Teeth flashed. “I know.”
He knew but he didn’t care.One day, you will know what it feels like to fall flat on your face in love. See if I don’t meddle in your life then! In fact, why don’t I just play matchmaker and find you a lady that will keep you on your toes?
For now, Harriet just hoped her husband would arrive soon so she could get out of these bindings.
Her father, on the other hand . . .
This entire situation was ridiculous. Utterly absurd. Beyond ludicrous.
Rohan Graves, just you wait!
*
The moment Crombyappeared in Will’s line of sight, he threw a punch. No hesitation.
Cromby hit the floor instantly. Breathing, but otherwise lifeless.
“What now?” Hatton asked, raising his brow. “Didn’t we want to question him?”
Will shook out his hand. He had wanted to do that ever since that night at White’s. “He will wake up soon.” He turned to Calstone. “Search the house.”
Calstone nodded and motioned to the servants who had followed them in. “We’ll leave no stone unturned.”
He’d been holding in his anger, the chaos brewing inside since he’d learned of his wife’s disappearance. Cracks now began to form in his calm, spilling out tendrils of panic. The details the ladies had provided hadn’t helped narrow down Harriet’s kidnappers or where they might have taken her. He’d nearly worn the carpet thin while waiting for Rochester to send news.
But when Hatton had burst into his home, waiving a newspaper in hand, all his good intentions had turned to smoke. After calming the furious man down, assuring him he had not hurt his daughter and that he didn’t have a damn mistress, he couldn’t hide the fact that Harriet had been taken.
There was really only one way to put it.
Hatton had exploded in a fit of rage.
Will nudged the unconscious Cromby with a boot. Something felt off. No matter how he looked at it, Cromby was a coward. Harriet probably wasn’t in this house. If Crombywasbehind Harriet’s kidnapping, then most likely he had one of his henchmen do the work.
Hatton stepped up beside Will. “I regret it, you know.”
Will turned to his-father-law, not needing to be an expert in fatherhood to know what the man meant. “I know.”
“Does she hate me?”
“She is hurt,” Will admitted. “But she is your daughter. She doesn’t hate you.”
Hatton sighed. “I knew she would object to the marriage, which was why I never told her. I believed I was doing the right thing. She’s always had a romantic heart, but I feared for her future.”
“That is no excuse,” Will said, then sighed. “You should have informed her, and I should have courted her. We are both in the wrong.”
“She was like this when I married Delia, too.”
Will arched a brow. “You didn’t inform her of that wedding, either.”
Hatton pursed his lips. “It was because I married right after my mourning period ended.”
Ah.
Will could not imagine how Harriet must have felt. She had felt pushed out by Hatton and his new family, but it wasn’t Will’s place to tell his father-in-law that. He doubted Harriet had, and she wouldn’t appreciate it if he did so in her absence.
“It’s no use dwelling on past mistakes,” Will said. “We can only go forward from here.”
Hatton nodded. “My invitation for dinner still stands.”
