She wept then, softly but with enough strength that he wondered if she had never fully allowed herself to do so before.That if today was the first time she’d really faced what she’d endured and what she’d been forced to do.
He gently smoothed his hand over her hair, allowing her this moment where she could be safe in his arms.But he released her when she pulled away.
“You must have questions,” she said, moving to the settee.
He followed and took a place beside her.He drew in a long breath.“You’ve said so much today, I wouldn’t press for details unless you wished to give more of them.”
Her brow wrinkled and she stared at him.“You are truly unlike any man I’ve ever known.”
“Considering the caliber of man who has darkened your door, I will take that as a compliment.”
“It’s meant as one.”She sighed.“And you cannot know how much your acceptance about this means to me.I don’t know if you will feel differently as this sinks in—”
“I won’t,” he assured her, and meant it.
“But the consequences, Callum,” she said.“It was bad enough when no one else knew, but now it seems someone did.We—I was so careful that night, I thought.But the note makes it clear that someone knows.I cannot imagine what they will want to keep their silence.”
He flinched and held out a hand.She passed the offending missive over to him and he examined it.The handwriting was shaky and awkward, almost childlike.But the paper the note was written on was very fine and heavy.Curious.
He read the two sentences again, analyzing every swirl of the letters and turn of the phrases.“Thus far they have not asked for anything.It seems they only want you to know they know.To torment you a bit.”
She shivered.“Silas would approve, I think.But they do mention what I’d be willing to pay to keep the secret.So they are not finished with me, I don’t think.”
“Well, the first step will be determining who wrote this note,” he said.
“How will I do that?”she asked.
He tilted his head.“We.Wewill do that.”
“Oh.You would…you would drag yourself into my ruination.”
He shook his head.“Yes.Always.Every time, Valaria.That is what one does when one loves someone.One day you’ll know that without having to ask me to remind you.But if you need me to, Iwillremind you every day.”
Her expression softened.“You…you could still love me after this?”
“I do love you, Valaria,” he declared, and held his breath as he prayed she would return that sentiment.For a moment he thought she might.She clung to his hand, her blue-gray eyes locked with his.But then she broke away and bent her head.
“What do you need from me?”
He sighed.“I suppose we’ll start with a list of any person who might have a reason or ability to blackmail you.Servants who were on the property that night, neighbors who could have seen what happened in the stable.And we’ll go from there.Theo will help, I know.And your friends will be there at your side.Because no one judges you, Valaria.You know that, don’t you?”
“I could see it on their faces, their wonderful, kind faces,” she agreed.“But I admit, I find it hard to believe.How could you not judge me?How could they not see me differently knowing what I did?”
“They will see you differently,” he said softly.“They will see you as an even stronger, braver woman who saved her own life.Who faced something horrific and overcame it because she has steel at her core.”
She blinked.“Is that how you see me?”
“That and so much more.”He leaned in then, praying she would allow him to kiss her.She hesitated for a moment, but then lifted her mouth to his.He kissed her gently, sweetly, because this caress was not about desire or passion or claiming, but about connection.It was about love.
He wanted her to feel his love so completely that she couldn’t deny it, even when she questioned herself.
He sighed as they parted, and traced the curve of her cheek with his fingertips.“I do have one question.”
She nodded.“Anything.You’ve earned it.”
“Would you have…would you have told me the truth if I hadn’t seen that letter today?”
Her hesitation, the way she broke eye contact from him, told him everything he needed to know before she even spoke a word.She worried her hands in her lap, staring at her fingers as they flexed together and apart over and over.
