“There,” Lucien murmured against her hair. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”
Meanwhile, the practical business of dealing with their prisoners continued. Fane and Axton had fashioned a travois from broken branches and their own cloaks to transport Lockwood’s body—they couldn’t simply leave it by the roadside, and they would need it as evidence of what had transpired.
“What about these two?” Julian asked, nodding toward Briggs and Murphy, who sat bound and miserable in the morning sun.
“We take them to the nearest magistrate,” Tarquin replied. “Let them answer for their crimes properly. Their testimony about Lockwood’s plans and methods might be valuable in closing this case completely.”
Blackstone, who had remained silent through most of these arrangements, finally spoke. “I’ll escort the prisoners myself. I want to ensure they reach the authorities safely.”
“Your Grace,” Wolf said carefully, “are you certain that’s wise? You’ve just killed a man, however justified it might have been. Perhaps it would be better—think of the scandal.”
“For once, scandal be damned,” Blackstone said, cutting him off. “I’ll protect Courtney’s name from any scandal. This will only be about Kitty’s murder. There is no need for anyone to find out about Lady Courtney’s abduction.”
“Thank you, your grace,” Lucien said.
“You shot him because he shot at you, Blackstone,” Fane assured him. “What you did was completely justified. But the social ramifications…”
“Thank you,” the duke replied with quiet vehemence. “I won’t forget your support.”
The raw grief in his voice made even the hardened criminals shift uncomfortably. Here was a man who had lost everythingthat mattered to him and found that revenge provided no real comfort.
As they prepared to separate, the main group heading back to London with Courtney, while others dealt with prisoners and evidence, Rockwell approached Blackstone one final time. “The word of a duke won’t be disputed. You should do all the talking with the magistrate.”
With final arrangements made, the group began to disperse. Fane and Axton took charge of the prisoners, while Julian and Tarquin flanked Lucien and Courtney for the ride back to London. Wolf remained with Blackstone to help manage Lockwood’s body and coordinate with the local magistrate.
As Rockwell’s steady horse began the long journey south, Courtney settled more comfortably against Lucien’s chest. The rhythmic motion of the horse’s gait seemed to ease her discomfort somewhat, and color was slowly returning to her pale cheeks.
“It’s over,” Lucien said quietly, his arms tightening protectively around her. “He can’t hurt you anymore. He can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“I know,” she replied, her voice growing stronger as they put distance between themselves and the scene of Lockwood’s death. “Your—our—secret is safe.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and wondered what price they all might have paid, and that perhaps secrets were dangerous. He had some thinking to do.
She was quiet for several minutes, watching the countryside roll past as they rode. Finally, she spoke again. “When I was hiding in that straw pile, when I thought I might never see you again, I realized something important.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t care what society thinks about Ava-Marie’s birth. I don’t care if they whisper about your time in Ireland or questionour marriage. All that matters is that we’re together, that we’re building a life based on truth and love.” She turned her head to look up at him. “You don’t have to carry those secrets anymore, Lucien. We’re stronger than whatever scandal they might create.”
Relief flooded through him—relief so profound it left him momentarily speechless. He had been dreading the eventual revelation of Ava-Marie’s illegitimacy, had been planning strategies to manage the social fallout. But Courtney was right. Their love, their family, was stronger than society’s judgment.
“You took the words out of my mouth. I love you,” he said suddenly, the words emerging with startling clarity and conviction. “Not because I’m supposed to, not because we were engaged before, but because of who you are now. Because of your courage, your compassion, your incredible strength. I love you, Courtney Montague, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving myself worthy of that love.”
Tears filled her eyes, but they were tears of joy rather than sorrow. “I love you too,” she whispered. “The man you are now, the father you’ve become, the partner you’re choosing to be. We’re going to be so happy together, Lucien. All of us—you, me, and Ava-Marie and our children.”
Before them, London’s spires were beginning to appear on the horizon, promising safety, healing, and the beginning of their new life together. The ordeal was finally over, and their future stretched ahead bright with possibility.
As they rode toward home, Lucien found himself thinking not of the past or its secrets, but of tomorrow and all the tomorrows to come. Whatever challenges lay ahead, they would face them together—honestly, bravely, and with love as their foundation.
With Courtney in his arms, a vision of his future—a vision of ahappyfuture—filled him, and Lucien finally felt as if he werehome. He knew exactly who he was and where he fit in this world. And he knew the woman who fitted with him was safely in his arms. He’d never let her go again.
Epilogue
Six weeks afterBaron Lockwood’s death on the Great North Road, London society had found new scandals to occupy its attention. The official account—that the baron had been killed while resisting arrest for the killing of two women—had been accepted without question. The Duke of Blackstone’s word carried sufficient weight that no magistrate dared question his account of self-defense, and the transportation sentences handed down to Briggs and Murphy had closed the matter definitively.
What society didn’t know, and never would, was the detail that a small gathering in the Earl of Danvers’ library had sworn to keep secret—the truth about Ava-Marie’s birth.
Lucien stood by the window, watching his daughter play in the garden with Lauren while the adults conducted their serious business inside. The decision had been unanimous—the secret would remain within the family circle for now, but if it ever came to light, they would face it together rather than allow anyone to use it as a weapon against them.
“It’s decided then,” the Marquess of Lorne said, his authoritative voice bringing the meeting to a close. “The truth remains among us, but we won’t live in fear of its discovery. If it comes out, we weather the storm together.”
