“What is going on?” she whispered.
“I…” He shook his head, looking down.
Sibyl let him take his time as she tugged off his coat, unfastened his waistcoat and shirt, and revealed his wound. As she did, she spotted several other bruises on his skin.
“I cannot stop all of this. Icannot,not if the cost is your safety.”
“And what of your own?”
“I must find out who did this to you,” he insisted.
“Putting yourself in danger is not the answer.”
“The culprit is out there.” His voice dropped to a growl. “I will not stop until?—”
“Gabriel,” she soothed. “Gabriel, you have become paranoid. You think that everybody is out to get me. The carriage—it could have broken accidentally?—”
“It did not,” he hissed. She knew his anger wasn’t directed at her, but she still flinched. “I am sorry, Sibyl, but I know it was deliberate, and Iwilldrag whoever did it before the authorities.”
“You stay out of the house till late into the night,” she told him. “You are not being safe.” She worked with the bandages and salve on hand, patching him up as best as she could. “I would rather the culprit remain free than see you in danger. You leave, and I do not know when or if you will come home. It is scaring me, Gabriel.”
“It is my duty,” he rasped. “It is my duty to protect you, Sibyl. You and Rosie. Rosie could have gotten hurt. You could have sustained worse injuries. I am only thankful that you did not, but it does not negate the fact that youwerehurt. It is my duty to make sure it does not happen again. Why don’t you understand that?”
“I do understand,” she insisted. “But I do not want a protector. I want myhusband.”
He flinched at that, but shook his head seconds later. “You and Rosie come above all else. It is my duty to take care of both of you.”
“You could not save Letitia, I know,” Sibyl whispered, understanding where this need came from. “However, you cannot use this accident to make up for it. I am lonely, and I am worried about you.”
“I cannot afford to give in to some whimsical feelings,” he snapped. “I mustact,Sibyl. I cannot sit back and pretend that it was a terribly timed coincidence.”
“Whimsical?” Her voice was thin. “I do not think such a thing.”
“Yet you do!” He pushed off the washstand, forcing her backward. “Because you can sit there and pretend like this is not a problem.”
“The only problem is your leaving me. I have barely seen you for two weeks! I have been in pain. I have missed you so much, yet even that is not enough to keep you at my bedside.”
“Sibyl—”
“No.” Her hand slashed through the air. “No, Gabriel. Even after everything we have shared, you are still more afraid ofembracing the good thing we have than losing it. You cannot lose, can you? Your past haunts you, and I understand how painful that can be, but I deserve more than losing you to this need for vengeance.”
She could see that her words had finally sunk in, but she was too hurt to even look at him, to keep arguing for one more moment.
Shaking her head, she walked out of the bathing chamber and into the nursery, ignoring him when he called after her.
After her outburst, Sibyl did not spend time with Gabriel. She refused to dine with him, and whenever he remained in the house, he spent long hours in his study.
She was content to ignore him as much as he did her.
He had done it during her recovery. It was not any different. The only difference was that it caused her so much pain to do it, but she had tried so many times to get through to him. It had caused her more distress to keep trying.
Spending her time in the nursery kept her sane, but she needed more. She needed to get out of the house, out of Gabriel’s space, no matter how much she cared for him.
Three days after their argument, she requested that Rosie be dressed for a walk through Hyde Park. She was grateful thatGabriel was in the middle of a meeting with an investigator, for she would not have to see him on the way out.
Despite their argument, he still would not let go of his need for revenge. So she focused on Rosie as she strolled through Hyde Park, Hannah a shadow at her shoulder.
Rosie smiled up at her, and she was reminded of Gabriel holding her that night by the window, singing under his breath.
