“No, wait. I need—”
Whatever she’d been about to say was cut off when Jamie leaned down and growled something in her ear. She paled and turned to look at Thom helplessly.
“I’m sorry...”
The words were punctuated by a slam.
Thom sank to the bench where her cloak was still strewn; Jamie hadn’t even bothered to let her finish getting dressed. The hose and surcotte lying in a pool on the floor seemed to taunt him with all that Thom had had—if only for a few hours—and lost.
Head in his hands, he fell into a black hole of despair. The blacksmith’s son had reached too high. He’d reached for the stars, and in doing so, he’d lost it all: his fortune, his place in Bruce’s secret army, and most important, his heart.
The thing Elizabeth feared most had become a reality. If she married him, she would once again be that little girl left with nothing.
He wouldn’t do that to her. Even if she still loved him, he couldn’t marry her. Douglas was right. He’d be lucky if Bruce—or Randolph—let him live long enough to return home.
But it was all that was left for him now.
“Unless you want my blade in his gut, you’ll leave now, Ella.”
Her brother’s words had stopped her protests cold. Elizabeth knew it wasn’t a threat. Jamie was practically shaking with barely constrained rage. She knew she needed to get him away from Thommy and give him a chance to cool down.
Jamie would have killed Thommy earlier if she hadn’t intervened. Her mouth screwed up into an annoyed purse. And blasted Thommy would have let him. She’d seen the expression on his face when Jamie had burst in on them and knew he was feeling guilty and ashamed for what they’d done. Which was ridiculous. And she would tell him exactly that just as soon as she got her brother under control. Men and their blastedhonor!
The siblings fumed in silence as they stomped the short distance back to the abbey. She was surprised to see that it was still night—from the number of people, probably around midnight—she and Thommy hadn’t slept that long after all. Jamie had just arrived much earlier than they expected. He must have raced back in the darkness as soon as he’d received her note.
They had just about reached the guesthouse when Elizabeth turned on him, unable to hold back her anger any longer. But it wasn’t just anger. All she had to do was think of Thommy’s expression when Jamie had threatened to ruin him, and her chest squeezed equally with despair.
She knew her brother’s heart was in the right place—he thought he was protecting her—but right now it was hard to remember that. “How could you, Jamie? How could you threaten to destroy Thommy like that? You must know how difficult it is to do what he’s done to move beyond his birth, how hard he has worked for all he’s achieved, and you threatened to take it all away from him out of a misguided sense of vengeance?”
“There’s nothing misguided about it at all, and it’s no better than he deserves for what he did.”
“For whatIdid. This was whatIwanted, but you seem to not want to hear that. But I swear to you, Jamie, if you say one word against Thommy—tell anyone what happened—I will never forgive you.” She gave him a hard look so that he would know she meant it. “I intend to marry him whether you give me permission or not.”
Stubbornness was a family trait. He practically growled at her when he said, “The hell you will.”
She ignored him. “Thom is the most noble man I know—which you know as well as I do.”
He barked out a bitter laugh. “Not so noble after all, as it turns out. When I think of all the times he—” He stopped, his mouth set in a hard line. “It doesn’t matter. He’s going to pay for this.”
“Whatever you do to him you do to me.”
“You say that now.”
“I will say it forever. No matter what you do. I love him, Jamie. Can’t you understand that?” The first crack appeared in his anger, and Elizabeth pressed on. “You are my brother, and I will always love you—and I know you are doing what you think is best—but if you make me choose between you, I will choose Thom.”
He paled slightly.
She looked up to see that Joanna had appeared at the door. How much had she heard? From her expression, probably enough.
“I was worried,” she said by way of explanation. She came outside, crossing the distance to where they stood in the small courtyard. She took in Elizabeth’s disheveled appearance. “I thought you weren’t going to do anything rash.” Not waiting for an explanation—there wasn’t one—she turned to her husband. “What is this really about, James? Why are you so against this? You know that she loves him. Are you trying to rectify your mistake?”
When he realized hermeaning,helooked horrorstruck—absolutely leveled by the accusation. “How can you think that? You know I have never regretted our marriage for a moment. But you’ve heard the unkind remarks about your ‘scandalous breech of propriety’—probably even more than I have. I know how much it’s hurt you, and I hate that I cannot shield you from it, but I can’t. I can for Elizabeth. It would be even worse for her. Much worse. Doors will be closed.”
“So she will open others,” Jo said with her simple logic. “I have been hurt, but I would not change anything for the world, don’t you see that? And Elizabeth is stronger in that way than I am.” She paused. “I am not minimizing your concerns, but if she understands and is willing to accept it, why aren’t you?”
He shifted his gaze first. “I just want to see her happy.”
“I will be,” Elizabeth said softly.
