Reborn: The Duke’s Obsession

George, finally finding his voice, replied, his own tone weak and defensive. "Your Grace, I just…"

"Yes, I know," Eric interrupted him smoothly. "I know you want to take me down."

"What?" George asked, shocked by the direct accusation.

"I have a witness," Eric replied, a small, cold smile on his face. "Someone who saw you sneaking into my house while my wife was away."

The blood drained from George's face. He was completely and utterly shocked by this revelation.

"Yes," Eric continued with a smile, clearly enjoying George's terror. "I know you entered my home without permission. You snuck in when my housekeeper was busy with her work. You sure are full of surprises, Lord George." He then reached into his coat and brought out a different, fresher pamphlet—the new one, the one with the even more vicious lies that Evelin had just circulated. "And I also know what your dear sister, Evelin Pembroke, did. All of it."

He relaxed back in his seat, the picture of a man in complete control. "Well, it wasn't very hard to figure out, actually. After I captured the first pamphleteer who printed the story about your family's little public performance and your sister's lies, I was sure they would not give up so easily. I was sure they would go to another, more discreet pamphleteer to sell another, more vicious story. So, I simply hired someone to watch and trail your sister's every move."

He paused, letting his words sink in as he watched George's scared, pale face.

"So, let's see, Lord George," Eric began, listing their crimes as if he were a judge delivering a sentence. "You have committed trespassing and, since you stole a private document from my wife's room, you have also committed burglary. Then your sister, she is guilty of spreading false information and of defaming a highly respected Duchess." He chuckled, a cold, dangerous sound. "And by extension, she has degraded a noble member of the great Carson family. I could go on, of course."

He leaned forward, his expression now dead serious. "If I were to take your family's title, that little 'Lord' you bear now, I'm sure your father would be turning in his grave. I wonder what your poor father had to go through to acquire that title for his irresponsible son to have it taken away?"

He asked George but there was no answer. Well, wasn't expecting one. He continued " If I take all of your properties to compensate my wife and my family for the damages, and then have you and your sister arrested and thrown in prison with hard labor… I do wonder, Lord George, how will your poor, debt-ridden mother will survive?"

"Your Grace, please," George replied, his voice a desperate, pleading whisper. "This was all just an impulse on my part. I swear it. And my sister… I have told her many times to find a way to take down that horrible gossip and to offer a public apology. But she is immature. She is just a young lady who doesn't know what she is doing."

"Turn Anne in," Eric replied, his voice straight and firm, his expression shifting from calm to serious. He leaned forward on the table, his gaze now a piercing, unyielding force. "I do not care about your sister. I want to know about Lady Anne Ellington. Tell me how my wife's private marriage contract ended up in her hands, and tell me exactly how she is connected to what your sister did. If you tell me the full, unvarnished story, I will take your cooperation into consideration."

George swallowed hard, the sweat beading on his forehead. "Give me… give me some time," he stammered. "To confirm what happened with my sister."

Eric laughed again, a sound of pure, impatient disbelief. "Do you think you have time, Lord George? Once you are arrested and the official investigation begins, your chances of getting off are completely over."

George was silent.

"Well then," Eric said, his voice now a low, final threat. "Don't do anything at all if you truly want to find out what happens when you mess with my wife."

In an abandoned, dusty shop that Owen had picked out for their meeting, Delia sat beside the young boy. But this time, he was not eating. The mood was too serious, too tense for that. They had stayed in the abandoned shop, away from the prying, judgmental eyes of the public, because of the gossip that was now circulating everywhere.

"Why did you come out today, my lady?" Owen asked, his own young face full of a worried concern. "Aren't you afraid of what will happen when people see you?"

Delia reached out and gently ruffled his hair. "No, Owen," she replied, her voice calm and steady. "I am not afraid, because I know that I did not do any of those terrible things they are saying about me. Besides, I came to see you." She gently pinched his cheeks.

"Then why don't you defend yourself against those vile rumors, Lady Delia?" Owen said as he squeezed her hand, his own small gesture of support.

"Don't you worry," Delia replied. "I know the people who did this. And my husband has already hired someone to investigate the matter. As soon as we have all the news, and all the evidence, I will speak."

Owen, looking angry on her behalf, spoke again. "But the Carson family itself should have intervened by now! They should have shut the rumors down!"

"They have been going through a lot of their own troubles these days," Delia replied, her voice full of empathy for the family that had been so angry with her. "And His Grace, my husband, is already doing so very much for me. I feel that he is already stressed out enough as it is."

"But what about your revenge?" Owen replied. "How will you get it now that they have attacked you like this?"

Delia smiled, a slow, secret, and incredibly confident expression. "Don't you worry about that, Owen," she said. "I have something that I am already working on. And when I am done, I will just sit back and watch the great Carson family fight my battle for me, without me having to lift a single finger." She looked at the young boy, her eyes shining with a brilliant, strategic light. "And they will start their war with the Pembroke family, since Evelin and George Pembroke has so foolishly volunteered to be the first scapegoat."