A gasp broke from Lucy’s lips. She pressed her face to the glass, her heart pounding. She could have sworn she saw something—a flash of movement on one side of the drive, close to the tree edge. She stared, her breath catching hard in her chest as she waited, hoping against hope.…
Please let it be him. Please.
She strained to see into the darkness, her eyes watering with the effort. She sucked in one ragged breath after the next as her gaze darted over the drive below, waiting, waiting—
There!Further up the drive now, but still clinging to the shadows, another flash of movement, the flick of a man’s hands on a horse’s reins.
Lucy gasped again, her fingers clawing at the cold glass as he moved closer, weaving cautiously through the trees.
It washim.
She couldn’t see his face—couldn’t even make out the color of his horse—but Lucy knew it was him. She knew, because who else would have come for her but the same man who always did? The man who’d been there time and time again, arms wide open and ready for her, even when she thought she didn’t need him?
Shedidneed him. She’d teased him about his gallantry and poked fun at his heroics, but there’d never been a single moment when Lucy hadn’t needed him. He was her best friend. Her lover. The man she’d gifted with her heart, the man she treasured above all others. He was the hero she’d never thought she’d find, the hero she never thought she’d need.
Now he was here, about to embark on another rescue. His most dramatic one yet.
But he couldn’t do it alone.
Lucy assessed her options, her brain churning out one idea after another as Ciaran drew closer and closer to the building. He paused before clearing the tree line to dismount and tie his horse, then she saw him creep closer on foot, his face turned up toward the massive stone building looming over him.
She was too far above to make out his expression, but she could see the tautness in his body, sense the fury pouring through him, the grim resolve, and she knew what he was going to do even before he took another step.
He was coming in after her.
She knew Ciaran as well as she knew herself. Once he was inside, he wouldn’t leave until he had her. He’d made up his mind she’d be with him when he went back out that door, no matter what he had to do.
Lucy couldn’t prevent the foolish little leap of her heart just then. To have such a man as this risk everything to save her was heady. But even as her heart throbbed, she knew she couldn’t allow him to do it.
There was another way, a much better one.
She’dgo tohim.
Unfortunately, this required getting his attention and stopping him before he stormed the gates, as it were. How she’d manage it without making any noise that would attract attention, well…that was the difficult part.
She peered down into the drive, her heart sinking. It felt as if she were miles above him, with an eternity of empty space between them. Too far to shout or pound on the window without every madhouse nurse in the place flooding into her bedchamber.
How could she catch Ciaran’s attention without alerting anyone else? No one expected any trouble from her. They believed her to be in a laudanum-induced stupor, and she had a far better chance at escape if she kept it that way.
Lucy never made a conscious decision about what to do. She saw Ciaran creeping across the drive, inching closer and closer to the front entrance, and the next thing she knew she was tugging at the window, amazement sweeping over her when it slid open under her clawing fingers. Not locked? It seemed incredible it wouldn’t be, but then even a lunatic would think twice before throwing herself from such a height.
Herself, yes, but any number of other things might be thrown from a window, mightn’t they? A book? Lucy glanced around the room. No, no books. Not the lamp, either. It would make an awful noise when it shattered. Oh, if only she had her cloak still—
Lucy froze as the answer slammed into her. No cloak, but she did have her shoes. She dropped onto the floor, tore a shoe off her foot, then braced herself on the sill and poked her head out. She closed one eye, took aim, and…
Hurled her shoe out the window.
It seemed to hover in mid-air, as if making up its mind whether to challenge gravity or succumb to it, but then it was falling, falling, and…yes! It hit the ground with a thud, right at Ciaran’s feet.
He halted mid-step, his head jerking upward.
Lucy knew the exact moment when he saw her. The shock, anger, and panic melted from his face at once, and his lips curved in a slow smile…
Oh, such a smile!
Her heart threatened to melt inside her chest, but this wasn’t the moment to fall into a besotted swoon. Instead she pressed a finger to her lips and held up her hand to signal he should remain silent and motionless.
He didn’t move, and he didn’t make a sound. He stood below her, his face turned up to hers, waiting.
