Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
The bedroom door exploded inward, the sound deafening. Daniel did not just enter; he charged through the debris. His face was red with worry and fury, which he used to rip the door off its hinges.
His coat billowed behind him, making him look like a dark avenging angel.
None of what Lucy saw suggested that this was a polished duke. Daniel was disheveled and bloodied. His eyes were blazing.
What happened to him?
“Get your hands off her, you bastard!” he roared as he lunged at Joshua.
He grabbed the Earl’s shoulders and pried him off her, his eyes narrowed on the hand wrapped around her throat. Lucy gasped for breath as the pressure eased. She could not even scream.
Joshua stumbled back from her, but the sneer remained on his face. She could not help but tremble at the thought of what he was thinking and trying to do for the last few minutes.
“You’re too late, Stonewynn,” he taunted, although he sounded tired. “Besides, this is a family matter and has nothing to do with you. I am preparing my sister for a journey she has agreed to. Meddlers are not welcome.”
“I did not do that!” Lucy wheezed.
“Family? You were treating her like family by almost strangling her to death?” Daniel barked, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
“You are not allowed to use that word anymore, Marsleigh. I’ve spoken to your man, Moses Gordon.
He told me that Kenneth discovered some of your unsavory transactions.
Most importantly, he revealed your involvement in the fire at Suffolk. ”
Lucy’s eyes went wide, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.
“The fire that killed your family?” she whispered.
But she knew they had heard her. Both men had turned toward her for a brief moment.
“Tell me he’s lying, Joshua,” she begged.
Even though her brother had shown her how terrible he could be, she still hoped that he would prove her wrong. Perhaps he was merely drunk or depressed. Perhaps he was merely provoking her.
“He’s a murderer, Lucy!” Daniel exclaimed, looking pained. “He paid a thug to set fire to the house in Suffolk. He killed my cousin just because Kenneth discovered that Joshua was part of some dockside smuggling filth.”
“That’s not true! Don’t believe this man, Lucy! Who would you believe, a virtual stranger or your own flesh and blood?” Joshua roared.
Lucy shuddered at the word blood and wondered if she truly knew her brother after all.
“You did not want to be caught! You were greedy, Marsleigh. Your greed and fear of being discovered killed my family. You did not even have the mettle to do it yourself.”
“I did it for you, Lucy!” Joshua screamed, facing Daniel fully.
He looked manic, sweat beading his temples.
His eyes were wide, insanity evident in them.
He paced in a circle, his body shaking. “Kenneth would have taken everything: my title, my money, and my freedom. That means nobody would be able to protect you. You would be on your own, penniless, if I had let him report me to the authorities. I saved us, Lucy!”
Lucy made a sound of disgruntled disbelief. Did her brother truly believe the nonsense he was spouting?
“You saved yourself!” Daniel hissed. “If you truly cared about your sister’s well-being, you would not have committed a crime.”
The time for talking seemed to have ended, as the two collided with such force that Lucy flinched and backed away from the scuffle.
It was not what you’d expect from two gentlemen fighting. It was not the type of fisticuffs they learned from trainers. It was a desperate fight, as each struggled for survival or at least domination.
The two grappled until they lost balance and rolled on the floor. They hit the legs of her washstand, sending her porcelain pitcher shattering against the floor, water splashing them both.
While Daniel was bigger, stronger, and using brute force, Joshua gave him a fight with the strength of a cornered animal. He clawed at Daniel’s eyes while the latter used his bigger frame to slam him against the legs of the bed.
“You are a leech, Marsleigh!” Daniel bellowed, even as he received a blow to his cheek.
“Stop it, both of you!” Lucy screamed.
Daniel’s lip was already split; Joshua certainly knew where to hit, his blows landing with cruel precision.
Then, something shifted in Daniel. It was as if the decade of suppressed but sustained rage exploded. With a guttural cry, he lunged forward, caught Joshua by his lapels, and managed to throw the smaller man across the room.
Joshua hit the far wall with a sickening thud.
“You are a jailer, not a brother! You have been hiding her from the world so you can keep her for yourself. To control her. This is what it’s all about. You are a little man who needs someone to dominate, and you thought a woman you made believe to be delicate was the perfect target.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Stonewynn!” Joshua shrieked as he scrambled to his feet.
His breathing was ragged.
Lucy knew her brother was not used to such physical exertion. Daniel was right about him not being able to do what needed to be done.
“I am the only one who truly sees Lucy for what she is! And you, Stonewynn, do you think you want her? You will tire of her within weeks, not even a Season.”
Lucy’s heart ached at the admiration in her brother’s voice. If only he weren’t so entrenched in his own madness. His mind had become twisted along the way, and she didn’t know why.
Was it the pressure of their father’s and mother’s deaths?
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away.
“I will never tire of Lucy! She is not a form of entertainment!” Daniel roared.
Lucy was struck by the rawness of his response. He was not the sort who would get caught up in emotions, and seeing him undone like this made a tear spill over.
“I pushed her away because it isn’t safe to be with me.
What I didn’t know then was that the danger was her own brother.
I had to think of her safety and not what I wanted because I love her!
I love her more than my life and everything I own, Joshua.
I would have given up my quest for revenge if I were certain it meant peace for her. But no, it was not to be.”
The room fell deathly quiet. Lucy grew acutely aware of the fire crackling in the hearth. The two men were panting from exertion and pent-up emotions.
She stood by the wall, horrified by her brother’s madness.
Her knees felt weak. This time, it was not because of fear or pain. It was because Daniel said that he loved her. Her heart swelled at the thought that all along, he had thought it best to let her because he cared.
As for Joshua, he was rooted to the spot. His expression transformed from dark rage to something duller. More dangerous.
“Ah. Good. Then you’re willing to die for her,” he whispered.
He darted to the vanity and grabbed a letter opener. It was small and light, but still sharp and deadly.
Lucy’s mouth opened, but no scream came out. Frustration bubbled within her as she tried to warn Daniel to move away. Those few seconds felt like hours.
Then, Joshua swung the letter opener at him.
This was no attempt to scare. It was an attempt to wound or kill, and Lucy recognized it.
“No!” she finally screamed.
Daniel was somewhat ready, with instincts born out of a lifetime of anticipation. Joshua was not the first person to ever threaten his life. He was the son of the late Marquess of Grisham, and that meant a childhood of suffering.
Instead of ducking, he stepped inside the circle created by Joshua’s swing and caught his wrist. He twisted hard until he heard a sickening crack.
“It’s over, Marsleigh,” he grunted, pinning Joshua’s arm behind his back.
Right after, a commotion sounded downstairs. It seemed like the front door was slammed open. Heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs.
“In here!” Daniel called, his voice cracking.
Before coming to Lucy’s rescue, he had managed to alert a troop of Bow Street Runners. While he wanted to beat Joshua himself, he knew the danger he was in. He was already bloodied from their fight. He recognized the need for reinforcements.
The officers immediately surrounded Joshua, pulling him away from him. Daniel felt both relief and disappointment. He should be the one punishing the prig.
“Joshua Coulson, Earl of Marsleigh,” the head officer, a burly and grave-looking fellow, declared in a droning voice, “You are under arrest for illicit trade, arson, murder, and domestic abuse. You must come with us to face the magistrate.”
Joshua did not go without a fight. He struggled against his shackles, pulling at them. His hair, damp from sweat, fell over his face. He did not look like he cared anymore.
“She’s mine!” he shouted as they dragged him out of the room and down the stairs. “You cannot take her from me! She’s pure! We were going to America!”
Daniel looked at Lucy questioningly. He would never have expected such words to come out of her brother’s mouth.
Joshua sounded like a spurned lover. He was deluded. Mad. While Daniel felt somewhat sad for him, it was mostly because his arrest would affect Lucy. They were siblings, after all.
Lucy gave a weak shrug. Then, she looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Daniel was afraid she was going to break down, especially when she let out a shuddering breath. One could feel the anguish in that long exhale.
“Joshua is not just controlling. He is not just difficult. He is a monster, Your Grace,” she said.
“He claimed that he killed for me, but it was all for him. Everything he did, he did it to satisfy the beast inside him. He wanted to take me to a foreign place so I would have no one. He is mad. He is twisted.”
She slid down the wall, her legs giving out.
Daniel approached her.
“Lucy,” he said gently, afraid that she would fly off like a bird whose cage had just opened.
Nonetheless, he would never crowd her. He would never cage her, even if she decided to leave. It would hurt, but it would be worse to keep her where she did not want to be.
His face and body bore the aftermath of tonight’s fight. His lip bled. His face felt sore, his eyes were swollen, and there was a slight sting in his chest. He looked down to see a blot of blood on his shirt. The tip of the letter opener had grazed him, after all.
“He’s gone,” he murmured. “You’re safe now. Your brother will never hurt you again. I promise you, whether I stay in your life or not, you are safe.”
He reached down, offering his hand. Lucy clutched at it.
Neither pulled. They just held each other’s hands. His big calloused hand over her smaller, daintier one seemed to be sharing not just strength but a story.
“Y-you said you loved me,” she stuttered, her eyes vulnerable. Her lips trembled, as if she were about to burst into tears.
“I said that,” he confirmed. “I love you. I am not afraid to repeat those words, unless you want me to stop. I hope you can forgive a silly fool who thought he could protect you. B-but I realized I was the one who hurt you first.”
“Yes, you broke my heart.”
“I did. But I won’t ever again.”