“Yes.” Harriette confirmed firmly. “It seemed a charitable kindness to offer someone who was dying of syphilis. It can be a painful and dreadful disease and just as I wouldn’t wish to see an animal struggle with a broken leg, neither could I allow my cousin to deal with the same fate when I could send her to the heavens myself.”
A thought occurred to her. “You wrote that memoir to honor her memory.”
The courtesan’s mouth tightened. “I did it for all the women who trusted in the faithless consideration of men. I wanted others to know that they didn’t have to have the last word.”
“And what of my brother?” Fleur countered. “I daresay he wasn’t among men like Elijah Reynolds.”
“Perhaps not right away, but it was apparent that his love of drink and vice would soon steer him in the wrong direction. It is best other women are spared from the disaster that he promises.”
The blood promptly fled from Fleur’s face. “You know where he is.”
“I do.”
That single word both relieved and terrified Fleur. Harriette said it with such cold abandon that Fleur was worried now, more than ever, for her brother’s fate. She took a step forward. “Please, tell me.”
A derringer was whipped forward and pointed directly at Fleur’s heart. “I would ask you to remain where you are.”
Fleur froze but that didn’t keep her from pleading for Flavian’s life. “Please, just release him into my care and I vow that we will leave London this very night. We will trouble you no longer.”
The lady shook her head almost sadly. “I know that you love your brother, Miss Davies. It would be difficult not to do so considering the strong bond that you share. Twins are a remarkable gift for any mother but the fact still remains that he must face the responsibility of his own actions. You have allowed him too many freedoms.”
Fleur’s anger was starting to spark. “And what of the freedoms you offered when you sent him along with Avalon to the gaming tables?”
She shrugged. “I gave him a choice. Choosing the wrong one further proves that he must be punished for his actions.”
“He’s young. Don’t you think we all make mistakes?”
The lady’s face twisted bitterly. “Some mistakes can never be undone. It causes a demise the likes that Elina did not deserve.”
A sound at the door caused Fleur’s focus to temporarily disengage from Harriette. She saw Drake’s head whip in the direction of the courtesan. After a temporary shock, he noticed the weapon in her grasp and where it was pointed. He didn’t appear to think as he lunged for the derringer.
Harriette was too stunned to do more than cry out as the momentum of Drake’s body sent her to the floor, the gun skittering across the floor out of reach. He held his hands at her throat and squeezed while she clawed at the hold he had on her. His eyes were deadly, his jaw set with the same intent. “I should kill you for daring to threaten Fleur.”
Fleur’s mouth went slack. She had never witnessed this side of Drake and it frightened her. She could fully believe that he could commit murder in that instant. Finally, she snapped out of her shock and went forward. Putting a gentle hand on his arms, she begged, “Drake, don’t do this. She knows where Flavian is.”
It took a moment for her words to penetrate his brain but when they did, he blinked and slowly released his grip. Harriette gasped and sputtered for air. Once she had taken several bracing gulps, her focus shifted to her. “Thank you.” Closing her eyes, she seemed to gather herself and then she offered a courtesy in return. “He is in Greenwich with Elijah’s brother, Daniel.” She looked to Drake. “Daniel wasn’t the only grenadier who fought in the war. Elijah did as well. He has struggled with adapting to the societal strictures ever since.” Her eyes welled with moisture. “I am truly sorry for betraying you as I did but you have to understand I have been sadly neglected over the years and I am afraid my friendship skills are sadly lacking.”
Fleur put a soft hand on the woman’s shoulder where Drake still kept her pinned. There was a time she didn’t think she could ever forgive this woman her treachery but with such humble words and the knowledge about her brother, she couldn’t ignore such an entreaty. She took the letter and wrapped her hand around it. “Thank you.”
* * *
Once they leftHarriette’s house, Drake decided that he needed some explanation. He couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around Fleur’s charitable nature.
He stopped abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk. Holding out a hand, he said, “I need to understand what I just saw.”
She looked at him with those wide, green eyes and that innocent expression. “What do you mean?”
He gave a harsh bark of laughter. “I am referring toyou. After all of the hardships you’ve endured with Flavian, myself, and Miss Wilson, you still find enough goodness in your heart to treat that blasted woman with kindness after she’d just pointed the barrel of a gun at your heart.”
She looked at him curiously and then spread her arms wide. “I am uninjured, as you can see. What is the point of lashing out at someone hoping to make amends. I don’t intend to continue a relationship with Harriette but I will not deny her the forgiveness she sought. That would be blatantly cruel.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Do you not understand that I still want to go back there and end her life for daring to threaten you in such a manner? Rage continues to pour through me even now. Can you not see that I died a thousand deaths at the prospect of you being taken from me?” His voice had turned raspy, as he attempted to keep the emotion swelling up inside of him from tearing him apart. Instead, he moved to her and captured her face with his hands. “I would be destroyed should something befall you.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I have lived a life that is unworthy of most forgiveness of my own. I have acted without conscious thought, the only desire to find some benefit for myself. With you, the single thing I want is for your happiness. Most days I feel as though I should have bowed out of that auction in order for you to have discovered a peace that I can never possibly offer you. There are too many demons in my past to offer such a sanctuary. And yet, I am too selfish to let you go.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. He could feel the hardened shell inside start to slowly crack and break apart. “I’m not going anywhere, Drake. My place is with you. Now and always, so long as you’ll have me.”
He released a shuddering breath and he wondered if he wasn’t going to break down in the middle of Chelsea for everyone to observe. He suddenly realized that he didn’t care what anyone thought of him. He had long been known as the tumultuous Mr. Porter, a man others didn’t want to cross, but he cared not for anyone’s approval save that of Fleur. As long as she held him in the circle of her arms, he was content. At long last, he dared to open his heart again.
Stepping back, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. Kissing her knuckles, he said the one thing sure to appease her. “Let’s get your brother.”
