An Unexpected Earl (Lords of the Armory #2) - Anna Harrington Page 0,102
her heart. When it jarred back to life, it wasn’t a pulse that pounded through her but fear.
She rasped out, “How do you know about my marriage?”
No one knew, except for Freddie and Pearce. And Pearce would never betray her. Which meant…Frederick. Dear God, what have you done?
The look Varnham gave her was one of patronizing pity. In that expression she knew—
“You,” she breathed out, unable to speak above a shocked whisper. A terrifying realization slithered through her. “It’s you who’s been blackmailing my brother.”
“Yes.” He clucked his tongue, as if scolding a child. “Truly, you had no idea?”
“I thought—I thought your brother…”
“Oh, Charles is certainly after your brother. He has an overdeveloped sense of righteousness and patriotism that won’t let him ignore the corruption your brother’s committed. Taking bribes, selling votes, extortion, smuggling…”
“Frederick’s done nothing that other MPs haven’t,” she answered breathlessly, blood pounding through her ears like a hammer. “Most likely including your own brother.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Charles is nothing if not painfully aboveboard in every way. Lord, what a dull brother! Not at all as interesting as yours.” Amusement gleamed in his eyes. “But you’re correct that he had nothing to do with the blackmail. My brother’s arrest of yours is simply an inconvenient coincidence, the charges most certainly to be rescinded.”
The way he said that was painfully polite, wholly pleasant and commonplace, as if they were two acquaintances sharing a quiet conversation about the weather— Dear heavens, he was mad! And all the more terrifying because of it.
Amelia swallowed hard to fight down the rising panic. “But if it wasn’t Frederick’s political corruption that you used against him, then…”
“Then what did I use? Something far worse and more lasting, I assure you.” He smiled arrogantly. “I used you.”
Her hand went to her stomach, as if she could physically press down the churning there. She knew— “My marriage,” she rasped out, her breath growing shallow. “You threatened to reveal my marriage.”
“Not your marriage.” He laughed at the idea. “Your money.”
She gave a strangled laugh. “If you know about my marriage, then you know that I have no money.”
“Oh, so much more than you realize,” he murmured.
The little hairs on her arms stood on end. “What do you mean?”
“Your marriage was all your brother’s doing, to get his hands on your money.”
“You’re mistaken.” After all, hadn’t Frederick told her hundreds of times what a fool she was for losing her fortune, blaming her for Aaron’s duplicity, castigating her for being so naive? “I eloped. My brother was in London and had nothing to do with it.”
“Unfortunately for you, I’m not mistaken.” He leaned back against the squabs and stretched his legs diagonally across the space between them. “He was furious, you know, that he received nothing more from your father than a pittance of an allowance and a bit of land that produced no income. It wasn’t enough to keep him in cards and drink let alone afford the lifestyle of a London gentleman. Not to mention the indignation of having to manage your inheritance as your guardian.” He chuckled at the irony. “A fortune at his fingertips, but not one ha’penny his.”
“I know all this.” She had no patience for his games. Or the alarm he rattled inside her.
“Ah, but you don’t know that he was taking your money even before your marriage, siphoning it off little by little so that you wouldn’t notice it had gone missing, blaming a decline in the accounts on falling revenues and bad investments.”
The blood seeped from her cheeks. Freddie had told her exactly that whenever she’d asked to see the account books.
“But a few hundred pounds here and there wasn’t nearly enough, and when you turned twenty-one, he would lose access to it completely if you asked to manage it yourself. Or if you married.” He casually crossed his legs at the ankles. “Apparently, there was some old childhood friend who’d caught your interest. But as long as Howard had you with him, you see, he could live the same lifestyle as you, use your money to fund his gambling, drinking, whoring—the life of a young gentleman on the town. So he couldn’t let you marry and take all that away from him.”
Pearce. Bitter anger seeped up from her bones. Now she knew why her letters had never reached him. Because Frederick had never allowed them to be sent.
“But he couldn’t delay the inevitable. Your majority was coming, and regardless, you were young, beautiful, and wealthy. Eventually you would