Before Lady Carr could move, there was a commotion at the threshold. The report of a pistol rang through the drawing room. Everything seemed to unfold at once. Virtue screamed, Lady Carr cried out, eyes going wide as the hand holding her pistol went limp, and the weapon clattered to the floor. Blood ran down her white kid glove, soaking it.
“You’ve shot me,” the countess said, her voice quiet, laced with shock, and then she swooned, crumpling to the floor.
“V!” Trevor was upon her in an instant, taking her into the haven of his powerful arms, cradling her against his chest. “Thank God. You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“N-no,” she managed, clutching the lapels of his coat tightly, burrowing into his reassuring warmth and breathing in his familiar scent. “Is this real? Are you here?”
“Yes, my love.” He kissed her crown, her temple. “I’m here. I’m here, and I’m sorry.”
Her mind flew to Lady Carr and a renewed surge of terror clawed at her throat. “B-but Lady Carr. She wants to kill us both, Trevor.”
“Hush,” he said. “I know. Sutton and Tierney are with me. They’ll see to her. After this, I’ve no doubt she’ll be sent to an asylum.”
“We’ll see that the Runners are called for,” Mr. Tierney said from somewhere across the room, echoing Trevor’s sentiment. Everything had unfolded so quickly that she hadn’t realized Trevor wasn’t alone. “The countess will never hurt anyone again.”
Thank heavens.
There was a further flurry of activity as guards and Pamela came rushing into the drawing room, but Virtue couldn’t bear to look.
She was snuggled against her husband’s chest, tears coming now, scalding hot. “She’s mad. The th-things she said…”
“It’s over now,” Trevor reassured her. “I have you, love, and you’re safe.”
She slid her arms around his waist, holding him with all her strength. “And you’re safe too.”
At last.
“I love you,” he whispered against her hair. “Forgive me for putting you in danger.”
She shook her head. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I should have. This never should have happened,” he argued, still holding her as if he expected her to disappear from his arms.
Virtue tipped her head back, meeting his beloved dark gaze. “I love you, Trevor. Nothing else matters.”
He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. “My God, I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, my darling, you do.”
She rose on her toes and pressed her mouth to his, the salt from their mingled tears lacing the kiss.
EPILOGUE
“Icannot countenance that the new owner of Greycote Abbey has invited us for an extended visit,” Virtue was saying excitedly as their carriage at long last pulled onto the approach that would lead them to her old home.
Hers again, now.
Hers, just like his mare.
Just like his heart.
But unlike the latter two gifts Trevor had bestowed upon his wife, Greycote Abbey remained a carefully guarded secret. In the wake of the horrible day he had almost lost her forever, Trevor had been newly determined to give his wife everything she deserved. To make her happy. To restore to her the home she still spoke of with wistful fondness, even if she’d forgiven him for the original sale.
When he had told her that the current owner had invited them to stay for as long as they wished, she had been elated at the prospect. He had been waiting, as eager as a lad, to tell her the full truth. That the new owners were people with whom she was decidedly familiar.
That Greycote Abbey had been restored to her.
“I knew you would be pleased,” he said, smiling fondly at her as she dipped her head and nearly pressed her nose to the carriage window in her eagerness to catch a glimpse of the old stone estate. “I hadn’t realized justhowpleased you would be, however.”
