Duke of Wicked Intentions by Harriet Caves

Chapter Twenty-Seven

There was a deafening buzzing sound in her ears, but it couldn’t fully drown out the sound of Aunt Pam and the Dowager shouting at each other. Miranda couldn’t focus on their argument. She was unable to focus on anything but the Dowager’s claim that Aunt Pam had killed her mother.

It's not possible. She has to be lying. Aunt Pam wouldn’t have done that.

It was a lie. It had to be.

Miranda looked up, dumbfounded, to find that the Dowager and her aunt had moved around the bed so they were shouting into each other’s faces. It began to look as though they would delve into a physical confrontation with each other. She felt as though she should try to stop them, but her whole body was numb and she couldn’t seem to make herself move.

“You are insane!” the Dowager shrieked, spittle from her lips flying to hit Aunt Pam in the face. “A madwoman! I’m done holding onto your secrets, do you hear me?”

“Then you must be ready for all your secrets to see the light of day as well, is that it?” Aunt Pam yelled back. “Are you prepared for the consequences?”

Miranda slowly blinked. She couldn’t keep up with their argument, but it didn’t escape her notice that instead of denying that she had done anything wrong, her Aunt Pam had instead begun threatening the Dowager with her own secrets.

“Any consequences are worth it to expose you for the monster you are!” the Dowager declared.

Aunt Pam raised her hand and looked as though she would strike Miranda’s mother-in-law, but in that moment, the door flew open and Benedict and her father rushed inside. They paused, quickly surveying the scene before them, and then they dashed forward to grab both women and haul them away from each other.

Benedict pulled his mother back while the Earl pulled Aunt Pam away. “What in the world is going on here?” Benedict demanded to know in an angry voice.

The Dowager pointed a finger at Aunt Pam once again and announced, “She killed the Countess! Her own sister! Poisoned her when she was pregnant with Miranda!”

The whole room when completely still and silent. Benedict’s gaze bounced between the Dowager and Aunt Pam before landing on Miranda, who still sat in her bed, completely frozen.

“How dare you make such an accusation,” the Earl barked, wrapping his arm protectively around Aunt Pam’s shoulders.

“She’s mad,” Aunt Pam declared. “She’s just trying to ruin my reputation so no one believes me when I tell them about her affair with my late husband.”

Benedict jerked back as though he’d been struck. Turning to gaze down at his mother, he hissed, “Is that true?”

The Dowager stared up at him and for a moment, Miranda thought she might lie to him.

To her surprise, however, her mother-in-law replied, “Yes, it’s true. The Baron and I were involved in an affair many, many years ago.”

“No wonder father was so cold to you,” Benedict snarled. “You were unfaithful!”

The Dowager rolled her eyes. “Your father was a cruel husband long before the Baron and I become involved. It’s one of the reasons I sought comfort elsewhere to begin with. Besides, it’s not as though he was ever faithful to me.”

Benedict looked stunned, and Miranda felt the overwhelming urge to go to him and offer him comfort. She simply couldn’t, though. It felt as though the room was spinning around her, and she feared she’d topple over if her feet touched the floor.

“That still doesn’t mean that Pam has done what you accuse her of,” the Earl growled. “She wouldn’t have hurt her own sister.”

“Ah, but she would try to seduce you when your pregnant wife was bedridden, wouldn’t she?” the Dowager snapped back.

Her father’s face paled and Miranda’s jaw dropped.

“Is that true?” she asked in a choked voice, her gaze bouncing between her father and her aunt. “Tell me that’s not true.”

Her father glanced away from her for a long moment, but then released a breath and nodded. “Yes, it’s true. Your aunt did attempt to seduce me…but I firmly told her no, and nothing happened. She is no longer that person.”

“How can you be sure?” Miranda demanded to know. If her aunt was capable of such a betrayal, she was worried to consider what else her aunt might be able to do.

“I–” her father stopped and fell silent, his brow furrowing as he turned to look at Aunt Pam. “How can I be sure?”

She stared up at him. “You know me, Rupert. I love you. I’ve always loved you–”

“And what better motivation than an unrequited love?” the Dowager pointed out.

Miranda’s heart began to beat hard and her breathing grew heavy as panic began to set in. Her father also looked terribly startled by the Dowager’s words.

“Tell me…tell me you didn’t do that,” he murmured, staring at Aunt Pam. “Please, tell me you didn’t kill her–”

Aunt Pam didn’t say anything for long moments, but then it was as if something snapped within her and she released a snarl. “It’s what she deserved!” she declared, throwing her hands in the air.

“No,” Miranda gasped. “No, no, no, no–”

Benedict left his mother and ran to Miranda, sitting down next to her so he could wrap his arms around her and pull her into his strong embrace.

Aunt Pam turned a nasty sneer her way. “You are just like her. Rupert was supposed to be mine, but she manipulated him into a compromising situation so she could steal him from me. I tried to take him back when your mother was bedridden with you! When that didn’t work, though, I knew what I had to do. I had to get rid of her completely. You weren’t supposed to be born, but somehow she managed to deliver you before she died. That sneaky shrew couldn’t even die without ruining my plans.”

Tears spilled from Miranda’s eyes. “You…you wanted me to die as well?” she murmured.

Aunt Pam released a long breath. “Yes. I did. I wanted you both gone. Your father would never want me if you both were still around. I came to that conclusion when he rejected me the second time.”

At this point, the Earl had moved further away from Aunt Pam, his eyes blazing with fury. “I should have you arrested for this,” he snarled. “You should rot in jail for what you’ve done.”

Miranda released a whimper, fear shooting through her at the thought of Aunt Pam locked away in some horrible prison. Despite what she’d done and the horrible things she’d apparently had planned for her, Miranda couldn’t erase her love for the woman in an instant.

Still, she couldn’t even bear to look at her in that moment. She turned her face away with a shudder. “I’ll keep her locked away in the study until the constables are able to arrive,” Miranda’s father said. “She won’t get away with this.” With that, he grabbed Aunt Pam’s arm and began to drag her out of the room. “You’ll regret this,” Aunt Pam shrieked, glaring back at Miranda over her shoulder. “You think you’ll have a happy life? You won’t! You don’t deserve it!”

Before she could say more, though, the Earl got her out of the room and slammed the door behind them. Silence fell, broken only by Miranda’s soft sobs as Benedict continued to hold her.

“Well,” the Dowager said at length, clapping her hands together. “This has been…enlightening, I would say.”

Benedict pointed to the door. “Get out, Mother.”

The Dowager looked startled. “What? Benedict, you can’t really be angry at me. Not after everything that that woman just admitted to–”

“You are far from innocent in this,” he snapped at her. “I’ll deal with you presently, but for now, I need to comfort my wife. Now go!”

The Dowager opened her mouth, as if to protest further, but the angry look Benedict gave her had her pressing her lips together and nodding. Turning, she obediently hurried from the room, leaving Benedict and Miranda alone at last.

Benedict turned back to Miranda, his brow furrowed in concern. “Are you all right?” he murmured, cupping her cheek and holding her gaze.

She sniffled and shook her head. “No…I don’t think I am. How could…how could my aunt do that, Benedict? How could she hurt us like this?”

Benedict wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his chest. “I’m so sorry, My Love,” he told her. “I’m so sorry that this has happened. I promise, your aunt will pay for what she’s done, and I won’t let anything else like this happen to you again.”

Miranda hugged him back and sobbed into his chest, taking the comfort and strength that he offered her. Though her heart was breaking because of what her aunt had done, she felt comfort knowing that Benedict was there with her. She knew, without a doubt, that he wouldn’t leave her. Not again.

Their past was a patchwork of lies and deception, but after all they’d been put through, they now had each other. Miranda knew they would overcome this trial, just as they had overcome everything else that had been thrown at them throughout their lives.

Benedict was her happiness. Her future. Her love. No matter where life took them, so long as he was by her side, she would always be home.