk.
“Wh-where is yours?” Shelidan asked. “You should also partake.”
“I do not drink,” Damien said. “Alcohol turns some men into beasts, and I am ferocious enough without it. I suspect that you are a man whose worst qualities are emboldened by drink.”
Shelidan opened his mouth as if to protest, but at Damien’s withering glare, the earl’s mouth shut with a sharp click.
“But I suspect alcohol might be your only source of courage as well,” Damien continued, his voice full of mock pleasantries.
Without invitation, Damien lowered himself into the empty chair across from the earl.
“My nerves?” Shelidan asked.
“Yes,” Damien replied, smiling sharply. “I have a way of unsettling cowardly men.”
“I am no coward!” Shelidan’s hands shook, as he dropped into his chair. “How dare you come here unannounced and make such a baseless claim?”
“How dareI?” Damien asked, arching an eyebrow. “What would you call a man who delights in tormenting those weaker than himself?”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“I think you do.” Damien smiled sharply. “Drink, Shelidan, and perhaps, you will gain enough fortitude to survive this encounter with a scrap of dignity.”
Shelidan’s hand tightened on the glass. “You make many presumptions tonight, Archdall!”
“Your Gracewill be sufficient,” Damien said. “And you say that you are no coward, but you have no qualms with threatening women and children. Why is that?”
For a heartbeat, Shelidan hesitated, and fear flashed in his eyes. Damien waited to see if the man would crumble, but Shelidan straightened his back and tipped his chin up. The earl took a defiant swallow of brandy, as if daring Damien to comment on his consumption.
“I have no notion of what you mean,” Shelidan said at last. “Where would you have heard such a thing?”
Damien shook his head. “Oh, I think you know precisely what I mean, and you deny it because you fear my wrath. And you should be afraid. I do not take kindly to men who threaten women and children.”
The earl’s nostrils flared. He took a sip of his brandy, as if that might give him the courage needed to survive his encounter with Damien. He doubted that there was enough brandy in the world for that, though.
“Do you wish to quarrel with me?” Shelidan asked. “If so, you may have no doubt that I will demand satisfaction for these egregious insults.”
“So be it,” Damien said coolly. “I am an accomplished marksman and a practiced swordsman. But we both know that you have no intention of challenging me. You are not willing to die for honor.”
Shelidan’s jaw clenched. “How dare you!”
The earl was becoming rather repetitive. “My wife told me the most interesting story,” Damien said. “You threatened to purchase and close an orphanage if she did not do what you desired.”
Shelidan audibly gulped. “She is my daughter. I had every right to instruct her in proper behavior.”
