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He had see both of his brothers cope with their angst as they had sought to keep their prospective brides safe from harm He had seen the devastated husk Dominic had turned into when Izzy had been shot, and still had night into the black void of the rushing river not so long back

Although he had no intention ofthe wo for the depths of fear his brothers had been plunged into – and he didn’t love the woman seated before him With not even a full day’s acquaintance, it was iree of certainty His e to know she was safe because he liked her She had been dealt a rough hand she didn’t deserve – how rough a hand he had yet to learn, but she was in a dire situation and needed his help, even if she didn’t want to acknowledge it

“You and whose ar her hair back in abrupt defiance “You can stand and glower all night but I’ry She motioned to the other chair and offered hi as he studied it for severalit before hunger got the better of his need to vent his anger and he abruptly relieved her of the plate and sat down opposite her

“Don’t te to put his teer, but unwilling to let the matter drop entirely

“Enter!” He ordered, blithely ignoring Eliza’s glare of disgust and turning to smile at thehot water and even more food

Casually tossing them several coins, he turned back to his food apparently oblivious that he had given them both the equivalent of a week’s pay

Eliza shook her head completely at a loss to fathom how the aristocracy really worked To him it was mere pittance, undoubtedly he had untold wealth so able to spend days away fro, or someone, or make business decisions

Was he a fop? A dandy? Eliza scoffed at that one and eyed the dark clothing he wore The colour suited him to perfection The jet black of his hair, added to the blackness of his clothing, even his boots were black, giving him an air of menace that made everyone he came into contact with suck in a deep breath and take a respectful step backwards Eliza wondered if his clothing had been chosen for that reason entirely After all, asn’t he dressed in a white shirt, silk waistcoat and breeches like everyone else of his ilk? What had he been doing that required hi somebody?

As she tucked into her own food she realised there was a lot she had to learn about the man opposite She still couldn’t be certain whether he was one of Scraggan’s men or not

She froze in the act of putting some potato into her mouth and stared at him

“What?” Edward’s eyes lance around the roo for the cause of the alarm that had entered her eyes

“How did you findout of thefor any signs of their pursuers or Scraggan

“I wasn’t trying to believe me I sat and waited in the barn as we had planned”

Inwardly she winced at his pronunciation of the last four words It took every ounce of self control she possessed to steadily nore his pointed reminder

“When it beca to show up as you promised, then I decided to head back to Havistock Whether you know it or not, Murray is only a few miles away from my brother’s residence, Havistock Hall It is just outside Melton”