Rainwater traced the line of his cheekbones, slipping down until it vanished into the cor of his white shirt.

His gaze was stillced with the cold arrogance of someone used tomand. “First of all, I don’t care who you are-I can make you shut up if I want. Second, are you Bet, or are you…”

He stopped short, letting the usation hang in the air.

Earlier today, gossip had swept through their circle, wild stories that Beckett hadn’t died-that it was Bet who was gone instead.

It was an oundish rumor, but every rumor starts somewhere.

Justin narrowed his eyes, sizing up the man in front of him. From everything he knew of Beckett, he was almost certain-ny-nine percent, at least-that this was him.

After all, Bet would never stir up this kind of trouble on a stormy night

like this.

And Bet certainly wouldn’t care so much about who Edith was going

to marry.

That thought made Justin’s brow furrow, a faint tension rising in his chest. Maybe it was the cover of darkness that gave Beckett the confidence to drop his mask, or maybe it was just that there were only the two of them here. Either way, Beckett shed a cocky grin and said, “I’m the man Edith cares about most. I’m not here to waste time with you-I came to see her, not you. Where is she? Where are you hiding her?”

The man Edith cares about most?

The words struck Justin like a p.

So did Beckett’s proud, reckless attitude.

Beckett was already acting like the victor, as if all he had to do was reveal

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his true identity and Edith woulde running, ready to throw everything

else away.

A p of thunder split the sky, briefly illuminating the disappointment etched on Justin’s face.

But as the rumble faded, hisposure returned. He straightened, every inch the man in control. “She told me she doesn’t want to see you. If you try to bother Mrs. Sumner again, I swear you’ll leave here on crutches

next time.”

With that ultimatum, Justin turned and headed back toward the guest

house.

Beckett moved quickly, grabbing Justin’s arm-but there were men in the Hawksley family who were even quicker. The bodyguards rushed over, grabbing Beckett and pinning his arms behind his back.

Justin nced Beckett up and down, silent, then walked away without

another word.

The butler, who had been waiting nearby, hurried over with an umbre, holding it up for Justin and asking quietly, “Mr. Hawksley, are you all right? Shall I fetch the doctor?”

Justin waved him off. “No need.”

Beckett, still struggling in the grip of the bodyguards, shouted after him, “Who the hell do you think you are? Stop pretending! If you’ve got the guts, let me see Edith-don’t keep her locked away!”

Justin’s expression darkened. The butler noticed and shot the guards a look, silently ordering them to get this loudmouth out of sight.

Upstairs, in the darkness of her bedroom, Edith stirred from a light sleep, roused by the damp chill in the air and the steady drip of water.

She blinked her eyes open, squinting to make out the figure moving quietly across her room.

It was Justin.

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He was rummaging through her wardrobe, trying not to make a sound.

Edith sat up and switched on the bedsidemp, her voice groggy with sleep. “Mr. Hawksley, what are you looking for? Why don’t you turn on the light?”

Now that the room was lit, she could see him clearly.

Justin was drenched, his white shirt clinging to every curve of his body, outlining the strong, lean muscles beneath.

His abs, the faint lines tracing down his hips-

Just one nce, and Edith felt her heart skip a beat.

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