Free Web NovelChapter 119: A gun and land (3)
Dinner came to an end with no more questioning which pleased Scarlet. She no longer tried to stop Ian from going off with her father to speak since Ian wasn’t listening to her and wanted to do it. Scarlet was satisfied knowing that she tried her best to save Ian from ending his night with threats.
While Scarlet remained with Alana and her mother, Leonard led Ian outside to have a drink whilst they spoke.
Ian quietly followed behind Leonard as though he was following his father somewhere to be scolded.
"You can relax," Leonard said, handing Ian a glass. "I am not going to kill you tonight."
"Tonight?" Ian questioned, accepting the glass from Leonard. "That sounds as though you are saving it for another night."
"That depends on how this night goes. This is a good bottle. I like to store it here for special occasions like big family dinners. That and my wife has been locking away all the bottles since it is a little strong," Leonard said, pouring Ian a bit of wine.
"If you are attempting to get me drunk to spill secrets, it shall not work," said Ian. He had long learned that he could tolerate a few glasses of strong wine and always stopped at his limit.
"Getting someone drunk is not my path to get their secrets. A blade pressed against your tongue or the coldness of the mouth of a gun to your head would do the trick. I said to relax," Leonard repeated once more. "Afraid of me?"
"No," Ian honestly replied. He sipped the strong wine, but it was still to his liking. If he were to get drunk and blame it on Scarlet’s father, would she let him stay here?
"That might be a mistake you may not live long to regret. Do you know Jack Humphrey?" Leonard asked. He didn’t want to get acquainted with any of Jack’s friends.
"I know of him but I do not know him personally. He’s already taken it upon himself to do your job of telling me to stay away from Scarlet. He’s an interesting fellow," said Ian.
"Hmm." Leonard sipped his wine, looking out at the land behind the estate. He should have gone ahead with shooting Jake. What made that fool think he had a right to speak for Scarlet? "This land has been in my family’s name for generations."
"There was nothing like my days of growing up here. Despite how large it is, there was never a moment of feeling alone. Not accepting a lot of guests didn’t start with Scarlet. My father is the same way and his father as well. We passed on that trait to Scarlet."
Leonard continued, "Being a Collins means that she has to be careful of who comes around. I’ve had to add plenty of guards around her when she was younger as there were a few people who tried to take her. I’ll always be the overprotective father."
"I do not mind that you are protective of her. I will not hurt her," Ian promised. "I am not here to make use of her wealth nor was I sent by Jack if that is what you think. I hate him, probably as much as you do that."
Leonard chuckled as that was impossible. At the first sight of Jack, should Scarlet’s name come out of his mouth, Leonard might just go ahead with killing him. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"Scarlet keeps you around for a reason," Leonard acknowledged. His daughter didn’t let strangers into her life so easily so there was something about Ian that she liked. "I see that much."
"Which part of the land do you like most? I happen to like the big tree out there," Leonard said, pointing toward the oak tree.
Ian didn’t understand the shift in conversation but he still looked around and pointed to a random spot. "There."
"If you pull some shit over my daughter I will bury you there. Whether alive or dead when you go down, will depend on the mood I am in. I have plenty of land and a gun to end you. More wine?" Leonard offered, titling the bottle in Ian’s direction.
Ian couldn’t help but laugh at how calm Leonard was with the threat. He believed that Leonard was quite serious about it. "That would be a good spot to lay to rest. Are you certain you would want a stranger to rest on the estate?"
Leonard smiled as he knew that there were bodies all over Collins’s land. Not where the children had to play or the family normally roamed. A few missing people could be found somewhere around the estate. "I wouldn’t be so careless to place you near where our relatives rest."
"Being close to where Scarlet is would be doing me a favour but it won’t come to you needing to kill me. I enjoy her company and I want more out of it. I would hate to know that I ever hurt her. In time, I hope you can trust me as well," Ian said as he would not like Leonard to be so guarded forever.
Scarlet not worrying about her parent’s feelings about him was one thing he needed out of the way to become closer to her.
"Your actions will have to back up what you say. If you are the one needed to make her happy again, I will not intervene. I only want that she doesn’t have to suffer the ridicule she now faces. I know a lot about you," Leonard revealed.
He knew about what Layla shared years ago, about the time that Ian ran away from his estate, about his mother, and a bit of where Ian stayed outside of Lockwood.
"I trust that you do," Ian replied.
Ian wasn’t concerned about what Leonard knew so far. His tracks were so well covered that no one knew all of where he had been for the last few years. In time he would share if he were to succeed in getting close to Scarlet, but as of right now, those were his secrets.
"Nothing rings alarms but I don’t trust you yet. Still, I will leave it to my daughter to move you from her side. When you are finished with this drink, leave," Leonard said as he wasn’t leaving Ian here at this time.
While Scarlet was old enough to keep who she wanted here at night, Leonard didn’t want this first meeting to end with Ian spending the night. He needed a bit more time to get used to there being another man in Scarlet’s life. The other one was hard to forget.
"Your daughter is quite adamant that I am not spending the night here and I was not planning to. I do respect her," said Ian.
"Good. Now, should you ever greet my wife by kissing her hand, I might break the hand you hold her hand with. I am not fond of it," Leonard said, still annoyed by the earlier greeting.
There was no telling where the mouths of these slick men were prior and it annoyed him that Ian’s mouth might have been near his daughter as well.
"I might hate it as well should someone try to kiss Scarlet’s hand as a greeting while she stands beside me. I won’t do it again. I would care for more of the wine," Ian said, holding his glass out to Leonard.
Leonard poured more wine for Ian. "I don’t like the way you were fooling around with her hand under the table either. Keep your hands to yourself when you sit at the table."
