Silent Revenge Read Online Free PDF

marry,” she whispered.
    “It’s the only way, Jessica.”
    She was loath to admit it, but this was the first time since the day she’d been locked in her imperfect world she had to admit she was helpless to survive alone.
    “I’m afraid, Ira.”
    “I know. I’m afraid too.”
    Jessica took a handkerchief and wiped the traitorous tears that trickled down her cheek. “Ira, I don’t have much time left.”
    “I know,” he answered.
    She steeled her shoulders with all the determination she could muster.
    She would be twenty-five in six days.
     

     
    Jessica paced the drawing room like a caged animal. She knew what Colin was like. She knew firsthand the cruelty that came naturally to him. She knew the meanness that was a part of his personality. There wasn’t another man alive who was strong enough or intimidating enough to hold his own against him.
    She sat down on the sofa and dropped her head to her hands. She was exhausted. It had been hours since Ira had left her, reemphasizing the need for her to find a husband as quickly as possible.
    The shadowed figure of the tall, imposing man who’d dared to face the ton flashed before her. Jessica forcefully pushed it away. She refused to let his image become a reality. He may have had the courage to stand up to the ton, but that didn’t mean he could withstand the deviousness of which Colin was capable.
    She walked to the window. There was nothing but blackness out there. Nothing but the quiet silence of a town gone to bed.
    Mel said Northcote was her husband’s closest friend. She said the Duke of Collingsworth would trust him with his life. Surely if Collingsworth thought so highly of him, he was honorable enough to protect her. And, she knew he was desperate for enough money to pay his creditors and save his estate.
    She closed her eyes and the Earl of Northcote appeared again. This time she let his formidable stature and blatant strength envelop her. She let her mind focus on the challenging glare in his eyes and the unyielding force in his gaze. She let his power and dominance cover her and for a moment she felt at peace. She felt safe.
    Was it possible?
    A stab of frantic indecision clutched at her insides. He had, after all, evoked terror in all of London’s nobility. She’d seen it. Colin would not dare challenge him.
    Jessica rationalized that question using the same sense of order with which she solved every problem. Hadn’t Mel told her how desperate he was to find a rich wife? Wasn’t he about to lose everything if he didn’t marry someone with enough money to save his inheritance? Marriage to her would be a perfect solution with no risk to either of them.
    She would be safe from her stepbrother, and the earl would gain back everything that belonged to him. She would never make any demands of him, and upon thinking of it, she was confident he would never expect her to publicly play the role of his wife. Especially when he found out her secret.
    She sat on the edge of the sofa, digesting the decision she had just made. It felt right. Placing her life in his hands terrified her, but not as much as knowing what her stepbrother was capable of doing to get the money. Not as much as being certain of the hell she would live locked in an asylum.
    With determined resolve, she turned and reached for the bell rope. “Hodgekiss, have the carriage brought round.”

Chapter 3
     

     
    S imon stretched his long legs before the fireplace and leaned back in the large burgundy leather chair. The comfortable wingback happened to be one of the few pieces of furniture that remained in his London town house.
    He fingered the three-cornered hole in the leather, thankful for the flaw that had saved it from being pawned. He was also thankful for the mar in the headboard of a bed upstairs as well as the loose leg on his desk and the imperfections of a few other damaged pieces scattered throughout the house.
    He looked at the meager belongings in his study, then lifted the