Page 91 of Married to the Earl

Astrid shook. What he said was true. Henry knew, just as Conor had, that Tobias had stolen money from The Arc. She knew her father had signed papers absolving him of his crime, but what if Henry could find a way to make those documents disappear?

Is it possible I could end up married to such an awful man?

She had been frightened of the idea of marrying Conor, before she had known him as she did now. But that fear had always been based on speculation. She had never thought of Conor as a known risk. But Henry wasn’t just cruel. He was a murderer.

What will happen to me if I’m sent to his house?

She would tell her father what had happened here, of course. But Henry was so powerful, so capable when it came to manipulating people. What if he somehow managed to get what he wanted from Tobias anyway?

“You’ll never have her,” Conor said firmly, and Astrid had the feeling he was speaking for her benefit, trying to reassure her that she was safe.

She didn’t feel very reassured.

Henry turned and walked over to the bar. A moment later he was back with a stack of papers in hand. “Here,” he said. “You’ve got to sign these documents. They’ll make the property, and the business, mine.”

“You took the liberty of having them drawn up in advance,” Conor observed.

“That’s just good common sense,” Henry said. “It’s not as if we’re going to go and find a notary in the middle of the night, with a gun to your head.”

“No,” Conor agreed. “I suppose that wouldn’t be a very good plan.” He picked up the top paper off the stack.

“What are you doing?” Henry demanded. “We don’t have all night. Start signing.”

“I’m going to read them first,” Conor said. “That’s just good common sense too, isn’t it? Never to sign anything without reading it first?”

“You were always like this,” Henry growled. Astrid could hear the frustration mounting in his voice. “Such a pedantic, condescending, arrogant bastard.”

“Because I want to read a contract before I sign it?” Conor’s eyebrow arched in a way that made Astrid’s heart ache. She had fallen in love with that look of mild curiosity. “You can’t expect me to trust that these contracts say what you tell me they say,” Conor said. “You can’t expect me to trust you at all, surely?”

“This might go a little more easily for you if you do,” Henry said. “I’ve been patient, Conor. I’ve taken the time to explain things to you. I didn’t have to do that, you know. Have you forgotten who here is armed and who is not?”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Conor’s eyes were on the gun. Astrid tried to take comfort from the fact that he was at least tracking the weapon’s position, but that was hard to do when Henry was waving it around like it was a toy.

For the first time, it occurred to her to wonder whether Henry might not be slightly disturbed in his mind.

Could he really have been this demented, violent man the whole time?she wondered.He seemed kind when we talked at the wedding. I rather liked him that day. He made me feel better about the future that lay ahead of me.

Could he have been using her as far back as the wedding?

She had been nearly in shock when the two men who had stopped her carriage and kidnapped her had brought her here, when she had seen who was behind her abduction.I really believed he was Conor’s best friend, she thought.

Maybe she had been right in that belief. Maybe their friendship had once been real.

What could have caused it to deteriorate so badly? What could have made Henry want to hurt someone he had once called a friend?

Hemusthave lost his mind, she thought.Whatever’s going on now, it has nothing to do with the friendship these men have shared for years.

Maybe there’s a hope of getting Henry to remember that he once cared for Conor.

If only she dared speak up!

Conor methodically read through page after page of the contracts that had been placed in front of him. Even though Astrid was proud of him for sticking up for himself, she was beginning to really worry about the way he was delaying. Henry was clearly getting angry now. He strode over to the door and peered out the little window at the street beyond, no doubt checking to make sure that they were still alone.

“It’s one thirty in the morning,” Conor said. Astrid could make out a hint of shredded nerves in his voice. She wondered if Henry knew Conor as well as she did, if he could hear Conor’s nervousness now. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but there’s not going to be anyone out there at this time of night.”

“Stop talking and read,” Henry snapped. “You wanted to read it, so read it.”

“What’s your hurry, exactly?”

---