Redemption by Rebecca King Read Free Book Online Page A

spoke,
Julian’s eyes slid away guiltily. He studied the floor beneath his
feet in a way that made Ben immediately suspicious. Something was
not right.
    He
stared at Julian suspiciously. “Where has she gone? What have you
done with her, Pendlebury?”
    “I won’t
have her whoring herself around the ballrooms. She has gone away
and won’t be back. Where she has gone is none of your business
though, so you are wasting your time standing here.”
    Before
Julian took two steps toward his study, Ben grabbed hold of his
shirt and threw him against the wall. The solid thump of his back
hitting the wooden panelling of the hallway was immensely
satisfying to Ben who tightened his hold menacingly. He took
advantage of Julian’s stunned disbelief to make it clear that
Julian was outclassed in both strength and size, and tightened his
hold further still to silence Julian’s instinctive
protests.
    “Where
is she, damn it? Tell me now, Julian, or I swear as God is my
witness I shall ensure you are barred entrance to every single
gaming house and whore house in London. After last night’s debacle
nobody of note wants anything to do with a scoundrel like you; not
even your gaming pals want anything to do with you if what I heard
at White’s this morning is right. You are a social pariah now and,
as far as I am concerned, you can remain that way for the rest of
your miserable life. However, I shall not allow you to drag Lizzie
into your foul ways. Tell me where she is, or I will search this
house from top to bottom in spite of you.”
    Julian
snorted derisively and waved toward the stairs nonchalantly, but
could do little to hide the worry that lingered in his
eyes.
    “Go on
then. Please, be my guest,” he said in a voice that shook with
fear. “Go and search, but you won’t find her here. Her room is at
the top of the stairs, second door along to the right. Go and see
for yourself. She has only taken the things she wanted to keep, the
rest is still there. She left before dawn this morning and won’t be
back in London. Ever.”
    Ben
stared at him and knew he was hiding something. “What have you done
with her, Julian?”
    “I
didn’t do anything with her,” Julian protested. He tried to prise
Ben’s fist off his shirt but to no avail. “I told her last night to
get out, so she went.”
    “You
threw her out?” Ben’s voice was deadly. He knew from the shifty way
Julian’s eyes darted frantically around the hallway that he had
done the unconscionable and cast his step-sister out of the
house.
    Guilt
immediately swept through Ben when he realised he should have done
more to stop her leaving the ball last night. That guilt quickly
turned to anger at Julian’s callous disregard of her, and drove him
to focus the full force of his fury on the man before
him.
    “Where
did she go? I hope for your sake that you know, Pendlebury. Surely
to God you didn’t just let her walk out of here with no idea where
she was going?”
    Julian’s
silence was condemnatory. Ben stared at him in horror as he
realised that Julian had, indeed, allowed Lizzie to leave the
house, and had no idea where she had gone. He slowly released his
hold on Julian’s throat and watched him slither down the wall and
regain his feet.
    “You
have, haven’t you? You have allowed you own step-sister to simply
walk out of here, and have no idea where she is. Does she have a
chaperone with her?”
    Julian
shook his head. “She is my step-sister,” Julian countered, finally
looking him in the eye. “You heard her declare last night, in front
of everyone, that I am no longer her guardian. I am therefore not
obliged to provide her with a roof over her head.”
    “You are
obliged man, of course you bloody are. You are her only relation,
damn it,” Ben snarled, disgusted at how any man could shirk his
familial duties in such a way.
    “I have
work to do,” Julian murmured quietly as he tugged ineffectually on
his cuffs and straightened his