For Love Alone (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 8)

‘What? Who thinks you can do that then? Murder? When? That doesn’t have anything to do with me,’ Henry blustered. ‘And there are at least a dozen houses empty in this area, or have you not taken a good look around? There is no reason why you should be here. You are not going to seize my property.’

‘I beg to diffe

r,’ Oliver argued. ‘There has been a murder on the site.’

‘Carlotta is fine, just in case you were wondering. Thank you for asking,’ Phillip drawled sarcastically.

‘There has been a murder on your property,’ Oliver repeated just in case the man’s outrage had prevented Henry from hearing him the first time.

Henry’s gaze flew to Oliver. ‘It isn’t her who has been murdered, is it? Carlotta?’

‘Would you give a damn if it was?’ Phillip demanded.

‘Well, of course.’

‘Why? Because her death in your house would damage your property’s value?’ Phillip snorted in disgust.

‘What do you mean that the apple never falls too far from the tree?’ Oliver asked of Henry.

Phillip shifted from one foot to the other when Callum and Niall moved to stand on either side of him.

‘Carlotta’s mother tried to leave her father because she was miserably unhappy in her marriage and found someone who cared about her,’ Phillip explained before Henry could speak.

‘She took a lover,’ Henry sneered.

‘From what I hear her husband, Horace, was a bully,’ Phillip growled.

‘I suppose Carlotta told you that, did she?’ Henry shook his head, his thin lips curled in contempt.

‘You don’t believe her?’ Phillip folded his arms purely to stop himself reaching for the man’s throat.

‘Horace cares about her and was understandably upset when he realised that Carlotta had disappeared. Naturally, he wants her at home where she is safe,’ Henry replied with a somewhat pompous air of indignance. ‘She is his daughter. Her place is with her father.’

‘So he can shove her into matrimony to one of his friends,’ Phillip retorted.

‘Well, she can hardly stay with her father forever, can she? He only wants her to be happy. She should be married. Why, it is preposterous that at three and twenty she is still looking for a husband,’ Henry snorted disparagingly. ‘Why, its unheard of.’

‘So, you condone forced marriages, do you?’ Phillip challenged. ‘Because I do believe that Carlotta has made it clear to you and her father that she doesn’t wish to marry anybody her father chooses for her.’

‘Why are you here?’ Callum growled before Henry could reply. ‘I mean, if you wanted a word with Carlotta, don’t you think it is more appropriate for you to bring your wife?’

Henry’s mouth opened but his lack of immediate reply prompted Oliver to step closer to him. ‘She doesn’t know you are here, does she?’

‘Why should she? This house is mine, not hers,’ Henry snapped. ‘I don’t have to explain myself to my wife. She does as she is told.’

‘Now you sound like Horace,’ Carlotta murmured from the top of the stairs.

‘She isn’t dead,’ Henry blustered, glaring at Oliver and Phillip in turn before scowling at Carlotta, as if his misunderstanding was all her fault.

‘I am sorry to disappoint you but no, I am not dead,’ she replied before descending the stairs. Deep inside, a small voice was warning her that it wasn’t wise to annoy him because he could throw her out of the house and leave her with nowhere to stay. However, she suspected he intended to do that anyway seeing as he had come to the house today.

‘Why are you here, Henry?’ Phillip demanded.

‘I wanted a word with Carlotta. Her father wants to speak with her. I have said I would take her to him,’ Henry replied, his gaze locked on Carlotta.

‘I am not going anywhere with you,’ Carlotta replied flatly.

‘Well, you cannot stay here,’ Henry announced flatly.