Louise whirled to face him. “I ran because I couldn’t bear to stand there another moment, feeling everything you made me feel, knowing that tomorrow you’ll wake up and regret it. Again.”
Aaron moved closer, and she could see his face properly now in the candlelight. He looked haunted, desperate, nothing like the controlled duke who ruled his domain with icy precision.
“I’m trying to be a gentleman,” he said roughly. “To keep my vow to help you find your brother without …”
“Your vow.” Louise laughed, but the sound held only bitterness. “You keep your search for him secret. You tell me nothing of what you discover. How is that keeping your vow?”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what? The truth?” She stepped toward him, anger giving her courage. “How can I trust you when you keep me out of everything that matters? When you kissed me like I’m air and you’re drowning, then push me away like I’m poison?”
Aaron’s jaw clenched. He looked away, toward the darkened shelves. “You want the truth?”
“I’ve been begging for it.”
“Your brother was seen meeting with a man named John Wigram. Three times, at least, before he disappeared.” Aaron’s voice was flat, emotionless. “Wigram is a known wine smuggler. He runs operations out of the East End, and the Crown takes a dim view of such activities.”
Louise felt the blood drain from her face. “Smuggling?”
“A much more serious offense than unpaid debts.” Aaron met her eyes, and she saw the weight of what he’d been carrying alone. “I’ve had men searching every low place in London trying to find George before the authorities do. Before Wigram’s associates do.”
“Smuggling.” She repeated the word, trying to make it fit with the brother she knew. The brother who had gambled away their inheritance, yes. Who had abandoned his responsibilities, certainly. But smuggling? “George wouldn’t … he’s reckless, not a criminal.”
“Desperate men make desperate choices.” Aaron’s voice gentled. “Whatever debts drove him to this, whatever hole he dug himself into, he saw Wigram as a way out. And now he’s in deeper than he ever imagined.”
Louise groped for the back of a chair, her knees suddenly weak. If George were caught, he would go to prison. Their name would be dragged through every scandal sheet in London. Emily wouldbe the sister of a criminal, her future destroyed before it ever began.
“We’re ruined,” she whispered. “Completely ruined.”
“Not yet.” Aaron stepped closer. “If I can find him first, if I can extract him from Wigram’s operation before anyone else discovers his involvement, there may be a way to salvage this.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” The tears were winning now, hot tracks down her cheeks. “You knew all this, and you said nothing?”
“You were happy.” His voice cracked on the word. “Earlier, watching Emily learn to dance, laughing at Buttercup’s antics. You were happy. How could I destroy that?”
“Because it’s my burden to carry!” She was shouting now, past caring who might hear. “George is my brother, my responsibility. Emily is my responsibility. Their futures, their safety, all of it falls on me.”
“Why?” Aaron moved closer, his own control fracturing. “Why must it all fall on you? Why can’t you let someone else carry some of the weight?”
“Because there is no one else!”
“There’s me.” The words exploded from him. “There’s me, Louise. I’m here, trying to help, trying to protect you, and you won’t let me.”
“You push me away every time I get close.”
“Because you deserve better!” He was in front of her now, close enough that she could see the desperation in his eyes. “You deserve joy and laughter and freedom from all this weight you carry. You deserve someone who hasn’t spent his entire life building walls, someone who knows how to love without destroying.”
“You do not get to make that choice for me.”
“You’ve been caring for everyone else for so long,” Aaron said softly. “Your useless brother left you to shoulder everything alone. But you deserve to be cared for. To be cherished. To laugh without guilt and smile without worry.”
“I can’t remember the last time I felt that way.”
“During your sister and my aunt’s performance, you laughed, really laughed. It was …” He swallowed hard. “Your laugh is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.”
They stood inches apart now, their anger dissipating into something else entirely. Something that made her heart race and her skin feel too sensitive.
“I should have told you about George immediately.” Aaron’s voice was rough with emotion. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to allow you some peace. Time to enjoy yourself. One moment where you could just be Louise, not the responsible sister, not the family savior. Just you.”
