Page 75 of A Duke's Lustful Portrait
Sebastian could no longer hold the waves back, thunder and fury exploding in his mind. The man was infuriatingly calm like none of this mattered. But to Sebastian—and others who had lost at the society’s hands—it mattered very much. He got up from his seat, his entire body shaking with rage, his fists clenched. He would not allow the man to leave this room unscathed. He would not allow Sinclair to murderhimas well.
“You murdered my mother, you bastard!”
Sinclair joined him in standing, but rather than showing fear or regret, he laughed again. “Yes, I murdered your mother, but let’s be honest, she was no loss to this world. And neither willyourdeath be.”
Chapter 36
When her father sent her to bed, Arabella had trotted off, glad to be away from him and the air of toxicity surrounding him. Tomorrow, she would disappear from his life forever, and though she was nervous, she knew it would change her life for the better.
Sebastian might not have turned out to be her knight in shining armour as she’d dreamed of, but his arrival in her life had spurred a set of events that would indeed lead to her eventual rescue. She had many people to thank, not least her dear grandmother, Priscilla. How desperately she would miss her.
She pushed open her bedroom door, and there, on the floor, she discovered a folded piece of parchment. With a frown, she stared down at it as if reaching for it might somehow be bad. Eventually, she did lean over and snatch it from the floor. She unfolded it and moved to perch on the edge of the bed, her eyes darting across the words.
Dearest Arabella,
I cannot express to you how sorry I am for the hurtful words I said. I am sure, by now, your father has tried to poison you against me, but I believe you are strong-minded enough to know the truth for yourself. I hope you can forgive me, my love, for the truth is, you have become as important to me as my own body, as my very soul.
I know things are difficult, but I ask just one thing of you: be patient, my love. I have a plan and, if all goes well, we can be together once it’s done. There are things about me that I have not shared, things I’m sure your father will have told you by now. I will explain everything, I promise, my love. It will all make sense in time, and then I only hope you can forgive me.
All my love, for now and forever,
Sebastian
“Oh, Sebastian,” Arabella moaned.
Her eyes filled with tears, her heart overflowing with love and terror and hurt. It was too late. He’d taken too long. Priscilla’s plan was going to go ahead the very next day, and then all would be lost. Arabella would be on her way to Derbyshire, and Sebastian would never be able to find her.
She lay back on her bed, her mind racing. She thought that perhaps there would be a way she could write to him. She knew his address, after all. Perhaps there was a way she could wait for him, though she doubted Priscilla would allow it.
She moved around her bed, tossing and turning, her stomach roiling with fear and concern. It didn’t matter to her that he wasn’t a duke, not really. She didn’t like that he had lied, but she would never have met him if he had not. But there were still things she didn’t understand.
She wondered why he had pretended to be a duke in the first place. Was it really because he was so desperate to become a member of the Lord’s Society? Surely there were debauched groups at every level of society if one knew where to look. It was, at least in part, one of the more shameful aspects of humanity.
There had to be more to it, more to the secrecy around his past. She thought of the day he had run from the house, his cheek bleeding and his eyes full of fury.
What happened?
Was it really just that her father was angry because he was not of true noble birth?No. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but she was certain there was something more, some greater explanation that she was missing. And she didn’t have time to wait, to be patient, as he had pleaded.
With renewed determination, Arabella got up from the bed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Her face ached from crying, and she promised herself she would do so no more. She straightened out of the creases of her gown—she had still not changed since the ball—and she tucked Sebastian’s letter into the neckline where it would be close to her breast. She was going to visit her father and get the answers she deserved.
***
Arabella paused outside her father’s study, shock running through her veins. He wasn’t alone, and she knew the voice of his guest. She knew the voice very well indeed.
Sebastian.
Her heart felt frozen, not daring to beat for fear it would beat right out of her chest, and she held herself perfectly still, listening to their conversation.
“Tell me what happened,” Sebastian said behind the door. “I want to hear it all—from the moment you set up the society to tonight’s ball.”
As do I.
To anyone else, he would have sounded calm. But Arabella knew him better than even he knew himself, and she could hear the quiver of fear and anger in his voice. She wanted to soothe him, to hold him in her arms until it was all better. But so much more than that—she wanted to hear what her father had to say. She stayed where she was and listened.
The more Edward said, the more horrified Arabella became. It was all so much worse than she had ever imagined. She had known, of course, that he had made people disappear, but she hadn’t realized the sheer number of people who had died at his command—and she’d had no idea he had killed someone with his own hands.
“You know all this,” her father said. “I killed your mother, Pembry killed …”
