by Platt, Meara
Belle stared at Finn. “Can it be this simple? You make it sound as if his evil work can be easily put to an end.”
Honey was staring at him, too. “What if he slips away?”
Joshua set down his knife and fork. “My soldiers and I will hunt him down. He’s finished in Oxford. If he doesn’t wish to hang, he’ll agree to take everyone’s secrets to the grave. If he refuses, I don’t know that he’ll make it out of London alive. In truth, I doubt he’ll live to see next week. He’s made too many powerful enemies. They’ll get to him and kill him no matter how securely he is protected.”
Finn reached out and placed his hand over Belle’s, swallowing hers up in the warmth of his. “I know you think I can be ruthless, but I always prefer negotiation over physical force. However, Prinnie holds no such reservations. Fortesque has damaged several of his friends. While I may use force as a last resort, Prinnie and his friends will not. They are angry, and it is just as Joshua said—they will want him dead.”
Joshua pushed aside his plate and continued Finn’s thought. “And who will care what happens to Fortesque? He isn’t in the House of Lords. He isn’t one of the privileged few. His father was a marquess, but he isn’t the eldest son. That he’s referred to as Lord Fortesque is merely a courtesy in recognition of his father’s rank.”
“He’s made too many enemies in Oxford,” Finn said. “There’ll be no outcry when he suddenly disappears. I’m sure the citizens will breathe a collective sigh of relief once they realize he’s gone for good.”
“What of his son?” Belle asked.
Finn caressed her hand. “Depends on how deeply he’s been involved in his father’s business. I suppose he’ll try to make himself out as another of his father’s victims, but we’ll learn the truth once I have a look at their ledgers. Men lie all the time, but documents rarely lie.” He rose and helped Belle to her feet. “Joshua and I have an early day tomorrow. We had better turn in.”
“Of course.” She placed her arm in his. “Oh, Finn. One more thing. We ladies spent the day in town today. Runyon was following us everywhere we went.”
Finn frowned. “Homer and Mick reported the same to us a short while ago. I have them posted by the hedgerows to keep watch on the house this evening. They were also following you around Oxford today.”
“They were?” Her eyes rounded in surprise.
Honey and Holly were equally surprised.
Finn nodded. “They’re very good at what they do. Runyon has no finesse. He’s a dolt, although I expect in this instance, Fortesque meant for him to be seen. He doesn’t realize the anvil is dangling over his head now. He believes he’s still in control of this town.”
Belle kept Finn company as he returned the tray to the kitchen.
The others did a last pass through the house and retired upstairs.
Belle noticed Holly had left her fire iron at the foot of the stairs. “I’ll take it up with me tonight and return it to her in the morning.”
“I may not see you in the morning, love.” Finn caressed her cheek. “Joshua and I will be off before dawn.”
“I’m already missing you.” She cast him a gentle smile. “Silly, isn’t it?”
“Not at all. I’m feeling the same way.”
“You are?” Belle cleared her throat. “Is it too much to ask…never mind. I doubt I’ll be able to keep my hands off you. It is more important you are rested for tomorrow. Not to mention, it is thoroughly inappropriate and shocking.”
He eyed her with astonishment. “Belle?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
He was still eyeing her curiously as he escorted her upstairs. They paused at her door, the air noticeably charged between them. “I’ll miss you like hell tonight,” he said in a husky murmur, his breath warm against her ear. “But I dare not spend the night with you.”
“No, of course not. I shouldn’t have…are you angry with me for suggesting it?”
He grinned wryly. “Hell, no. I’m leaping for joy. You have no idea how badly I ache to hold your soft body in my arms, to touch you again, and feel you respond to me. But I need to keep my wits about me when dealing with Fortesque, and you, my love, will be too great a distraction. I’m too tired to be of much use anyway. I’d probably spend the hours snoring in your ear.”
She placed her hand against his cheek, feeling the rough stubble of his day’s growth of beard. “I wouldn’t care. I love being in your arms. But you’re right. You’ll need to be very careful tomorrow. We’ll have a lifetime to snore in each other’s ears. I’m also very good at jabbing with my elbows. Honey always complains about that.”
He smiled. “I look forward to the discomfort.”
He kissed her deeply, then drew away and ran a hand through his hair. “Lord, you’re tempting. Go in before I change my mind and do all sorts of indecent things to your delectable body.”
She held up Holly’s fire iron. “If you do change your mind, knock before you enter. I’m sleeping with this by my side and intend to hit first and ask questions later.”
“Got it.” He kissed her again. “See you tomorrow, love.”
He waited for her to enter her chamber.
Belle heard his soft footsteps as he strode down the hall.
She closed her door but decided not to bolt it. If he wanted to come in, she had no intention of stopping him. Besides, the house was locked up tight, and the Bow Street runners were guarding it. Also, she had the fire iron for protection. “No one’s getting in,” she muttered, setting down Holly’s weapon of choice beside her bed.
She sank onto the bed to kick off her shoes and remove her stockings, but she’d managed no more than removing her shoes before a dark shadow began to creep toward her. She grabbed the fire iron and attempted to scream, but her lungs were already seizing, and no sound came out. “He sent me to kill ye,” Runyon said, his laughter soft and menacing.
She lunged forward to bang the iron against her footboard, hoping someone would hear, but he grabbed it out of her hand and tossed it aside. It landed with a muffled thud on the carpet, close enough for her to try to lunge for it again, if only she had the chance.
But her heart was beating so rapidly, she knew she was going to pass out soon. Now frantic, she reached for her table lamp to smash it against the wall.
“Oh, no ye don’t.” He caught her hand before she could throw it. “Ye’re makin’ it so easy for me.” He mimicked her wheezes as she sank to her knees, her head spinning, and her body no longer in her control. “Can’t breathe, lass? Isn’t that a pity. I was going to strangle ye, but I think a pillow over the face will do just as well.”
He must have assumed that her inability to breathe had already rendered her unable to move, for he turned away to cross the room and bolt the door. Don’t faint. Don’t faint. She forced herself to keep alert.
Breathe!
You’re not a coward!
You can’t let these villains win!
She reached for the fire iron within easy reach and used it to smash her lamp and then she began to pound it against her night table. Runyon immediately forgot about bolting the door and hurried back to her side to wrest the weapon out of her hand. She swung it with all her might and struck his knee.
“Ye’ll die for this!” he screamed.
He grabbed her by the throat and began to press down on her airway. She tried to strike him again, but he’d pushed her to the floor and put his weight on her hand, so that the pain of it caused the iron to slip from her fingers.
Don’t let me die. Please.
But she knew this was to be her fate.
She was going to die a horrible death.
She felt Runyon’s fingers press on her throat, and despite her best efforts, she couldn’t toss him off her.
Finn, I love you. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t strong enough to fight him off.
She had almost given up when her bedroom door suddenly slammed open. She saw a blur of dark hair and a big body. Finn! Then Runyon w
as thrown off her, and the two men began to brawl. She heard one of them slam against her bureau. She heard their exchange of vicious blows as they punched and rolled into the hallway.
The noise had now brought everyone out of their bedchambers. Belle tried to take a deep breath. She would be safe now. Joshua had heard the scuffle and was running to help Finn subdue the villain. The two of them would take him down.
Yes, she was safe now. All she had to do was breathe.
But no air escaped from her lungs.
Nothing.
Honey was at her side, her voice calm.
She stared desperately at her sister. If she did not manage to breathe soon, even Honey would panic.
“Holly! Come in here and massage Belle’s heart. Push down on it like this.” Belle felt a pressure on her chest as her sister showed what was to be done and quickly allowed Holly to take over. “I’ll be right back.”
She watched Honey run down the servants’ stairs and knew she had gone to grab a ginger tea or other healing tonic for her to drink.
She had to remain conscious to drink it, but her head was pounding, and her eyes were blurring. Her head was spinning wildly.
Concentrate on Finn.
He was fighting for her. She heard the thuds and grunts of a horrifically brutal struggle and couldn’t fail him.
In the next moment, she heard a crash and a scream, then a thud as something hit the entry hall’s marble floor below. “That’s one big, ugly bastard,” Joshua said, breathing heavily as he hurried into her bedchamber.
Holly looked up at him in alarm. “What about Finn?”
“He’s checking to see if Runyon’s dead.” He knelt beside them. “I’ll take some footmen with me now to make sure our Bow Street runners are unharmed. I don’t know how he got around them. Wait, what’s wrong with Belle?”
“Finn, thank goodness,” Holly cried, looking beyond Joshua as Finn rushed in. “She…I can’t…”
Finn knelt beside Belle. “I’ll take over. Belle, love. Can you hear me?”
She blinked in response.
“Good, love. Can you take a breath?” His voice was remarkably calm, and it helped to calm her as well, but her breaths still would not come.
Holly was growing agitated. “She can’t. She’s trying to, but it isn’t helping. Oh, Finn!”
He drew Belle into his arms. “I’m going to breathe into your mouth now.” He bent over her, and she felt the press of his mouth on hers and the sudden force of his breath rushing into her. He did it several times, alternating between breathing air into her lungs and massaging her heart until she felt herself begin to wheeze again.
He held her hand and continued to encourage her with his soothing words. The deep, resonant sound of his voice calmed her so that she was starting to get air. He helped her to sit up and had his arms wrapped around her when Honey returned with the ginger tea a short while later.
Her hands shook as she drank it slowly.
Everyone but Joshua now stood around her, including her parents, who looked as though they were about to faint. The room was in shambles. There was broken glass and broken furniture everywhere. “Runyon?” she asked in a croaking voice.
“He tried to push Finn and Joshua over the railing, but he missed and fell over it instead,” Dahlia replied. “He landed on his head on the marble. It’s a mess. His head is smashed open like a melon tossed off the roof of a building. There’s blood splattered everywhere. His blood.”
“Dahlia! Stop!” Heather frowned at her. “You’re awfully lurid. You’ll make Belle ill.”
Finn kissed the top of her head. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I can breathe. I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
He eased her out of his arms and gave her over to Honey and Holly. “Take care of her. Fortesque must have been warned of our raids. We have to get to him before he slips away.”
Belle’s eyes rounded in alarm. “You can’t go alone!”
“No, love. I have an entire regiment with me. Joshua’s men.” He kissed her on the brow. “Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning. And about those wedding plans. Scrap them.”
“You don’t want to marry me?” She held back the tears threatening to fall. “I understand. I ought to have known.”
“Hen’s teeth, you are the most dense girl I’ve ever met. I don’t want to marry you in a week’s time. You and I are getting married tomorrow. I’m not spending another night apart from you. What do you say, Belle? Will you marry me tomorrow?”
Chapter Fifteen
Finn stood facing Belle beside the altar in the chapel at Magdalen College the following afternoon. He probably looked like a love-smitten fool, which is what he was, and he did not care who knew it. The special license he’d obtained permitted him to marry this beautiful, tawny-haired angel anywhere and at any time of day, a convenient circumstance because he’d meant what he said yesterday. He was not going to spend another night apart from her.
The minister was eyeing them skeptically, as though they were the most bedraggled wedding party he had ever beheld. Finn’s right eye was blackened, and his lip was cut. Joshua looked no better, for his left eye was blackened, and he had a cut on his cheek that would leave a permanent scar. He and his brother looked like hell warmed over because they’d spent last night and the better part of this morning rounding up Lord Fortesque, his son, and their confederates.
The task was now done, and Joshua’s regiment had matters well under control.
He smiled at Belle. “Ready, love?”
She looked incredibly beautiful, even though her throat was bruised where Runyon had pressed down on it while attempting to choke her. Finn suppressed a shudder. The bastard could have crushed her windpipe, and would have if Finn had taken a second longer to reach her.
She nodded. “Yes, I’m ready. But I still don’t understand why you’d settle for a wife with bad lungs.”
He knew she spoke in jest, and he liked that she felt comfortable enough to tease him. More importantly, she felt comfortable enough to make herself the butt of her teasing. Finally, after all these years of being beaten down even by those who loved her, she’d gained confidence in herself.
After all they’d been through this week, he did not think anything could ever separate them again. So, when they exchanged their marriage vows, pledged their hearts and bodies to each other for the rest of their lives, it meant something quite profound to both of them.
“Forever, my love,” he whispered.
“Yes, Finn. Forever. I will love you always.”
It felt like ages ago they’d read The Book of Love, but Finn remembered every word. The initial attraction, the lure of the senses. The bonds they would forge over time. Belle grew more beautiful in his eyes with each passing day. Each passing hour. Each passing minute.
He, on the other hand, looked like something the cat dragged in. But she was still smiling up at him with stars in her eyes.
Joshua, who was standing beside them at the altar, kissed her on the cheek when the ceremony ended, and they’d been declared husband and wife. “Belle, I still don’t understand why you’d settle for a monumental arse like my brother.”
Finn was happy. He knew Joshua was happy for him. The two of them were grinning at each other like a pair of hyenas. But being the older brother, Finn could not let the comment go unanswered. “And you look like my arse. In fact, I think my arse is far better looking than your ugly face.”
Usually, they’d proceed to punch each other playfully, but they were both in too much pain to risk it. Instead, they exchanged brotherly hugs, glad to be alive and knowing Belle and her family would now be safe.
Joshua stepped back, laughing. “Gad, what is this world coming to? You and Tynan now married, and despite being idiots, you’ve managed to choose beautiful, intelligent wives. However, I’m not sure what it says about their lapse in good sense.”
Finn rolled his eyes. “It means there’s hope even for undeserving dolts lik
e you and Ronan.”
“In good time, don’t rush us. We’re not looking for any permanent arrangements yet. Perhaps when we’re as old and ugly as you and Ty.”
Finn gazed down at his swollen hand before returning his attention to Joshua. “I’d punch you, but it would probably hurt me more than you.”
“Save your strength for tonight and your lovely bride. After the wedding breakfast, which is more like a wedding supper, I intend to spend the night stumbling from tavern to tavern with the officers in my regiment. No young lovely will leg-shackle me before I’m good and ready. I still have years of fun left in me.”
“Josh, shut up already. If marriage is so abhorrent to you, then why are you constantly talking about it?”
Joshua grumbled and cast him a frown. “I’m not talking about it.”
Finn chuckled. “Right.”
Joshua stepped back as Belle’s sister, cousins, and parents began to cluster around them. Finn took Belle’s hand and held it very lightly. His hand was sore and swollen, and hers was wrapped in a bandage because Runyan had ground his weight down on it and sprained her wrist.
Fortunately, they would all recover, even the Bow Street runners who had managed to subdue six of Fortesque’s henchmen when they came to the Farthingale home along with Runyon last night.
Finn suppressed a shudder, very well aware it was a miracle everyone was safe.
Belle was still looking at him starry-eyed. “Finn, I have something important to confess to you.”
“Oh, lord. You’re not about to confess another secret, are you?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” She nibbled her lip, one of the luscious lips he’d be tasting and nibbling later this evening.
He groaned. “What is it, love?”
