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“I recognize that you perhaps made anticipatory decisions out of a mistaken belief, but it doesn’t mean you have to suffer.” Perhaps she could calm him long enough to reason with him.

“How kind of you to dispense my money to me. You and your husband rutting in my house, spending my money—”

“That is enough!” Albert started forward and Harrison backhanded him so hard he collapsed to the ground, knocking over an end table and sending a crystal vase careening to the ground. Regina winced but started moving again while his attention was elsewhere.

“Bertie,” Aunt Theo started for him, concern registering on her face for the first time.

“Stay where you are bitch!” Harrison screamed.

Regina closed her eyes for a moment struggling to stay calm.

She was just close enough now. She reached for her reticule inches away from her, her gaze fixed on Harrison.

His eyes snapped to her without warning and she froze, snatching her arm back, folding her freezing hands in her lap.

“You too my lady ,” he sneered. “Still as a statue or I paint your brain all over this room.”

“What is it that you want Edward?” Aunt Theo asked, her eyes flicking anxiously to her nephew who was holding his head and groaning on the floor.

“I want justice,” he said, “I am owed justice.”

“And what does that look like for you, exactly?” This was oddly enough, the first time Regina had seen the old woman truly annoyed. The man was standing in her face with a gun, and she was annoyed .

“First I’m going to send you along Aunty Theo so you can’t ruin anymore lives.”

If he was expecting a reaction to that he would have been disappointed. “And then?”

He turned to Regina, “I originally planned to kill your husband and leave it there, but since you are here, parading around my jewels—”

How dare he try to claim her mangal sutra as his. “These are mine.”

“—Presuming to have the right to speak for anyone, or make deals with me, I’m going to kill you Lady Starkley.”

Her stomach dropped to her feet, but she refused to let him see it. If a ninety-year-old woman could stand her ground, then so could she. “And what do you imagine Leo will do to you when he finds out what you’ve done?”

He scoffed. “I can handle him.”

Aunt Theo chuckled. “You imagine you can handle that man when you can barely handle your finances.”

“That is your fault you bitch!” he screamed, charging forward with his gun in his hand.

Regina rose swiftly darting between the two of them, holding up one hand to halt him. Miraculously it worked.

“Don’t,” she said, her voice weak even as her spine stiffened. “Don’t hurt her.”

“I’m not afraid of that infant,” Aunt Theo said waving him away.

“Aunt Theo, please,” Regina hissed over her shoulder. What was that woman doing? There was bravery and then being foolhardy.

“I’m nearly one hundred years old and you think a quick death is frightening?” she argued.

He took another threatening step forward and Regina flinched but stayed put. “You—”

“—Make your threats, shake your little fist, brandish your firearm. Shoot if you can aim well enough to do the job well but make no mistake little boy, the only frightened person in this room is you .”

Regina would have argued that point, if she could bring herself to speak.

His finger tightened on the trigger and for one horrible moment Regina wondered if she would witness a murder, but then Albert moved on the floor drawing Harrison’s attention. In one unexpectedly swift motion he threw a handful of bloody broken crystal at Harrison’s eyes.

Harrison cried out, his hands coming up to guard his face.

When Albert scrambled to his feet, Regina moved forward.

He slammed Harrison backwards into the door which flew open, sending them spilling into the corridor.

Regina followed; her eyes trained on his firearm.

The minute it went sliding across the tiled floor she moved snatching it up and checking the chamber for rounds.

Three left. It was enough provided the blasted gun actually worked.

She turned to face the two men and saw Harrison holding a knife. She fired once up at the ceiling as a warning and as a test. Good.

Harrison jerked Albert back against him, holding his knife to the young man’s throat. “Give me back my gun bitch.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I’ll slice his throat wide open if you don’t drop it.”

Her mouth was dry as dirt, but for some reason even as her heart pounded away in her chest, her hands were steady.

“You may well do that Mr. Harrison, but his life won’t impede this bullet.

The only way for you to have a future in this country or any other is to release him and agree to my terms of a settlement. ”

“You think I’m afraid of you?”

“I’m not really interested either way. I do not want to harm you, but if you kill Albert I will make certain he doesn’t leave this earth alone.” It was surprising how true those words were. She didn’t realize it until after the last one had left her mouth. She was ready to kill him.

“There’s only two bullets in that gun,” he said his eyes flicking down to her hands.

“I’m aware, but at this range I only need one.” She never imagined she would be using a gun for this. Up until now she’s only shot clay pigeons, pheasants and the odd deer. This was deadly serious.

“You are nothing but a girl. I’m a killer. I’ve taken countless lives on the battlefield. I killed off those useless cunts, my supposed cousins to get my hands on this title. You don’t have what it takes to kill a man.”

“Perhaps, but I have what it takes to kill you.”

They heard the unsteady clumping of Aunt Theo making her way to the door, genuine fear in her eyes for the life of her nephew.

“Bertie,” she called out.

“Don’t come here aunty, I’m alright,” he said, terror on his face despite his brave words. The idea of his death was almost enough for Regina to drop the gun. Almost.

“Regina, my dear.”

Regina shook her head. “Stay where you are Aunt Theo. I can manage this.” She wasn’t going to let this man’s venom infect any more lives than she had to, and she wasn’t going to live in fear of him any longer. Leo was planning to take him on, but he had come here. Now all she needed was clear shot.

“His blood will be on your hands,” Harrison warned but there was an edge to his voice now. As if he was beginning to believe she would shoot. But clearly he didn’t trust that she could hit her target. Namely his head.

“His blood will be avenged; this is your last warning Mr. Harrison. Do not make me kill you.”

She let out the breath she was holding as his hand tightened on the hilt of the blade. At the bottom of the inhale she watched his arm shift to the left, she aimed for his forehead and squeezed the trigger.

He jerked his eyes wide with shock, but Regina saw the red dot on his head and knew she had managed it. Albert stared at her in shock and fear.

“Did you do it?” he asked, and she nodded. He moved Harrison’s arm away from his neck and stepped away. With his body no longer there to support him Harrison collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap.

“Is he dead?” Aunt Theo asked.

Regina stumbled towards the staircase and sat heavily. It wasn’t in keeping with decorum she knew, but it was hard to care. Firing that bullet had leeched all the strength from her body. Her hands were numb, and she was almost certain she would be ill all over the floor.

“He’s not moving,” Alberts tremulous voice came.

She could see it. It was disturbing how still Harrison’s body was.

He had to kill him didn’t she? She’d had to do it.

She would never know with any certainty whether or not he meant to carry out his threat to kill Albert.

Only one thing was certain. She’d taken a man’s life.

An act she had believed herself to be prepared for, until his body crumbled to the ground.

She closed her eyes and let out a breath. “Albert.”

“He’s dead aunt.” Albert said in disbelief.

“Albert,” she repeated with more urgency.

“Yes my lady?” He looked up at her with wide eyes and she dropped her gaze to the floor, where a pool of Harrison’s blood was expanding. Oh God she’d killed him.

She couldn’t look at him. Was Albert afraid of her, she wondered. Did he think she had taken a foolish risk with his life?

“Send someone to fetch a constable, Albert. Don’t touch him.” Should she have called for a servant? Would that have been better?

“Yes, at once.”

She heard footsteps running across the floor, heard the door open and close. She couldn’t stop staring at Harrison’s body. She’d killed a man. She wanted Leo. She wanted him to take her hand in his and assure her that all would be well.

“Are you well my girl?” Aunt Theo asked, her wrinkled hand landing on her shoulder.

No. She wanted to scream it. “I’m sorry.”

“About what in heaven’s name?”

“I murdered your nephew.” Was that her voice? Why did it sound so far away?

“He meant to kill all of us. If you did not stop him who knows what he would have done. You did well Baroness Starkley.”

Done well. Had she?