Page 83 of The Ambiguous Enigma of the Hunted Lady
Leah looked at him with those great green eyes, and they took up a gloss like she was about to cry. “Can you protect me from your uncle?”
“My uncle? What are you talking about?” Kenneth blinked awkwardly; it was not at all the answer he expected to hear.
“It's him, Kenneth.” she said softly, stepping closer to him. “He's the one who wants me dead. He's the one that Riphook works for. He's the one that controls all the gambling houses and brothels and thieving rings all over the city.”
“Cornelius? Why, that's absurd.” Kenneth couldn't quite make sense of it all. The words were coming out of her mouth, but they were swimming about in his ears like a goldfish in a small bowl.
“It's true, Kenneth.” Leah whispered, drawing up in front of him. “At your house, he told me that if I disappeared, he'd forget all about me. I think it was just a way to get me back into the city, but I couldn't stay there any longer. Not after that. Dr. Fowler was meant to kill me with poison, but he warned me instead. Just my luck your uncle showed up right after.”
“Dr. Fowler? How? At dinner...” Kenneth mumbled, slowly piecing together the threads of her narrative. It was a painstaking process, because everything inside him screamed out that this was wrong, that Cornelius was an upstanding fellow. Yet he trusted her words more than anyone else, and they began to take root.
“I didn't know it was him until that night.” Leah went on. “Riphook took me to a meeting with him once when I was younger. I shouldn't have been there. I'm the only one that has seen them in a room together.”
“No, no.” Kenneth shook his head in disbelief. “No, it cannot be. You are mistaken, clearly...” the room was spinning in Kenneth's mind, and he clutched at his temples.
“I am not mistaken.” Leah responded firmly.
“But it makes no sense.” Kenneth protested. “He is an upstanding gentleman! He is my friend! My Uncle!”
“Of those, he is only the latter.” Leah touched Kenneth's shoulder. “This is why I left in secret. I knew that you would not be able to accept this.”
“I–” Kenneth had no words. His world didn't seem to match together any longer. He had before him two conflicting narratives, both of them convincing.
“He tried to kill me Kenneth.” Leah moved her hand from his shoulder to his hand. “Think for a moment. You know nothing of his life before your father's death. How did he come into his wealth? And in the end of it, do you choose to believe him or I?”
“I believe you.” Kenneth began to cry. “And yet I cannot.”
“You must, or you must go.” Leah bit her lip, as if she were holding back tears.
“That.” Kenneth wiped the tears from his face and put a smile on his reddening face. “I simply cannot do.” At the end of it all, his love for Leah overpowered his skepticism.If she says he is evil, then by God, he must be.
Rage began to build within him again, bubbling over and broiling – the anger he had reserved for Riphook now spilled over in the idealized image of his Uncle, shattering the glass and washing away the muddied oils from the canvas.
“You believe me then?” There was a shadow of a tear in the corner of Leah's brilliant green eyes.
“Of course.” Kenneth realized the truly despicable nature of his uncle's shadowed life.How could I be so blind?“You're the only one who can go before a magistrate against him. The only real threat he's got.”
“That's it,” Leah let out a long breath. “That is the truth of it all. So, you see why I have to get away.”
“You cannot go away, especially now.” Kenneth became firmly resolute once more, assembling himself for what he was about to propose.
“Did you not hear a word I have said? We cannot resist your uncle. He is too powerful.”
“I am powerful.” Kenneth slammed down his fist again. “More than he at any rate, and I will not see this gross abuse of justice go on unhindered! I will not surrender you, Leah, to his dark machine, for firstly I care much too strongly for you, and secondly I must right the wrongs within my own house.”
“What are you saying?” Leah looked up at him.
“We are going to bring my uncle to law.” Kenneth growled. “Along with this Riphook character. It is the only way you can ever be truly free of their haunting shadow, and I mean to see it done.”
“You cannot mean it.” She was closer to him now, nearly brushing against his chest. He felt his heart beat rising rapidly and his body grow hot and electric. “Your uncle is too influential to be tried in court. He will be acquitted, and we will all be in danger.”
“I do mean it. And I mean everything else I say as well.”
“Such as?” she whispered, tilting her head.
“I love you.” he whispered back.
“Christ.” she bit her lip. “I love you.”
