Before he could go on again about how close he had been to making a mistake that would have cost her life, Cecil appeared beside them, his expression tight with concern and lingering anger.
“We need to get you home,” he said firmly, reaching for his sister. “You have been through an ordeal, Nora, and you need rest and care.”
Godric reluctantly released Nora's hands, stepping back to allow Cecil to help her stand. But as Cecil began to guide his sister toward his own carriage – which had apparently arrived while Godric was preoccupied – the duke found himself following.
Cecil noticed and turned, placing himself protectively between Godric and Nora.
“I owe you a debt,” Cecil said stiffly. “You saved my sister's life, and for that, I thank you. But that changes nothing between us. You lied to me. You used our friendship to get close to my family, to my father. And regardless of whether your revenge was misdirected, the betrayal remains.”
“Cecil –” Godric began, but the other man held up a hand.
“Stay away from us,” Cecil said, his voice hard. “From me, from my sister, from my family. You have done enough damage, Ironwell. I do not wish to see your face again.”
With that, he turned and helped Nora into his carriage. She looked back at Godric over her shoulder, her eyes filled with something that looked like longing mixed with resignation. Then the door closed, and the carriage pulled away, leaving Godric standing alone in the fading light.
He stood there for a long moment, watching until the carriage disappeared around a corner. Then, slowly, he made his way back to his own and climbed inside.
As the coachman urged the horses forward, Godric leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.
She was safe. That was what mattered. Nora was alive and unharmed, and Luther would face justice for his crimes.
Even if it meant losing her forever, at least she would be safe.
The hollow ache in his chest made the victory feel quite similar to defeat. But Godric had long since learned to live with pain.
He could learn to live with this too.
He had to.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“He's here again,” Cecil noted with a groan, setting down his teacup with more force than was strictly necessary.
Nora glanced up from the embroidery hoop in her lap, her heart performing that now familiar leap at the mention of him. She did not need to ask who Cecil was referring to.
For the past three days, Godric had appeared at her brother's estate with unwavering persistence, and for three days, Cecil had turned him away at the door.
Following her kidnapping, Cecil had insisted Nora stay with him while she recovered. He had even mentioned never letting her out of his sight ever again – seeing as their father had not been aware of that she had even been missing.
“There is no use dwelling with a man who cannot protect you in the slightest. If I had not returned early from my tour, if I hadnot noticed in time... who knows what would have happened to you?” Cecil had said as they arrived home. “I will send for your maid and your things in the morning.”
Nora had been too tired to argue, her mind still reeling from all that had transpired earlier.
She could scarcely believe that it had been Luther all along. Godric’s uncle who had raised him was the one responsible for the death of the duke’s parents. And he had pinned his crimes on her father.
She could not forget how strangely blank Godric’s face had been when Luther revealed his actions. It was as though he had not only known the truth then, but it did not matter any more.
But then, when he had seen how heart broken, she was after he claimed she meant nothing to him, the sadness she had tried to instil in him once, came forth easily. And she had not needed to speak a single word.
It made Nora question everything about them, although she was afraid to let herself hope for something more out of their seemingly doomed relationship.
What proved to be no help at all were Godric’s constant visits and his pleas to see Nora, the request always denied by Cecil who was clearly running out of patience.
While she understood her brother’s anger and frustrations... she had some questions only Godric could answer. She really needed to know what he thought of her. Why he had been so quick to dismiss her feelings, but had looked so... destroyed at the hurt she felt when he said she meant nothing to him.
And there was no time like the present to acquire the answers she sought.
“Cecil –” she began, but her brother was already rising from his chair, his expression set with stubborn determination.
