Silence Is Golden by Sara Ackerman

Author:Sara Ackerman [Ackerman, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, historical, regency
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2017-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

“You are a damnable coward and a dishonorable cur!”

Alfred, who had completed most of his packing and had been about to seek out Lord Atwood to discuss the changed plans, was surprised when the man himself barged into his room flinging insults.

“Atwood?” Over the last week, he had come to recognize the various moods of his host. When he was hungry, it was wise to avoid speaking until he had cleaned his first plate. Rain irritated him and put him in ill humor, but a good cigar and a glass of whiskey smoothed the edges of his displeasure. He wasn’t a complicated man, nor had he ever mistreated him; therefore, Alfred was at a loss to explain his lordship’s foul mood and caustic tongue.

“What’s this I hear about you leaving?”

“How did you find out? Did Evie come and speak to you?”

“No, I heard it.”

“Where? Aside from your niece, I have not told anyone about my plans.” He gestured to his packed luggage. “Even your manservant is unaware. I told him to leave and packed on my own.”

The older man reddened and jabbed a blunt finger into Alfred’s chest. “It doesn’t matter where I heard it. The point is I did, and I don’t care if you make one hundred journals for my niece or buy her a new drawing pencil for each day of the year, you had no right to break your word to me and my family.”

Alfred pinned the other man with a hard look. “You were eavesdropping on my private conversation!”

Atwood jabbed him in the chest again. “So what if I was? It’s my house. She’s my niece. I have a right to know what’s going on, and it’s a good thing I listened in, too. Otherwise you would’ve slunk out of the house in the dead of night like the miserable lout you are!”

Alfred grabbed the old man’s finger and stopped him in mid-poke. “Three times you have insulted my name and called my honor into question. I would caution you against attempting a fourth.”

“I’ve stated the truth. You are a coward, a wee speck of a spineless scoundrel.” He advanced and backed Alfred farther into the room, ever nearer the open window and the hard ground some ten feet below. “You worthless, craven son of a—”

Using his strength to push past the considerable bulk of the angry man, Alfred retreated to the opposite side of the room, keen to be away from certain danger near the window. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “If you’d shut up a minute, you daft prick, I’d tell you my true purpose in pretending to leave. I’d tell you I lied to your niece so she can come to the conclusion she cares for me on her own. I don’t want to force her into a situation not of her own choosing. I care for your niece and intend to marry her, but do you give me a chance to explain any of this? No.

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