“So you admit it. You killed my father. Your own brother.”

“Those events were not in the original plan. Your father would still be here—very much alive—if he’d stayed out of my affairs. I never bothered him about the business of the estate…I fail to understand why he would think it acceptable to interfere in my life.”

“Perhaps because you were using his land to break the law?” Alex said smartly.

“Ah, so you have looked at the information my brother left in the book. Something will have to be done about that.”

“Actually, I haven’t read anything in the volume. It’s just a rather obvious scheme you’ve concocted. You can do what you want to me, but someone else will discover that you are selling secrets to the French. You cannot kill everyone.”

“Once I destroy that book, I will have no need of killing anyone else. And to be clear, I was selling information to the French. Now I’m selling it to anyone who wants to buy. With no money and no land on which to make money, I have little opportunity to be discerning.” He turned back to Alex and said, “Now give me the book, girl. I have no more patience for this conversation.”

“I will not.”

“And I will not ask again!” Lucian’s voice rose, filled with anger. Alex flinched in response as he lifted the pistol and began to pull the hammer back.

“No!” Gavin exclaimed, his voice heavy with emotion. “Give him the book, Alex. Please.”

At the sound of his voice, Alex turned back to him, witnessing the pain in his eyes for the first time. “Why, Gavin? This book holds all the information we need to link him to your father’s death. Why would I give it to him? Would you see him go free?”

He didn’t respond, but Lucian did, laughing darkly. “How very sweet. My dear,” he said, speaking to Alex, “I imagine he’s willing to give up the information because he fancies himself in love with you. Don’t you see? Your life simply isn’t worth the pleasure of avenging his father’s death. It’s touching, really.”

Alex looked back at Gavin, who was deliberately not meeting her gaze.

“Let’s see if the opposite is also true,” Lucian said, and before she knew it, he was pointing his pistol at Gavin and cocking the handle.

“No!” she cried, unable to stop herself from reaching out a protesting hand toward him.

“Ah, young love,” he said with disgust in his voice. “So very predictable.” He looked back to Alex. “I’m no longer playing games. Give me the book.”

Alex stepped forward, tentatively, the book in her hands. She held the book out to him and he reached for it.

“Alex! No!” She turned her head, seeing Gavin jump up from his desk just as Sewell reached past the book and, before she could do anything, took hold of her wrist in a viselike grip, pulling her to him.

“Let go of her.” The words came in a low growl from across the room just as she felt the cool iron barrel of the pistol press against the side of her neck.

Blackmoor moved toward them, stopping only when Sewell warned, “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, Nephew. You wouldn’t want me to do something rash.”

Gavin’s fury was clear. “I have given you the benefit of the doubt throughout this ordeal, Uncle. But allow me to make myself plain…if you harm her in any way, you will wish it were you who had tumbled into the sea the day you killed my father.”

“What big words for such a young pup,” Sewell said viciously, gripping Alex more firmly, causing her to wince and Gavin to tense visibly. “I think I shall enjoy abducting your little friend. It’s time an Earl of Blackmoor learns he cannot have everything he wants.”

“So that is why you killed my father? Jealousy?”

“Your father had everything!” The high pitch of Lucian’s voice sent a jolt through Alex, who paled at the sound and the lack of control it betrayed. “Money, land, title, the most beautiful woman in London. He was the perfect earl, and he couldn’t stand having such an imperfect brother. He constantly sought out my flaws. Right up until the day he died.” He pushed on, and Alex sensed that he was losing his temper. “For our entire lives, it was always Richard who was strongest, smartest, most revered, who was the heir to the great Blackmoor earldom.

“And now it’s you…” he said to Gavin, with venom. “You who inherited the estate, the title…everything! You, the little brat who received all the love and acceptance that should have been mine!” Lucian’s voice was becoming more and more hysterical as he spoke, making Alex wince every time he hit a shrill pitch. “And what of me? Nothing! I was given no title, not even a minor one. I was bequeathed no lands. Instead, when I came of age, it was suggested I join the Navy and go to war to make my fortune. I have no family, except my fellow soldiers from the battlefield. We went to war, where we received no recognition and a pittance of a salary…and then I came home to discover that my brother had been working at the War Office and turning himself into a legend!”

Alex could feel him coming unhinged; she was keenly aware of his anger and frustration as he continued, “You’re no more than a child and now you are the earl? I fought for my country. Saved it! And I received nothing in return. So now I’m taking from you what you value most, because you deserve no more pleasure than your father did. I’m the one who deserves happiness. I’m the one who earned it.”

“Earned it?” Gavin asked incredulously, unwittingly pushing his uncle to the breaking point. “How, exactly, did you earn it? By killing your brother? Your flesh and blood?”