Adoration

‘Morgan!’ Sissy screamed when she saw him standing in the doorway.

Morgan raced across the room, jumped over the chaise, and yanked at Charlton’s arm. Dragging the man by the scruff of his neck off Sissy, he slammed the fop bodily against the bookshelves so hard that the oaf let out a ‘woof’ of surprise.

‘Here-’ Charlton began only to have Morgan’s fist plant itself squarely in the centre of his face.

Morgan didn’t stop there, he slammed another fist into Charlton’s stomach, which doubled him over. When the fop was bent over at the waist, Morgan lifted him up by his cravat but only so he could land another punch in the middle of Charlton’s face. The fop fell to his knees, but Morgan wasn’t done yet. Dragging the fop up by his throat, Morgan propelled him out of the room. He shoved Charlton so forcefully through the door that Charlton landed in the middle of the entrance hall with a heavy thump and lay there groaning for several moments. Morgan stalked after him. Yanking the man up by his throat once more, Morgan shoved his face into Charlton’s.

‘Touch her again and I will damned well tear your arms off and beat you to death with them, you bastard,’ Morgan hissed. ‘Give me one sodding good reason why I shouldn’t call the magistrate on you? You are nothing but a criminal. A snivelling drunkard, a coward, and quiet clearly a rapist. You want to ruin people’s reputation, do you? Well, let me see about what I can do about making you repair your own. Don’t expect the people I speak with about your behaviour today to even allow a wastrel like you through their door from now on. I will destroy you, you bastard.’

‘Morgan?’ Alicia, looking pale and shaken in the doorway, stared at him in horror.

‘Get Sissy out here,’ Morgan commanded, keeping his hold on a now purple Charlton, who was clawing at his hand and desperately gasping for air. Morgan didn’t give a damn if the man suffocated. Charlton wasn’t going to be released until he chose to release him. ‘Now!’

Sissy, still crying, stepped into the entrance hall. Morgan took one look at the fear in her eyes and felt something deep inside snap. He dragged Charlton over to her leaving the younger man to half scrabble and half crawl with him. Morgan leaned down until his mouth was against Charlton’s ear.

‘Apologise to her on your knees like the snivelling coward you are. And make no mistake, any bastard who treats any woman like you have just treated her belong on your knees, at her feet, in the dirt,’ he snarled. When he spoke now his voice lashed against the stunned silence of the entrance hall. ‘Apologise! Now!’

Charlton peered up at her through a swollen eye. ‘I am sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.’

‘Trying to force yourself on a woman is hardly a mistake, Charlton. Do anything like that to any woman and I swear to God that I will make sure you carry what God gave you around in a pouch for the rest of your life, do you hear me?’ Morgan growled.

Charlton nodded. He flinched when Morgan yanked him toward the door. He managed to stand up in time for Morgan to propel him forcibly out of his house, and was sent on his way so swiftly that he positively flew down the stone steps and landed on the driveway with a dull thud.

Morgan stepped after him. ‘Step foot on my property again and I shall have you arrested for trespass. Further, I shall be writing a strongly worded letter to your father about your disgusting behaviour. I think his contacts should also be warned about keeping their young ladies away from you until you can learn to behave like a man and control your baser urges. Until you grow up, don’t feel free to call upon any of my family again.’ Morgan turned his back but only to glare at Boris. ‘Get their coach around the front. Now. They are all leaving.’

Still furious, Morgan marched back into his house to find everyone staring at him in shock. Marching up to Mariette, he yanked her toward Sissy, who remained frozen in place.

‘Apologise for your crass behaviour. Now,’ he ordered his sister.

Mariette stared at him.

‘I said now, Mariette!’ Morgan thundered. ‘I don’t care what you thought you were doing, but I don’t doubt it was you who encouraged that bastard to try his luck with her. You are base enough to do something that spiteful if you thought it would suit your purposes. I think orchestrating an attack like that is just something you would enjoy doing if it meant that Sissy was ruined completely. You are just that underhand, just that base, just that immoral. Well, for your machinations today, you can consider yourself cast out of this family. You can go to Scotland in disgrace.’

‘You won’t do that,’ Mariette snorted, eyeing Sissy with acute distaste. She smirked when she saw the tear in Sissy’s dress. ‘You will pay for that.’

Morgan stepped in front of her to block her gaze, and spare Sissy any more torment. Grabbing his sister by her face, he glared at her with all the meanness she had just levelled on Sissy.

‘You are going to get out of this house,’ he snapped.

To prove that he meant every word, Morgan yanked the fine necklace off Mariette’s neck. He ignored the startled gasps from the women in the hallway and dragged the bracelets off her wrists, and the broach off her chest. He ignored the tearing of her dress, and her cry of protest when he threw the expensive jewels onto the side table.

‘You are to take nothing more with you to Scotland than the dress you are standing up in. Your allowance will now cease. You will not get a penny more from me. Your jewels are to be removed from your possession. They are family heirlooms, not yours. You are not allowed to take anything with you to Scotland except for the gifts you have been given. From this moment on, Mariette, you can consider yourself cast out of this family for orchestrating a physical assault of a guest under my roof. That should be more than enough to cause you ruination and a scandal not even your fine reputation and scheming can put right. Don’t think I won’t. I think every decent citizen in society should be aware of how much of a risk you pose to young women like Sissy. You are the most appalling example of the cruelty and arrogance nobody should

ever take into decent society. I, for one, am ashamed and embarrassed to call you my sister. I don’t doubt your hatred of Sissy is born from jealousy. She behaves with more decorum than you, despite her lack of funds. However, wealth and luxury are no excuse for bad manners and criminality and I shall not tolerate either under my roof from anybody, even you. Seeing as you consider yourself higher than her, I think you should be reminded that your wealth comes from me, and only me. Mariette, you own no more than Sissy. Your allowance, I pay for. The clothes on your back come from me. I own the roof over your head, and I am the owner of the family heirlooms you wear so frequently. But, given your selfish greed and sheer bloody-minded arrogance, I am removing all entitlements immediately. Help yourself to anything on my property and I shall hand you over to the magistrate.’

When she continued to stare coldly at him. ‘You cannot do that. They belong to me as well,’ Mariette boasted.

‘You don’t have a title and didn’t inherit anything when father died. Nor did mother. As the surviving male in the family, I own the lot. You live here because of my benevolence and don’t own a damned thing. And I can damned well do what I like,’ Morgan growled. To prove it, he propelled her forcibly toward the door.

Mariette did everything to prevent it but the soft soles on her slippers slid easily across the highly polished stone floor of the entrance hall. Mariette found herself shoved bodily out of the house, still protesting.

‘Boris!’ Morgan bellowed.

‘Sir.’ Boris stepped dutifully forward.

‘Get a footman to go to the Dowager House. Mariette is no longer allowed inside the property. The staff are to remove all coins, money, jewellery, and belongings from her room and bring them to me. She is only allowed to take her day dresses. Her ballgowns belong in my house. I paid for them. I am keeping them. When her belongings are packed, she is to be taken to Scotland and left with Cousin Henry. Make sure that Hargreaves rests whenever he needs to. If Miss Rothersham decides to disembark before she reaches Scotland then she is perfectly at liberty to. However, she will pay her own way and provide for herself because she will not receive another penny from me. She is not to over-ride any of my instructions. In fact, she is not to issue any of my staff with instructions. She is a guest until she can leave.’

‘Morgan,’ Alicia whispered.