Page 88 of An Orphan for the Broken Duke

“To get your mother back.” With that said, Rhys strode back across the foyer, kicked open the door, and waded into the storm.

As Violet had helped him to change, it was time that Rhys helped her. He owed it not just to her, and not just to himself, but to Lucy… and, of course, to Eleanor.

Rhys’ carriage broke down halfway back to Violet’s home.

“It’s the storm!” the driver shouted through the rain and wind. “These roads, Your Grace! The carriage is not made for them!”

Rhys stood in the rain as he studied the carriage wheel. It was lodged in the mud, and despite how hard the horses pulled, it refused to budge. He looked at the dreadful sky; he knew that the storm would not pass anytime soon, and he realized what he had to do.

“The horses!” he shouted and pointed to the first horse. “Unshackle it!”

“Your Grace! This storm is unlike any I have seen! The danger of riding in it alone is⁠—”

“It was not a question!” he barked. “Do it, now!”

The driver did not argue and a minute later saw the first horse in the rank unshackled from the carriage. Rhys mounted the steed quickly, and without another word spoken, he kicked his heels into its side and had it racing along the muddy road.

He rode hard. He rode with purpose. He rose with a sense of urgency found in a sudden yearning for what he knew that he needed to do. It was not a question of whether it was the right thing, or what it might lead to. The simple fact was that Violet needed help, and he would not rest until she had it.

It was twenty minutes later when Rhys arrived outside Violet’s townhouse. The storm still bullied the day, and the wind was such that it threatened to throw Rhys from his horse. But he steered it as close to the front door as he could before climbing down.

And it was just as his feet hit mud that the front door opened.

“Rhys?” Violet stood in the doorway, and she could not have looked more surprised. “What are you doing?”

Rhys stayed in the rain; he stood feet away from the front door, letting the storm drench him as if to show Violet what he was willing to go through for her.

“You need help!” he cried.

“What?”

“Admit it!” he shouted at her. “You need help! I did not see it before, but I see it now! Everything you have done, always, is for another. But Violet…” He looked desperately at her. “It is not a weakness to ask for help! It is not cowardice to realize that you are drowning and reach for an extended hand that might save you! I am here! Giving you my hand, Violet!” He extended his hand. “Take it!”

She looked at him with bewilderment. “What are you… What are you saying?”

“You made a mistake!” Rhys continued, his hand still outstretched. “I was mad at you, but I know now that I should not have been. What you did was for the right reason, but it was also a cry for help!”

“I… I do not need help, Rhys! I was trying to help you!”

“You did help me,” Rhys implored. “That is all you have ever done! And now it is time that I return the favor!” Again, he held out his hand for her.

She eyed the hand with hesitancy. “I… no. You are right to hate me, Rhys. I deserve it.”

He laughed. “As I have deserved it on so many occasions, Violet. But always, you stayed by me. Even when you left, it was to help me because I needed it, purely because I refused to accept it. You have turned your back on yourself for so long, refusing to accept help because…” He smiled. “Like me, you did not believe that you deserved to be happy. You are afraid!”

“I am not afraid!”

“You are!” he cried. “As I was! But I am no longer, and that is because of you. Now, it is your turn to be happy, Violet. You deserve that! But you cannot be until you admit it! Please, admit that you want it, Violet! Admit that you want happiness… to be looked after… to trust! Admit that as you helped me, I can now help you!” Hand extended, he looked pleadingly at her.

Violet continued to eye his hand, but the stubbornness on her face faded. “What if…” She withdrew into herself. “What if I fail? What if I make everything worse?”

“At least you will have tried,” he said with a smile that was loving and warm so that it seemed to block out the rain. “Lucy is home waiting for you, Violet. I love her, and I want to raise her as my own. But I cannot do that alone. She needs more than a father, she needs more than security and protection. What she needs…” He shook his head and then looked at her knowingly. “She needs love, Violet. She needs you.”

Violet said nothing but he could see his words having an effect.

“Take my hand,” he pleaded to her. “Let me help you, Violet. You are not alone, and you do not have to do this by yourself. Take my hand and together… as you helped me to change and accept who I am, let me help you.”

Her realization was slow coming, but he saw the fire light behind her eyes. A smirk on her lips. A raised eyebrow as if to dismiss him. “And I can trust you, can I? After all you have done?”