“Yes. But I won’t leave you alone, Diana. Until this is done, I will not leave your side unless I am sure of your safety.”
She bit her lip. “You think Geoffrey will try again.”
His expression was grim. “I am certain of it.” He took a deep breath, then eased a little closer to her.
“You must find Fisher.” She tried for a smile and failed.
He nodded, but it did not soften his expression. If anything, his jaw became more pronounced as he held back whatever he wanted to say.
“I am too tired to play games, Lucas. What is it that you want to tell me?”
He nodded once, and she read it as a gesture of respect. And that was rare indeed. “I believe Geoffrey killed his father. I believe he will stop at nothing to kill you.”
She blanched. It never got easier to contemplate. “So you’ve said.”
“I can end this for you, quickly and quietly. You need never fear him again.”
The relief she felt at just his words made her lightheaded. She’d wished for it all to end for months now. Years even. Ever since it became clear that Geoffrey was not the man his father wanted him to be.
“How?” she whispered. “How could that be possible?”
He waited a moment until she looked directly at him. And then he spoke in very soft tones. “I will kill him, Diana.”
She didn’t think she’d heard him correctly, but the seriousness with which he looked at her froze the breath in her lungs. “You cannot mean to…” She couldn’t even say the word.
“I am a soldier. I have killed many men—”
“In a war! This is—”
“And even then, I fought for less than I do now. Diana, we cannot keep you under guard forever. Eventually, someone will make a mistake, and he will strike.”
She shook her head, the idea too much for her to absorb. “I will not have you murder for me.”
He took her hand, covering it where it trembled against her knee. “It will be for me then. My choice. Because you will never be safe until—”
“No!” She jerked her hand away. And as she shrunk back into her chair, she pressed them to her temples. The world had gone insane.
“Diana—”
“Stop!” she said as she dropped her hands and glared at him. “Why would you suggest such a thing?”
He didn’t answer. Probably because he already had. She was in danger, and he was her protector.
“Why are you doing this, Lucas? I cannot possibly mean this much to you.”
He frowned as he looked at her. “I would do anything for you.”
“That’s ridiculous! We have barely spoken in twelve years! Before a few weeks ago, we have known nothing of each other.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “I wanted to marry you.”
“We were children.”
He blew out a breath, and his tone took on harder notes. “I was old enough to go to war. You were old enough to marry. Even then, we both knew what we wanted.”
She shook her head. She thought of the silly child she had been then. She had believed in magical possibilities. She’d actually thought the boy of her dreams could find a way to save her from an evil marriage. It hadn’t happened. And even more, she’d discovered her husband wasn’t bad. That it was possible for two strangers of disparate ages to find common ground.
“I’m nothing like the girl I was then. And you are nothing like that boy.” She touched his face. “You’re a man who understands the consequences of his actions and that nothing is as easy as it seems. And so, I ask you again, why do you profess such…” Her voice trailed away. Neither of them had spoken of “love” since the night before her marriage. She wasn’t even sure she believed in it anymore. And yet he seemed to have no problem at all.
