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After all, it was most unjust if only she remained unsettled. Perhaps he should have a taste of his own medicine as well.

Daniel was indeed glowering, but not for the reasons that Evie was thinking.

Just ahead of them, he had spotted a group of the most irritating dandies to ever walk the soil of Hyde Park. At the head of the group was none other than Thomas Salsbury, whose eyes shone with a disgusting light the moment they fell on Evie and her friends.

“Good afternoon, ladies!” he greeted them with the most absurdly foppish bow that Daniel had the misfortune to witness. “Especially to you, Lady Evelyn.”

To her credit, the little fool did not look so impressed by his gesture.

“Good afternoon, Lord Sidmouth,” she greeted him politely. “Lord Astley, Sir Stanley.”

The vile spawn, however, did not seem deterred by her aloofness. In fact, he only seemed to smile wider as he drew closer to her.

Much too close for Daniel’s comfort.

“I am dreadfully sorry to have missed the Horton ball the other night,” he sighed. “But you will be at the opera next week, I hope, My Lady?”

Daniel smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest. He knew very wellwhythe imbecile was absent from last night’s ball. He just did not know how he was able to recover his audacity so quickly as to seek Evie out in the park the very next day.

Perhaps he is in need of another reminder of why he should very much keep away from what is mine… to protect.

He saw Evie open her mouth to reply, but he smoothly stepped before her, effectively putting himself in between her and the Earl.

“No, she will not,” he answered for her, glaring at the man.

Evie looked up at him in shock, and then vexation. “I beg your pardon, Your Grace?” she hissed at him, her eyes spitting fire.

Daniel merely smiled coolly. “It seems that Thomas here has forgotten about that lovely conversation we had just the other evening.”

“That is Lord Sidmouth to you, Your Grace,” the idiot reminded him with a smile that made Daniel want to bash his face in withhis fist. “I do not recall us being on such close terms that we can refer to each other by our first names.”

My fist is about to become closely acquainted with your skull.

“And as I recall, you are neither the father nor the brother of Lady Evelyn,” Thomas continued smoothly. “Which means that you are not in a position to dictate what she does.”

“Idiot,” he heard Ethan mutter under his breath.

Idiot, indeed.

If Daniel had not known for a fact that the man’s finances were in dire straits, he would have considered bankrupting him within the next week or so. Murder was also illegal and a largely messy business, especially when there were so many witnesses.

As it stood, he simply did something else that he hoped would keep the man up in a rage for several nights.

“Ah, but therein lies your problem,Lord Sidmouth,” he sneered. “For I am to be herhusband. Tell me now, am I still allowed to have no say in her affairs?”

Evie, however, was probably going to murderhim.

CHAPTER 10

Imust be dreaming—no, this is a nightmare!

Evie shook as she grappled with the words that had burst out of Daniel’s mouth.

Surely, he must be jesting…

There was absolutely no way he would evencontemplatethat, let alone declare it so loudly in a public place like Hyde Park.

However, seeing the stunned looks on her friends’ faces, as well as the confusion on Lord Sidmouth’s face, confirmed what she had thought must have been a hallucination of the very worst sort.