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James sighed and turned around when they both heard a slightclick.

“Uncle?”

Thomas turned around immediately, and sure enough, there he was. Frederick.

He had hidden himself in the other room and was now pointing a pistol at both of them.

“To what do I owe this untimely visit, James?” Frederick asked as if this was a social call.

“You know very well, Frederick,” Thomas barked.

“I don’t remember asking you, Your Grace.” Frederick punctuated his sentence by pulling back the hammer of his pistol.

They both froze in place.

Now what…

Thomas cast his accomplice a discreet look and hoped that James understood. That pistol only had one bullet in it. If Frederick wasted it on one of them, the other might have a chance of either tackling the wretch to the ground or running to find Sophia, wherever she might be.

James gave a subtle nod. “You know very well why we are here, Uncle.”

“Oh, I know.” Frederick waved the barrel at Thomas. “I know whyheis here. But would you care to explain why my own flesh and blood has betrayed me like this?”

“Sophia is also your flesh and blood,” James pointed out. “And you abducted her.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s doing,” Frederick snorted. “She’s just a silly, naïve girl. She’s a wide-eyed, callow, little woman who fell for the first man who gave her the slightest amount of attention.”

“She’s my wife!” Thomas roared, no longer able to hold himself back. “And she’s the Duchess of Heathcote! She earned that title tenfold! Is that how the great Earl talks about his family?”

“I speak the truth, Your Grace, no matter who it pertains to,” Frederick said, venom dripping from his words. “By this time tomorrow, Sophia will be in a safe place, away from everyone here. And you, you…” He lightly shook the pistol, as if wagging a finger, and laughed. “You really thought a simple marriage proposal was going to fix everything?”

Thomas curled his lip. “I made the first step. I had to dosomething.I almost lost my brother!”

“Well, I did lose my brother!” Frederick shook furiously, spittle flying out of his mouth. “By your father’s hand! Never lost a duel! Never walked away without his opponent lying dead on the ground either! They never mention that part when they talk about him,dothey? An unbeatable duelist, that’s what they called him—a murderer! And I am supposed to just let all of that slide? No!Never!”

Thomas heard the rain drum on the roof. He felt himself again, his consciousness. The pistol was still aimed at him, naturally.

Good.

He was about to take a gamble, and he didn’t want James to be in danger. Unlike him, James was completely innocent.

And Sophia wouldn’t forgive me. Even in death.

He took one step to the right, the pistol still aimed at him.

“Frederick … I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? You are sorry? What am I supposed to do with your sorry? Put it on my brother’s tombstone?” Frederick asked and laughed again. It was a bitter, harsh laugh. The laugh of an angry and pitiful man.

Thomas felt the world come to a standstill. He turned and looked at James one more time. He blinked and turned back to Frederick. “I’m not apologizing about your brother.”

He tossed the lantern up with all his might, up and high against the house’s roof, and threw himself forward. A duel without ceremony, and the last that would ever take place between a Pratt and a Kendall. Thomas was certain of that, for even if he lost, even if it cost him his life, Frederick would not escape justice. And James would step in to finish what Thomas and Sophia had started. By standing at Thomas’s side, James had proven that.

Forgive me, Sophia.Forgive me.

CHAPTER 33

Sophia still struggled, but she had found an unlikely ally in this whole ridiculous debacle. She had started sweating, and combined with the horrible cold water from outside, she had become slippery. With a slightly bigger push, she might get herself loose. If only her hands were justslightlylonger?—