by Lee, Jade
Because of that, she needed him by her side to remain strong. Without a numbing emptiness around her, she needed Lucas to ease her burdens, or she’d crumble beneath the strain.
“Stay with me,” she begged.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He helped her step onto the street.
Beside him stood the constable. She recognized him from the day Oscar had died, and he bowed to her with a gruff kind of grace.
“Sorry to bother you, mum, but I need the name of the man upstairs. I’ve got my thoughts, but I’d like you to state his name clear for an official record. If you know him, that is.”
“I understand.” She didn’t, but then she’d never focused on the machinery of England’s justice system.
“I have to warn you. It’s an upsetting sight.”
“Can Lord Chellam stay with me?” Her hand remained intertwined with Lucas’s, and she did not want to release him.
“So long as he stays quiet.”
She nodded, as did he. And so the three of them made their way through a small crowd of onlookers up to the top floor of a building. The air was thick, and there were many smells she wished she could avoid, but she clung tight to Lucas and steeled herself for what was to come.
It didn’t work. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw. She’d never seen violent death before, and this was horrible. The blood. The broken body.
“That’s my stepson, Geoffrey. He is…was…Lord Dunnamore.”
Then she turned away. She couldn’t look anymore. She focused instead on the smashed table and the scattered cards. There were pockmarks on the wall and someone else she recognized.
“Nathan?” she gasped. “Are you all right?” Lucas’s brother was sitting by the broken window, looking tired.
“Most excitement I’ve had my entire life,” he said. Then he mopped his brow. “I don’t recommend it.”
“No,” she murmured. “I can’t see how I would enjoy it either.”
“Really?” Lucas asked with a grin. “I find myself quite elated.” He turned back to her. “You’re safe now, Diana. He can’t hurt anyone again.”
She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. This isn’t how she wanted it to end, but she was so grateful that it was done. Perversely, she felt guilty for the relief that coursed through her body. So many complicated emotions. If Lucas weren’t there holding her hand, she feared she’d run screaming into the street just to get away from all the things she was feeling.
Meanwhile, a sweaty young man stepped forward. He had on the clothing of the Watch but the expression of a terrified boy. “I’m right sorry, mum,” he said. “So very sorry.”
“What?”
“It were me,” he blurted. “I came in here first, and he had his guns out. The only one with guns, mum. And he turned to face me.”
“Easy, son,” the constable said. “You did the right thing.”
“He pointed at me, mum. I didn’t know he’d spent his shot. I didn’t think. I just saw the pistols.”
Diana blinked. “You were the one who killed Geoffrey?”
He nodded, his words apparently choked off.
She looked at Lucas. “He was trying to kill you, wasn’t he?”
“He was a terrible shot.”
That, more than anything else, had her knees going weak. And all the while, the young man stood there sweating as he tried again to apologize.
“I didn’t know, mum. I didn’t—”
Diana gathered her strength. She could do that because Lucas was alive and well beside her. “Thank you, sir. Thank you for stopping him from hurting anyone else.” She gave the boy a quivering smile. “Thank you.”
The boy nodded, but he still looked horrified. His gaze kept skittering over to the body and back. Until Lucas touched his shoulder.
“The first is always the hardest, but in this, you did right.”
The constable grunted his agreement. “Outside with you, Jeremy. No point in you standing in here.”
Diana watched the young man nod and walk stiffly away. Meanwhile, the constable addressed her.
“No need for you to stay either, my lady. We can take care of the rest.”
She nodded and was about to leave, but her mind was starting to work again. In a halting kind of fashion. “Constable, did you really need me here? Didn’t you know who…” She gestured at Geoffrey’s body without actually looking.
“I did, my lady. But for some people, it’s good to see it once and for all. To know that it’s done now and no questions. I thought you were one of those people.”
Yes, she supposed she was. “Thank you,” she said. And then she finally, absolutely, and completely exhaled the last of her fear of her stepson. Geoffrey was gone. His threats were over. The terror in which she’d lived was done.
She breathed freely for the first time in twelve years.
“Come with me,” Lucas said as he gently guided her out of the flat.
She walked beside him while her head grew steadily clearer. “I thought you’d done it,” she said once they were outside.
“Killed Geoffrey?”
“Yes.”
“I was prepared to,” he said. Then he shrugged. “Turned out, fate had different plans.”
Yes, it had. And for that small kindness, she was grateful, though the burden had been shifted to the young watchman. But then her mind turned to other things, as so often happened. Her thoughts left everything else behind as she centered on Lucas.
“What will you do now?” she asked. The question wasn’t a simple one. They both knew that his life was in the process of drastic change. He was Lord Chellam again, and she was, finally, absolutely free. No need for his protection now.
He touched her face, that same slow caress of her cheek she adored. “Nothing’s changed for me, Diana. I want you as my wife—”
“Yes.”
His brows rose. “What?”
Odd how his startled look made her laugh. She hadn’t thought happiness had a place here, but she couldn’t deny it. Giddiness came on the heels of relief. But under it all was the knowledge of where her thoughts had been taking her for three days now. Maybe even longer. And at his bemused expression, she gathered herself and tried to explain.
“You probably think it’s because of this. You think it’s the middle of the night, and I was terrified for you.” She paused, trying to read his face. He gave nothing away. “But I’ve done nothing but think these last few days. I think and think about how much I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said, but there was confusion in his tone.
“It turns out that I want love more than I want freedom. I don’t want to be alone, Lucas. I don’t want to be without you. I don’t care about the rest. Nothing’s right without you.”
His gaze blazed in the pre-dawn light. “So you’ll marry me? You’ll swear yourself to me—”
“If you swear to me.”
“Of course.”
“Then, of course!”
He grinned. And then they kissed each other. Not a swift mash of teeth and tongues. Not even a refined press of lips. He came to her with a slow caress of acceptance and exploration. But most of all, he came to her with love, and she returned it. That made this moment more than the sensation of their mouths against each other. It was more than the holding of each other’s arms. It was a feeling that swelled between them, magnifying with every second they touched. And it kept happening long after their mouths parted.
“There is more that I have to do here,” he said. “I need to help the constable see that everything is done properly so that no one can challenge it.”
She nodded, though she had no idea what he meant. She trusted him to handle this and so much more. What a relief to trust the man she loved to do things the proper way.
“Come to me as soon as you can,” she whispered.
“Nothing could keep me away.”
And then they held each other’s gaze for a moment longer.
“I love you,” he
said.
“I love you,” she echoed. “And it will be enough,” she said firmly. “Loving you will be more than enough for the rest of my life.”
Epilogue
Seven months later…
Their wedding occurred in by special license on the first day of the new year. Diana didn’t care if the whole world knew she was newly wed, but Lucas was ever careful with her reputation. She was still in half-mourning, and several people would talk if the speed of their wedding was known. She didn’t care, but he did.
So, they compromised and had a private ceremony at the Adelphi chapel in the Strand while both their families bore witness. The announcement of their nuptials would not come until next Season, but for now, they could live as man and wife in his London home. And that suited Diana just fine.
The breakfast was lovely. If nothing else, Lucas’s mother knew how to hire an excellent chef. But when Diana smiled at her family—the new and the old—she realized that her sister Gwen seemed to be deep in the doldrums.
After the last course was served, Diana could stand it no longer. With a whispered apology to her new husband, she left her seat to crouch down beside her normally unflappable sister.
“Have I made a hash of the greenery?” Diana asked by way of greeting. Her sister was mad for botany and would happily expound on care of one plant or another. But in this case, Gwen merely blinked at the collection of pinecones and branches that graced the table.
“How can anyone make a hash of an evergreen?” Gwen asked. “Their branches are so symmetrical, even I could make a decent table arrangement.”
“I am relieved that it’s not the decorations that have you so glum.” She nudged her sister with her shoulder. “So, what is it? Don’t you like Lucas?”
“What? Of course, I like him,” Gwen said.
“Then what makes you scowl at my wedding?”
“I’m not scowling! I’m happy for you.” Gwen grinned at her in such an obviously forced display that Diana burst out laughing. No one, not even her very proper sister, could dampen her mood this morning.
“Out with it,” Diana finally commanded. “What are you thinking that has made you unhappy?”
It took a moment for the words to come out. She could tell that Gwen was trying hard to phrase it correctly, but that never worked with her sister. Gwen was a bluestocking through and through, and she simply didn’t act or speak like a typical society woman. Diana thought that was a good thing, but even so, she was unprepared for her sister’s question.
“Are you getting married so you can have children?”
“What? No!” Though she had to admit, she couldn’t wait to have Lucas’s babies. What she wouldn’t give to be pregnant right now! Or at least very soon.
“Oh. That’s good then,” Gwen said as her expression turned thoughtful. “I thought you might be.”
Which, coming from her sister, meant something else much more astounding. Gwen only asked questions when she was thinking about a thing.
“Do you want children?” Diana asked her sister. Gwen had spent the last twelve seasons avoiding anything having to do with the marriage mart. The idea that she was contemplating children was shocking indeed.
“I don’t know about children in general,” Gwen finally admitted. “But I’d like to raise a little girl. I would make sure she learned all about science and mathematics and that no one made her dress in scratchy clothes or forced her to listen to idiotic men.”
Ah, so there it was. Gwen wanted to raise a girl child to be free as they had never been. Certainly not with their mother teaching them dutiful behavior with every breath. For Diana, that meant marrying a man three times her age. For Gwen, it meant suffering constant criticism for her dress, her thoughts, and how she could not pretend to enjoy conversation with someone less intelligent than herself. Given that Gwen was brilliant, there were precious few men who could interest her for more than thirty seconds.
“Are you considering the marriage mart then?” she asked. She’d always made it clear that she despised the thought of tying herself to a man.
“I am considering a girl child,” Gwen answered. “Do you know how I can raise one without the benefit of a husband?”
“I don’t,” Diana answered. “No unmarried woman of your status could raise a child alone. It just isn’t done.”
“Exactly,” Gwen pronounced as if she were uttering, Doom! Doom! Doom!
Diana giggled. She couldn’t help it. “You know,” she drawled, “there must be an intelligent man somewhere out there.”
“There is,” Gwen responded mournfully. “One is our brother. The other is your husband.”
“Maybe there are more. Maybe you could find one for yourself next season.”
Gwen groaned as if she were facing the most arduous task in the world. And perhaps for her, the societal rounds qualified. “I am dreading it,” she intoned.
“I, on the other hand,” came a masculine voice from behind them, “am very excited to see who you find.” It was Lucas, joining them at the table, and Diana was already standing up just so he could wrap his arm around her. “I might have some suggestions if you like,” he said. “I do know some intelligent men.”
“No, no,” Gwen groused. “I’ll do it myself. You two are so besotted with each other, you see brilliance in everyone.”
It was true. Ever since she’d declared her love for Lucas, everything and everyone seemed better. The sun shone brighter, the food tasted better, and even the most annoying things—and people—were as nothing to her. Why, just a few moments ago, she’d forgiven their newest maid for saying Diana had the nicest of mothers-in-law.
“Very well,” Diana said. “We shall leave you to husband hunt on your own—”
“I’m not hunting for a husband,” Gwen interrupted. “I’m looking for an acceptable father for a brilliant daughter.”
“Even so,” Diana said as she turned to her husband, “try following your heart. I’m sure it will lead you in the right direction.” After all, that was the only answer that had worked for her. Her heart had set itself on Lucas and would not let her alone until she said yes.
“Of all the ridiculous, unscientific, silly things to say,” Gwen declared. “But that’s what comes from falling in love. All reason disappears, and the end result is—”
“Blissful happiness for the rest of our lives?” asked Lucas.
“Joy every morning and delight every night?” added Diana.
“Children!” Gwen huffed. “The only reason I shall marry is so I can have a girl child and raise her in the way she ought to be reared.”
If Gwen said anything more, Diana didn’t hear it. She was too busy saying, “I love you” to her new husband at the exact same moment he was saying it to her. Then Lucas nuzzled against her ear and whispered something else.
“Did I hear something about you wanting a baby? If so, then perhaps we should begin—”
“Right away,” Diana said. “Definitely. Right away.”
About the Author
A USA Today Bestseller, JADE LEE has been scripting love stories since she first picked up a set of paper dolls. Ball gowns and rakish lords caught her attention early (thank you Georgette Heyer), and her fascination with historical romance began. Author of more than 30 regency romances, Jade has a gift for creating a lively world, witty dialogue, and hot, sexy humor. Jade also writes contemporary and paranormal romance as Kathy Lyons. Together, they’ve won several industry awards, including the Prism—Best of the Best, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and Fresh Fiction’s Steamiest Read. Even though Kathy (and Jade) have written over 60 romance novels, she’s just getting started. Check out her latest news at www.KathyLyons.com, Facebook: JadeLeeAuthor, and Twitter: JadeLeeAuthor. Instagram: KathyLyonsAuthor.