“I saw when you were dancing with my daughter at the ball.”
“What?!” Morgan heard Selina gasp from behind her father. “That was really you?”
Morgan remembered how Selina had stopped suddenly in the middle of the dance, her face showing fear as she looked around. He had been wondering what was wrong with her. Now he knew that she had seen her father in the crowd and it suddenly made sense to him.
“Yes, it was really me. It was very stupid to watch her dancing with you like that. I needed you both to have a wakeup call,” he sneered as Morgan froze.
“Did you do anything to my grandmother?” Morgan asked as he focused intensely on the man.
“Yes,” he said proudly. “It was just a warning. Just like the fire in your grandmother’s house had been. I was trying to make Selina come out of her hiding place so I could get her back.”
Morgan saw the shock in Selina’s expression. It was clear that she had not known that her father was aware that she was with the Dowager Duchess after all.
“When we got to your estate, I did not know what to do but then you came to London and it was the perfect time for me to reunite my family once again. I have you to thank for that decision.”
Morgan suddenly felt guilty. He had been responsible for more than that. None of this would have happened if he had not been so hasty to chase her away.
His guilt gave way to anger. He was ready to risk it all to get to the man, even if it meant being shot. He simply could not let this man continue his tyrannical ways. He stopped in his tracks when he heard sounds coming from outside. The constables had arrived.
“If you pull the trigger, you will not be able to get away with it as you did the last time,” Morgan said. He took a step in Selina’s direction to untie her from her binds when he felt the pain shoot through him. He heard Selina scream as he began to fall and saw her father drop his gun and try to run away before he was caught by the constables.
Morgan felt better knowing that they had caught him as he watched them pin him down. He heard footsteps just as Selina reached him, her binds cut off by a constable as another tended his wound.
Selina knelt and cried as she placed his head on her laps while the constable tended to his shoulder where the bullet had shot through.
“It’s all right, Selina. It is only a flesh wound,” he consoled her even as he winced from the pain. “Please calm down.”
He ran his hand up and down her back as he waited for her to calm down.
“I am sorry for telling you to leave my home. I should have asked questions instead of jumping into conclusions,” Morgan said, contrite.
“It is all right. I understand that you were just trying to protect your family,” Selina said and Morgan smiled at her. His nerves had begun to shoot up as he realized there was only one thing to be done.
“I want you to be my family,” he said nervously, his nerves increasing when she froze in shock, her eyes wide.
“I love you, Selina.”
Her eyes widened even more as she stared at him. Her lips slowly began to part into a smile. “Truthfully, this is not the confession I dreamed of.”
Morgan laughed, feeling his nerves alleviate at her joke.
“I will be waiting for a more appropriate confession when you get better.” She caressed his brows as he closed his eyes smile on his face.
“I love you too.”
EPILOGUE
It had been a few days since the incident and Morgan had been bullied into bed rest by the women in his life. They had scolded him when he had tried to work even though he reminded them that he had a perfectly good shoulder and he only needed to look at the books.
Morgan sat up as the physician inspected the bandage on his shoulder. He winced when the man tapped his sore area and was glad he was alone with him. He knew anyone who saw him now would have taken it as an excuse to keep him in bed longer.
“Well,” the physician began as he let go of his shoulder and rummaged through his bag.
“The area surrounding the wound is still sore but that is to be expected. Your shoulder is healing nicely and there is really nothing to be worried about. You should be able to go about your daily activities soon as long as you do not put too much pressure on it and abstain from heavy lifting.”
Morgan nodded as he listened to the physician. He was sure the message would be relayed back to his grandmother and Selina who would make sure that he followed through with all that the physician had said.
A knock on the door sounded and Morgan looked up to see his sister standing there looking in. Barbara had been most affected by what had happened. He doubted that there had ever been a time when she had been so distraught since the passing of their parents.
