“Our guest will be waiting for us in the salon,” he said sternly. “Niall can answer your question after dinner.”
There was an authority in his voice which forced the Duchess to obey him. As if with an effort she turned her eyes from Lord Niall’s face and took the Duke’s arm. In a silence pregnant with repressed emotion they moved slowly up the stairs.
Iona followed with Lord Niall at her side and after a moment she realised that his eyes were searching her face as if he would ferret out her innermost secrets.
“You should have trusted me,” he said in a low voice. “I warned you that I was a dangerous enemy.”
“I am still not afraid of you, my Lord,” Iona replied defiantly, but even as she spoke the words she knew that they were untrue.
She was afraid of him, not for herself but for Hecto
