They stood like that, chests and hearts pressed together. Closer than ever.
He hated himself for ruining the moment after her resounding triumph—and his decision to let the weasel go—but he had to ask, “Do you think your cousin had anything to do with your uncle’s death or your brother’s disappearance?”
There was no hesitation. “No. My cousin is many things.”Bully, coward, victim. Jackson filled in the blanks. “But he is no killer.”
Jackson nodded. Seeing that gutless pissant behind bars would go a long way in quieting his need for vengeance at the injustices done, but there was also a sense of rightness in allowing Anna to shut the door on her past.
She need not see her cousin ever again.
Jackson would make it his personal mission in life.
And yet he himself was not blameless in her difficulties.
He took a deep breath. “I don’t work with the Home Office. Irunone of the largest covert teams in England.”
A huff against his chest. “I’m shocked,” she said, sounding nothing of the sort.
He shook his head. Of course she’d figured it out. “I think I was afraid you would look at me differently.”
She said nothing.
His arms tightened around her. “Please, say something.”
“So.” She dragged out the word and pulled back so he could see her scrunched nose. “This is why you’ve never had the time to read the classics.”
His surprise came out in a short huff of laughter. “How I’d love to blame king and country, but I’m afraid you pegged me right the first time. I was a terrible student.”
She snorted. “I would’ve taken the inattention of a duke’s son over the terror of my cousin any day.”
Mention of the maggot had ice chasing away the warmth in his chest.
“If I’d known...” If he’d had but an inkling. “I would have done so many things differently—”
“I wouldn’t have seen you,” she admitted.
They’d been so close. For so long, he’d thought she’d turned him down because her feelings had been familial toward him. A lie he’d told himself countless times to lessen the heartbreak. “Ishouldhave known. Should have trusted our feelings. I should have fought harder. Been there, every day, showing you my devotion. If I’d been there, you would have told me what your family was like.”
“You had your own demons to battle.”
There she was, instantly ridding him of blame again.
He would have stopped at nothing to see her safe. “We would have stolen away.”
“And what? Been married in secret and disowned by your father? Penniless and ostracized.” She shook her head. “Neither of us would have been happy with that.”
“But we would have been together.” He grabbed her hands and pressed them to his chest. “I would have found a way to protect you. No.” He gritted his teeth. “Wewould have found a way together. Our beginnings may have been humble, but there isn’t a world in which having you as my wife doesn’t make me the richest of men. I’m better for you, for being myself.”
A tear fell down her cheek, and he kissed it away and pulled her tighter to his chest.
“All those years ago, I should have listened to you when you said you couldn’t leave.” Couldn’t escape. Not without leaving her brother to Sir Daniel’s evil.
He’d thought her refusal had been a rejection of him. But she’d refused so his name wouldn’t be tarnished, so they wouldn’t lose their family’s love. No great loss when it came to Jackson’s mother and father. But Figaro? To never know his younger brother. The ridiculous, loyal pup.
“What a fool I’ve been,” Jackson said.
A wet sniff. Her curls tickling his neck as she shook her head. “We were both too stubborn to see our futures clearly. I wasn’t prepared to take on the battle with your family any more than I was to face the ruination of my own.”
“Don’t,” he said, cradling her closer still. “None of this is your fault.”
