“Took care of yourself?” Selina repeated. “What do you mean?”
Vale pulled her through a glade and into an open grassy area. The clouds blew away from the moon and the light revealed a tall tower in the middle. It rose ominously, at least twenty feet up.
“This was built in remembrance for local boys lost in the Seven Years’ War,” Vale explained. “When I heard it was here, so close, I thought it was apropos because you and I have known each other…”
“Seven years,” Selina whispered, and her heart began to throb. Why hadn’t she listened to Derrick’s concerns about Vale? Why hadn’t she allowed her own a voice? Why had she let the code she held herself up to be one she assumed others followed?
It would be the death of her. She could see that now.
“How did you take care of yourself?” she asked again, hating that her voice broke. Hating that her fear was obvious.
“They used to light the lantern at the top of this tower every year for those who were lost in the war. And then it was just every ten. Now it’s crumbling. Everyone forgets those who are sacrificed to be useful. That’s why we little people have to take what’s ours.” Vale smiled as she shoved Selina closer to the tower. “I’ve gotten quite good at mimicking your handwriting over the past few months. Enough so that your brother’s solicitor believed it was you who asked for a change to your line of inheritance. You who signed the addendum so I would inherit.”
Selina’s lips parted as the meaning of that lie sank in. “Vale.”
“We’re climbing up that tower, love,” Vale said. Her hand shook, but she mastered the tremor swiftly. “And I’m going to push you off. The suicide note waiting for your great love back in our room will convince everyone that you couldn’t live with it coming out that you were the Faceless Fox. They’ll mourn you and cover it up, and I’ll get your money and whatever jewels you still have squirreled away.”
“Vale, you and I have been friends for those seven years,” Selina began. “You saved my life. Look at me now and tell me you really want to hurt me.”
“We’re not friends,” Vale said. “If I did for you, it was to help myself, just as I’m doing now. You’re irrelevant. Your blind faith in people has always been your weakness. Now let’s climb the tower and get this done.”
Selina stopped, ignoring the gun Vale pushed harder into her spine. “No.”
“Climb the damned tower!” Vale screamed.
“She won’t be doing that.”
Both women turned, and relief flooded Selina’s entire body. Derrick and Barber approached from behind them. They both had weapons drawn.
“Back up,” Vale snapped, grabbing Selina and pulling her closer. “I swear I will kill her where she stands if you don’t stop where you are.”
The men stopped, ten feet away, not close enough to reach her, though certainly close enough to die if Vale decided to turn her gun on them.
“You’ve only been an accomplice in this so far, Miss Williams,” Derrick said softly. “And you haven’t killed anyone. If you stop, we can work something out.”
“As if you won’t sacrifice me for her,” Vale said with a dry laugh. “You’ve been mooning over her since the first moment you saw her. Even when you knew she used you to protect yourself, you let yourself be convinced it was true love. But Selina has always been able to seduce her way into what she wanted.”
Derrick’s expression didn’t change, it didn’t even flutter. He didn’t believe Vale. At least there was that. He had faith in Selina. And that meant the world to her.
“Put the gun down, Miss Williams,” Barber said this time.
“Or what?” Vale said. “If I put it down, I’m doomed. If I don’t put it down, I have a chance. Especially if I put a bullet in one of you. Which one should it be? My friend who destroyed a good thing? The lover who made her waver? Or the man who is so determined to do what’s right, he’ll die for it?” She moved the gun from Selina’s back, shoved her aside and aimed at Barber. “I think destroying a good man might be fun.”
Selina screamed as Vale began to press the trigger. She leapt to put herself in the way, but before she could, Robert raced from the bushes and tackled Vale. They struggled, rolling on the grass, the gun wedged between them. When it fired, Selina screamed again, staring down at her brother, at her friend.
Robert rolled away, and it was clear then. Vale had been shot. Her eyes were already glassy. She was dead.
Selina spun toward Derrick and raced to him, into his arms. He held her against him as she realized just what she’d lost that night.
“Selina.” Robert’s voice was shaky.
She clung to Derrick’s hand as she faced her brother, ready to see his censure and his blame. But Robert’s face was only bright with relief and love. And he tugged her into his arms.
“I almost lost you,” Robert said. “My God, I almost lost you.”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry I let you down.”
“I don’t approve of your methods,” Robert said with a shake of his head. “What you’ve been doing put a great many people, including yourself, in danger.” The sternness faded a fraction. “But damn, it’s hard not to admire your daring.”
Barber cleared his throat and the three faced him. He glanced at the dead woman on the ground and then back toward Selina. She drew in a long breath, let go of the man she loved and the one who was her family, and stepped toward him, arms reaching toward him.
“Mr. Barber, I would like to turn myself in,” she said.
Robert and Derrick both gasped behind her, but she ignored that. Ignored her own breaking heart.
Barber stared at her outstretched hands. “We must return to town,” he said. “To alert the guard about the altercation and to have the body removed. Let me do that and then let’s talk about this other matter. Go with Huntington. Your Grace, perhaps you could assist me?”
“Yes,” Robert said, his voice now hollow and shaken. “I assume there will be questions on how this woman was shot.”
Derrick turned her away, sweeping her up so she wouldn’t have to walk on her cut up feet. But as he took her toward town, she heard Barber say, “Let me do the explaining, Your Grace.”
“Will he protect Robert?” she asked, resting her head on Derrick’s shoulder as the exhaustion of the night’s events washed over her.
“Yes,” Derrick said. “I think he will.”
“Then I can think nothing but the best of him,” she whispered. And then she let herself rest in the arms of the man she loved, knowing it would all be over soon.
Chapter 26
Derrick fastened the last bandage around Selina’s injured feet and placed them gently on the settee, elevated on a pillow. She hadn’t said much as he tended to her
She hadn’t said anything much at all, but it was clear her thoughts were dark and uncertain.
“I’m sorry about Vale,” he said at last.
Her face twitched, pain and sadness and anger mixing there. “I was a fool not to see the worst in her,” she said. “I had been alone for so long when she came into my life. I suppose I just wanted to believe the best. Perhaps she’s right; that is my greatest failing.”
“A failing of hers, not yours,” Derrick said, stroking her calf through her dress.
“Was,” Selina whispered.
“Was,” he repeated. Then he swallowed. “You were going to take a bullet for my friend.”
She nodded. “Yes. I couldn’t let him die to protect me, a criminal. That wouldn’t be right. But my brother saved us all. You saved me. But now we’re here and the end has come, Derrick. We both know what will happen when Barber and Robert arrive.”
“Do you?” Barber said as he opened the door to the chamber and the two men entered. They both looked drawn and worn out from the experience hours before. Robert, especially.
“Please tell me that you’re unharmed,” Selina said, reaching a hand toward her brother. “Please tell me they won’
t do anything to you for saving my life and the life of Mr. Barber.”
“Shhh,” Robert soothed her as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. “I’m fine. Barber took care of it all. You needn’t worry about me.” He faced Barber. “I appreciate all you’ve done. But I suppose we all have the same question now. What will you do about Selina?”
Barber shook his head and paced to the window. He stood there for a while, as if gathering his thoughts. Then he turned back.
“Like you, Miss Oliver, my life has always revolved around a code,” he said softly. “I come from a family of merchants. There was struggle, but always enormous honor, and that has been important to me. Normally, the right answer is easy to find. Good is very different from evil. But you…you, Miss Oliver, are a conundrum.”
“Frustrating, I think Derrick calls it,” Selina said, and that elicited a small smile from Barber. Derrick’s heart leapt to see it. His friend didn’t offer those smiles often, and never just to anyone.
“You are that,” Barber agreed. His gaze slipped to Derrick. “You have been my good friend and partner. The best I’ve ever had. So now what is right? What is good? What is honorable? Do I destroy your life? Do I destroy hers? Do I honor the contract I signed with a bunch of—excuse me, Your Grace—fops?”
“I couldn’t tell you what to do,” Derrick said softly. “Because I am, as you have told me many times, compromised. By my love for her. By my hopes for the future. I’m compromised.”
“Yes,” Barber said, almost too low to be heard.
He turned his back to all of them again. And again, time seemed to tick by at half-speed. They were waiting for a guillotine and it was torture.
At least Barber spoke. “Perhaps it turns out Miss Williams was culpable for all this in the end.”
“What?” Derrick gasped, at the exact time Selina and Robert said the same.
Barber faced them. “Ah, a chorus, I see. My goal in this was to determine the guilty party. Miss Williams seems to be the guiltiest, what with murder on her mind. My goal was also to return any items I could recover. Miss Oliver, are there items still in your possession?”
She nodded. “Many in my home in London. I’ll return them to you upon our arrival. I have no need for them.”
“Then I will have fulfilled my second goal.”
“But you intended to catch the Faceless Fox,” Selina said. “Will you hate yourself for not doing that?”
Barber moved toward her. “The Faceless Fox was never violent. She stole from the worst of Society. And she tried to sacrifice herself to save my life tonight, without hesitation, even knowing that I was sworn to destroy her hopes and dreams.” He touched her hand briefly. “And you and my friend are in love. So maybe that matters more than all the rest put together.”
“Barber,” Derrick breathed.
Barber smiled at him. “I am remanding Miss Oliver to your custody, Huntington. Do try to keep her out of trouble.”
Derrick rushed to his friend and tugged him into a hug. It obviously surprised Barber, but he returned the gesture briefly before he stepped away. He cleared his throat. “I must go finish the final matters to do with tonight. I’ll see you all later.”
He left them, and Selina stared up at Derrick, shock lining her face. “Did he just…did he just let me go?”
“He did,” Derrick breathed as a powerful, unstoppable joy tore through his chest. “You’re free.”
* * *
The words echoed in Selina’s mind, but they didn’t seem real. Free? How could she be free? She had spent the past few days preparing herself for loss and ruin and even death. But this?
She’d never been prepared for this.
Robert cleared his throat. “Do you have something you’d like to discuss with me, Derrick?”
Selina caught her breath as she realized what he meant. And when Derrick’s handsome face broke into a grin, she thought she would shatter into a thousand pieces right there.
“Yes,” Derrick said, catching her hand. “Your Grace, I would like your permission to ask for your sister’s hand.”
Robert smiled and then glanced at her. “Do you desire the match?”
“With all my heart,” she said swiftly. “But—”
“But?” Robert laughed. “Dear God, this man just rode two days for you, nearly surrendered his honor and probably believed he was going to be shot. What else must he do to prove himself worthy?”
“Nothing,” Selina said with a smile for him. “He will never have to prove his worth. But I will. And I can only step into my own future if I believe my family supports me. You say you don’t blame me for my past. Will…will Katherine ever forgive me?”
“My dear,” Robert chuckled. “Who do you think sent me along on this wild chase in the hopes you would find true love? My wife could never hold a grudge. And when she understands all that happened, I know she’ll tell you so and celebrate this marriage with as much joy as she did Morgan’s last year.”
Selina bent her head. “Then I am free. If this gentleman desires my hand, even though he knows all my faults, I could never want anything more in this world than to be his wife.”
“Excellent,” Robert said, and patted her cheek. He shook Derrick’s hand. “Then I’ll leave you to the rest of the details. We’ll talk again in the morning.”
“You don’t want to argue and protect my virtue?” Selina called out as he exited the room.
His snort as he closed the door was his only response.
And suddenly she was alone with the man she loved. He came around to sit on the settee beside her, his gaze focused on hers. “Marry me?” Derrick asked.
It was so simple a question. And she didn’t need more than that simplicity. After all, they had already endured, said all the rest of the words that needed to be said because they feared the future would part them.
Now that they knew it never could, there was only one word.
“Yes,” she whispered as she cupped the back of his head and brought his mouth to hers. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Epilogue
One month later
“You have never looked more radiant, and that is saying something,” Katherine said as she kissed Selina’s cheek, and then positioned her veil more firmly into the beautiful crown of hair the maid had been arranging.
Selina looked at herself in her mirror, and the joy that had been overtaking her all day rose up once more.
“I’m ready,” she whispered.
Katherine led her from the chamber and down the long hall. Her heart skipped as they neared the ballroom, where friends and family were gathered for her wedding.
Robert stood at the door, looking devastatingly handsome. Katherine paused to kiss him before she squeezed Selina’s hand and slipped into the ballroom. Music lifted behind the door, a signal it was time for them to join the others.
Robert took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. “Ready for your next adventure?” he asked.
She laughed as the door opened. Her brothers were near the front of the room. Morgan with Lizzie, beaming. Nicholas leaning on his cane, his smile a bit more subdued, but certainly filled with support and pride. Barber sat beside him, his expression clear, as if he had no doubts about what they were about to do. She had come to see him as a friend in the past few weeks.
But really her eyes were only for Derrick in that moment. He stood waiting for her, his face bright with joy and love and emotion to see her in the last moments she would be Miss Oliver. Mrs. Huntington would leave that room with him.
“I think my adventuring days are over,” she said softly.
Robert guided her up the aisle with a laugh. “Oh no, dear sister. I think you’ll soon see they’ve only just begun.”
The Duke’s Bastards
ENJOY AND EXCERPT OF BOOK 3, THE MATTER OF A MARQUESS
Excerpt of The Matter of a Marquess
The Duke’s Bastards Book 3
Nicholas sat in the parlor at Robert and Katherine�
�s home, a book perched in his fingers, but too distracted to pay attention to the story. Instead, he stared at the crackling fire, his thoughts rolling in circles.
Did he belong here? Here in his brother’s home? In the few days since his arrival, he’d found himself looking from place to place, thinking of his late mother and what she must have endured here. Where her place had been. How it had been used against her.
He blinked and pushed those hard thoughts away. They were replaced by others. Because it wasn’t just the house that made him question himself. He wasn’t sure he belonged in the family Roseford was starting to build with their half-brother Morgan and half-sister Selina and their spouses. They were all so similar. He was so different.
And Roseford had friends here, too. A member of his found family. The Duke of Northfield and his wife. He seemed a good man, honorable and welcoming.
But the discomfort Nicholas felt continued. Because he’d always been lost between two worlds.
“You look very pensive.”
He slowly pushed to his feet, a lingering whisper of pain jolting through him as he did so, and forced a smile for his sister as she entered the room. Selina was lovely, as she had always been lovely, with her dark hair and bright blue eyes. But it was different now. She was different. She had married an old friend of Nicholas’s from the army, Derrick Huntington, and the new couple’s passion for each other was palpable.
“Did I look pensive?” Nicholas asked as she crossed to him and bussed his cheek. “I must have been caught up in my reading.”
She arched a brow at him as she went to the sideboard and poured them both tea. She winked before she added a splash of whisky to the cups and then handed it over. He took the brew, shaking his head at her as they sat together. When he sipped it, he coughed and her laughter filled the room.
“Now is the point where I call you a liar,” Selina said, drinking her tea without so much as a clearing of her throat. “You weren’t reading. You were brooding. It doesn’t suit those of our ilk, Nicholas. Roseford sons and daughters do not brood.”
The Heart of a Hellion: The Duke’s Bastards Book 2 Page 24