“Indulge me, then,” Lucas said, his expression sobering. “I’m worried about her, Max. Eden’s ripe to be fleeced by the first charlatan with a map and a false smile.”
“She’ll manage,” Max muttered, though the protest felt thin even to him. He didn’t want to think about how a lady like her could run into trouble in Egypt. She’d be lucky to make it out of there with her life if she continued with this folly.
Lucas shook his head. “You said she’s not your concern, but she damn well is mine. And it’s no secret you know Egypt like theback of your hand. Would you rather leave her to some reckless fool or someone with bad intentions?”
Max ran a hand over his face, feeling every bit of his seven and thirty years. He knew Lucas was right. Eden wouldn’t give up on her dream so easily, and men far less scrupulous than he would love nothing more than to take her money and her hope. Perhaps even more than that.
At least if he was with her, he could keep her safe. He could just... be with her again.
“Damn you, Lucas.”
“I knew you’d come around to my way of thinking,” Lucas said with a wink, his good humor undampened. “So... you’ll do it?”
Max was silent for a long moment, the tension unspooling in his chest, giving way to a reluctant sense of purpose. He imagined Eden as she’d been earlier in the tavern—tense and stubborn, the familiar defiant spark in her eyes. She hadn’t changed as much as he’d expected. She was still driven and smart, so sure that things would go according to her perfectly detailed plan.
Except, even with all her meticulous research, Max knew that Eden could never truly understand the dangers she would face in Cairo. He had a military man’s understanding of the world, a visceral grasp of its unforgiving nature that a lifetime of scholarly pursuit could never provide. Powerful men with limitless resources would not hesitate to use violence to protect their interests. And God help her if she actually knew where something of value lay hidden.
The threat wasn’t from crumbling stones or ancient curses, but from a well-placed bullet or a poisoned glass of tea. She might have read every book on the subject, but she was utterly unprepared for a world where academic curiosity was seen as anobstacle, not a virtue. He couldn’t let her step into that viper’s nest without him.
“Looks like I’ve got no choice,” he said at last, though of course, that was a lie. He could let her go alone and then spend the next half year going out of his mind with worry, just like Lucas.
Lucas leaned back, satisfaction in his smile. “I knew you’d do the right thing.”
The right thing? He highly doubted that. How could putting himself in such close proximity to her ever lead to anything good?
He had thought of her as Lady Eden Pemberley for so long, a woman in distant rumors, some other man’s wife, not the flesh and blood Eden he’d known. He hadn’t realized how deeply he’d wanted to keep it that way.
“She should never have come to the tavern tonight,” Max said, the bitterness nearly gone, replaced by something closer to regret. “After everything that’s happened between us, why would she want anything to do with me?”
“Because she knows you.” Lucas gave him a meaningful look. “She knew that if you said yes, she could trust you to keep her safe.”
Max’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile. He wanted to disagree, to insist that the old ties no longer bound, but they both knew that wasn’t true. Even after all these years, the tangled web of the past held strong. She had been the love of his life, the one he’d never gotten over. Hell, he’d have done nearly anything for her back then, and it seemed that nothing had changed.
“You don’t think she hates me?” The question was flippant, but the doubt behind it wasn’t.
“Not nearly as much as you pretend to hate her,” Lucas replied.
“She said something... I asked her if she had any children, and she said, ‘It wasn’t that kind of marriage.’ What the hell did she mean by that?” Her words had haunted him all the way over here.
Lucas frowned. “She married Richard Pemberley, so I’d guess the marriage was never consummated. She wasn’t his type, if you know what I mean. Surely, you knew that?”
He shook his head, at a loss for words.
The marriage hadn’t been consummated.All these years, he’d died a little every time he’d imagined her in her husband’s arms, when all this time, she’d probably been just as lonely as he had.
How fucking heartbreaking.
Max rose from the chair, realizing he was never going to get an apology from his friend. Besides, he couldn’t fault Lucas for wanting to keep Eden safe. Hell, he might even be a little flattered his friend had thought he was the right man for the job.
He was also too tired to argue any further. Still, Lucas’s words stayed with him, settling into his thoughts with an unwelcome clarity. “Thanks for the drink,” he said, already heading for the door. He paused, one hand on the doorknob. “I hope you know you’ve ruined my hard-earned peace.”
“Anytime,” Lucas called, watching him go with an amused fondness. “And Max?”
“What?”
“Try not to be so glum. It’s for the best, you know.”
Max laughed humorlessly. “I highly doubt that.”
