“Quiet,” he said at last, the harshness of his tone cutting through the chatter of the Shelley family members. They all fell silent at once, and he marked how Thomasina flinched and wouldn’t look at him.

“My lord—” Shelley began.

He held up a hand. “I said be quiet,” he growled, and speared the man with a look not to be ignored. Shelley shrank back a bit and nodded. “Your daughter has dishonored me.”

Shelley gasped at the bluntness of the words and Juliana turned her face at them. But to his surprise, Thomasina’s shoulders pushed back and she straightened up a little as she took a long step in his direction. “My lord, please don’t be so hard on her.”

He arched a brow at that interesting response. So she would not defend herself, but she would try to placate him against any harsh feelings he felt toward Anne.

“And what about you?” He moved on her one step, two, crowding her back a fraction and watching her pupils dilate with what he recognized was a combination of fear and arousal. She’d wanted him to kiss her as much as he’d wanted the same.

And just like him, there was part of her that still wanted it.

“What about me?” she squeaked.

“Should I be hard on you, Thomasina Shelley? For going along with such foolishness? For offering your sister an escape route she might not have found without your assistance? Whether you knew it or not, that is what you did, isn’t it?”

Her gaze held his for a moment, emerald depths, and then her lashes lowered. “You are owed your anger, of course.”

“Thank you,” he said softly. Then he turned to her father. “And what do you offer as recompense?”

“I-I don’t know,” Shelley stammered, shifting in his place and darting his gaze to Juliana, as if the young woman might have a suggestion. For her part, Juliana just looked tired. Bone-tired, like she had been dealing with messes to clean up for years. Perhaps she had at that, considering Thomasina had also wished to seek her out when trouble came in the form of a folded sheet of vellum.

Jasper folded his arms and glared at Shelley. “Think.”

Shelley cleared his throat. “Well, I…I can go after Anne, of course. Try to find her and bring her home.”

Juliana spun on him, her eyes wide. “Well, of course you will, Father!”

“You must,” Thomasina added, worrying her hands in front of her. “We know nothing about this…this Ellis person.”

Jasper hesitated, for that name seemed familiar to him, just as it had when he’d read Anne’s note to her sister. He pushed it aside, along with thoughts of uncovering the man who had taken his intended. He would think of that later. Right now he had other situations to deal with.

“The matter at hand,” he said slowly and succinctly, “is my marriage contract, Mr. Shelley. Finding Anne will not fix this. I would not accept her as a bride now that I know her nature and how objectionable she finds the engagement.”