The Revenge of Lord Eberlin Read Online Free PDF Page A

if he was mad. “Time for what?”
    One of his dark brows had risen. “Is it not obvious?”
    She’d thought he was toying with her. “On the contrary, my lord, there is nothing obvious about your call or the ill will you hold for Ashwood.” She’d meant to put the man on notice that he spoke to a countess.
    But Eberlin had disregarded her regal bearing. He’d disregarded protocol and propriety, too, and had moved closer, studying her face so intently that Lily’s pulse had fluttered.
    “You are as beautiful as I knew you would be,” he’d said, shocking her again. Lily’s pulse had quickly gone from fluttering to racing. She’d been able to feel the raw power of seduction in him as his gaze had lingered on her décolletage, on her mouth. “Perhaps even more so.”
    Men had flirted with Lily all her adult life, but she’d never felt so . . . exposed, or quite so vulnerable. “I beg your pardon,” she’d said stiffly.
    Something had flickered in his eyes, but they’d quickly shuttered. “Do you truly not know who I am?”
    A tiny spasm of trepidation had slithered through her.
    “Perhaps this will stir your memory. My name is Tobin. Do you recall me now?”
    Lily had seen it then, that vaguely familiar thing. It was the face of the boy who had been her companion. She’d not seen him since the day of his father’s trial, when he’d stared daggers at her as she’d testified about what she’d seen. “Tobin,” she’d whispered as her brain accepted that the boy was now this handsome, strangely alluring man. “I can scarcely believe it is you.”
    “Surprised, are you?” His gaze had turned hard and cold.
    “Yes,” she’d answered honestly. “I never knew . . . I never knew where you’d gone. And your name, Eberlin—”
    “A title that derives from an estate I own in Denmark.”
    “Denmark? But how—”
    “I have returned to Hadley Green and Tiber Park with but one goal in mind,” he’d said, interrupting her. “Would you like to know what that is?” With a cold smile, Tobin had carelessly, boldly, caressed her cheek with his knuckle, tracing a line to her mouth. “To destroy Ashwood.” He’d said it low, almost as if he were speaking to a lover.
    Lily had gasped and jerked away from his hand.
    “I’ll not rest until I have.” With that, he’d walked out of her salon, leaving Lily to stand there, her heart beating with the strength of a thousand wings.
    Every time she thought of that afternoon, she felt a strange flutter. He clearly held her responsible in some part for his father’s demise, but she was not going to accept that from him. She had her own demons—she did not intend to adopt his as well.
    Nor did she intend to let him win.

THREE

     
    B enedict Sibley was in fine spirits, having convinced himself that his mastery of the law had helped earn Count Eberlin a favorable ruling. However, Benedict Sibley was a middling solicitor and a fool: the judge had been bought, just like everything else in Tobin’s life. The victory was expected.
    But Tobin was denied the small victory of seeing Lily Boudine’s face when the ruling was delivered; she was not in attendance.
    Mr. Goodwin, Ashwood’s solicitor and a formidable opponent, had known he’d lost before the magistrate had even been seated. Still, he’d given a good fight, and when the inevitable had come, and the one hundred acres had been ruled as belonging to Tiber Park, Mr. Goodwin had sought at the very least to shame Tobin. He’d accused him of preying on an innocent woman and stealing the land from beneath her feet.
    Tobin was beyond shame and had been for many years.
    It was Sibley’s idea that they have a celebratory pint of ale at the Grousefeather, and Tobin obliged him. As they walked out of the common rooms where the hearing had been held, Tobin spotted the Ashwood coach, with its showy plumes and crest. He imagined Mr. Fish and Mr. Goodwin giving Lily the news, of how she would blink her big green eyes