Slave To Love

Chapter Ten

The smirk on Lord Capono's lips instantly fell at the sound of Sue's soft whispery voice. The color drained from his face and his grip on Lily's chin loosened. Shock turned to interest in the form of a raised eyebrow as he shifted his gaze to Jack. "She can speak?"

Jack nodded, interest rising inside of him as well. "Yes, quite well too. She might not be able to hear, Tony, but that doesn't make her a simpleton." Jack made sure his lips were in Sue's sightline and he received a warm smile in thanks of the small effort. He winked in return.

"This can't be happening." He was softly mumbled so the rest of the room hadn't understood. All except for Sue.

"Something wrong, mate?" Bobby asked, enjoying the Lord's sudden panic all too much.

Capono's stoic mask was back in place as soon as the question was asked, yet his eyes still shimmered with the fear they'd all seen a moment ago. "Not at all. I just remembered an errand and I must run." He straightened the lapels of his jacket and scrubbed a hand through his hair.

He said nothing more. He only bowed his head slightly to the room, yet his gaze never left Sue. Yet while it had been lecherous before, it was now dark and stormy. The sight of it caused a chill to race down her spine to the point that the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she stared back before he quickly turned and ushered Lily down the hallway and out the front door.

"Thanks for stopping by!" Tara called after him.

"It's been very enlightening," D added right before the door slammed shut.

""What was that all about anyway?" Lucy asked as she fell into a kitchen chair. Her lower lip was red from where she'd been biting it to keep her comments to herself. After what he'd said to Myles about how she wasn't the type to be wedded, there had been quite a few.

But a rant would have done her little good. All it would prove was that Capono would be right; that she and Myles weren't right for each other, no matter if their hearts told them otherwise.

"It looked to me like he'd just seen a ghost." Myles was smirking, but his anger still sizzled about the room.

"He's scared," Jack told them all.

"Of what?" Sue asked.

He looked deliberately in her direction. "Of you."

This was bad.

Tony rapped his fist on the roof of the carriage to urge his driver to go faster. The buggy lurched as he heard the distinct sound of a whip snapping and the two horses pulling pick up some speed. Returning his hand to his lap, he noticed how it trembled. The panic had completely set it.

The little princess could speak.

This wasn't just bad. It was disastrous!

"How could Hayden not tell me?" He grumbled in frustration and beat his hand against the velvet seat cushion.

"He didn't know."

"Who asked you?" Panic turned to revulsion as he turned his gaze to Lily. Her head still remained bowed, but she'd been unable to hold her tongue. Capono raised his hand as if to strike her, but he held back. Clenching it into a fist, he raised it to his mouth and bit. Hard.

Miss Thomas could expose him. Everything he'd worked for in his life could all be ruined by one simple little deaf girl. His money, his power, his marriage… it could all fall apart once she opened her mouth against him.

"He really didn't know?"

Lily was cautious with her answer. She wasn't certain whether he was really asking her or if he was asking himself. "No."

The carriage began to slow as the approached the front doors to Hayden Manor. Pulling aside the window shade, he glanced up at the building's regal countenance. It reeked of money and power that one only received from shady dealings. And Hayden was the king of shady.

"So, as you can see, gentlemen, the investment is sound. Your money is in very capable hands." Hayden smiled at the three men he'd gathered together for such a vital meeting. It was toothy and confident, almost as if he knew he'd be milking these poor saps out of each and every cent they'd ever made.

It was enough to make a man salivate.

"Stop!"

"You can't go in there!"

The shouts of his guards penetrated the walls of his study, drawing his clients' collective attention away from the task at hand.

The doors of the study burst open, revealing the wild eyes of Lord Anthony Capono. His clothes were in disarray and his hair was askew.

Hayden frowned. Apparently his guards weren't living up to his expectations. Turning back to his potential investors he apologized as he excused himself to take care of this inopportune interruption. None of them seemed amused, which meant he would have to dispose of this garbage quickly before he lost this deal.

"What are you doing here? I told you after your transaction was complete, we would no longer have contact with one another. The deal is done, Capono. We have no more business with each other." He gave an imperceptible nod to the large man standing behind the crazed lord, signaling him to show Capono the way out.

A hand grabbed onto Tony's bicep, but he pulled out of the man's grip and looked Malcolm square in the eye. "I need to speak with you. It's important."

"No more than my meeting." He waved the man away and turned away.

"It's about Susan Thomas." Capono had hoped that would gain the other man's interest without him actually having to spell it out for him. But Hayden still refused to hear anything. "She knows."

"Knows what? That girl is a simpleton. I did her father a favor by getting rid of her." He made sure he said this loud enough for Tony to hear, but not his three probable clients. He was in the process of closing the deal of the century. He didn't want them to hear anything that would turn them off to the whole idea of giving him all the money they possessed.

Shaking free of the guard's hold, Tony stalked up to Hayden and grabbed hold of him to make certain his point was getting across. "She knows, Malcolm. She knows everything. And now, so does Hudson."

"How?"

"We underestimated her. She's smarter than we first believed." He was still hovering on the brink of panic that slid into the dredges of insanity. Something needed to be done. "Malcolm, she can speak."

That definitely garnered some attention for Hayden. His eyes turned cold and that confident demeanor waivered. "Then we dispose of her."