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“Certainly not!” Lord Wilbury snapped, his eyes no longer playful but gleaming with malice. “What is there be to be jealous about?” he scoffed, staring off into the distance. “I could never be jealous of anyone, certainly not a duke. My father used to say, ‘Sampson! Don’t be so jealous of your elder brother.’ It infuriated me, of course, but there was nothing I could do about it. After all, my brother was perfect, and he was the heir. And just like you, my brother was not particularly the brightest; he just happened to have been born at the right time.”

He returned his gaze to Edwin.

“Now, as to your question. Indeed, I sent Skippy to your home as retaliation for ruining my relationship with…” His eyes softened. “With Margaret.”

Edwin was not surprised. The man had simply confirmed his suspicions.

“You put my wife’s life in danger simply because my mother decided to cut you off?”

He could not get over the absurdity of the situation.

“Simply because!” Lord Wilbury shouted, his voice reverberating through the estate.

He inched closer to Edwin, his teeth bared in a snarl.

“Do you even know what happened after you decided to tell your mother about me?” he hissed. “She ended our relationship immediately. It was as though I had meant nothing to her. All the years we had spent together meant nothing to Margaret. She simply dumped me without as much as letting me plead my case.Margaret!” he growled. “Now, tell me, what man would not seek revenge?”

“And your revenge is to attack my wife?” Edwin asked, his fists twitching.

“I suppose Ava could have avoided this if she had listened to me and not married you when I?—”

Edwin snapped then. Hearing the deranged man say his wife’s name was simply the last straw for him.

He swung his fist and punched the man right in the face.

Lord Wilbury staggered backward, doubling over as he clutched his nose in his hand. He looked up in shock, but then his face broke into a smile as he straightened up and lowered his hand.

Blood gushed from his nose and sprinkled his shirt, but he did not seem to care. The center of his face was red from the punch.

“You are truly your father’s son,” he jeered, nodding with approval.

Edwin frowned in confusion. “You knew my father?”

Lord Wilbury chuckled. “Who did not know him? Your father was an obnoxious one. Most heirs usually are. My brother was obnoxious, and he was the heir to only an earl. Now, your father was already a duke then, and he never let anyone forget it. He walked around as though he owned the town. All of that did not matter to me until he took the one thing that belonged to me.”

“My mother?”

“See! You are smart, after all.” Lord Wilbury let out a derisive laugh. “James was a charismatic one, and he married Margaret. What could a mere man like me do? Moreover, I was not titled.Only a foolish man would give his daughter to a non-titled man when a duke is an option.”

“So, you blame my father for your failure?” Edwin taunted.

“Not only him,” Lord Wilbury snarled. “I also blame my brother for not dying earlier so I could become the heir and win Margaret’s heart before your father even came along.”

“I do not quite understand. You have been enamored by my mother even long before I was born?”

Lord Wilbury nodded. “She was the fairest lady in all of London,” he said, a smile creeping onto his face. “My heart skipped a beat when I first laid eyes on her at her debut. She was the Diamond of the Season, no doubt.” He shrugged. “But a woman like that is reserved only for dukes, not a lowly man like myself.”

“I still don’t get it. You never made your intentions known to my mother or her father, and yet you are angry with my father for marrying her?”

“Certainly,” Lord Wilbury snapped, fixing Edwin with a scowl. “I could certainly understand James marrying the woman I wanted, but what I simply could not forgive was your father’s mistreatment of her. He was a twisted man. Seeing him treat her so coldly annoyed me, but there was nothing I could do. She belonged to another man, after all.”

“Then you must have been happy when he finally died.”

“The happiest day of my life. I knew that I was finally free to pursue her. It was not easy, of course, but I was unrelenting. I pursued your mother until I wore her down. And it was all beautiful and fine until you came along and ruinedeverything.”

Edwin looked at the man in disbelief. “If I am not mistaken, Wilbury, you tried to kill me because of my mother?”

“Not quite,” Lord Wilbury said. “Now, don’t paint me as such a monster. When I sent one of my men to the masquerade ball, that was simply because you continued to steal business from me and I could not take it anymore. And then, the Italians came, and even they chose you.”