Page 131 of Dukes Are Forever
The way he said it made tension slither through her. She looked up. "Who?"
"Your father was in the warehouse. He was the one who set off the explosion."
Adele staggered back a step, cold shock slamming through her.
"There's no way he could have survived it," Malloryn said quietly, capturing her fingers. "We barely did."
The world came back to her with a sucking pop of noise. "My father is dead." Strange, how coherent those words sounded.
"I'm sorry. I told him he was under arrest, and he must have decided dying was worth the risk of taking me down with him. It appears his hatred of me was stronger than his sense of self-preservation."
It didn't surprise her.
Her father had been twisted up with hate and bitterness for years.
But what did surprise her was the loss she felt.
Sir George had never been a kindly man. Or a father. He'd dismissed her, ignored her, used her, and abused her.
But his death somehow felt as though her nice, safe world was imploding. She shouldn't shed a single tear for the bastard. She shouldn't. But there was one sliding down her cheek all the same, though she didn't know if it was sadness, hatred or rage at her father that fuelled it.
Hattie.... Good God, she'd have to tell her sister.
And worse.Treachery. The sentence woulddestroyher family, and her sister's prospects.
"Adele?" There were rough hands on her shoulders, holding her upright. Thumbs stroking her skin. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." She managed to press her hand to his bare chest, noting again the bloody slashes and marks that marked his skin. "You're hurt. He tried to hurt you. He deserved to die."
"I'm fine." Malloryn captured her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I have the power to suppress word of his involvement. Several of the council members owe me a favor. Nobody has to know he was a traitor. It doesn't have to affect your sister."
That he understood exactly what bothered her eased the burden.
"Thank you."
Relief flooded through her and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her tearstained cheek to his chest. He tensed, but then his arms wrapped slowly around her, and it felt like she could finally catch her balance again.
"Thank you," she repeated.
For everything.
* * *
"What the hell are you doing?"Lady Hamilton demanded, as Malloryn and his Rogues splayed out through the foyer of her home. "You cannot simply shove your way in here! Richards! Richards! Remove them at once."
Adele paused on the lintel, silently steeling herself for this encounter.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Lady Hamilton." Malloryn held up a piece of paper. "The queen has signed a warrant to have your house searched. Your husband, Sir George, has been accused of treason against the crown, and there is enough evidence to suggest he kept vital documents of a plot against the queen in his study. I've been authorized to search it."
Lady Hamilton snatched the warrant, and then swiftly tore it into shreds. "My husband is not a traitor. You have no proof! Get out!"
"Was not," Malloryn said coolly.
"What?"
"Wasnot a traitor. Your husband is dead. He set off an explosion with himself inside the building."
All the color drained out of her mother's face.
