“My cousins send someone to attack the duchess,” he admitted softly. “And I intervened. The bruises are the result.”
Now Hilde’s expression crumpled. “So they aren’t empty threats.”
“Perhaps not. I’m so sorry you were frightened,” Roarke said as Hilde gripped his hand, the horror in her gaze real. “I should have been more prepared—I didn’t know how far my cousins would go.”
“I adore your mother, sir, I do,” Hilde said. “But I can’t—”
“I know,” he said, trying not to panic. “And I promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to get this situation rectified. But if you feel you must leave my employ…I’ll figure something out.”
Hilde drew a long breath. “I’ll have to think on it. At least here it feels safe. His Grace has been nothing but kind, especially to your mother.”
Roarke bent his head. “And I can never repay him for that, though I will surely try. I’m glad this time here has been a respite for you. I think it will be a few days more until we resolve things with my cousins. Then we can talk about the future.”
Of course, at present he couldn’t picture the future. Not for his mother, not for himself, not for Flora. It all felt in the air, dark and frightening and growing more so with every time he saw how far his cousins would go to protect their money.
The door to the parlor opened and Flora stepped out. “She’s a bit tired, I think. Overwhelmed by meeting someone new.”
“Yes,” Hilde said, wiping her tears. “Of course. I’ll join her and help her finish, then get her up to bed for a rest.”
After Hilde had gone back into the parlor, Flora stepped closer. “She’s lovely. Your mother, I mean. And—”
“I love you,” he interrupted.
She blinked up at him, her expression turning from one of comfort to surprise. “Wh-what?”
“I love you, Flora,” he continued, even though he hadn’t meant to start this conversation here in a hallway in another man’s house. “I love you with all my heart, even though I know full-well that I don’t deserve you. This time with you, watching her with you, becoming more and more aware of the threat against us all…I need you to know it.”
She was silent a moment, just staring at him. Then she moved closer. His heart had begun to race and he tried to keep himself level. She might deny him and he had to accept that when it happened.
She cupped his cheeks in both hands, her thumbs smoothing along his jaw gently. “I love you, Roarke,” she whispered.
For a moment, nothing else in the world existed. There were no sounds above the rushing of his blood in his veins, nothing to see but her beautiful face staring up at him, no light but her light, which pierced through the darkness like a beacon home.
“You…love me?” he whispered. “Even after everything I—”
“I don’t have to love everything you do to love you,” she said. “You’ve apologized and worked to prove yourself. And after seeing your mother, hearing her talk about you, it’s obvious you would have done anything for her.” She looked back over her shoulder toward the parlor. “And now so would I. She deserves protection. So do you.”
He almost buckled at those words. He’d spent a great many years without anyone to protect or care for him, and now this remarkable woman offered both. She offered her heart, which was worth twenty times the amount of money his cousins were willing to kill for.
He sighed. “Well, that protection is something we need to work out quickly,” he said. “Philip did more than harass my mother and Hilde. He threatened them.”
The color went out of her face and her hands began to shake even as she rested them on his arms. “Wh-what?”
He nodded. “They’re safe here with Theo for the time being. But this must be resolved. And I think…as much as I hate it…that you might be right you are the only one who can end this.”
She let out a shaky breath. “We can. Together. Come, the others are in the east parlor waiting for us. Why don’t we join them? And we can figure out together exactly what to do and how to do it. Because I want to fight for our future, Roarke.”
He pulled her closer, folded his arms around her, breathed in the soft scent of her hair and reveled in the warmth of her embrace. “So do I,” he said.
And for the first time in the long time, the future felt like something worth fighting for.
* * *
“Your mother’s companion played down the threat,” Theo said with a shake of his head a short while later. “I understand why, as she doesn’t know me well. But if these people were willing to go so far…”
Flora sighed. They’d been going around and around this subject for twenty minutes. Since Theo hadn’t been present when she’d declared she would face off with her stepchildren, they’d been having the same conversation over again to convince him.
“If you don’t want them to meet with me here,” she said gently, “I understand. Callum, would you allow me to use your home instead? Mine is so small and it will feel unprotected. I want my stepchildren to see that I have powerful allies.”
