Callie winced, rushing forward to place herself between her husband and her brother, lest either of them come to blows. “Benny, please do not be angry,” she begged.
Sin took his place at Callie’s side, sliding a possessive arm around her waist. “Westmorland, Duchess. How lovely to see you both. Have you come to welcome me into the family?”
“I have come to beat you to a bloody pulp,” Benny snarled.
Isabella placed a staying hand on his coat sleeve. “Darling, you promised you would be calm.”
“Has he harmed you in any way?” her brother asked, his gaze searching hers. “How the devil did he coerce you into marriage? Aunt Fanchette swears the two of you are a sudden love match, but I would sooner eat my own shoe than believe such tripe.”
“I have not harmed her,” Sin said, exhibiting more of his signature sangfroid. “I did, however, abduct her from London and persuade her of the wisdom of saving herself from a ruined reputation by marrying me.”
Isabella’s eyes went wide. Benny stalked forward with a clenched fist.
“Benny, stop,” Callie intervened, holding up a staying hand. “Please, listen to what I have to say before you do something you will regret.”
“I will not regret planting this bastard a facer,” her brother growled.
“My love, you are turning into a snarling bear,” Isabella protested.
“He forced my sister into marrying him whilst I was out of London on my honeymoon,” Benny accused, turning a glare upon Sin. “Do not think I have not immediately consulted my solicitor. If you coerced her…”
“He did not coerce me,” Callie denied. “At least, not in the way you think.”
“Perhaps we should sit down,” said her husband coolly. “Ring for tea.”
“Not unless you want it pitched in your face,” Benny threatened.
“Only if you would care for a broken nose in return,” Sin bit out.
Callie lost her patience. “Stop it, both of you! Benny, I am the author of Confessions of a Sinful Earl. Sin discovered I was behind the serials, and that I was responsible for the complete ruin of his reputation and his betrothed crying off.”
“Callie.” Her brother shook his head. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was wrong.” She made the admission with utmost conviction now. “I was blinded by the pain of losing our brother and I was consumed with grief. I…I was not thinking clearly. So you see? I married Lord Sinclair to keep my secret safe, and to atone for the wrongs I visited upon him.”
Some of the fight seemed to seep from her brother. “To keep your secret safe? Did you threaten her, Sinclair?”
Sin held her brother’s gaze. “I did. Desperate times, desperate measures, etcetera.”
“By God, I am going to trounce you, you despicable bounder!” Benny hollered, surging forward once more.
Sin was certainly not aiding their cause. She could not help but to wonder why. While she knew he was correct in being honest with her brother and sister-in-law, there were far more tactful ways of going about it. Part of her wondered if he wanted Benny to attack him.
“Benny, it is not what you think,” she attempted to reassure him. “I chose to marry Lord Sinclair.”
“He just said he threatened you so that you would marry him.” Her brother was incredulous.
Well, that much was true. But how could she explain to her brother the incipient happiness she had found with her husband without revealing too much and embarrassing herself?
“I did,” Sin said amiably.
She frowned at her husband. “You are making this worse.”
He flashed her a rakish half grin. “Ah, but how can this little tragedy of ours be made to seem better than what it is? We are being honest with your brother and sister-in-law. We were both forced into marrying each other, if you must know.” He turned to Benny. “Your sister left me without options. I left her without any in turn.”
“You are a callous son of a bitch,” Benny accused.
“Are you happy, Callie?” Isabella asked then, her worried tone stealing Callie’s attention. “That is what matters the most. Your brother and I want to be assured you are content and being treated well.”
“I am,” she confessed.
For she was happy with Sin. Too happy, almost. What had just passed between them—the revelations of his distrust and his disastrous marriage to his first wife—lent a troubling undercurrent to that knowledge. She wondered if he would ever trust her, especially after the manner in which their union had first begun.
What cruel irony.
Her brother shook his head again. “I do not believe