Page 45 of When He Was a Duke
“You are mad,” White breathed.
Sebastian’s heart was pounding so hard he could barely think straight. What was he doing? This was insanity. He would pay for this, one way or another. However, the image of Rose cowering, of this brute putting his hands on her, spurred him forward. “You keep your hands off her,” he said through gritted teeth.
White’s gaze darted between Sebastian’s face and the shears. For amoment, Sebastian thought he might call his bluff—and then what? What would he do then?
“You’re out of your bloody mind,” White said, but there was something different in his voice now. Uncertainty.
“Maybe I am.” Sebastian surprised himself with how steady he sounded. “Maybe that’s what happens when you watch monsters like you prey on innocent women.”
“You don’t know what you’re getting into, boy.” White’s voice dropped lower. “This isn’t some tavern brawl. There are people involved here who’d gut you for looking at them sideways.”
Something in his tone made Sebastian pause. Not fear, exactly, but wariness. As if White wasn’t just talking about his own connections.
“What people?” Sebastian asked.
White’s eyes narrowed. “What’s it to you?”
Sebastian’s mind raced. He was in too deep now to back down, but he was clearly missing something important. White’s fear seemed focused on something beyond just Sebastian’s threats. “Maybe it matters more than you think.”
“Does it?” White studied his face more carefully. “Who sent you here?”
The question caught Sebastian off guard. “What?”
“Don’t play stupid with me. Nobody just happens to end up working at Wentworth’s estate.” White’s voice grew more suspicious. “Especially not someone who knows enough to ask about my business associates.”
Sebastian’s pulse quickened. He was walking a tightrope now, and one wrong word would send him tumbling. But White’s assumption might be his only chance. “What makes you think someone sent me?”
“Because that’s how this game works, you fool.” White’s fear was giving way to calculation. “The question is whether you’re working for Talbot or someone else entirely.”
Talbot. Sebastian filed the name away, trying not to let his reliefshow. “And what if I am?”
“Then you’re a long way from home,” White said grimly. “And Wentworth’s going to want to know why Talbot’s sniffing around his territory.”
Sebastian forced himself to hold White’s stare. “Maybe Wentworth should be more worried about why his territory is worth sniffing around.”
It was a guess, but it seemed to land. White’s face darkened. “We had an agreement.”
“Agreements change.” Sebastian was making it up as he went along, praying his ignorance wouldn’t show. “Especially when one party starts getting ambitious.”
“I don’t know what Talbot’s told you, but we’ve stuck to our side of things.”
“Have you?” Sebastian tightened his grip on the shears, using White’s assumption to buy himself time to think. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re expanding your operations. Taking on new responsibilities.”
White’s gaze flicked toward the house, and Sebastian realized he was thinking about Rose. About the marriage arrangement.
“That’s business,” White said carefully. “Personal business. Nothing to do with our other arrangements.”
“Everything’s connected,” Sebastian said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. “You know that.”
For a long moment, they stared at each other. Sebastian could feel sweat gathering between his shoulder blades despite the cool morning air. If White called his bluff now, he was doomed.
“What does Talbot want?” White asked finally.
Sebastian’s mind raced. What would someone like Talbot want? Territory? Money? Revenge? “What do you think he wants?”
“Don’t play games with me.”
“I’m not playing anything.” Sebastian let some genuine angercreep into his voice. “I’m here to make sure certain lines don’t get crossed. And what I just witnessed.” He gestured toward where Rose had been standing. “That was crossing a line.”
