Page 18 of Her Tempestuous Duke

Despite his apparent calm, Minerva sensed the tempest raging in Parys’ breast and noticed that his breath was coming thick and fast. His hands were tightly clenched.

His voice held no rage or malice when he eventually spoke. “I have come to hear you out, Brother.”

Lord Anthony lifted his chin. “What is it you expect to hear?” He looked uncowed, and she was impressed by his bravura. Parys was the taller and broader of the two, and he radiated power.

“We both know what happened that night. I want you to admit it before these witnesses. And then you will beg for my forgiveness.”

“Forgiveness? Is that all you want? Surely, there’s more at stake here than that.”

Parys flicked a glance at Minerva, and she shivered beneath his gaze.

“Your ward has spoken in your defense. But I need to hear the full facts from you before I make my final decision. Forgiveness is just the beginning. A huge beginning, in fact, as far as I’m concerned. But much depends on the enormity of your crime.”

“You want to know why I pushed the boat away?” Lord Anthony’s expression was bleak. “It’s not what you think. I panicked. I saw that you had the pox or something even worse. I dared not touch you.”

Parys threw his head back. His laugh dripped with bitterness. “A pretty story. You’ve had plenty of time to concoct it. No—the truth is that you had too much to lose and that it was far better for you if I remained missing, presumed dead.”

“I understand why you might think that—I’ve never given you reason to think well of me. But I haven’t just invented that excuse. You will note that, had I wanted you dead, I could have rendered you so. I had my sword on my person, and you were too weak to resist me. But I didn’t kill you—I pushed the boat away because I didn’t want you bringing the pestilence into the house. I’d just returned from Italy, with my new ward in tow. Someone had to manage the duchy after you disappeared, so I stepped in to do so until you were found. And then I saw your light, and there you were, on the beach, close to death. All I could think of was Minerva. I wasn’t ready to part with her yet but I knew eventually she must be married. Who would take her if she were ravaged by the pox, her face horrifically scarred? That is, if she even survived it. There was the rest of the household, our tenants, too. I had no wish to risk their lives.”

“So, you decided to risk mine. I have an alternative suggestion. You needed to ensure that if my body were ever found, it would not have the marks of your sword upon it.”

Lord Anthony paled. “Trust me—I’ve suffered the sting of guilt ever since. But I couldn’t find the boat, and none of the inquiries I made thereafter revealed any trace of you.”

The tension in the room was so palpable that it pressed on Minerva’s breast, impeding her breathing. She moved closer to Parys.

“I can confirm that my guardian did, indeed, send out agents to find his missing brother. If that’s any help.”

Parys bestowed a look on her so intense that she stumbled back in confusion.

“You have the perfect advocate in Miss Harte,” he stated, turning back to his brother. “I know, even from our brief acquaintance, that she’s not one for pretense. I trust every word she says—and she has endeavored to change my heart toward you.”

If there had been a fan to hand, she would have made great use of it. Parys’ words of approval penetrated her very core.

“The character of Miss Harte is the greatest achievement of my life—she’s most precious to me. I’ve always made certain that she wants for nothing, yet she’s never been spoiled. She has the sweetest nature.”

Praise from every direction! What had she done to deserve it? The truth was—she didn’t.

Parys nodded. “I agree. She believes the best of people—even the most undeserving. Her hope that I can find it in me to forgive, makes me do what I’m about to do.”

Minerva couldn’t imagine how Parys must have felt when Lord Anthony pushed the boat back out to sea. Instead of pulling it in and finding a physician to help his brother, he had made the problem simply vanish. Would she have done the same when there was so much at stake? She sincerely hoped not. There should have been some way to bring the Duke of Tremar home without risk of contagion. Lord Anthony ought to have moved heaven and earth to find a way. It showed a deep flaw in his character that he had not.

Now, she had to live with the guilt of knowing that her guardian had been protecting her at the time. All Parys’ sufferings, his despair, his bitterness, were because of her. She blinked away tears.

Lord Anthony remained alert, evidently not trusting his brother. When he cast a look at Caliban, he was rewarded with a growl.

“Easy, Caliban. So—the causeway is clear now and will be for half an hour. Go. You are free—all of you.”

“Without conditions? Are you not going to pursue us with the law or come and reclaim your rightful place as Duke of Tremar?”

A pulse throbbed in Minerva’s temple, and her heart felt like a lead weight. They could all go? Parys Pendorran had shown his worth, had decided to forgive, and abandoned all thought of vengeance.

He was letting her go, too, without a word? She had won—he was doing what she’d asked. But it tasted of a Pyrrhic victory.

Lord Anthony’s shoulders relaxed as he moved forward and shook Parys by the hand. “You have my thanks.” He glanced around the cell. “The thanks of all of us. I must clearly surrender the duchy to you. Minerva and I can return to Naples and resume our lives there.”

She’d be going back to Naples? Then she would never set eyes on the tormented, charismatic Parys Pendorran again. She pressed her lips together and stared at him, willing him to meet her gaze.

He didn’t. “If that is what you want, then go. But I don’t wish to force Minerva from Tremar Park, since it is her home.”