“Where will you go?” Case asked again, feeling the urge to weep himself. The thought of losing the two people he loved most paralyzed him. Sorrow made his chest ache.
“Cornwall,” Justin replied. “To a small seaside village. We’ll get a cottage there. Whittington is out of the question.”
His voice was heavy with regret, and Case was just beginning to grasp just how much his brother would give up by taking Jillian away. He would be forced from his home and everything he held dear.
“We cannot travel to the continent or India in her condition,” he continued. “She will need time to recover.”
Case watched his brother, observed the utter devastation that poured from every word he spoke, reflected in every movement. He reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing what he was thinking. “Father would be proud of you.”
Justin looked up, his eyes fiery with emotion. “Would he? I cannot decide what is worse—the fact that I am going against everything I was brought up to believe or that I don’t care.”
“Father taught us to be honorable in all things,” Case said. “Turning your back on Jillian and allowing Penroth to take her would be the most dishonorable thing I could imagine.”
“Honorable or not, it’s not something I will ever allow,” he vowed.
“I shall miss you both,” Case said, his voice cracking. “To lose my brother and my dearest friend—it doesn’t bear thinking about.”
“You loved her.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a simple uttered truth. Case closed his eyes briefly, but there was no point in denying it. “I’ve loved her from the moment she stepped into my carriage.”
He rose in agitation and poured a drink. “But,” he continued, “what she needed was a friend and I’ve not once regretted my friendship with her.”
“She loves you too, you know,” Justin said.
Case smiled slightly. “Yes, she does, but she loves you more. What she feels for me does not extend outside the boundaries of friendship. She is a special woman, Justin. Take good care of her.”
Both men looked up as the doctor came in. “How is she?” Justin asked, quickly getting up from his seat.
“Whoever did that to her should be hanged,” the older man said as he adjusted his spectacles. “It’s an absolute disgrace.” He shook his head and gathered his bag in his hand. “She is resting now. I gave her a large dose of laudanum. She seemed to be in a great deal in pain. I bound her ribs. She most certainly has at least one broken, if not more.”
“How soon can she travel?” Justin asked.
“Travel? My good man, she mustn’t be moved from her bed for at least a week.”
“I don’t have a week,” Justin said in frustration. “I have to move her as soon as possible. Her safety is at stake.”
The doctor raised one bushy eyebrow. “If you absolutely must move her, she must go by stretcher. You must take extra care not to cause further injury to her ribs. She must be as still as possible for the next few weeks. No excitement, minimal movement. Now if you will excuse me I have other patients to see to.”
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Justin said.
He turned back to Case as the physician left the room. “What do we do? We don’t have a week to waste. Penroth will likely be back tomorrow with a warrant to search the premises. We can’t move her to your house or to Lady Bea’s. He would look for her there. For that matter, how the hell do we get Jillian out of here on a stretcher without anyone seeing us?”
“We’ll think of something,” Case said in a determined voice.
###
Justin let himself into the room where Jillian lay and stood a moment, observing the quiet rise and fall of her chest and listening to the soft sounds of her breathing. He pulled a chair to the side of the bed and sat down, taking her limp hand in his. “God, Jillian, I am so sorry,” he said, placing the palm of her hand against his cheek.
Her face was swollen and black from the many bruises. Her left eye was puffy and he doubted she could open it if she wanted to. Such a short time ago he had been planning his life with her as his bride, his duchess. Now they would be forced to flee London in disgrace, forced to live a lie, any children they had—bastards.
It would fall to Case to provide an heir to the dukedom. His children could never inherit. He would accept these conditions, though, if it meant having Jillian and if it meant she would be safe.
He rose and gently lowered himself onto the bed beside her. Tucking her hand under his chin, he wearily closed his eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Your grace—your grace!”
