Chapter 3 #3
“I am not stupid!” Seraphina retorted, her cheeks flushing hot. “I might be desperate but not stupid. It was a highly calculated risk. I needed proof before you —before he — could strike at my sisters. I had to do something.”
“Calculated?” William let out a dry laugh. He straightened up from the desk, pushing off the wood and taking a step toward her. “Let me show you exactly how ‘calculated’ your little plan was.”
Before Seraphina could even register the shift in the room’s air, William closed the distance between them.
In one smooth, blindingly efficient movement, his hand shot out, capturing both of her wrists in a single grip and pinning them gently but immovably against the wall above her head.
At the exact same moment, his other hand bracketed her waist, trapping her completely against the wall.
Seraphina gasped, her heart leaping straight into her throat. “Unhand me. Now,” she sneered.
Her breath hitched, her eyes locking onto his in absolute shock. The tension between them stretched thin and tight, an electric charge that made her skin tingle from head to toe.
“Unhand yourself,” he answered. “Tell me what your calculated plan had in place for a situation where you got trapped like this.”
“Your Grace, this is absolutely —”
“Improper?” he asked. “Rude? Embarrassing? Did you expect your blackmailer to be anything but?”
He looked down at her, then found her eyes again. “So... you write that column? You are E. R. Voce? That is a fascinating discovery. Why use a pseudonym then? A man’s name.”
“Why? You intend to tell people?”
“I don’t care who writes it.”
“Then don’t ask about it,” she whispered.
“If I were your blackmailer,” William whispered, his gaze dropping to her lips for a fraction of a second before rising back to her wide eyes.
“You would already be ruined. You would be entirely at my mercy, trapped in a room with a dangerous man, with no way out, no allies, and no defense. Your ‘calculations’ would have bought your family a tragedy. Do you understand me?”
Seraphina swallowed hard, her pulse fluttering wildly against his fingers. She hated how small she felt, and she hated even more how breathless her voice sounded when she finally managed to speak. “Point taken,” she whispered, glaring up at him with all the defiance she had left. “Now release me.”
William let her go instantly, stepping back, still composed, which made her want to kick his shins. He smoothed down the front of his waistcoat.
“It seems we both have a problem,” William said, pacing back toward his desk. “Someone is using my family crest, which I cannot and will not tolerate, and someone is threatening you, which you clearly cannot handle on your own without getting yourself killed.”
Seraphina straightened her rumpled apron, her voice bristling with injured pride.
“We can help each other. I will use my resources, my runners, and my standing to find out exactly who stole my crest and sent those letters. In exchange, you will help me.”
Seraphina eyed him warily, crossing her arms over her chest. “Help you with what?”
William cleared his throat. “Alice. She is... a young girl. She has recently come into my care, and I have absolutely no conception of what a child of her years requires. The housekeeper suggests more pinafores, the governess suggests advanced French grammar, and Alice... wakes up screaming at night. You are a woman of... loud opinions. You will help me navigate her needs.”
Seraphina watched him, her mind quickly weighing the offer. A Duke’s resources would find the blackmailer in a fraction of the time it would take her to sneak into records offices. It was her best, perhaps her only chance to protect her sisters and secure their safety.
“Fine,” Seraphina said, lifting her chin with as much dignity as her maid’s uniform allowed. “We have a deal. But if you ever try to lock me against a wall again, Your Grace, I will write a column about your terrible conversational skills.”
William’s lips twitched with a faint, reluctant smile. “Agreed. Come back tomorrow morning. We can work out the details then.”
“I can do that.” Seraphina nodded.
“Good,” he said and nodded once. “Now, get out of my study.”
Seraphina turned toward the door, but before she could grasp the handle, William’s voice stopped her short.
“Also, Miss... Seraphina?”
She paused, looking back over her shoulder.
“Next time,” he said, gesturing at the door. “Use the front door.”
Seraphina let out a frustrated huff, throwing the door open and marching out into the corridor, her cheeks burning.
As she hurried down the hall, her mind raced through a dozen different ways agreeing to his terms could go completely sideways.
She didn’t even know the truth behind this Alice situation, and striking a pact with an enigmatic, overbearing Duke was bound to be a nightmare.
But as she made her way out of the estate, she reminded herself that it was still a far better option than going back home to admit to Lady Byron that she had failed.
This was her next best chance. She was going to explore this option to its absolute limit, and if it didn’t work out, she would do what she was originally supposed to do and face the music at home.