“No, go to bed.I will be fine.”
After Ginny left, Violet could not go to sleep.She stared wide-eyed at the canopy of her bed as all the emotions from earlier flooded through her, fear being the most prominent.God, she had been so frightened.Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and trailed down her temples to soak the pillow.Stuart had almost killed her.He would have forced himself on her for sure.Was he really dead?Was she free?She slapped a hand over her mouth as she gasped at her own traitorous thought.Stuart was dead, and she was…relieved?What a horrible creature she was.She flipped back the covers and jumped out of bed.
Pacing to the window, she threw open the sash.Cold air rushed inside, bringing her fully to her senses for the first time tonight.A sob escaped her as the horror of the evening raced again through her mind.She turned and reached for her robe.Throwing it on and slipping her feet into her slippers, she crossed the room and exited to the corridor.Drawn to the front stairs, she stopped at the top and looked down.Everything looked just as it always was, but all she saw was Stuart’s body at the bottom.She could not erase the image.Another sob escaped her chest.She needed to escape.Violet raced down the stairs and out the front door into the night.
Chapter Eighteen
Rhys played aslow melody on his piano.He’d needed something to keep him occupied as he tried not to stalk Violet Sommerset.These past few days, since he had spewed his emotions all over poor Matthew, Rhys had tried his best to stay away from her.He didn’t need to see her in order to investigate the Duke of Lavensham, and with each encounter, he only became more captivated.What he needed was some space from her so he could remember all the reasons he’d chosen to keep away from entanglements of the heart.
The dog picked up his head from where he lay across the room.His ears twitched, and he let out a lowwoof.Rhys paused his playing to listen.“What do you hear, boy?”
Lumbering to his feet, the dog barked again.This time, Rhys heard it as well.Someone was knocking on his front door.He strode over to the front window.Who the fuck would knock on his door this time of night?Flicking back the curtains, he peered out at the front stoop.Fuck.
He raced to the door, the dog already there, barking his head off.He wrenched it open.Violet looked up at him with wide, wild eyes.Wearing what looked like only a robe and slippers, she hiccupped loudly on the back end of a sob.
“I killed him.I killed him.”
Rhys reached for her and pulled her roughly against him.Shutting the door with his foot, he wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders.“What the hell do you mean, you killed him?Who?”
She buried her head in his chest.Her bare fingers clutched at his shirt.“Stuart is dead.”
He sucked in a shocked breath.Her husband dead?He gently cupped her head, pulling it back so he could see her face.Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her cheeks were so pale.“How?What happened tonight?Are you hurt?”His words tumbled over each other.Something terrible must have happened in that house tonight.
Another wet sob came from her.Her lips trembled.
God, what was he doing interrogating her in the front hall?“Sugar, let’s go…” Fuck.He had nowhere comfortable to settle her on the main level.She shivered in his arms.The only fire burning was upstairs, so Rhys swept her into his arms and started up.Violet buried her head into the crook of his neck, her tears dampening his collar.
“Here now, let’s get you warm.”He pushed open the door to his room.“Why are you in your nightclothes?”He set her onto the seat of his leather wingback chair, then crossed to poke the embers of the fire back to a blaze and add two logs.
When he turned back, she sat stock-still except for her fingers, which twisted the gold ring around and around her thumb.Her blond hair was a wild halo around her head.And now, the glow of the firelight revealed a red mark on her cheek.Christ.He went to his knees in front of her.Cupping that cheek, he gently ran a thumb across it.“What happened tonight, Violet?”
“He’s dead.He fell down the stairs.He tried to grab for me, but I stepped back.He was falling and falling.”
“All right.I am starting to get the picture.Was he hurting you?”
“Yes, we argued.He slapped me.”She raised her hand to where he held her cheek.“I ran upstairs.He pulled my skirts, and I fell.He yelled that I should never run away from him.We struggled, but when he pulled back, I ran up the stairs.”Her brow furrowed as though she was having trouble putting the events in order.“He was shaking me.Yelling.Then he lost his balance.I could see him stumble.He reached for me, but I took a step back.”She covered her mouth with one hand.The horror on her face was heartbreaking.
“Shhhh…you’re safe now.”He pulled her off the chair and onto his lap.Stroking her hair, he rocked her gently.“You were protecting yourself.He would have pulled you down with him.”
She was quiet for a long time.When he looked down, her eyes were closed, her breathing even.He rose slowly, trying not to jostle her too much.Then he carried her over to his bed and laid her gently on the sheets.
The dog let out a softwoof.“Quiet, boy.Don’t wake her.She has had a rough night.”
As Rhys pulled his arm out from underneath her, she stirred.“Don’t leave me alone.”Her hand grasped his sleeve.“Please.”
“All right.Hang on.”He went to bank the fire.Then he toed off his shoes and slid off his braces.He sighed.What was he doing?He looked over at Violet, lying on her side, watching him with those big brown eyes.Not able to stop himself with any amount of logic, he crossed to the bed and climbed on next to her.Violet immediately scooted over and laid her head on his chest.He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.She needed the comfort, and he needed to hold her.Fuck, that bastard could have killed her tonight.
“You don’t think it was my fault?That I could have prevented him from falling?”she whispered in the dark a few moments later.
He swept a hand over her hair.“No, sugar.No.His body weight would have pulled you down with him.”
She nodded against his shoulder, then was quiet again for a while.
“I’m not sorry that he is dead.I feel…relieved.”
He kissed her forehead.“He was a horrible person.Cruel.Don’t you feel bad about being relieved.I’m glad he’s dead too.I would have taken care of him for you.”
“I know.”She burrowed her head against his chest, and with a deep sigh, she finally fell asleep.
