Chapter 34
“All right, what do you want?” Ophelia asked the moment that she and Lord Hallbridge were in the hallway.
They stood roughly twenty feet down from the doorway to the drawing room, such that the sounds of laughter coming from within could still be heard.
“You have two minutes, so I suggest you speak quickly.”
Lord Hallbridge was behind her, and he stood so as to block her view of the drawing room. And the second that she turned, she found him on her, so close that she could smell his breath as he leaned down to speak.
“Is that not obvious?” He flashed his green eyes, the hunger in the undeniably. “I want you, Ophelia. As I always have.”
Ophelia reared back in surprise. “You… that is absurd.”
“It is not.” He took her hand, and she wrenched it free. “I did not pursue you out of malice, nor because I wanted to hurt you. When I attempted to court you, all those years ago, it was done with the right intent. You must know that.”
“I…” Ophelia searched the man for a lie, unable to believe what he was saying. “I do not care about your intent. What I care for… what I have not forgiven you for, is what you did to me.”
“Which pains me like you cannot imagine.” Again, he took her hand. Again, she snatched it free. “You are too beautiful, Ophelia. Too pure. When you rejected me, it hurt my pride, and I lashed out. For that, I am sorry.”
“I do not want your apology.”
“But you have it,” he insisted as he leaned over her, giving her nowhere else to look. “And know that all I have thought about since is how wrong I was. Hurting you… it was the worst thing I have ever done.”
“That is not… I do not…” Ophelia had no idea what to say. “I am married, Lord Hallbridge.”
“Hardly,” he scoffed. “Oh, do not pretend differently. You might have fooled most of the ton, but I know that your marriage is a farce, as I know that you feel nothing for your husband.”
“That is not true.”
“It is.” He took her hand a third time, and when she tried to pull it free, he hung on. “And while you might think that you hate me, I know that is not true either. You and I…” He held her hand to his chest. “We could be great. All you need to do is say yes.”
It was impossible to describe what Ophelia felt.
Surprise, of course. That went without saying. But beneath the shock, there was an undeniable sense of revulsion that bubbled away like a volcano threatening to explode. And simmering above that wretched heat was fury the likes of which Ophelia could hardly contain.
After everything that he did… all that happened… he has lost his mind!
“Say yes?” She spoke slowly, holding his gaze so that her words would not be misunderstood. “Is that what you… Do you truly believe that there is any chance, any world that exists, in which I would even consider…” She laughed mockingly. “You have lost your mind.”
“I have found it,” he insisted, still holding her hand to his chest. “I want you, Ophelia. And I will have you.”
“No,” she snarled. “You will not. Did you ever stop to consider why I denied you in the first place? Before you tried to ruin me? Before you destroyed my life! I denied you, Lord Hallbridge, because you are a man who is as ugly on the outside as you are within. You want to know what I think? What I want? Let me be clear.” She bared her teeth.
“Were I given the option of being with you or spending the rest of my life sleeping in the gutter, I would choose the gutter. Even the filth found in the sewer would be a far sweeter companion than anything you might offer me.”
His face dropped, and his grip on her hand loosened so that she snatched it back.
“Now that such things have been said…” She drew herself up. “Our two minutes have expired, and my husband awaits.” She threw at him a final look of utmost hate and stepped around him.
“No!” Lord Hallbridge snatched her arm. “That is not… do not walk away from me!”
She eyed his hand around her arm, and while her heart lodged in her throat, she managed to sneer her threat. “Lord Hallbridge, unhand me.”
He laughed. “You… you are… You think you are better than me. You always have! But if you will not come to me willingly, I will show you what it is that you could have had.”
“What…” Her stomach dropped when she saw the dangerous, vile snarl that passed behind his green eyes. It was animalistic, the type of glare a dog might wear before it attacked its prey. “Please… My husband…”
“He can have what is left of you.”
Lord Hallbridge wrenched Ophelia into his body. His other hand took her by the waist. She went to scream, but he was already leaning into her, forcing his lips to her face, laughing manically as if he had lost his mind.
And for a brief second, Ophelia’s mind returned to that night three years ago. She had been here before. She had suffered this same fate. And while she did not wish to think it so, she knew that no matter what she did or said, Lord Hallbridge was going to win.
But such worries passed quickly, and before his lips found her own, Lord Hallbridge yanked his head back and cried out.
“Wha –”
“How dare you!” From nowhere, Adrian appeared.
Somehow, he had Lord Hallbridge by the scruff of the neck, and he lifted the tall man from the ground as if he weighed nothing. And then, with such strength that it defied convention, he hurled the man across the hallway and into the wall.
Lord Hallbridge’s body hit the wall and the hallway shook. He saw Adrian coming. He opened his mouth to scream. But even before the words left, Adrian was on him.
“Adrian!” Ophelia cried.
Adrian grabbed Lord Hallbridge by the shoulders and drove his forehead into the man’s nose. The crack rang out through the hallway, followed by Lord Hallbridge’s high-pitched cry as Adrian headbutted him again.
Lord Hallbridge fell to his knees, blood pouring from his nose. And still, Adrian was not done.
“My wife!” Adrian roared as he grabbed Lord Hallbridge by the top of his head, snapping it back to expose his bloodied face, and then slammed a fist into the man’s already broken nose. “My wife!” Another punch smashed into the lord’s nose, one that sounded like a clap of thunder.
“Adrian!” Ophelia rushed to her husband. “Please!”
Adrian drove his knee into Lord Hallbridge’s gut, sending the man to the floor. There, he lay, whimpering, as blood pooled beneath his body.
Adrian’s body trembled with rage. His breathing was heavy. And a growl escaped his lips like a wolf in the middle of the hunt. He stood over Lord Hallbridge, glaring down at him, daring him to move.
“What is this?” A voice cried from down the hallway. “Your Grace! What have you done?”
The hallway was filled with the guests from the party.
Every single one stood with their eyes wide, their mouths hanging open, looks on their faces that shifted from horror to judgement to a sense of knowing as if such a sight was expected.
Those gazes shifted from Adrian to Ophelia, and while they did not say it, she knew what they were thinking.
This was their fault. Adrian the beast, Ophelia the harlot, and some things simply did not change.
Ophelia winced as Adrian took in the scene.
She leaned back slightly, fully expecting him to come into himself, to look away with shame, and to storm off as he had done in the past. This was exactly what Adrian had wanted to avoid, and it was thus proof beyond anything else that their marriage could never work.
Only then, a change came over Adrian.
He straightened up. He stepped forward. And he took Ophelia’s hand and brought it to his side. Next, he made sure to be standing with her, together, staring down the guests as if he dared them to question him or pass judgment.
“What have I done?” Adrian said calmly. “I did exactly as I had to, as I will always do. And if any of you have a problem with that, you know where to find me.”
Ophelia gaped at Adrian, unable to believe her ears. But when he turned to look at her, when she saw the regret he had, as well as the determination for her to know that he was with her no matter what, she realized suddenly that she ought not to have been nearly so surprised.
He did care for her. He always had. And all that he needed, the only thing, was a final push to make him finally admit it…. A chance to prove once and for all how much he loved her.
“I think it is best that we leave,” he said to her.
She just smiled. “After you.”
With that said, Ophelia and Adrian turned and walked down the hallway, promptly leaving behind the other guests without so much as a final glance or word spoken.
It did not matter what they thought, nor did it matter what they would do.
All that mattered, at least to Ophelia, was what her husband was willing to do to save her.
And as they walked, he kept hold of her hand, refusing to let go for even a moment. That, as much as anything, told her the truth of it all. That, as much as anything, was proof that their marriage might not be in nearly as dire straits as she had feared.
There is still hope…