The Heiress of Winterwood - By Sarah Ladd Page 0,29
power that surprised Graham. It held a challenge, as if daring Littleton to continue.
“Of all the impudence. I should think—”
Miss Barrett’s voice sounded strained, as if pushed out through clenched teeth. “So help me, Edward, I’d sooner see Winterwood Manor in a stranger’s hands and be sent to the poorhouse than turn my back on someone I love.”
Littleton laughed. “Someone you love? So you love Lucy more than you love me, is that it? Well, you’re too late for that realization, Amelia. If you call this off now, what do you think will happen? Your inheritance will pass to another, and it will happen soon. What will you do then? Do you think your uncle will continue to care for you? Allow you to live in his house? He is as invested in this union as I. Don’t think for a moment that—”
The tones were harsh and escalating, and Graham recalled the hint of fear in Miss Barrett’s eyes when she spoke of Littleton. He had heard enough. He took the terrace steps two at a time and rounded the wall. Littleton held Miss Barrett’s arm in an awkward grasp. The knuckles of Miss Barrett’s clenched fist showed white, and her sapphire eyes were wide. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with each breath.
Graham stepped closer, his boots heavy against the smooth stone veranda. “May I be of assistance, Miss Barrett?”
With a surprised jerk, Littleton spun around and glared at Graham, his eyes no wider than tight slits. “What in blazes are you doing here?”
“I heard shouting.”
“This is not your concern. I’ll thank you to mind your own affairs and leave us to ours.”
Graham took another step. “Be that as it may, Littleton, you make it my business when I see a woman being treated in such fashion. I must ask you to release her arm.”
Amelia seized the opportunity afforded by Littleton’s break in concentration and twisted from his grip. She stood rubbing her wrist, her eyes like those of an animal caught in a snare.
Edward forced a casual smile that teetered on a sneer. “She is not your concern.”
Graham glared at Littleton, daring him to look away. “Miss Barrett, Mrs. Dunne is looking for you.”
For a moment nobody moved. Asserting the authoritative tone that he used with his crew, Graham lied again. “Miss Barrett, Mrs. Dunne needs your assistance.”
Without a word she gathered her yellow skirts and scurried from the terrace.
Littleton tugged at his cravat. A smug smile coiled his lip. “I know your angle, Sterling.”
“And that is?”
“You are exploiting Amelia’s affection for your child, sir.” Edward stepped forward, his words suspending a challenge between them. “What is it that you want, sir? Her money? Her land? Or just . . . her?”
Graham’s jaw clenched at the accusation. “Nothing of the kind. Miss Barrett has shown a great kindness to my family, and I am grateful. But mark my words. I will not stand idly by and watch you or any other man treat a woman, regardless of who she is, with such incivility.”
Edward sneered. “I know you Sterlings. You are all the same—you and your brother, and your father before you. Conniving. Calculating. You may be able to worm your way into Amelia’s good graces, but you will not take advantage of me. I want you and your daughter off my property, and I want you to stay away from my future wife.”
Graham’s temples pulsed. Part of him wanted to silence Edward by telling him of Amelia’s proposal, but he held his tongue. He could not put the woman who had done so much for him in such a precarious position.
He kept his voice low. “It will be my pleasure. But you are warned, Littleton. If I see you with your hands on her, or any woman, I will have no qualms about striking you down. That would also be my pleasure.”
Littleton’s face deepened to a dark purple. More like a spoiled child than a grown man, he flounced through the terrace’s door into the parlor, his coattails swishing behind him.
Graham relaxed his fists and pulled his waistcoat straight. In the distance, he saw Miss Barrett talking to Mrs. Dunne and bending over the baby carriage. She flashed a nervous glance in his direction, then returned her attentions to the baby. As he headed toward them, he no longer heard the sounds of nature or the whistling of the wind. Littleton’s harsh words regarding his daughter, his family, and Miss Barrett echoed in his mind.