Page 109 of He's the One

“Accidentally?”

“No.”

The tone of voice warned Col not to push. “I can reverse those stones so the marks aren’t seen.”

The marquess nodded. “I used to play in here when I was a child. There was an upper floor we reached via a ladder. And a window onto the garden. My brother and I tried to shoot homemade arrows out of the slits on this side.” He chuckled. “Harder than it looks. It’s a wonder we didn’t injure someone. Including ourselves.”

He ducked his head and stepped inside. When he emerged, he said, “You’ve not discovered the secret, then.”

“If it’s in the interior walls, I’m not touching them until I have the entrance secure.”

“I have a feeling you might find it.”

“Do you want me to?”

“We’ll see. Oh…” He gave a loud gasp and Col realised what he was looking at.

“The ears were broken off,” Col said. “I mended it.”

The marquess bent and ran his hand down the rabbit’s back. “Good grief. I can’t even see where it was broken. That’s very skilled work.” He straightened up. “I can’t find out much about you, Collier Hammond. Not prior to you being fostered by Merlene and Livingston Thomas.”

Col’s heart beat faster.

“I’m assuming you had a difficult childhood prior to that if it needed to be redacted.”

Col said nothing.

“Does Theo know what happened?”

“Yes.”

The marquess stepped towards him. “Fifty thousand pounds to leave Theo alone.”

Col couldn’t stop his gasp escaping.What the hell?

“I’m asking you to walk away for Theo’s sake.”

Col gave a short laugh. “No, you’re not. You’re asking for your own sake. Theo needs a friend. Why would you want to deprive him of that?”

“A friend?”

“Yes,” Col said firmly. “I know we have very different backgrounds but we have a lot in common.”

“Name your price.”

“You honestly think you can buy me off?” He was struggling to keep his temper in check.

“Everyone has a price. It’s a matter of finding it. Leave, keep quiet about everything you’ve heard and start your own business.”

“No, thank you.”

The marquess didn’t say anything, just stared at him. “I could sack you.”

“You could. But you can’t stop me seeing Theo. I know you don’t consider me suitable, not a person you’d pick to be your son’s friend, but it isn’t up to you. It’s up to Theo. You want him to marry someone youhavepicked and told him what he does privately, doesn’t matter. But it does. It would matter to Theo and to whoever he wanted to be with. You can’t manipulate lives like that. No one will be happy. Not even you in the long run.”

“You’re naïve.”

“I’m honest.”

---