He glanced down at Ellison. The other man’s body had broken Griffin’s fall and he now lay still and twisted in the rubble around them. Dead.
“Go Audrey, there’s no way you can support me.”
“That’s what you think.” In completely unladylike fashion, she sniffed and wiped her nose on her forearm. “Lean on my shoulders and let’s move.”
He slanted a glance at the teetering pagoda above them. “Audrey.”
“Don’t argue, move!” she barked with the angry efficiency of a general.
He did as she asked, leaning his weight on her as they moved toward the door. Arches of pain ripped through him with each step, but they continued on, closer and closer to freedom.
Finally, Audrey gave the door a kick. It flew open, allowing a burst of fresh air to hit their faces. Outside the people around the pagoda cheered, apparently thinking its blaze was part of the evening’s entertainment. But as Audrey and Griffin appeared from the smoke, Griffin heard some of the closer voices turn from screams of delight to gasps of horror.
“’Ey! ‘Ere’s peoples in there!” said one voice. “Come on boys, we’ll give the little lady a hand.”
Suddenly three men were lifting him, none too gently, onto their shoulders. He heard Audrey’s weak calls of thanks and her telling the men that no one was left in the pagoda alive that she knew of. Then he was being set on soft grass as someone ran to fetch a doctor.
He looked up to see the starry night sky blocked by Audrey’s sooty, beautiful face.
“You were so strong.” His voice cracked from emotion and the smoke he’d inhaled. “I take back everything I said about you being ill-prepared for this. You can protect my country any time.”
She smiled, but the tears she’d pushed away to save him now returned. “I hope you mean that.”
“I do,” he said with a cough as the pain overtook him, taking him down a path toward darkness. “And Audrey?”
She took his hand. “Yes, my love?”
“You look like an angel.”
He slipped into unconsciousness, but not before he heard her make a sound, though he wasn’t sure if it was a laugh or a sob.
Chapter Twenty Six
Griffin opened his eyes to find himself in his own bed. With a start, he sat straight up, then groaned as his head began to throb.
“Easy there,” said a familiar feminine voice. “Needn’t try to do everything all at once. You’ve had quite an adventure.”
Squinting as his blurry eyes cleared, Griffin looked in the direction the voice had come from. “Audrey?”
No it wasn’t Audrey’s. Her voice had a richer tone, more of the sound of laughter in it.
“No, it’s Hannah, Lord Berenger,” said the woman with a laugh. “But you needn’t worry, Audrey is fine. The doctor and Lord Golding never would have allowed her to travel if she weren’t.”
“Travel?”
Griffin eased up onto one elbow and finally looked at the woman with comprehension. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face, revealing a nasty bruise next her eye that was already healing from black to purple. Her arm was secured in a real sling now, and though she favored it, her movements were sure and swift.
“Left two days ago, by my guess.” Hannah said. Her sharp, green eyes watched his face carefully to judge his reaction. “Though not before she was reassured you would fully recover.”
Griffin flopped back on the bed in disbelief. “I was asleep for two days?”
“After we brought you back here and the doctor set your leg, he gave you a mighty amount of drugs to sooth you. After all, you were thrashing about and screaming for Audrey so much you near killed yourself.”
Griffin blushed, an unfamiliar feeling that was entirely unpleasant. He didn’t like being so exposed to this woman who he hardly knew.
“And why didn’t you go with your friend?” he asked.
“I wanted to, but she said she needed to go home. And she thought three days in a coach wouldn’t be good for my arm,” Hannah said with a shrug. “In truth, I think she wanted to make sure someone was here to take care of you.”
“And Noah?”
“Should be back any moment,” Hannah said. “He’s just finishing up with his paperwork.”
“I’m here now,” Noah said, coming in the door with a smile for his friend. “Glad to see you awake, Grif. I told that doctor not to knock you out forever, just give me a break from your complaining.”
Griffin couldn’t muster a smile, not after finding out that Audrey had left without even saying goodbye to him. Instead, he shifted on his pillows.
“How did the case turn out?” he asked. It was an awkward question when what he really wanted to know hung between them. Still, he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about Audrey with an audience.
Noah smirked. “Very well. Though Ellison didn’t live to see trial, we did manage to squeeze the names of the associates out of his staff and glean some information from his files. The Department has made several arrests in the past few days.”
Griffin arched an eyebrow. “What about your precious list?”
Noah nodded. “It was in the box, just as Audrey said it was. When Ellison took her, he put the thing in his pocket. It survived the fire far better than he did and served out the final evidence against several key players in the plot. We’ve been making arrests most of the past two days.”
“So this is over,” Griffin sighed. He should have felt relief, but he didn’t.
“In more ways than one, at least for me. I’m retired.”
“What?” Griffin sat up too quickly again and paid the price of a throbbing head.
“You heard me. Lord Golding felt Audrey and I were too revealed during this case. He relieved us both from duty with thanks and hearty bonuses. I suppose I’m just an Earl again. Damn boring job, I must say.”
His friend gave Hannah a side look and the woman nodded in understanding. “I’ll leave you two. I’m glad you’re recovering, my lord.”
Griffin nodded to the woman then turned his attention back to Noah as the door closed. “I suppose everything will go back to normal then.”
“I suppose so.” Noah looked at him evenly. There was an awkward pause before he spoke again. “How long do you plan to be such an ass?”
“What are you talking about?”
“How long before you ask me about Audrey?” Exasperation was heavy in Noah’s tone.
“What about her?” Griffin turned his face away so Noah wouldn’t see his tormented emotions. “She left.”
“Yes. Mother found out about the whole bloody business and wrote Audrey a long letter. The first in a long time. Audrey went home to patch things up, but she left a message for you.”
“For me?” Griffin asked, hoping he sounded uncaring even though his whole body came to attention. “What is it?”
Noah frowned. “She said it was better for her to leave things as they were, without a big scene where you pretended to love her. I tried to make her wait, but she was bent on going. But then, I can’t tell her what she needs to hear, so nothing I said would have made a difference.”
Griffin covered his eyes with his forearm. “And what does she need to hear?”
“You know what she needs to hear.” Noah stood up with a screech of his chair. Wincing, Griffin lowered his arm to look at his best friend. “If you don’t care for my sister, then leave her be. Let her move on with her life now that she’s rebuilding with our family. But if you love her, Griffin…” he trailed off, clenching his teeth.
“I know what I need to do.”
His tone sounded angry even though he didn’t feel anger. He felt anticipation as he threw the covers off his legs and staggered to his feet. Pain shot through his lower body when he put weight on his injury, but he ignored it as he hobbled to his armoire. Where the hell was his damned valet when he needed him?
Noah jumped to his feet to put a steadying arm on Griffin’s shoulder. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m taking your bloody advice.” He gripped the edge of the armoire.
Noah smirked. “I haven’t even given it yet.”
Griffin rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. It has something do with telling me to stop being a coward. To go to her and make up for everything?”
“Hmmm…” Noah nodded with a grin. “That pretty well covers it.”
Griffin returned his smile. “I’m going to need help.”
“You’ve got mine.” Noah frowned. “But it doesn’t include dressing you. I draw a line somewhere.”
With his heart feeling lighter than it had in ages, Griffin laughed. “First, we need a plan. Aren’t half-assed plans your department?”
***
Audrey threw open the shutters on her windows and breathed in the scent of the country air. Fall was beginning to make the breeze a bit cooler, but the soft warmth still hung beneath it. It had been two weeks since she left London. Though she had received letters from Hannah and from Noah, Griffin had sent no word. She heard he was improving, but there was nothing else to give her a hint about his feelings for her.
What did she expect? It wasn’t as if she’d asked Griffin to write to her. And she’d specifically told Noah not to force the man to come to her unless he wanted to.
Which he obviously didn’t.
Turning from the visions of changing leaves and warm sun outside, she folded her arms in disgust. She thought she’d been a ninny the last time she’d broken ties with Griffin Berenger, but this time was much worse. Though she didn’t feel the pangs of youthful grief, she did feel a solid ache inside her. This time she’d experienced first hand what Griffin could offer her, and had been forced to turn it down.
What would have happened if she had accepted his proposal?
No, she couldn’t think of that now, it was only torture to her already broken heart.
After the excitement of the past few months, her home seemed calm and subdued. Because her father had been ill, he liked quiet evenings at home. While she enjoyed being reunited with her parents, she sometimes longed for the thrill of a case.
Her time with her mother had been especially good. Though Tabitha had been disapproving of the life she’d lead at first, nearly losing her first-born daughter seemed to put things into perspective for her. She’d even apologized for nearly forcing Audrey into a marriage she didn’t want.
With a sigh, Audrey sat down on one of the chairs in her chamber’s salon. Her mother had gone calling and her father was taking his daily afternoon nap. Even the servants had seemingly disappeared after several strange looks for her all morning. Audrey had the odd feeling she was being left out of some kind of joke. People had stopped talking when she entered rooms all day.
She was finally putting thoughts of Griffin out of her mind and becoming engrossed in the story she read when a soft cough at her door made her look up. Instead of a servant, as she’d expected, Griffin himself stood there, leaning against the doorjamb with his arms folded across his broad chest.
“What…” she stammered, blinking twice to make sure her imagination hadn’t taken her completely away. Before she could say anything more, he hobbled across the room to take her hands. His touch was so warm and gentle that she knew she wasn’t dreaming.
With one pull, she was on her feet, then in his arms. His mouth swept down and molded against hers. Damp heat rushed through her body with the touch she’d dreamed about but hadn’t experienced for what seemed like a lifetime. Surrendering completely, Audrey returned his kiss, tasting every hollow of his mouth and pulling him closer and closer to her.
Finally, her rational mind returned, bringing with it all the reasons she’d left Griffin in London.
“No.” She pulled away from him reluctantly. “This isn’t what I want.”
A slow, seductive smile was his answer. “Really? Then why are you taking off my shirt?”
With two surprised blinks, Audrey looked down. Sure enough, she’d unfastened half of his buttons and pulled his shirt partly off his broad shoulders. Letting go of him, she pushed out of his arms.
“The reasons we can’t be together remain the same,” she managed to say shakily, praying he’d put his shirt back on before she looked at him. The sight of his half naked body was just too distracting.
“No they aren’t. The reasons are gone. I love you, Audrey.”
His words rushed through her, striking her heart like an arrow. As much as she wanted to give in to what he offered her, she wasn’t certain it was real.
She sighed. “This is why I left London, Griffin. I didn’t want a scene like this where you tell me you love me just because you think you should marry me. It’s just too cruel.”
“I’m not cruel.” He limped around to stand in front of her. Reaching out, he took her trembling hand in his and raised it to his lips. The caress was butterfly gentle, but made her knees go weak. “I’m truthful. These past two weeks away from you have been hell, but I came as soon as I could.”
“I’m sorry you wasted your time then.” She turned away so he wouldn’t feel her tremble.
“I love you,” he repeated, seemingly undaunted by her refusals and rebukes.
She could hear her breath rasping in and out of her lungs in the long silence that followed his second profession of love. But she didn’t answer, and he didn’t speak. At least, not at first.
“Audrey?” he finally said when the silence had filled the room for many moments.
“Don’t…” She cursed herself for the tears that had collected in her eyes. “Don’t say you love me unless you really mean it.”
He grasped her shoulders to turn her toward him. His hand cupped her chin, lifting her face to look into his. “I mean it. I think I’ve loved you for years. Probably even before that day you kissed me. I love to watch your mind spin on a problem. I love the way you offer me comfort. I love the way you touch me. I love everything about you, even the things I haven’t learned yet. I was a fool not to see it before, but if you’ll allow me I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for it. I love you.”
Her tears were flowing freely now, running down her cheeks to drip off her chin, but she did nothing to ebb their flow as she stared in utter joy at Griffin’s face. Finally she saw there what she’d searched for so long.
“You do love me,” she said, reaching up to run her hand across his rough cheek.
“Forever,” he whispered. “So say you’ll marry me.”
She hesitated as joy filled her entire body. This time she felt no fear, no need to deny him what he asked.
“If you say no…”
She shook her head. “Yes.”
With a shout, Griffin swept her into his arms and kissed her.
“Er, may we come in?”
Audrey pulled away as Griffin hurriedly buttoned his shirt. Both Griffin’s family and her own were gathered in the doorway. Her brother was there and Hannah, too in the back of the crowd, with a huge “I told you so” grin on her face.
Audrey motioned them in as she wiped away tears.
“Oh,” Griffin’s mother said with a sniffle. “She said yes this time.”
Blood rushed to her cheeks and she didn’t care. “Yes.” It was the only word she could think to say and she wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
Noah wiped a playful hand across his brow. “Thank God. I didn’t want to have to resort to Plan B.”
“What was Plan B?” Audrey asked as she slipped an arm around Griffin’s waist and smiled up at him.
“Well, er…” he stammered. “It involved the impropriety of a young man being alone with a young woman in her bedroom…”
Audrey’s eyes grew wide. “You were going to force me to…”
“Marry the man you love?” her mother interrupted with a beam. “Absolutely.”
“Well…” Audrey looked from face to face with a scowl that quickly faded into a smile. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Griffin let out his breath in relief and kissed her once more.
“Neither could I.”
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The Secrets of a Lady tj-1 Page 27
