“Thank you,” Philip said, appreciating his friends in a way he hadn’t before. Was it any wonder that Eliza was so pleased to have found true friends with her literary league?
It was understandable that the ladies would support each other in any endeavor they undertook, including helping a man to see them in a different light.
He’d latched onto the wrong meaning of theFor Better or Worseagenda as an excuse to avoid his own predicament and the difficult decision he needed to make. He’d been an idiot and owed Eliza an apology.
He moved toward the door even as a terrible thought came to mind. Surely, Markus didn’t have Eliza in that room.
His heart racing, Philip flung open the door to see Eliza standing beside Markus, eyes wide with fear.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Elizagaspedasthedoor swung open to reveal Philip with two men behind him.
“Eliza!” Philip’s eyes went wide with shock at the sight of her.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, she shoved Delbert toward the wall. But he still had a hold of her, and she fell with him when he toppled onto the wall and fell to the ground.
A sharp pain in her side made her flinch even as she called out, “He has a knife.”
She struggled to right herself, but Delbert held tight.
He straightened, still sitting on the floor, and pointed the blade at Philip, his other hand continuing to grasp her arm. “Stay back,” he shouted.
“No!” Horrified at the thought of Philip being hurt, she shoved at the hand that held the knife, surprised to see blood on the blade.
Philip and the two men descended on them, their movements a blur. Philip grabbed Delbert’s outstretched arm, and the knife swayed in her direction before Philip pushed Delbert’s hand upward.
Bolton and the other man seized hold of Delbert, and they quickly subdued him.
“Drop it,” Philip demanded, squeezing Delbert’s wrist until the blade fell to the floor. The two other men hauled Delbert to his feet and restrained him.
“Damn you.” Delbert tried to pull free without success.
“Eliza, are you all right?” Philip reached for her and gently drew her upright.
“Yes, of course. I didn’t want him to hurt you.” Her hands were shaking, and her side ached, making it difficult to draw a proper breath. She glanced down to see a red stain on the pale blue fabric of her gown. “Oh no. Aunt Frieda is not going to be pleased.”
“You’ve been stabbed.” The shock in Philip’s voice had her frowning, certain he was wrong as it didn’t hurt that badly.
“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Delbert said as he tugged at his arms to no avail. “No one was supposed to get hurt.” He glared at Philip. “You were supposed to come alone. You’ve ruined everything.”
“I think you’re the one who’s done that,” Bolton said.
Philip wrapped an arm around Eliza as if expecting her to collapse at any moment, ignoring his cousin.
“Philip, whoever he owes the money to has threatened to kill him if he doesn’t pay by midnight,” Eliza said, pressing a hand to her side.
“What?” He looked at Delbert. “Is that true?”
“What do you care?” Emotion coated Delbert’s voice but still he attempted to jerk his arms free.
“Of course, I care.” Philip’s outrage had Delbert staring at him in surprise. “However, I don’t agree with any of what you’ve done of late. The time has come to change, Markus.”
At that, he seemed to lose all fight, his shoulders slumping.
Philip shook his head. “Do noteverput someone else in danger to gain what you want. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
