Page 138 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

Jane fought to keep her breathing steady. “He’ll be found.”

Zachary laughed outright. “You truly cling to hope.”

He swirled the brandy lazily. “The lawyers are already discussing succession. The earldom will soon be mine.”

Jane stepped sideways. “I have no desire to continue this conversation.”

She moved toward the ballroom doors. His hand caught her wrist.

She stopped. “Unhand me.”

“You should learn your place.”

Jane looked down at his grip. “I said let me go.”

“I suspect London has filled your head with dangerous ideas.”

Jane’s heartbeat quickened. She moved instinctively. Turning her hand exactly as Hector had taught her, she twisted sharply toward Zachary’s thumb. His fingers slipped. She pulled free, for one satisfying second. Then his other hand shot forward. He seized her upper arm.

“So,” he murmured. “You’ve learned some more tricks.”

Jane struggled. “Release me.”

A fist slammed into Zachary’s face. The crack echoed across the balcony. Zachary stumbled backward with a cry of pain.

Jane gasped. Hector stood between them. She had never seen him look like this. His eyes were cold enough to freeze fire.

Zachary straightened with a curse. “You?—”

Hector struck him again. Another brutal punch. Blood appeared immediately at the corner of Zachary’s mouth.

He staggered against the stone railing. “What the devil?—”

Hector took one deliberate step forward. He looked at Zachary as though he were something beneath notice.

“You laid hands on her.”

Zachary wiped blood from his lip. “She is my niece.”

Hector’s expression did not change. “You laid hands on her.”

“Lord Wynten disgraced the family beyond repair.” Zachary sneered. “Any man foolish enough to involve himself with that family is either desperate... or an idiot.”

Without warning, he grabbed Zachary by the front of his coat and slammed him back against the balcony wall.

“If you ever,” he said quietly, “mistreat Lady Jane or her mother again, I will break every bone in your body.”

Zachary’s confidence finally cracked. “You cannot threaten me.”

“I just did. And you’ll remember it.” Hector’s grip tightened. “Watch how you speak about my fiancée.”

Jane forgot how to breathe.

Zachary’s eyes bulged. “What?”

Hector released him with a sharp shove toward the doorway. “The next time you address Lady Jane with anything less than respect, pray that someone restrains me.”

Zachary stumbled backward. For the first time Jane had ever known him, he looked frightened. Without another word he turned and hurried into the ballroom. He did not look back.