Evie’s heart leapt. She instantly quashed the elation. Joy and hope had no place until she heard Theo telling her he loved her.
Too much to hope at this juncture, she knew.
“How is he?” she asked her brother-in-law, desperate to know.
Hours had passed since this morning, when Theo had come to. She had kept her distance in deference to his wishes for the time being, but every moment she had spent waiting for word on his convalescence had been pure torture.
“He is on the mend, I believe,” Dom told her, his expression pensive. “But there are some things I wish to tell you, Evie, so you can understand Devil a bit better.”
“Yes.” She nodded, eager for anything her brother-in-law would share. The Winters were quite protective of each other. She had noticed that already. Their bond was unbreakable.
Commendable, as well.
Forged of iron and love and pure determination.
“Devil and I…” Dom began and then paused, inhaling slowly, before exhaling. “Forgive me. It is a painful tale. We shared a father, it is true, but our mothers were not the same. When they discovered we shared the same sire, they decided to sell us both as brothers. They could fetch more for us that way. We were sold to an unscrupulous scoundrel who intended to use us in all manner of evil. We escaped thanks to Devil. He saved me, and from that day forward, I have owed him…”
“That is why you are telling me all this now,” Evie guessed.
“Aye,” Dom agreed. “And also because I love my brother, and I can see quite plainly that you love him too. I want him to have the happiness I have found with your sister, the happiness he deserves. But there is also another painful part of his past, one which I doubt he has shared with you either.”
Evie stiffened. “Another lady?”
Her brother-in-law nodded. “He fancied himself in love with her. It was a long time ago, and he was scarcely more than a lad. But she left him because she did not want to live this life, and instead she went on to become some fancy nib’s mistress.”
“I see.”
Good heavens, she had never imagined there was a woman in Theo’s past whom he had loved. She did not know what to do with this information. Indeed, she wished she had never had it foisted upon her.
“All I meant to say was that he has been hurt before by the women who should have loved him most, by those closest to him,” Dom said then. “If he is…reluctant and gruff and cruel, it is not because he does not care. He does care for you. A great deal, I would wager.”
She would prefer to hear all that from Theo himself.
But for now, she supposed it would have to be enough hearing them from his brother. “Thank you for sharing those bits of his past with me.”
“I know you care for him, Evie,” Dom said solemnly. “And I know he is an arse. But he is a good man. Give him a chance.”
She smiled then. “I know he is a good man. And that is why I have fallen in love with him.” Evie paused, her smile widening wryly at the expression on her brother-in-law’s face. “And no, I have not informed him yet. I am awaiting the right time.”
“Trust me, my lady,” Dom said, “there is no right time to be had. Just tell him. Those are the words he needs to hear more than any others.”
Evie nodded. “I shall.” She dipped into a perfunctory curtsy. “If you will excuse me?”
Dom bowed. Their stares met and held.
She had seen how much he was in love with her twin, and she had also come to respect him a great deal. She appreciated his guidance in this matter. And if it led to her winning Theo, then she was all the more thankful.
She hastened off in the direction of Theo’s chamber without exchanging another word. Over the last two days, she had become so familiar with the inner layout of the private quarters of The Devil’s Spawn that she could have lived there from birth. The rooms were surprisingly spacious, on a level above the gaming and club floors, quite secluded.
When she reached Theo’s door, she knocked hesitantly. Once, then twice. No answer. She knocked harder.
At long last, his low, beloved baritone answered from within. “Come.”
With a trembling hand, she let herself into his private domain. Unlike the countless other times she had crossed the threshold into his territory, this time was different. He was not out of his mind with fever or desperately ill. Instead, he was recovering.
“Milady.”
His voice was not particularly welcoming. Nor was his expression.
