Free The Handmaiden's Necklace by Kat Martin

another deep breath and raised her chin. She squeezed her hands together until they stopped shaking, then headed for the stairs. As she entered the parlor, a comfortable room done in shades of white and soft rose, she spotted Rafael’s tall figure seated on the sofa. He came to his feet the instant she walked through the door.
    “Thank you for seeing me,” he said very gallantly.
    “Did I really have a choice?” She knew Rafael. If he wanted to speak to her, aside from shooting him, there was no way to keep him away.
    “No, I don’t suppose you did.” He motioned toward the sofa. “Join me?”
    “I would prefer to stand, thank you.”
    Rafael released a breath. He was six years older than she,which meant he would be thirty-one by now. Fine lines crinkled beside those blue, blue eyes, and there was a weariness in his features that hadn’t been there when he was younger. Still, he was handsome. One of the handsomest men she had ever seen.
    She felt those intense blue eyes on her face. “I have traveled thousands of miles to see you, Danielle. I understand your animosity toward me—no one could understand it more—but I would appreciate it if you would sit down so that we might have this chance to speak.”
    Dani blew out a breath. Knowing it was useless to argue, she went over and sat down on the rose velvet sofa and Rafe walked over and closed the parlor doors. She was surprised when he settled himself beside her a barely respectable distance away.
    “Shall I call for tea?” she asked. “Since we are suddenly being so civilized.”
    “Tea isn’t necessary, only your attention. I came here to apologize, Danielle.”
    Her eyes widened. “What?”
    “You heard me correctly. I am here because everything you said was true. That night five years ago, I am the one who betrayed you, not the other way around.”
    She swallowed, suddenly feeling light-headed. She was glad she had agreed to sit down. “I’m afraid I don’t…don’t understand.”
    Rafe turned more fully toward her. “Oliver Randall lied about what happened that night—just as you always claimed. He engineered everything, right down to the note I received, which was the reason I went to your room that night.”
    Rafe explained the events of the evening and the reason he had been so convinced she was having an affair with Oliver Randall. The story was so incredible that the words began swimming round in her head.
    “Why…?” she asked softly. “Why would Oliver do such a thing? I tried to figure it out, but it never made any sense.”
    “He did it because he wanted you for himself. He was in love with you, Danielle, but he couldn’t have you. And he was insanely jealous of me.”
    Dani leaned back on the sofa, her heart beating oddly, a tight feeling inside her chest. Rafe got up and walked over to the sideboard. Pouring a dollop of brandy into a crystal snifter, he returned to where she sat and pressed the brandy glass into her hand.
    “Drink this. It’ll make you feel better.”
    When she made no effort to raise the glass, he wrapped his fingers around hers and lifted the snifter to her lips. Dani took a tentative swallow, felt the warm burn, and took another. In truth, she did feel somewhat better.
    She looked up at Rafael, still unable to believe he stood there in the parlor. “How did you find all of this out?”
    “I hired an investigator, a Bow Street runner, a man I had used on a number of occasions before.”
    Danielle shook her head. “I still can’t believe it.”
    “What is it you don’t believe?”
    “That you would travel thousands of miles simply to tell me you were wrong.”
    “And also to tell you that Oliver Randall paid the highest price for his treachery.”
    Dani came up off the sofa so swiftly brandy sloshed against the sides of her crystal glass. “You killed him?”
    Rafe took the snifter from her unsteady hands and set it down on the table. “I challenged him to a duel, as I did before, only this time I