Blackstone and Broken Things

Chapter 13

 Nathan was not angry, nor was he mad, and while furious was perhaps an accurate word, it felt so deeply lacking. Murderous. Yes, murderous was how he felt. And how he had felt since the moment Grinish had pointed out who the men surrounding his wife were. That cold, all-consuming feeling that both narrowed his focus and abolished all else in its path had enveloped him several times in his life, and only the first two had he been unable to do anything to relieve the homicidal rage pulsing through his veins like the strongest of scotches.

Though surprisingly, it was not Ana he wanted to murder this time, merely those that sought her.

It was the first time that feeling had not directed him to destroy the very thing that had sparked it.

Perhaps that was why her admission that her guests were, indeed, here to try and seduce her had struck him like a slap to the face, sobering him enough not to give in to the urge entirely, though he was still giving others a great deal of thought.

Silently, he watched Ana step toward himas she reached up and removed the necklace he had just given her. His mother's necklace. Reaching out, she took his hand from his side and placed the trinket in his palm, wrapping his fingers around the cool metal.

"I told you when we first had it out. I have not been without opportunity or interest. When we first met on the road, did I not accuse you of being no better than the rest? Did you not take a moment to think what that might mean?" She asked, her gaze as hard and assessing as every judge he had ever seen passed down the sentence on a man.

His response was perhaps not his best, but he could no sooner keep the words from his lips than he could keep the rain from falling from the sky. "And you expect me to believe you remained faithful after telling me that?" He queried, as cool as the autumn air just outside the window. "They are—"

"The Trio of Tragedy. London's most notorious libertines and the ruination of virtuous women everywhere." Ana announced, waving a hand through the air as she walked past him and sat on the edge of her desk. Facing him with a roll of her eyes as she crossed arms, and gave him a look that pronounced she found the whole thing ridiculous. "Honestly, the only women they have ruined are those foolish enough to fall for their games in the first place. And I promise you not one of them was an unwed virgin, despite what the gossips may claim."

"Your declaration is not helping your situation." Nathan snapped. Hating the jealous fist that coiled around his stomach and, surprisingly, his heart. By law, both God's and man's, she was his. And while he had been no husband to her in the time he had not known her, in the time since, he found that more and more that he wanted to be. She was everything he had ever dreamed of having: capable, loyal, loving. An uncut jewel of the finest quality, and he was completely undeserving of her.

Hearing her speak of these men as though she knew them well enough to defend them irked him to no end. Her knowing these men to any extent was beyond infuriating, it was utterly maddening.

"Yet, it remains true. What they take is always freely given. There would be no sport in it for them otherwise. And if you have truly heard rumors about them. Then, you should already know that I am their favorite prey. Otherwise, why come back? Year, after year, after year. So, again, despite what you obviously think. I have remained faithful, my Lord." She stated, leveling him such a cold glare he almost felt the ice of it running down his spine.

"Yet you allow them to continue this game."

"Allow?" she choked on a mocking laugh. "Good God." She huffed at the air, shaking her head incredulously at his words before looking back at him. "Are you purposefully this dense?" she snapped, her anger catching him off guard. "Have you not heard a damn thing I have told you since you came here? I do not have a choice. I need the money!" She slammed a hand to her breast.