Queen of my Hart - Emily Royal Page 0,52
up. Madame Deliet is renowned for her close fits.”
Madame bloody Deliet again. Why did Elizabeth insist on dropping that woman into the conversation?
Elizabeth rose to her feet, and the men followed suit.
“If you’ll forgive me, I shall retire,” she said, glancing at her father. “Dexter, thank you for a wonderful dinner. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She swept out of the room, and Margaret visibly relaxed.
“Join me for a brandy, Alderley?” Dexter asked. “I’ve a bottle in the library.”
“I’d be delighted,” came the reply, “if I may be excused for a few minutes.”
It came as no surprise that Alderley needed the privy—the man had imbibed two bottles of wine tonight. It was a wonder he was still standing.
Dexter rose. “Margaret, we’ll join you later in the drawing room.”
“As you wish,” she replied.
Dexter made his way to the library and poured himself a drink. By the time he’d finished it, Alderley was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the old fool had passed out while taking a piss. That would give the gossips something to laugh at.
But it wouldn’t do to let the sly old bastard wander about the house unaccompanied. Who knew what he was up to?
He set his glass aside and went in search of him. Raised voices came from the drawing room.
“I won’t! You can’t make me!”
Margaret’s voice.
“Ungrateful little bastard!” Dexter recognized Alderley’s harsh tones. “All you have to do is ask him. One simple question. After everything I’ve done—you selfish little brat!”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
A pause, then she let out a mirthless laugh. “Oh, I see. You asked, and he refused. What on earth makes you think I’ll succeed?”
“Because you’re his wife,” came the reply. “Women can be put to use.”
“Haven’t you used me enough?” she cried. “And what—you expect me to whore the money from him? You’ll find yourself disappointed, Father. As the Honorable Elizabeth so eloquently put it on my wedding day, a husband expects his wife to spread her legs for free.”
Alderley let out an exclamation, but Dexter barely heard it. Anger pulsed in his ears at the crude expression. What else had that poisonous witch said to Margaret?
“You will ask him,” Alderley said, coldly, “or it’ll be the worse for you. Remember what I said about the school.”
“You’ve threatened me enough,” she replied. “There’s nothing more you can do.”
“Isn’t there? I can turn your precious Mrs. Preston and her grubby little brats out on the street. All because you’re a coward—too afraid to ask your husband for a little money.”
“Five hundred guineas is a lot of money,” she said. “I may fear my husband, but I’d rather ask him to give the money to Mrs. Preston’s school than to you.”
“You ungrateful little bastard!” Alderley’s voice had risen in pitch, “When I think of everything I’ve done for you!”
Fearing for his wife’s safety, Dexter broke into a run.
“Everything you’ve done?” she cried. “You sold me to your enemy to pay off your debts, with no regard for my safety or happiness. And as such, I no longer belong to you—I am the property of Dexter Hart.”
Dexter reached the drawing room and burst through the door.
“What the devil’s going on here?” he roared.
His wife and Alderley stood in the center of the room. Alderley’s face was a bright shade of puce, and he looked as if he was going to have a heart attack at any moment. Beside him, Margaret’s face was ashen. Her eyes widened as Dexter approached her.
“My daughter and I were having a private conversation,” Alderley said.
“A wife should not have secrets from her husband,” Dexter replied. “I’m sure there was nothing you said to her, which I shouldn’t be a party to.”
“Dexter,” Margret pleaded, “I…”
“Margaret, I think you should retire,” Dexter said. She flinched at the sharpness in his voice, but he needed her out of the room so he could deal with Alderley himself.
He took her hand, squeezed it, and then bent his head, placing his mouth near her ear.
“Trust me,” he whispered. She glanced at her father, then back to Dexter, and nodded. The trust in her eyes was almost his undoing. How could she place such faith in him—merely because he’d asked her to?
He waited until she exited the room before addressing his father-in-law.
“You’re to leave my wife alone from now on,” he said, his voice flat and even. “And if I hear of any harm coming to the school at Blackwood Heath, I’ll deal with the perpetrators in such a manner that they will regret their