In SOMETHING ABOUT HER, Adam Willoughby, the Earl of Merewood has little regard for Michael Ashton, the Duke of Ravensdale— the cousin of his sister Blythe’s first husband and a man he wants far away from her. An excerpt from Something About Her:
Michael looked up and tensed. Blythe’s brother sat across the table and tossed his cards down.
“Merewood, I did not know you were a member,” Michael commented.
The Earl slid from his seat and stood. “I have maintained membership here, though I rarely come. I can see that won’t change. If you’ll excuse me, I believe I shall find more desirous company.”
Michael shoved back from the table. “A word?”
Without waiting for an answer, he strode down the hallway until they had a relative amount of privacy. He turned to find Blythe’s brother on his heels, hands fisted at his side.
“You have no idea how badly I want to call you out, you bastard,” Merewood said.
“If you will recall, it was your sister who told me to leave.”
“The first smart decision she made since your arrival.”
“I will not fight you here anymore than I would at Rosemead. What happened between Blythe and me is our affair.”
He saw Adam’s hand come up a second too late. The blow snapped his head back and pain stabbed his jaw.
Michael tensed his arms to fight the instinct to hit back. He would not hurt Blythe’s brother. He’d done enough to her.
“I will not fight you,” he repeated.
“Fine. But you will agree to what I’m about to say.”
“Which is?”
“We need to be in agreement about how Blythe is introduced to society. We cannot pretend the marriage did not happen, because you ruined her.”
Michael clenched his jaw, but said nothing. Adam was right. “Very well. What did you have in mind?”
“We are introducing her as a widow.”
“Which she is.”
“But not Thomas’s widow.”
Michael snapped his gaze to Adam’s. “Pardon?”
“I’ve seen to it that no papers remain to prove her marriage to Thomas ever happened, other than anything you might possess.” He waited.
“I have a copy of a marriage certificate, but as it was hand copied, it would be useless in proving anything.”
“Very well. We are going to say she married a family friend she had been betrothed to her entire life. His death was very sad for her and she wishes not to discuss it.”
“And this paragon of a man has a name?” Although Michael knew his reaction was childish and idiotic over a fabricated man, he hated that Blythe would be seen as having loved this man so much she grieved for him still.
“Yes. Lord Peter DeBruin, brother to William DeBruin, the deceased Earl of Lankingsly.”
“Why do I know that name?”
“Lankingsly died the end of last year. He was the last of his family, and the title reverted back to the crown. He and I were acquainted.”
“Did he actually have a brother?”
“Yes, he did. Peter was of an age with Blythe, and they knew each other as children. Peter died at the age of thirteen in a horse accident. He was a country man. He’d never set foot in London. For fact, William himself rarely went. The timing suits; the story is irrefutable. Peter and William would have helped Blythe anyhow. No one remains to speak otherwise.” Adam leveled a hostile gaze at him. “Except for you.”
“I would not hurt Blythe.”
“You’ve done nothing but hurt her since she met you. You are hurting her still.” Adam raised his fist slightly.
Michael tamped his temper down. “I would advise against that course of action. I will disregard your earlier display due to the situation that occurred with your sister. But do not press me.”
“She came here for you, you buffoon. You crushed her.”
“What in hell are you talking about?”
Adam shoved his face within inches of Michael’s. “She came to London to forgive you. And she arrives to discover you’ve betrothed yourself to another who is pregnant with your child.” Disgust filled his sneer. “Duke or not, you are not fit to wipe her boots.”
In CLOAKED IN DANGER, Adam’s story, his issues with Michael continue to run deep and continue to cause friction. So you vote: Who would win in a smackdown, Adam or Michael?
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