Page 44 of The Baroness of Sin
“Wha…” Martha couldn’t even finish asking before James spun and threw her over the edge of the pit towards the hallway side. She landed hard, but she landed on solid floor.
The floor on both sides of the beam gave under James, caused by the sudden shifting of both of their weight. The beam started to slide into the inferno below, and Martha screamed as she watched it and James disappear over the edge of the pit.
Martha swore she felt her heart stop right then and there. It beat again, suddenly and painfully, when she saw James pull himself up over the edge, smokey and singed but safe. Martha let out a choked sob as James pulled her into a brief, but tight, embrace before picking her up and cradling her. He walked quickly to the staircase and past the servants who cried out in relief at the safety of their lady.
By the time James and Martha emerged from the burning home, they were covered in soot, and their clothes were dirty and burnt. James gently set his beloved down, and his daughter quickly took Martha’s place as she leaped into his arms. He looked from his equally disheveled daughter to the lady by his side.
“We make quite the trio, don’t we?” he laughed weakly.
* * *
“Once again, Miss Letty, I find myself in your debt,” James told her as they stood to the side of the smoldering house. “I rarely find myself in such situations with my fellow Lords, but you have managed it on multiple occasions. How is that?”
“Luck, My Lord. I’m employed by the person you care about most. It makes me look good, when all I have done is my job,” she told him plainly. “Though I don’t know how long I will be employed, with the house of my employer a mighty heap of ash.”
“Don’t you worry about that, Letty. I will make certain that none of what happened here today goes unrecognized, especially you saving your lady’s life.”
James excused himself when he heard the heavy reinforced doors of the constable carriage slam shut. He watched with a sad confused look on his face as Miss Blake was carted away, her own eyes filled with deep anger and sorrow as she stared at him through the barred windows. He watched until the carriage turned, and her face was no longer in view.
“What could have driven her to such extremes, I will never understand.” He turned back to his daughter, Martha, and her family. “I am truly sorry for all that has befallen you today. I can’t help but feel responsible.”
Benjamin looked at James like he had gone mad. “Are you serious? There is no…” He started to lecture when Martha held up a finger. “It’s okay Benjamin. I know just what to ask James for to make it up to me.”
Benjamin gave his sister an equally bizarre look.
“Of course, My Lady, I am in your debt. Anything you could ask for, it is my duty to deliver,” James told her somberly.
“You could ask me to marry you. That seems fair to me. Doesn’t it sound fair?” Martha turned and asked Amanda.
“That sounds right,” the young girl said while nodding.
“Then I suppose that is what I will do.” His smile widened, and he moved closer to his soon-to-be betrothed, but then he faltered. “Once I have had a proper bath, that is.”
Emma shook her head with a smile, and Benjamin sighed and shook his head in faux agony. Aunt Barbara tried her best to seem disinterested with the entirely overly exciting day, but she eyed the couple with a small measure of satisfaction.
Chapter Thirty-One
Martha would spend the remainder of her recovery in the Barristen estate. With an injury, a fire, and living in the home of a gentleman who was to be, but was not yet, her betrothed, it was unsurprising that the rumor mill erupted during the short period. The sheer scandal of everything could not be avoided.
Luckily, the Lord and Lady in question were the only ones of any status involved, so by the time any details got to another within the ton, they had become so twisted that they could barely be recognized. Who set the fire and the cause of the lady’s injuries varied wildly from telling to telling. At first, they distressed and frustrated James, but Martha was able to convince him that little real ill would come of it, and he too learned to laugh at the absurdity of it.
James invited the remainder of the family, Emma, Benjamin, and Aunt Barbara, to stay as long as they like. In truth he expected them to stay until the wedding, one that was obviously going to occur despite the lack of an official proposition, but he was surprised to descend from his room one morning to find Martha wishing them a fond farewell.
He blinked with surprise. “I presumed everyone would want to stay for the wedding.”
Benjamin cleared his throat. “Normally, yes, but all this excitement has kept me away from my duties for far too long. And, in light of our father and sister's absence and your disinclination to wait…” Benjamin held up a hand when Martha went to speak, “Not that I blame you. Still, it is probably best that I return home.”
“I see, well I can’t say that I will hold it against you,” James nodded. “You will always be welcome in my home. And Benjamin, about my suspicions…”
Benjamin signed and shook his head. “No ill feelings on my part. While I did resent the assumption at the time, I know I can be a little... brusque for my own good.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Rest assured that I will be coming to visit the first free instance I have.”
James thanked Benjamin and turned to Aunt Barbara, who gave a weary smile. “Frankly, My Lord, I am tired and long for the comfort of my own home. You will get on well from this point, and I will need to reserve myself for the next family emergency, since they appear to occur with regular frequency.”
Finally, James turned to Emma, who looked surprisingly shy compared to all the other times they had spoken. “Perfectly honest, My Lord, I would like to stay for my sister’s wedding, but seeing as all of my other family thought now would be a good time to move on, it seemed to me to be an infringement to overstay my welcome.”
James let out a faux gasp of offense. “Why Miss Emma Bradford, we are soon to be family. You are just as welcome here now as any other time. Please, stay with us and for us. The celebration might not be large, but you are more than welcome.” James did not look to Martha before extending this invitation; he knew her well enough that he knew that Emma staying, if that's what she wanted, was important.
Emma blushed bright red and seemed to go and back and forth for a moment before she nodded excitedly, which made James and Martha laugh and Emma blush all the more.
