All thoughts of his mother, the letter, and the king flew from Will's mind. He launched himself across the room at the man who had tried to take what was his.

And Will couldn't lie. He enjoyed the way Trevor's eyes grew wide as he closed in on him.

Will pulled his fist back, intending to punch Trevor square in his traitorous face, but then Emilia slid between them. Though forced to abruptly drop his arm, Will's momentum carried him forward until the three of them were within a hair's breadth away from each other.

"Get out of the way, Emilia," Will demanded, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders to move her aside.

"Wait!" she protested. Her feet planted themselves firmly on the ground between them. "He says he has answers, Will."

"And he can tell them to me after he gets what he deserves," Will growled, wrapping an arm around Emilia's waist and hoisting her to his side. After depositing her, Will turned to see an alarmed Trevor backing slowly toward the door. "Oh no, you don't," Will said, grabbing the man's cravat and pulling him close. "How convenient of you to come to us, Lord Trevor."

"If you would just listen, Trotten. I wanted to talk to you," Trevor began, his voice calm despite his position within Will's firm grasp.

"I'm not very interested in talking," Will snarled.

"Will!" Emilia exclaimed. "Good Lord, be reasonable." He could hear the exasperation in her voice and ignored it. He didn't understand how she could be so indifferent to Trevor's punishment. Didn't she want revenge for what he did to her?

Images of Emilia as she had sat, disheveled on the floor of the inn's guestroom, flashed through Will's mind. His anger grew to a new level.

Tugging on Trevor's cravat again, Will twisted it together and jerked so that the man was gasping for air.

"I am being reasonable," Will replied tightly. "I haven't killed him yet, have I?"

"What's going on?"

Will's focus shifted to see Theo enter the room behind Trevor. The duke's expression transformed from curious to startled as he surveyed the events before him.

"Oh, thank goodness," Emilia muttered, standing with her arms crossed next to Will. "Theo, could you please tell him to let Trevor go? He has something important to tell us about the blackmail and the letters."

Theo glanced from his sister to Will, raising one brow in response. He moved closer to where Will stood with Trevor. "Will," he said carefully, "why don't you let the man go so we can see what he has to say?"

Will glowered at him. This measured response wasn't what Will had expected from Theo.

If Kingfield could stand there calmly, perhaps Will was overreacting. He reluctantly released Lord Trevor, who then took the time to readjust his cravat while Will glared at him. When he had finished straightening himself, Trevor looked between the three of them slowly.

The moment his gaze landed on Theo, the duke drew his hand back and punched him straight in the nose. A loud crack echoed through the room, filled with the sound of Theo's fist smashing against flesh and bone.

There was a garbled cry as Trevor doubled over in pain, clutching his nose, which was now spurting blood across Will's carpet. Not that he cared about the condition of the rugs. He was too busy mentally applauding Theo. This was more what he had been expecting from his future brother-in-law.

"What the hell!" Trevor yelled, straightening to glare at Kingfield.

"If you ever so much as look at my sister again, I'll break the rest of your bones, too," Theo threatened coolly. His eyes were hard and unyielding as he spoke the words.

Will couldn't keep a smirk off his face.

"Now," Theo continued, "what do you have to tell us?"

There was a silence while Trevor seemed to be considering his next move. He didn't seem eager to share his news any longer.

Will raised a brow. "I wouldn't renege on us now, Trevor. Because then I'd have no reason not to pick up where I left off. And Kingfield doubtless wouldn't mind joining in, either."

Trevor sighed, his mouth still covered by the hand that was clutching his nose. "I know." He let go of his nose to untie his cravat and used it to press against his bleeding nostrils. Then, he turned toward Emilia, and Will heard a distinct growl come from Theo.

"I believe he told you to not even look at my future wife," Will snapped.

Trevor's eyes slid to meet his own before saying, "So you are actually going to marry her now, Trotten?"

Will wondered what would happen if he hit him in the face, as well. Could a nose break twice?

Trevor likely saw the flash of danger in Will's eyes and threw his hands up in defeat. He sighed, saying, "If you would merely permit me to apologize." Trevor emphasized the last word, his demeanor agitated. But Will was only further agitated by the other lord's agitation. How dare Trevor waltz into his home and expect cordiality when he'd done what he had done?

He glanced at Emilia, who indicated it was permissible with a brief nod of her head. So, Will gave a terse nod, but only for Emilia's sake. She deserved to be showered in apologies, not that Will believed it would truly make a difference. As Trevor directed his attention back toward Emilia, Will moved to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist and squeezing.

He realized that he was acting possessive, but he did not care. His intention was merely to give Emilia his support as she faced Trevor. If the side effect of that was the very expressive message that Emilia was his...well, Will supposed that was alright, too.

"Lady Emilia," Trevor said, speaking with some difficulty with his undoubtedly broken nose. "I do not believe that you will ever be able to forgive me for what I have done. But I must specifically apologize for my actions when I...overindulged."

He cleared his throat, and Will gripped Emilia tighter. Will was changing his mind. He didn't want to listen to this apology. He desired to rip Trevor limb from limb instead.

"I am not myself when I drink," Trevor continued. "It is why I have been trying to avoid the habit. I'm aware that it is not an excuse, but I have never felt so ashamed of myself for something I have done. I woke on the floor not long after you had knocked me out—rightly so, I might add—and my brain had cleared just a little. I did not know what to say to you. So I merely stayed there, even though I heard you trying to break through your ties. I stayed there, hating myself."

"Yes, well," Will cut in, having had enough of Trevor's words. "You are not the only one who hates you."

Will had every intention to continue in telling Trevor exactly how much he hated him but held his tongue when he heard Emilia's heavy sigh.

****

Emilia could not do this right now.

She only stopped Will from attacking Trevor so that they could hear what the man had to say about Will's mother and the letters, and now they had derailed so far from that.

Emilia could see, however, the regret in Trevor's eyes as he apologized. She couldn't question his sincerity because she had seen for herself the change that overcame Trevor after he stumbled into the room lost in liquor.

She found it odd, though, that he had not mentioned an apology for kidnapping her in the first place. If he hadn't done that, they would never have been in the inn. They would never have had that drunken encounter.

Deciding to push that to the side for the moment, Emilia impatiently said, "Yes. Yes, that is all fine, Trevor. Now, why have you come here? What answers do you have for us?"

"Well," Trevor began hesitantly, "I mostly came to apologize. I went to Kingfield House first, and when no one was there, decided to check here."

"I give you credit," Theo admitted, though his actions spoke for what he thought of Trevor's apologies. He was slowly rolling up each sleeve of his shirt, intently staring at the man. "Coming here was a bold move."

Emilia ignored her brother and looked at Trevor expectantly, waiting for him to continue. But he was distracted, watching Theo warily. "I knew you'd come for me, anyway. Figured I'd get ahead of it."

"How do you know of the king blackmailing me?" Will jumped in, causing Trevor to twist back to Emilia and Will.

He appeared startled. As if he had forgotten they were there. Emilia supposed that Theo's menace could unhinge a person. "Your mother told me," Trevor said simply. "And I heard what you were saying before I entered the room. I can help. I wish to help you."

Will dropped his grip around Emilia's waist and stalked toward Trevor. "You have to understand that I have oh, so many questions about that," Will said in a low voice.

Lord Trevor breathed deeply and then winced in pain. He dabbed his bloody cravat against his nose a few times, though it was no longer bleeding. "What are your questions, Trotten?"

"Let us see," Will said, tapping his finger against his chin in mock consideration. "How do you know my mother? Why would she tell you about the blackmail? And why would you wish to help us?"

Trevor let loose a sharp laugh. "The last question is the easiest. I thought it might reduce my chances of more broken bones."

Will shrugged. "That remains to be seen."

Trevor rolled his eyes, and Emilia could see the way Will's muscles tightened in response. But she only grew more impatient to hear the answers to the questions that Will had asked. This whole blackmail business was the reason her life had been derailed, and she desired to know everything.

"Could you explain already, Trevor?" she pleaded.

"It would be a lot easier if your brother and your...betrothed?" He jerked a thumb at Will in a questioning expression, wondering if it was confirmed that they were engaged to be married. Will's head whipped around to see Emilia's reply, and she couldn't help but smile as she nodded. She had to nod. She loved the damn man.

Will smirked before turning back toward Trevor. "Right," Trevor continued. "It would be a lot easier if your brother and betrothed would stop threatening me." Trevor raised his brows and added, "You are welcome, by the way."

Will closed the distance between him and Trevor and spat, "Do not dare imply that you deserve any amount of gratitude. Your...antics had nothing to do with our relationship."

Trevor backed away from Will, leaning against the shelf as he continued to nurse his nose. He shrugged. "You are saying that your betrothal had nothing to do with almost losing the chance to be together?"

Emilia had to agree with Will. Well, at least she did if what he told her was true—that he went to Kingfield House to propose the other morning. So, Emilia decided to cut off the conversation. "It did not."

Trevor raised another brow but didn't argue his point further. Thankfully, he acquiesced to her request instead.

"I did not know your mother until recently," he said. "She approached me, knowing that I needed money. Knowing that my father had cut me off."

"How does she know such things?" Will questioned, trying to comprehend as he rubbed his temples.

"I believe most people knew that," Theo replied. "It was in Mischief in Mayfair."

"How does Lady—"

"Madame Mischief," Emilia said loudly over Will's words. At first, he appeared perplexed at her direct injection, but then the realization hit him, and he nodded in understanding.

"Yes, how does Madame Mischief know such things?" Will modified.

Trevor merely shook his head. "I wish I knew how the lady does it. But your mother said she would get me the funds that I needed. Of course, I was required to help her in return. I needed to woo, court, and marry Lady Emilia."

"What?" Will cried.