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you see the estates go to ruin or transfer to Stewart Elliot ?”
    He
rolled his eyes. Not that again. His sister couldn’t bear the thought of their
cousin inheriting the title. All because Stewart used to put honey in her hair
when she slept and spilled wine on her dress at her coming out party.
    Stewart
could be a mule’s ass, but he’d been in love with her since they were kids.
Isabella thought him the lowest form of rodent she’d ever seen. She baited him
like a cat and he took her abuse with the stupidity of a devoted dog.
    “When
I marry, it will not be to some ignorant chit or some pedantic nitwit who will
drag me to an early grave with her nagging.”
    “Well,
by all means, choose then, but do not wait until you are gray and your pistol
is so rusted that it no longer fires.” Her gaze traveled down below the table.
    “I
shall ignore your terrible effort at vulgar humor. Don’t think that will sway
me.”
    “Then
perhaps this will.” She pulled a letter out of her reticule and handed it to
him.
    His
jaw dropped when he saw the familiar handwriting. His fingers traced it as if
he’d never seen its like before.
    “What
is this?”
    “Since
you obviously will not listen to me, perhaps you will listen to your father.”
    He
scanned the contents until his eyes came upon his given name and the word bride .
    Daniel needs the guidance of a good woman,
Bella. Without it, he is cast into darkness. I know, for I was just like him.
See that he finds a suitable bride, someone who is strong enough to challenge
him when his own nature leads him astray. A wife will not only tame him, she
will make him the better for it.
    With
trembling fingers, he refolded the letter, not able to continue. His eyes stung
and his chest burned. It had been twenty years since he’d found his father
ice-cold and withered, sprawled on the floor next to his chamber pot.
    What
if Bella had made it up? Another glance revealed that the paper was yellowed
and brown and the faded scrawl seemed too distinct to be a forgery. His father
had written the words, though he’d never said such things to Daniel. Why?
    Kit
stood, causing the Chippendale chair to fall back and nearly crash to the
floor. A footman caught it before it touched the Oriental carpet.
    “How
could you keep this from me?” he demanded. She’d obviously had this in her
possession for years. Why had she hidden it from him?
    Isabella
calmly rinsed her fingers in a small dish of water and wiped them dry with a
napkin before folding it into quarters and setting it down by her bowl. She
motioned to a servant, who pulled out her chair as she stood.
    “The
letter was addressed to me. If father had intended for you to see it, he would
have written the same to you. Since he did not, I can only conclude that it was
for my advisement rather than your own.”
    “And
yet you throw it in my face now because I will not comply with your wishes?” So
like Isabella. Though she disdained gambling, the woman was a sharp strategist
and master player. This was a ploy to force his hand.
    “I
do what needs must be done.” She stared at him. “What you will not do.”
    He
was done with her games. She had gone too far this time. Using his own grief
against him was a cruel maneuver.
    “And
I am done, madam.” He turned to his brother-in-law. “My lord, I think I shall
take my leave. I received a letter from our cousin Drake in Yorkshire. He wants
me to come as soon as I am done here. I think that is now.”
    Freddy
gave a brief nod. Obviously, he was too deep under his wife’s thumb to get
involved in this exchange. Kit didn’t blame him. A husband had to choose his
battles with a wife as tenacious as Isabella.
    Without
saying another word to his sister, Kit ordered his things to be sent to
Yorkshire, then went to the stables to get his horse.
    The Kittricks were a proud and
stubborn family. They were bred obstinate and cunning, which made for a dangerous
combination. Unfortunately, his sister