Page 67 of A Duke's Sinful Bargain
“There are no papers,” Alexander revealed, enjoying every single word and the shock it brought to Sir Rupert’s face.
“What do you mean?” Sir Rupert asked, swallowing heavily. He was outnumbered in that room, and that was clearly starting to make him slightly uneasy.
“I mean that you have been summoned here under revealing circumstances. The time has come to unveil the puppeteer orchestrating this destructive performance.”
Sir Rupert frowned even more as lines of worry etched his forehead. “I don’t understand…” He was obviously taken aback by those words, attempting to maintain his composure.
“Do you know what is the most offensive thing of all?” Alexander had to admit that he was enjoying this far more than he’d thought he would. Whatever hidden trick Sir Rupert might have had up his sleeve, Alexander was ready for it, because he knew the truth. There was nothing that could surprise him any longer, now that he had spoken to all those involved… well, almost.
“The fact that you take us for fools,” Alexander clarified. “Gullible fools at that. You truly expect us to believe that you acted alone, a man with no funds, a man whose family has been destroyed by my family, as you yourself claimed. You have been attending balls, wearing the finest tailored clothing, hiring the services of solicitors such as Hatwells and McKee? Honestly!”
Sir Rupert was even more uneasy now. He looked around, then locked eyes with Alexander once again. “I assure you that I acted alone with my solicitors. There is no mysterious patron behind my actions.”
Alexander loved how the tables had turned. He pressed further, fully aware of the fact that the layers of this game of deception would start unraveling at any moment, and Sir Rupert would be forced to admit everything. He was merely prolonging the inevitable, but Alexander didn’t mind.
“A lone endeavor, you claim?” Alexander shook his head. “The financing behind this scheme suggests otherwise. I urge you to speak the truth, Sir Rupert. The truth alone can help you now, but only if you reach out to it yourself.”
Sir Rupert’s eyes widened. He hesitated, finally refusing to speak any more.
“We can wait a bit longer, if you wish,” Alexander said. “Just do not say later that you were not given a chance to tell us the truth.”
At that moment, there was another knock on the door. Alexander’s heart leaped.
“And that is the final guest we have all been waiting for,” he revealed, his eyes focused on the door, which opened, revealing Reynolds and someone else behind him.
“Your Grace,” Reynolds spoke courteously. “Lady Genevieve Stirling is here for you.”
Chapter 35
The arrival of Lady Genevieve cast a ripple of surprise through everyone assembled. Anna could barely stifle her shock at seeing the lady there with them. She observed the initially elegant entrance of the young lady, her keen eyes capturing a momentary falter in Lady Genevieve’s eager smile upon realizing that she had found herself in unexpected company.
At that very moment, Anna could sense the shift in Lady Genevieve’s expectations. The woman’s eyes fluttered from Alexander to Sir Rupert, then hastily over to the other two people also present. Anna could not escape the realization that Lady Genevieve had perhaps been summoned there by a promise of romantic notions. Instead of that, she now found herself in the midst of a gathering that held an air of gravity, determining her fate.
Anna did not feel a single ounce of sympathy for the woman and the discomfort she was exuding. If she had been summoned there, there must have been a reason for it, and Anna was eager to hear it.
“Your Grace,” Lady Genevieve tried to compose herself, but her voice betrayed her nerves, “I do not understand the reason for this gathering. Would you mind explaining?”
“Gladly.” Alexander nodded, seizing the moment and deciding to expose the truth as Anna gazed on in shock. “I believe it is finally time for the truth to come to light.”
“What truth?” Lady Genevieve chuckled nervously, but it was only a thin veil of her discomfort, the last efforts of a liar not to be caught it their own web of deceit.
“Why, you know better than any of us here.” Alexander grinned confidently. Anna had never seen him like that, bold and loud, more assured than ever. “Or perhaps you would like Sir Rupert to do the honor?”
Sir Rupert locked eyes with her instantly. “I have not told them anything!”
“He didn’t need to,” Alexander spoke on his behalf. “When the truth is already known, it does not need to be corroborated. However, because I have known you since you were a child, Lady Genevieve, I believed you deserved a chance to explain yourself. However, it seems neither you nor Sir Rupert feels even the slightest bit of remorse for what you have done, and in turn, I will take no pity on either of you.”
He paused for a moment, only to approach Anna and stand by her side. They were in this together against Lady Genevieve and Sir Rupert, two opposing sides. The truth and lies. The good and the bad. And Anna was proud to be standing by his side, proud to have this man stand by her.
“You, Lady Genevieve, approached Sir Rupert for a nefarious purpose, using your considerable wealth to fund the solicitors orchestrating this scheme.”
Lady Genevieve’s eyes widened, a flicker of panic betraying her composed façade. It was obvious to everyone that she was still refusing to admit anything. “I… I don’t understand. What are you talking about? I barely know this man! I only met him when I visited Lady Pentor.”
“No,” Alexander shook his head, “you knew him from before. Your intricate web of deception reached far and wide, all so you would achieve your goal, which I assume is to keep Anna and me apart. You not only hired this crook to work for you, but you also reached into the very depths of my own household.
A young servant girl, one whom I had taken on only recently as she was an orphan and had no one else in the world, succumbed to the lure of your wealth. Don’t bother denying any of it. I have already spoken to the girl, and she confessed her involvement.”
Anna gasped silently. She felt sorry for the girl, whoever she was, but at the same time, one should know the difference between right and wrong. No amount of money was worth being disloyal to the home and the family one was working for.
