Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
The trio found an empty, private room that the Harringtons often made available to guests. Inside, the sounds from the soiree grew muffled but remained audible.
Music. Laughter. Chatter.
The married couple should have been focused on those, but unfortunately, the events at the Obsidian Card had left a mark. In the private room, the initial silence was suffocating.
“Were you there?” Daniel demanded, no longer wasting time. “Were you at the fire? At the Obsidian Card?”
His eyes were like flames directed at his sister. The controlled marquess was gone. It was even harder to see the boy he used to be, the one who was more focused on fun and travel.
“Yes, we were, Daniel,” Daphne admitted unflinchingly. “We were at the gaming hell.”
“What on earth were you doing? Why were you there? Isn’t that what your mother has been telling you to go against? Ruining your reputation?” Daniel roared, the nerves on his forehead popping with anger.
Adrian and Daphne remained silent. Daniel took it as an opportunity to lash out some more. “What were you trying to do? You swore to protect my sister. Now, you drag her, a duchess, to a world of filth and danger!”
Daphne stepped between the two men, trying to stop whatever violence might erupt.
“Stop it, Daniel! You will not speak to my husband that way. I was the one who urged him to bring me to the Obsidian Card. I wanted to see it for myself, experience what his life was like in that little world. I wanted to know him better. He didn’t want to bring me because he wanted to protect me from it.
We did get away from it all without any injury. Do you see me now?”
But Daniel ignored Daphne. He was too focused on his fury that he kept on ranting at Adrian.
“Do you think your life as a Duke can flow seamlessly without being entangled with your life as a criminal? You are a target, Wolfcrest. You know that. Still, you brought along my sister and put her in danger of becoming collateral damage!”
“Peace, Daniel,” Daphne urged, placing a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “We are doing well. We are fine. I didn’t burn into ash!”
Finally, Daniel turned to focus on Daphne. She knew that he had vowed to protect her and their other sisters. It made sense that he felt terribly helpless now.
“Don’t you ever do that again, Daphne,” he pleaded, cupping his younger sister’s cheeks. “Don’t scare us like that again. How do you think I felt when I realized I had to save you from Briarwood by sending you to another scoundrel?”
She heard Adrian inhale sharply, but he didn’t say a thing.
“I am scaring you? Then, you are much like my mother, Daniel. I am my own person now. Yes, I can understand why you worry, but I also need to be myself and experience what I want. I was too afraid growing up with Father. Too meek under Mother. And y-you’re a man.
You had finally realized what it was like to be free when you left for the Continent.
Women like me must stay behind, looking pretty for suitors. ”
“Please vow to me that you won’t do anything like that again,” Daniel pleaded once more, as if she’d never even spoken.
Daphne imagined her brother’s senses had shut down. All that he could focus on was ensuring she stayed out of trouble.
“I vow it, Grisham,” her husband said, shocking her with his response. He sounded formal, decisive, and resigned. “The duchess will not be put in danger again. I will ensure it.”
Daniel finally released his sister, stepping backward to look her in the eye.
He narrowed his eyes to her, uttering a cold warning, not to her but to the Duke.
Again, she felt like nothing more than a ball being passed around from one man to another.
It was like her father’s shadow looming over all of them once more.
“I—I am here,” she managed to stammer.
“You better keep that vow, Wolfcrest. I won’t be alone in this. The rest of our siblings will be asking you about these rumors. I hope you are prepared to reassure them that Briarwood or any of your numerous enemies cannot touch our sister.”
Daphne’s heart hardened, then. It didn’t look like either man in her life was willing to listen to her. She pressed her lips tightly together, steeling herself for the next chapters of her life.
They drove home in their carriage in silence. Daphne felt suffocated in what she now thought of as a luxurious prison. It was her first instinct when she first found out she was marrying the Duke of Wolfcrest.
Neither half of the pair was willing to shed their pride to let the other person in.
In her mind, Daphne screamed. She thought about all the things she wanted to tell her husband, but she was left with the Wolf instead.
When they were at the Obsidian Card, he was more open.
More candid. She was surprised at how he was willing to engage in conversation, and even in seduction, where he worked and lurked as the secret owner.
We established that Briarwood was pathetic!
He is down now. Humiliated.
“Don’t listen to my brother. You are a Duke. You have been living in this world of your creation throughout your adult life, and you have managed to pull yourself out of every danger,” she finally said.
Daphne didn’t want to say anything, but she was the first to fold. She was the one with no fortitude at that very moment. Her heart was clenching in her chest, and she had no choice but to say something.
“In every other circumstance, I would agree with you,” Adrian said, his voice low and edged with restrained fury.
“I would have put your brother in his place for daring to confront me. But not this time. Because I know I was in the wrong. I should never have listened to your persuasion. You could have died tonight, Daphne. One wrong move, one falling ember… and I’d have lost you.
” His jaw flexed as if the thought alone was unbearable.
“Briarwood may be a fool, but even fools can light a match. And men with coin can buy killers to finish what they cannot.”
He exhaled roughly, running a hand through his hair before meeting her gaze again.
“My world is not a place for innocence. It is full of corruption and blood, and I swore I would keep you untouched by it. That was my vow the moment I made you my wife: to protect you, even from myself, if I must. That is the essence of our marriage… and the only part of me you must never doubt.”
“What if Daniel did not remind you of your vow? Would you be more willing to put me in trouble?” she asked, knowing that this particular question was unfair.
Still, she wanted to know what Adrian had to say.
“My brother is being protective for the wrong reasons. He will always be burdened by our childhood. He still feels guilty about going on his Grand Tour across the Continent while we were left behind with our cruel father. He is projecting his feeling of helplessness.”
“No, Daphne. You know better than that. I have not been swayed by your brother’s guilt, but by mine.
I saw you near the fire. I was the one who was there, in that place I should not have brought you.
My world! I was too thrilled about the prospect of you getting to know me better by visiting that place.
Being in the heart of the Obsidian Card.
This… my reaction now… is no longer about Briarwood.
Someone else might attempt to harm you. Someone who might succeed.
I can’t always protect you, especially if you are in the middle of the chaos. ”
“Can you then abandon this world? Will you do it? This way, you don’t have to hide yourself from me. You don’t need the money from your gambling hells, do you? Frankly, I have no idea. But, please, Adrian, leave the shadows and walk in the light with me.”
His head snapped up at that. She was almost frightened when she saw the raw pain in his eyes.
“Do you think it’s that simple, Daphne? The gambling hells are not there to provide me with wealth.
They mean something more. It shows me how I succeeded in my revenge.
It’s my way of keeping the people who were responsible for my mother’s and sister’s deaths in line.
Do you think they died for nothing? I will not do anything that will dishonor them! ”
She was staggered by the vehemence behind his argument.
She knew that initially he had bought the Obsidian Card so he might exact his revenge, but she could think of no reason why he felt compelled to linger there.
Surely, his mother and sister would not want him to continue pursuing this path after so long.
They would wish for him to find joy—really and truly.
“Very well, Your Grace. I understand.”
She did not wait for him to respond. Instead, she turned on her heel and stormed upstairs.
Of course, she did not understand. She walked up to her bedchamber.
The door between them remained unlocked, but she closed it and heard the latch click before she went to bed.