Silent Revenge Read Online Free PDF Page A

had indeed left you a small inheritance,” Ira said deliberately. “I wish more than anything that on your twenty-fifth birthday you would not become one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest woman in England. I wish that I had the power to protect you from your stepbrother.”
    Jessica frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t know how he found out, but Lord Tanhill knows about your inheritance.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Because he has already contacted Percival Westchester, one of the foremost solicitors in all of England. I have a very close friend who works for Percival. As soon as you receive the money, your stepbrother intends to start proceedings against you.”
    “Against me? Why?”
    “To prove you incompetent. To prove that you cannot manage such a large amount of money by yourself.” Ira ran his fingers through his thinning hair. “Tanhill is beginning preparations to have himself placed as your legal guardian. He intends to prove you mentally incompetent. To have you put away. In an asylum. He wants the money and knows he must have you committed to get it.”
    Jessica couldn’t stand by herself any longer. Her knees gave way beneath her. If Ira hadn’t reached for her, she would have fallen to the floor.
    An asylum.
    A place where they locked away people society did not want to look upon, people who were different. Where abuse and mistreatment were common, and compassion and caring did not exist. Where society hid those who were blemished, and forgot them until they died.
    The thought of living amidst such squalor, filth, and disease scared her to death. The idea of being locked in a dank, dark cell of cold, gray stone with bars on the windows evoked enough fear to give her nightmares. Jessica had been plagued with them while Lord Tanhill lived in her home.
    “Can he do it?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer. Of course he could. He knew her secret.
    God help her, she was scared.
    She swallowed hard. “What can I do? How do I fight him?”
    “There’s only one way, Jessica. You must marry. You must find a husband who is strong enough to stand up to Tanhill.”
    Jessica shook her head. “I cannot marry!” She knew her voice was too loud. She knew she sounded like the crazy person her stepbrother, Colin, would have everyone believe she was. “Who would have me, Ira? Who in all of London would consent to marry a freak?”
    “You are not a freak.”
    “Explain the difference to the people who would walk on the other side of the street if they ever found out about me. Explain that to the people who would believe just as my stepbrother. That I should be put away.”
    “Marriage is your only solution.”
    She could not keep the despair out of her voice. “Don’t you understand? That is not a possibility. No male in all of England would take me as his wife.”
    “I’m afraid you’re wrong. There would not be an end to the number of men who would take you. If only for the money.”
    Jessica paced back and forth, voicing each concern aloud as if putting it into the open lessened its hopelessness. “Even if I could find someone who would agree to marry me, how would I know he wouldn’t put me away himself once he has the money?”
    “You don’t. You must choose someone strong enough to stand up to Baron Tanhill, and honorable enough to never betray you.”
    “I can’t do it, Ira. I can’t sell myself for money. I can’t trust any man enough to put my life in his hands.”
    “You have no choice. You cannot fight your stepbrother on your own, Jessica. He is the essence of everything evil. He will destroy you. I’m afraid only someone equally as ruthless can protect you from him.”
    “Are you certain Colin cannot harm me if I marry?”
    “Colin cannot touch your inheritance once you marry. Without your money, you are of no use to him. And, you will have a husband to protect you.”
    Tears streamed down her cheeks and she swiped them away. “But I don’t want to