Pricing The Heart

Chapter 31

Eloise stood prisoner to her fear, uncertain what must be done as she stared at the face of the man she had hoped she would never see again. But he was indeed before her, his features gaunt, his face bearing more scars than she remembered; the most prominent of which ran from his crooked nose, over his left eye to his blond hairline.

How did he find her? No, she shook her head, the real question was why he came looking for her. What did he want? In the past, James had been desperate to rid himself of her. Certainly he didn't show up on her doorstep because he suddenly missed her. Something was amiss, only she couldn't figure out what it was.

"I see he's been taking fair care of ya," James said. "Ya gained weight." His icy gaze slid down the length of her, causing her to shrink back slightly.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is that why you're here?" she asked, squeezing the doorknob. "To see about my well-being?"

He turned his attention from her slippered feet to her face, a small smile tugging his chapped lips. "I don't give a rat's butte about ya."

"I'm certain you don't, James. If I was ever stupid enough to believe otherwise, you made it abundantly clear, through the horrific months of our marriage, you didn't," she accused, reminded of the trauma of being married to him.

"Marryin' ya was a mistake. Ya brought nothin' but bad luck."

She opened her mouth to point out the fact that she was the one who had suffered as a result of her marriage to James, not the other way around. But she decided against it, knowing well that James would never take responsibility for what he did.

"You did not come all this way to tell me just how unlucky you were to have married me, did you? If so, I have nothing to say to you." She made to slam the door, but James was quicker. With one easy swoop, he stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, wrenching her hand free of the doorknob. He dragged her forward, and holding her hand prisoner against his chest, grabbed her jaw.

"I'm 'ere for the rest of me money."

"What money?" The familiar cold claws of fear further enveloped her as she stared into his cold eyes; the old memories of his abuse rushing back.

"The one Lord David Clarke owes me. Ya see, I did some diggin' into the affairs of the man who robbed me of me wife before proceeding to beat me to a palp," he quirked a brow, and instinctively, she shifted her attention to the new scar on his face. It was then she realized it was as a result of the evening David rescued her from James's claws in the cottage.

"Turns out he's the son of a duke, this lord of yours. He's also worth a pretty penny."

"James..." She raised her hands to free her jaw from his grip, but he jerked her jaw forward, his fingers burying themselves further into her skin until she thought she might lose her head.

"Blimey near fooled me with the lousy shilling he paid to 'ave ya, when he could 'ave offered more. I was robbed, and I was assaulted, Eloise, and we both know I don't take too kindly to bof. But I'm willin' to let bygones be bygones as long as Lord David agrees to me terms of settlement."

Fighting to rid her mind of the fog of fear, Eloise grappled for a solution to her nightmare. Relief flooded her when she remembered Mr. Miles was only a breath away in the next room, but just as she opened her mouth to call for him, she thought of something else.

"What are your terms?" Perhaps if she knew the entirety of James's schemes, she beat him at his own game and rid herself of him forever. The last thing she needed was having to deal with the constant fear of him showing up on her doorstep.

"One thousand quid and all will be forgiven."

"You have to be mad as a hatter to believe my lord will pay a thousand pounds to keep me in his company." It was simply ridiculous considering the fact that David had made it abundantly clear with words and actions he wanted nothing to do with her. He would hand her back to James in a heartbeat if it came down to it.