The Duke Identity (Game of Dukes #1)(78)

“You said you were a navvy!”

“I was. After De Witt destroyed my career.”

That information made her pause. All of a sudden, she recalled what he’d told her about the inventor who’d created the explosive. The one whose work had killed him.

“You…you’re the one who discovered the hellfire?” she said incredulously. “The one you said died?”

“A part of me did die, in a way,” he said tightly. “When I was accused of being a thief and liar, my reputation was ruined. I became persona non grata in the scientific community. Eventually, I left and used my expertise in explosives to find work as a navvy.”

His stark words chased a shiver over her skin. And fed the sudden hope in her heart.

“Tell me everything,” she said. “Start from the beginning and leave nothing out.”

“I discovered hellfire by accident: an experiment gone wrong,” he said darkly. “I made the mistake of sharing my discovery with Miss De Witt. I had been courting her for some time—”

“How long?” Tessa interrupted.

“Four years, give or take. I’d asked her to marry me, but she put me off. Said her father would never agree to let her marry a man of my prospects. I believed her. De Witt is a baron and an ambitious man; he wanted a title for his daughter. When I told her about my accidental discovery, she convinced me to tell her father, to use it to win his favor. He, in turn, expressed great interest in the compound, in its potential for industrial application.” Bennett shook his head. “I cautioned him. Told him how dangerous and unstable the explosive was. How I almost blew up the lab and my own bloody self.”

Tessa tried to digest the information. The part about him wanting to marry Miss De Witt stuck in her craw.

Of course he would fall in love with a beauty like Celeste De Witt. She’s feminine and elegant and…tall. Everything I’m not.

“What happened next?” she forced herself to ask.

“We came to an agreement. He wanted me to work on stabilizing the compound, with the caveat that I was to keep my endeavors a secret. He didn’t want others finding out about what I’d come to call ‘explosive cotton’ and beating us to the patent. He also hinted that if my work succeeded, he would offer no objection to my wedding his daughter.”

“He knew how to sweeten the pot,” Tessa said under her breath.

Harry frowned. “Pardon?”

“Never mind. What happened?”

“Nothing happened. I couldn’t stabilize it,” he said, “at least not within so short a period of time. After a fortnight, De Witt was breathing down my neck. Said he had investors lined up, industrial works ready to buy our product. After a month, he became unreasonable, irrational. Blamed me for deliberately sabotaging his plans and life’s work. One night, following a heated argument, I was ready to end our partnership, to continue studying explosive cotton on my own, when Celeste showed up at my room.”

Jealousy burned at the base of Tessa’s throat. “What did she want?”

“At first, to apologize for her father. She said he was under duress from financial obligations. But then one thing led to another.” He cleared his throat.

“Did you…bed her?” The words scraped painfully from her throat.

“God, no. Celeste would never have allowed such liberties. But we, er, kissed. It was more than she’d allowed in the four years of our courtship.”

Relief flooded Tessa that he hadn’t bedded Celeste. At the same time, she was glad for the dimness because she could feel her cheeks flaming. Celeste had allowed kisses after four years; Tessa had allowed far more after three weeks.

“The next morning, I arrived at the laboratory to find De Witt waiting for me. The Chancellor and other faculty members were present when he accused me of being a thief.” Bennett’s hands clenched at his sides. “He claimed that I’d ransacked his laboratory the night before, stolen the notes he’d kept of his experimentation. And he had proof. Before my arrival, he and the others had searched my laboratory. They found a journal, written in his hand, containing notes on the explosive cotton.”

“He stole your notebook, made a version in his hand,”—Tessa put two and two together—“and then put it in your lab to be found?”

Bennett’s glance was startled. “How did you know?”

“Because that’s what I would do if I were dastardly enough to frame someone.”

His features softened, and his words came out with a hoarse edge. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For believing me,” he said quietly.

“I believe you about this, but you still lied to me,” she shot back.

“I know. And I’m sorry for it.”

Although she didn’t want to soften, the sincerity in his deep voice and the remorse in his eyes made her traitorous heart thump faster. “Tell me the rest.”

“I had an alibi for the night before. During the time De Witt had claimed I was in his lab, I was with Celeste. As a gentleman, however, I could not mention it.”

“Zounds,” she burst out, “it was your career, your name, at stake!”

“I know.” His mouth formed a tight line. “But I still couldn’t ruin a lady’s reputation. And I suppose I hoped that she would do the right thing.”