A Warriner To Protect Her. Virginia Heath

earth who I would consider marrying. Unfortunately, I could not have been more wrong.’

      Just thinking about her uncle’s treachery made her angry. All this time she had been duped into believing he had only wanted the very best for her...but he had designs on her fortune just like every other man who came knocking on her door. ‘On the night in question, I had only just dressed for a ball and was waiting for the carriage to be brought around when my uncle asked to speak with me. He offered me a glass of wine, which stupidly I drank. It was laced with laudanum. I was barely conscious by the time Bainbridge arrived, but I overheard the gist of their conversation nevertheless. Bainbridge had agreed to give him half of my fortune in return for my hand in marriage—payable as soon as Bainbridge could obtain legal access to my money. It is held in a trust, you see, until I reach the age of majority. They tied me up and I was taken to a carriage bound for Gretna Green.

      ‘By the time I came to, we were speeding along the road. I told Bainbridge that no court in the land would condone a forced marriage. I threatened to have the pair of them arrested and tried for their crime and that I would move heaven and earth to have the sham of a marriage annulled if he succeeded.’ Her voice wavered then, because Letty still could not quite believe it herself. ‘He laughed, claiming he had no great desire to be shackled to me for any longer than was necessary to get his hands lawfully on my magnificent stack of money and said...’ her voice faltered ‘...he said that if I failed to comply and made his life difficult, then I would force his hand. He said I would find it difficult to get a marriage annulled from the grave.’

      Jack Warriner’s dark eyebrows came together fiercely as he absorbed her words. Other than that, she really had no idea what he was thinking. His very handsome face was quite inscrutable.

      ‘So you were kidnapped, then?’

      Letty nodded. ‘Yes—but effectively by a member of my own family. If they find me, Bainbridge will drag me to Gretna Green. As soon as we are married, English law grants him my entire fortune.’

      ‘And then your uncle would receive his half?’

      ‘My father left him nothing in his will, aside from naming him as my guardian and giving him some control as trustee of the estate. As soon as I turn twenty-one, control of my entire inheritance reverts to me. The blood money earned by selling his niece to Bainbridge was obviously more palatable to him than living out the rest of his days with nothing.’

      He stood and pinned her with his stormy blue gaze, giving nothing about his ultimate intentions away.

      ‘I need to talk to my brothers.’

      Then he stormed to the door.

       Chapter Six

      Thirty days and twelve hours left...

      ‘Violet Dunston?’ Jacob exclaimed and then appeared frustrated when all of his three brothers stared back perplexed. ‘Seriously? Do you three never read the newspapers?’

      ‘I don’t have time to read the newspapers.’ By the time Jack finished his never-ending round of daily chores, he could barely stand, let alone read.

      ‘Scarcely a week goes by without a mention of society’s darling Miss Dunston. She is the Tea Heiress.’

      Jack was losing patience. ‘Spare us the dramatics, Jacob. Surely it is quite apparent none of us knows what you are blathering on about. Kindly put us out of our misery, Little Brother.’

      Jacob leaned forward on the scarred kitchen table as if imparting some great wisdom. ‘The Dunston family were serious tea importers and by serious I mean they made oodles of money from it. Or they did, before old man Dunston sold the business for a king’s ransom. I believe he died a few years ago. Violet Dunston is an only child; heiress to it all. Lock, stock and barrel. She is a renowned beauty and now that I’ve seen her I have to concur.’ Watching the twin smiles of male satisfaction appear on Jacob and Joe’s faces caused Jack to experience an unfamiliar pang of jealousy, but he held his tongue. His siblings all had eyes, after all, except the thought of his brothers sharing the magnificent spectacle of Letty’s legs particularly bothered him. He needed to find her more suitable clothing as soon as possible. Something shapeless, large and concealing. Something that would put a stop to his brothers’ wayward gazes. Begrudgingly, he turned his attention back to his youngest brother.

      ‘The gossip columns are filled with speculation about whom she will choose to marry. It is all anyone can talk about. The gentlemen of London are falling all over themselves to court her.’

      Jamie, always the least impressed by anything, was scathing. ‘Hardly a surprise when the girl is obscenely rich. I should imagine, just like her uncle and the Earl of Bainbridge, they would be delighted to get their hands on all of that lovely money. She could have a face like a horse’s behind and they would probably still want to marry her.’

      ‘True,’ agreed Jacob, ‘but it is not only fortune hunters who are courting her. There are a few wealthy peers too. I read something about the illustrious Duke of Wentworth throwing his hat into the ring, and he is as rich as Croesus and has his pick of the ladies. She’s famously charming—in fact, Miss Dunston is viewed as a diamond of the first water. An incomparable.’

      An incomparable! If ever Jack needed proof that his misplaced lust was barking up the wrong tree, there it was. Letty had queues of eager, solvent suitors and would never look twice at a humble Warriner for anything more than necessary protection. She was so far out of his league he would need a stepladder to reach her. Perhaps twenty stepladders. Not that he had hoped for more, of course. Lust was a natural, human response to such a beautiful woman. Even bruised and dishevelled, Letty was a beautiful woman, so his instantaneous and physical reaction was also, therefore, quite understandable. Besides, Jack was too pragmatic, too wise to be disappointed in the ways of the world and too burdened already to even consider something beyond the carnal. These overwhelming feelings of protectiveness towards her obviously stemmed from the unyielding and irritating sense of responsibility he had been cursed with since birth. She was a damsel in distress. Ever since his mother, he had a soft spot for them. He had found Letty stumbling in on the road to his house, therefore, until he could take her safely home to Mayfair, it stood to reason she was also his responsibility, just as his mother had been. Another one. To add to the thousands he already had and didn’t need.

      Lucky him.

      ‘We will need to get her back to her people in London as quickly as possible if her life is in danger. There must be another relative there who can keep her out of harm’s way while this uncle and Bainbridge are brought to justice.’ And out of his sight.

      ‘It’s too soon to make her travel yet.’ Joe immediately leapt to her defence. ‘Yesterday she was still burning with fever. She needs a few days to properly recuperate.’

      ‘Nobody is planning on moving her yet. With that Layton and his cronies still at large in the village, a trip now might arouse suspicions. I will not put either her life or any of yours in danger by acting rashly. Once the dust has settled and I deem it to be safe, I will return her.’ Although how Jack was going to pay for an unforeseen trip to London without their finances suffering too much, he had yet to work out. All of the spare money left over from last year’s harvest had already disappeared in new lead for the decrepit roof on the east wing. Every other penny had been accounted for. He supposed they could overnight in one inn on the way there and on the way back he could find a quiet barn somewhere...

      ‘You will not be making the trip alone. It’s too dangerous. I will be coming with you,’ Jamie announced. Nobody dared point out that Jamie was lame and in no state to endure such a long and demanding ride south. However, he had apparently already considered it himself. ‘I might be useless on my feet, but I can still sit on a horse and shoot straight, should the need arise.’ And nobody commented on the peculiar arsenal their brother now housed in his bedchamber either. Not after Jacob had found out the hard way that the former soldier slept with a knife under his pillow. ‘Do any of you know how to cover your tracks or live off the land?’ He scanned