Page 56 of The Marchioness of his Desire
“I … but you are mine. You have always been mine,” he declared, but Rebecca shook her head.
“I am no one’s. I do not belong to you or to my uncle or even to Nicholas. I belong to myself, and it is I who will choose who I love. I do not choose you, but I urge you now to make the right decision and to avoid what will bring only the utmost sorrow to us all,” she said, slipping her hand into Nicholas’ and squeezing it.
“I cannot lose you,” Edward muttered, his eyes darting from one to the other, his voice faltering.
“You never had me, Edward. I was never going to run away with you. I would never have left Nicholas, not for anything, and certainly not for this … lie,” Rebecca said, turning to the countess, who sniffed.
“You would have done the same in my position,” the countess declared, and now it was Duchess Sinclair who spoke up.
“A true lady would never have behaved as you have done. You are a disgrace,” she said, and the countess scowled.
“And you are a meddling old woman with nothing better to do than to cling in desperation to your son. I know all about your husband, Duchess Sinclair, and yet you dare to look down upon me in judgement,” the countess hissed, but at that moment, Edward fired the pistol up into the ceiling, causing all of them to cry out in shock.
Plaster now fell from above, like a fine dusting of snow covering the table in a white film, and Rebecca clutched at Nicholas as Edward pointed the pistol at them both.
“You will not have her,” Nicholas declared, putting his arm around Rebecca as Edward let out an anguished cry.
What happened next was over in a blur, and later, Rebecca could only recall the loud bang which emanated from the pistol as crockery and chairs went flying. Edward had discharged his second round, and as he did so, a number of things occurred at once. Rebecca’s uncle leapt forward, catching Edward and tackling him to the ground. At the same time, Duchess Sinclair flung herself into the path of the bullet that mercifully missed its target, which was Nicholas, and ricocheted into the particularly fine bust of the Regent, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
Uproar ensued as Rebecca’s uncle and Edward tussled with one another on the floor, a fray into which Nicholas launched himself, along with the butler and two footmen, who had just emerged in astonishment from the kitchen with a tray bearing a large charlotte russe. Edward was subdued, the pistol kicked to one side, and his hands bound with a cord which Rebecca’s uncle pulled down from the curtains.
Rebecca found herself in the arms of Duchess Sinclair, who had shown remarkable agility for her age and was now shouting for the butler to call for the militia to take Edward into custody. Amidst this scene of chaos, the countess had remained impervious, standing to the side of the room, and watching the proceedings with a look of bemusement. Now, she tossed her hair back and laughed as Edward was forced into a chair, where more cords were tied around him to prevent any possibility of escape.
“What a pitiful display, Edward. You cannot even shoot straight,” the countess said as Edward snarled and cursed.
“You will know the full force of the law, Edward,” Nicholas said, picking up the pistol from the floor and tossing it onto the table.
Rebecca could only look on in horror, the full shock of what had just happened now realized. How easily Nicholas could have been killed; how easily she could have lost everything she held dear. She looked at Nicholas now, his tunic disheveled, his brow sweaty, his face flushed, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“You must excuse me,” she said, pulling out her handkerchief and beginning to weep.
She glanced at Edward, who scowled at her, before fleeing from the room, never wishing to see that awful man again or to hear his voice, the memory of which would haunt her forever.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Later on, with Edward subdued and a footman sent running for the militia, the family were gathered in the drawing-room. Rebecca had retired to her chambers after fleeing from the dining room, the shock of what had happened a strain on her nerves. Lyddie had brought her some tea, and the two of them talking over all that had happened. Now, she returned to find Nicholas and the others sitting in silence, the shock of what might have occurred affecting them all.
“Please, do not exert yourself, Rebecca. You have had a terrible shock,” Nicholas said, pointing to a chair opposite him. “We all have.”
“Edward? Is he …?” Rebecca asked, and Nicholas nodded.
“The militia will be here soon, I have two of the footmen keeping watch over him, and his pistol is far out of reach,” Nicholas replied, and Rebecca heaved a sigh of relief.
The mantelpiece was covered in candles, casting their flickering light across the room. Nicholas’ mother was sitting by the fire, and the countess sat opposite her. Rebecca’s uncle was there, too, drinking a glass of brandy and shaking his head. She recalled his actions at the moment when Edward had fired his shot, astonished to think that he had placed his life in danger in order to save them both. It quite altered her opinion of him, though she wondered what had prompted his change of heart.
“Then he will trouble us no longer,” she whispered, and Nicholas nodded.
“You need never see him again, nor shall we speak of him. We can forget that this sorry affair ever took place,” he replied, glancing at his mother.
She too had acted in a most remarkable manner, throwing herself in front of the path of the bullet to protect Nicholas and Rebecca from harm. How thankful Rebecca was that Edward had proved such a poor shot, though that hardly diminished the awfulness of his actions, which surely deserved the severest punishment.
“Will he be locked away?” she asked, and Nicholas nodded.
“We can only hope so,” he said, and Duchess Sinclair smiled.
“Whatever happens, his name shall be mud. There will be no polite society in which he can find a place. Not when this scandal is known,” she said, glancing at the countess, who now rose to her feet.
“He has wounded me, too,” she growled, but Duchess Sinclair shook her head.
