Page 10 of Redemption

“So she lives at Green Hill House with you and your aunt.”

“She lives in London.”

“Alone?” Percy raised his eyebrows as he stared at her in amazement.

“No,” Rhea exclaimed. “I would never have left her alone if she and Blake hadn’t married this past March.”

“Blake?” Percy frowned for a moment. It wasn’t an uncommon name, but the combination of the name, the month, and word marriage triggered something in his head. Relentlessly, he searched his memory for a moment trying to make the connection Rhea’s explanation had sparked. Suddenly, disbelief latched onto him. “Blake? As in Blake Hawkstone, Viscount Sherrington? Your sister is Lady Sherrington?”

Rhea jerked in horror and slid further away from him until she was completely out of reach. She didn’t answer, but he knew he was right. He’d gone to school with Blake, and the two of them had become stalwart friends and saw each other quite often at the club, but he’d not seen his friend since his marriage. Only a handful of guests had been invited to Blake’s wedding, and his friend had asked Percy to attend.

Normally, he wouldn’t have missed the occasion, but he’d been at Callendar Abby for the celebration of his nephew Braxton’s sixth birthday. Ever since losing Devin and Caleb in the fire at Westbrook Farms, he and his siblings put family above all other things. The significance of Rhea’s sister being married to a friend of his was not lost on Percy.

Coincidences in the Rockwood clan were viewed as signs the universe had placed them in a certain place and time for a reason. When Rhea didn’t respond, he decided to change the direction of the conversation.

“Exactly what does your aunt know?”

“She knows Ariana and I were pickpockets.”

The finality in her voice said she wasn’t about to expand on her statement with him anymore than she intended to discuss her sister. But it was enough to convince him that their association with Ruckley had involved more than pickpocketing. The memory of Ruckley’s image was more than enough for Percy to come up with any number of things the man had forced Rhea to do. The most unsavory one made Percy’s gut knot with revulsion. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, he would be a fool to think Ruckley hadn’t had his way with Rhea. Anger swept through him. The thought of Ruckley or any other man touching her made his muscles harden with a rage he didn’t understand. Hell, he didn’t know what to make of this entire situation.

“How did you come to be in Ruckley’s employ?”

The question was barely past his lips before Rhea was off the bench in a flash of movement. She stood in the moonlight with contempt darkening her eyes, and Percy frowned. He’d made a mistake to presume she’d willingly agreed to enter Ruckley’s employ. It only emphasized the fact that if he wanted to know all of Rhea’s secrets, he needed to earn her trust. He wouldn’t gain her confidence by bullying her into telling him the truth. Her posture was stiff and unyielding as she stared at him with an icy scorn that would have chilled even his unflappable brother, Sebastian.

“First you drag me into the dark against my will, Mr. Rockwood. Then you have the audacity to assume my aunt intends to steal from your brother. Now you insist on asking questions that have nothing to do with that fateful night at the museum. Questions you have no right to ask.”

She glared at him with an outrage he realized was fear driven. Percy could read it in the deep purple of her eyes.

“The minute you stepped across the threshold of Melton Park, you made it my business.”

“I would never have done so if I’d realized you were going to be here,” she snapped. “I’ll not answer any more of your questions. Even if you change your mind and turn me over to Scotland Yard, I’ll not answer their questions either.”

“Perhaps Lady Sherrington will be more forthcoming,” he snapped.

The moment his words of frustration split the air he bit back a groan of disgust. Rhea’s head snapped back as if he’d slapped her. Abject horror flitted across her features, which had become the hue of white marble. Her entire demeanor was almost deathlike, and for a brief moment he thought she might faint.

Pale as the moonlight pooling at her feet, her features were immobile. The threat had been a cold, unfeeling remark that his family, particularly his sisters, would have condemned him for most vehemently. Regret and self-disgust lashed out at him. For not the first time in his life, he was reminded he was a member of the reckless Rockwoods.

Slowly, Percy rose to his feet. Rhea immediately took a step backward. It seemed out of character for her to do so. He was certain she wasn’t the kind of woman to retreat. Although he barely knew her, he’d already surmised she possessed the strength of a seasoned soldier. It was an apt description. She’d survived what he was certain had been a horrific life under Ruckley’s thumb. It was impossible not to admire her for having lived through such a nightmare without losing her ability to remain loyal to others. Percy cleared his throat.

“My threat was an empty one, Rhea. I said I would not turn you over to the Metropolitan Police, and I will honor that promise. I’ve no intention of denouncing you or your loved ones.”

His statement seemed to have no impact on Rhea as she remained still and nonresponsive. Silence spread a tenuous and uncomfortable web between them for several long moments. Percy was about to speak when she relaxed slightly. She eyed him with icy disdain.

“An apology, Mr. Rockwood?” The derision in her voice made Percy grit his teeth. Apologizing didn’t come easily to him, and as much as he deserved her scorn for threatening her, he didn’t enjoy the way it made him feel.

“A concession that as a member of the Rockwood family, I possess the familial trait of reckless conduct.”

“It’s a behavior that can get you killed,” she snapped. “You should be grateful you don’t know where Ruckley is. The man would make sport of you before he killed you.”

“Did Ruckley make sport of you or your sister, Rhea?” he asked quietly.

The moment he asked the question he realized how much he wanted to ease the pain he knew Ruckley had caused her. Percy was accustomed to being protective of his family. But Rhea was the first person outside of the Rockwood clan he’d ever wanted to keep safe from harm. Not even Nellie had aroused such strong protective instincts inside him. But he was certain Nellie hadn’t experienced the horror he was certain Rhea had endured.

When he’d found Nellie, she’d simply been a street urchin in need of care. A skinny girl of ten, she hadn’t trusted him at first. It had taken him several days to convince her that all he wanted was to help her. Nellie had finally agreed to go with Percy to the family orphanage, and there he’d put her under Mrs. Hughes’s tutelage.

Over the years he’d taken an interest in Nellie’s education and taken her for the occasional outing whenever she achieved a certain waypoint of success. Sebastian had once warned him that Nellie might take his interest and friendship to mean something deeper, but he’d brushed off the words of the head of the Rockwood brood. He’d been certain Nellie viewed him as a dear friend, just as he did her. Percy’s muscles knotted with disgust as he shoved his memories of Nellie into the far reaches of his mind. His gaze met Rhea’s, and her stoic expression didn’t surprise him. If he’d lived through the kind of existence she had, he would be just as unwilling to speak of the past as she was.