Before She Ruled (Before Series, Book 1)

Chapter Seventeen

After watching the rise and fall of Addie's sleeping chest for a few moments, Theo rounded on Andrew.

"I will only agree not to murder him if you can guarantee we will get him out of this house and very far away," Theo spoke in a fierce whisper.

"Come sit down and have a drink, Theodore," Andrew called him over, speaking to him like he had when Theo was young.

He wrinkled his nose in distaste for the belittling feeling at being spoken to as though he was fourteen again, but that was the least of his concerns. His stomach churned with hate like none other. He could barely breathe, let alone sit down or drink anything. He was confident he wouldn't be able to function properly until that bastard was out of his house, and preferably ten feet underground.

Theo wasn't a perfect man. He drank, he gambled, and he'd had his womanly pursuits. He was even over-confident and domineering. But he would never in a million years try to take a woman without her consent. He knew far too many men who boasted about their conquests as if they were seductions and not forced.

She said she wasn't interested, but I knew she was, they would say. Eventually, she came crawling to my bed just like I knew she would.

And all Theo could think about was how many times that poor woman they spoke of had probably said no before she finally said yes, or maybe just stopped saying anything at all.

The worst of it was that Theo always just sat there, listening. Not saying anything either.

And for the first time, Theo stood in a room with one of those women who had been attacked by a man. And not just any woman. It was a woman that he cared deeply about. And it wasn't just any man. It was a man who he had employed. Someone who he paid to be in his house, doing his bidding.

And for the first time, Theo utterly hated himself. He cursed himself for not listening to Addie when she behooved him to leave her alone, thinking she would be fine, dictating her life for her. He despised himself for ever hiring a swine like Adam. And he loathed himself for never telling his fellow peers to stop treating women like animals.

Because all those women had very few options after a run-in with an overzealous gentleman. No one cared to listen to their story, let alone help with any consequences from the encounter.

King William IV had been supporting a bill in parliament that would fund a women's health facility to provide care at a lower cost for women who were unmarried or unsupported by family, which would have been a small aid to such women. Andrew had been the one to pen the bill, and it was very forward-thinking. So it was no surprise that when the tragedy with King William and his family occurred, the monarchy's support was replaced by opposition. The bill didn't pass.

"Theodore." Andrew's voice sliced through his thoughts.

Theo reluctantly went to sit by Andrew and accepted a glass of amber-colored spirit, no doubt poured from the decanter he kept on the mantle.

"Let me take care of Adam," Andrew said as soon as he sat down. They spoke quietly so as not to disturb Addie.

Theo narrowed his eyes. "What are you going to do with him?"

"He will be on the next boat to America. I believe there is one leaving tomorrow."

Theo laid his head back against the plush chair. "He should be locked up. You said it yourself. He could do it to other women."

"I'll arrange something. It might not be prison or murder—because that would leave a trail—but I'll do my best to make sure he pays."

"I would like to personally deliver him and watch his ugly face as it leaves the shores of this country."