Milan winced. “Katerina,” he admonished. She only blinked at him.
“You’re right,” Raphael said, startling them both. “I should have been here when I said I would. Truly, I apologise.”
Katerina, being as skilled as she was, managed to make a noise that conveyed both approval and disgruntlement.
“Come join us,” Milan said, holding out his hand.
“Yes,” Katerina said as Raphael sat down. “We were just discussing Jason’s intentions towards your husband. I would be so interested to hear your opinion.”
Milan rolled his eyes, sighing, but Raphael nodded his head. “My opinion is that Milan is easy to be interested in, and I would not be surprised if Jason is one such fellow, and that Milan is loyal to a fool like me.”
Not even Katerina seemed to be able to pick apart that response. Milan squeezed Raphael’s hand, grinning at him.
“What we were actually discussing,” Milan said, “was my correspondence with my family. Imane is courting.”
“That’s wonderful news.”
“Yes.” Katerina, of course, had to jump in. “There might be a wedding. Milan was just saying that he so wished that he could attend.”
Milan looked at the ceiling in exasperation.
“Well, yes, of course you would,” Raphael said. Milan turned to look at him. “I would love to meet your family.”
“You’d come? But what about the estate?” Milan asked, shocked.
“Well—I’d be able to delegate most things. If we travelled quickly, we could make it to the South in less than two weeks.”
“If we slept on the horse, perhaps.”
“If we took a crawler all the way there. There are ones for quick travel. They are not terribly comfortable, but they are efficient.”
“Oh,” Milan said. “Yes, I didn’t think of that.”
“Well.” Katerina sniffed. “How splendid.”
“You could come too, Katerina,” Milan suggested. “You and Gianna.”
Katerina flushed slightly. “Yes, well. That does sound appealing.”
“Well, then. It’s a plan. Not that my sister is planning a wedding yet—we are getting far ahead of ourselves.”
Raphael kissed Milan’s forehead. “It’s good to have something to look forward to.”
Milan swayed towards him, grinning. Katerina cleared her throat pointedly, and Raphael looked at her.
“I heard one of your staff is sick with a chest cold, Miss Rosewood. Please let me know if she needs anything. I know that you can provide for her, of course, but if her family needs any extra food…”
Katerina blinked at him. “Oh. Well, thank you. She is recovering, but I’ll keep it in mind.”
Raphael nodded and then leaned towards the low table to grab a sandwich. “Oh, these are my favourite.”
Milan threw Katerina a smug look, knowing Raphael was making a good impression. Katerina huffed, but Milan could see her trying to hide a smile.
If Raphael could win over even Katerina, Milan knew the game really had been won.
**********
And so, Milan thought, this was the end of the beginning. After all their trials, Milan believed he had found someone to happily spend his life with. The villagers, the workers, his apprenticeship, his friendships—there was a life here for him. This was where the fairy tale ended, and the ‘happily ever after’ begun.
Of course, it only took thinking that for disaster to strike.
Milan had been out with Lima and Pax when his chest suddenly seized. Horror, nausea—it was as if a phantom had passed through him and left a trace of their death behind.
Without even thinking about it, he started running back to the manor. Something terrible had happened to Raphael, and Milan’s fear joined the one that was spilling through the bond.
Milan crashed into the study to find Raphael hunched over his desk, face paler than Milan had ever seen him, expression frozen in a cold terror that had Milan stumbling to get to him.
“What is it?” Milan said, his heart racing, falling to his knees beside him. “Raphael, what is it?”
That was when Milan noticed Raphael was clutching a piece of paper. Milan’s mind immediately went to a notice of death—but whose death would make him look like that? Milan’s thoughts jumped to their marriage—what if it had been annulled? What if it had been a mistake and the forces that be were sending Milan back?
Milan grasped Raphael’s stiff hands. “What is it? Please, what is it?”
Raphael finally looked at him. “Jack…” he croaked. Milan’s heart thundered even louder. “He…he’s coming here. He’s claiming wrongful divorce, and that he is owed part of the estate and that he is suing for it.”
Milan gaped. “That’s…preposterous.”
After seeing Raphael be rebuilt piece by piece. After seeing him flourish, opening before Milan to reveal sweetness and patience and love, Jack thought he could come and destroy what had been so painstakingly cared for?
Rage replaced fear in one swift wave. Milan jumped to his feet. “Raphael, listen to me,” he said, tilting Raphael’s chin up. “That is not going to happen. I—we—are not going to let it happen.”
Raphael blinked, seeming to regain some of his composure.
“Right—give me the address of your solicitor, of your accountant, Mister Gale, and the head of police. I will send an urgent note to them right now. Whilst I am doing that, you are going to grab every bit of proof I know you have stored away of what Jack did to the estate whilst he was married to you.”
“He didn’t do—it was the accountant. There’s no proof against Jack.”
“Yes there is—the accountant’s and your and Ingrid’s and Orson’s testimony. Do you think that accountant is loyal to Jack, the vermin? No. They will help—that’s why you were quick enough to keep them. Husband—you can do this. We can do this.”
Raphael looked dazed, but there was a little more colour in his cheeks. Part of Milan wanted to give him some tea and have him recover, but he knew that leaving Raphael with an idle mind would be counterproductive.
Raphael nodded and got up. Milan’s chest swelled with pride, and he gave Raphael a kiss on the cheek before sitting down to scribble three concise but informative notes. He grabbed the addresses from Raphael and went downstairs to have them taken to town to the quick-messenger there along with enough money to cover the cost.
“Give this note to the constable yourself,” Milan ordered, knowing that would be the fastest route, as the address was well known. The accountant and solicitor also lived in the village, so Milan saw no reason why the three of them couldn’t be at the manor by tonight at the latest.
That done, Milan returned upstairs to the study, where he found Raphael staring blankly at a few stacks of paper. Milan placed his hand on Raphael’s arm, turning him gently so they were looking at each other. He cupped Raphael’s face, stroking his thumbs across high cheekbones.
“Do you doubt me?” Milan asked.
Raphael’s eyes focused, looking at Milan.
“Do you think I would allow that worm to ever touch you, or anything that is yours, ever again? I will rip apart the whole continent before I let that happen, Raphael. Do you hear me? You are not alone anymore. Jack has no power over you. This is a tactic of fear.”
Raphael closed his eyes, dropping his head down so that their foreheads pressed together. “You don’t know what he’s like.”
“No, but you do. And you know me. Who would win in a fight?”
Raphael laughed slightly. “You.”
“Exactly. He has no grounds. If he did, he would have asked for this when you divorced. This is a desperate move, and we will reveal it as such.”
Raphael nodded, looking more lively.
“Now, how about we take a walk to clear our heads. We’ll look at these papers after, and wait for the rest of our team to arrive.”
Raphael nodded again, looking like he would agree to any of Milan’s suggestions if only to sta
y away from his own mind. “All right.”
Milan smiled. “And if that scoundrel tries to take a step towards you, Lima and Pax will be on him before he can blink. They can smell a rat a mile away.”
Raphael laughed again. “All right.” He paused, looking at Milan intently. “Thank you.”
Milan shook his head. “You don’t need to thank me. I am your bonded, Raphael. I will protect you with my dying breath.”
“Let’s not let it come to that.”
“Oh, please. That pathetic little man won’t even wind me.”
“Of course not.” Raphael chuckled.
“All right. Let’s go.”
*****
It was only grim faces after Milan and Raphael had explained, with as much detail as the latter could stand, what the situation during his marriage had been, and what Jack was demanding now. The constable, Missus Lint; the accountant, Mister Gale; and the solicitor, Miss Claude, had read the letter that Jack had sent Raphael.
“This Jack fellow is stipulating that he is to stay here at the manor whilst this is being resolved,” Miss Claude said.
Milan could not contain his temper as Raphael’s face drained of blood—he banged his fist on the table. “Absolutely not.” He turned to the constable. “I assure you, Missus Lint, if that man so much as steps beyond the tree line, I will shoot him myself.”
“Well—we don’t want that,” she replied. “I’ll do what I can.”
Miss Claude placed the letter on the table. “He has no grounds on which to demand that. Even if he was owed half of the estate, he has not won the suit yet, and therefore would be trespassing if he were to enter without permission.”
“There you go,” Missus Lint said. “No need for any shooting. You can send us a message if he appears.”
“I’m not promising anything,” Milan grumbled, smiling slightly at Raphael when he squeezed his hand. “We are all in agreement, then. Jack will not be tolerated on the estate. His suit is preposterous, but it will be solved with minimal interaction from Raphael. He can answer any questions and provide documents, but there is no need to interact with Jack.”
Raphael let out a slow breath, shooting Milan a grateful look, having agreed beforehand that Milan should do most of the talking.
Miss Claude nodded. “I will take with me the documents about the past accountant’s dealings and contact him.”
“If he doesn’t respond,” Missus Lint said, “I’ll send one of my people to collect him.”
Mister Gale coughed. “And if anybody wants me to look at any documents and verify the condition the estate’s books were in when I was hired, I’d be happy to do so.”
Milan smiled. “Perfect. Thank you so much, everybody. If that is everything?” Everybody nodded. “Then we’ll be in touch soon.”
Milan walked them to the front door, thanking them again before returning quickly to Raphael. He found him slumped on a couch, looking exhausted. Milan sat beside him, taking his hand.
“How are you?” Milan asked. Raphael shook his head.
“I do not know how I am, only that I am grateful to you.” Raphael wrapped an arm around Milan’s middle so that they were pressed side-by-side.
“You and me, Husband. You’re not alone.”
Raphael looked down at him seriously. Milan felt the bond flare. “No. I’m not.”
Milan smiled, brushing a kiss to his lips before cuddling close.
Milan had not a doubt—Jack was no match for them.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
As Milan had been both expecting and preparing for, a note was sent that Jack was headed their way.
“I don’t want to see him,” Raphael said quietly. Milan knew that Raphael had the fear that Jack would somehow enchant him again—take him back to that place filled with fear, where Raphael had only wanted to please him.
“And you don’t have to. I’ll ride to meet him.”
“Milan—” Raphael protested, but Milan cut him off.
“Husband. Believe me—I will enjoy it. There is no need to worry.”
“You are being asked to do too much.”
“Who is asking? I’m offering. Trust me, Raphael. I’ll take care of it.”
In the end, Milan managed to convince him that he would go meet Jack, with the condition that Milan could not do anything that would get him arrested.
A crawler appeared in the distance not long after that. Raphael looked pale as Milan mounted Saturnus, but Milan’s heart was racing more with excited anticipation than anything else.
Perhaps he couldn’t blast a hole through the man who had hurt his husband, but he could threaten to. It would be almost as fun.
Before Milan knew it, Saturnus was rearing before the crawler, stopping it in its path. It took just a few seconds for who could only be Jack—a skinny man with sharp features and cunning eyes, hair thick and a dark brown—to step out of the crawler.
Milan sat proudly on Saturnus, who also seemed displeased at the company, stomping closer before backing off.
“You are trespassing,” Milan called out coldly. Jack raised his eyebrows in what looked like amusement.
“I don’t believe I am. Who are you?”
“Pretending you don’t know? What a bore you are. I am Raphael’s husband and bonded, and this is our estate. If you believe your silly lies owe you even a square meter of this, you are more deluded than I thought.”
Jack’s mouth pinched. “Sent his little whore to battle for him, I see? He always was weak,” he sneered.
Milan leaned back in surprise. He hadn’t expected Jack to be so outwardly vitriolic. It made him nervous—why was he so confident?
Milan shook his head sadly. “No—it is simply that, for the first time in his life, he has a husband he can actually rely on, and not a cheat and a coward bonded to him. I find it curious that you are so eager to see him when he can’t be bothered to spend a moment in your presence,” Milan drawled.
“Look here,” Jack started, moving to walk towards Milan.
Milan took the opportunity to take out his long-barrelled gun and shoot at the front of the crawler, making sure not to hit the driver. He only skimmed the edge of the crawler’s head, as Milan had intended, but Jack reared back, screaming as if he had been the one shot.
“Lunatic! I will have you arrested for this,” Jack growled. Milan shrugged.
“Try to prove it.”
“I have a witness,” Jack said, pointing at the driver. She took the opportunity to lean out of the window.
“I’m sorry, Mister. I had my eyes closed for the past five minutes. I’ve not seen a thing.”
Jack glowered at each of them in turn before pointing a finger at Milan. “Fine. But know this—I will get what I am owed.” He said, stomping back into the crawler.
“Oh, that I do not doubt,” Milan called out, giving them a cheery wave as they turned around and left.
Well. That had felt fantastic.
When Milan returned to the manor, Raphael looked far from happy. He was shaking as he pulled Milan into a tight embrace.
“You are mad,” Raphael whispered.
“And don’t forget it,” Milan said, pulling back to give Raphael a fierce kiss. “Do you understand now? He will not get to you. He will not get to us.”
Raphael closed his eyes. They stood there, just a breath apart. “I did not know I was alone until I met you,” he said softly.
“And you won’t ever be again,” Milan said.
That was a promise he’d fight tooth and nail to keep.
**********
Milan wondered what else could possibly be happening when Katerina appeared at the manor without sending a message first.
“I’m sorry to arrive unannounced, I know you must be preoccupied with other things.”
“Nonsense, Katerina. It’s a relief to see you, with everything that’s going on.”
Katerina gave him a tight smile. “Is Lord Raphael around?”
Milan raised his eyebrows in s
urprise. “Yes. Why?”
“I’ve got a little bit of news. Shall we all sit down somewhere?”
“I’ll call him and have some tea brought into the den—you know where it is. Make yourself at home.”
“I always do.”
Raphael looked trepidatious when Milan relayed the news of Katerina’s arrival but, despite how drained he obviously was, agreed to go downstairs with Milan.
“Miss Rosewood. A pleasure,” Raphael greeted.
“Yes—it’s good to see you too,” she replied and even sounded sincere. Milan gave her a grateful look before they all sat down.
“So,” Milan started as he poured tea for each of them. “I’m going to take a wild guess that this has something to do with Jack and the way he’s been postponing the meeting with the solicitor as if he’s playing a game of cat and mouse.”
It had been utterly exhausting to prepare mentally for a meeting with Jack only to have a flimsy excuse sent to them about him not being able to attend. He had been doing it for two weeks, and the toll was obvious in the lines of Raphael’s face.
“Yes. I think I know why he’s postponing your meeting with him.”
“Why?”
“He’s attending the countess’s ball.”
Milan frowned, looking at Raphael in confusion, but he only shook his head in response, just as lost as to what Jack could be planning. “Why on earth would he want to do that?”
“Well, these claims of wrongful divorce—it’s going to be based on character, yes? He is trying to make himself the victim, claim that there were no good reasons for him not to get his share of the estate after the divorce. Perhaps attending the ball will revive people’s memories of their good opinion of him. He may be able to manipulate some of them into testifying for him.”
Milan clenched his fists. “What an abhorrent little toad he is.”
“I agree completely,” Katerina said.
“Well, what can we do? We can’t go.”
Raphael frowned. “Why not?”
Milan looked at him worriedly. “Well…”
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