Page 37 of Brazen

Magnus forced patience. “To whom do you owe money?”

Joshua’s mouth thinned.

The younger boy—who Magnus now realized shared the same dark hair, brown eyes and full mouth as Joshua—looked from Joshua to him, then said, “Why, your uncle, of course.”

Magnus silently cursed. How the devil had the boy had the ill fortune to wind up owing money to his uncle?

“How much is the marker for?” Magnus asked.

Joshua narrowed his eyes. “Do you really think I am foolish enough to believe that my debt to your uncle and your desire to purchase our property is a coincidence—not to mention, your attention to Mia?”

Magnus nodded slowly—very slowly. “I can see how it would be hard to believe. I do not quite believe it myself.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, I am the fool, lad, no’ you.”

“You’re a fool if you think I will allow you to hurt my family—even if you are a marquess’s son.”

“On my honor, I have no intention of hurting your family.”

Disdain shone in his eyes. “You are not a man of honor.”

“I can see how it might look that way. How can I prove the truth to you?”

The boy hesitated.

“We could untie him,” Robert said. “Give him a chance to prove he means no harm.”

“He can do harm before we could stop him,” Joshua said.

Magnus lifted his brows. “How long do you intend to keep me tied to this chair?”

Doubt flickered in his eyes.

“I’m not angry you kidnapped me,” Magnus said. “I understand what prompted you. However, I do not intend to harm your family. My desire to buy land from your family is solely for the purpose of farming and ranching.”

“You don’t intend to open another gaming hell?” Robert asked.

“Nae. In fact, I shut down The Honeydrop.”

Joshua regarded him. “You threatened to kill Lord Blane and that other man.”

“You overheard our conversation.” Magnus gave a single nod. “That should tell you that I am not part of their scheme.”

“He does sound sincere,” Robert said.

The elder brother sent him a disgusted look. “Of course he sounds sincere.”

“He is right. We cannot keep him tied up forever.”

“We could put him on a ship bound for America,” Joshua said.

“That’s preposterous,” Robert said, and Magnus agreed.

“I will decide later. You can sleep with me in my room tonight.”

Robert hesitated. “Should we gag him?”