Page 64 of A Bride By Morning
“Wonderful.” Lydia’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. She glanced over at where a maid entered the foyer to clean the vases. “May we speak in the library?”
The shards of glass continued their destruction, scraping his insides. With a grim acceptance, Gabriel motioned for her to follow him into the library, where she shut the door behind them.
“Lydia,” he said before she could speak. He couldn’t touch her; he’d lose his senses if he made physical contact with her right then. “I’m so damn sorry for last night. Christ, I’m—”
Lydia’s hands twisted. “You’re . . . sorry.”
Jesus fuck, his mind scarcely functioned. “For the way I treated you.” His words were ragged. “For what I did to you. For not hearing you when you saidEngland—”
Lydia’s eyes snapped to his. “I never saidEngland.”
A breath left him. Had he heard correctly? “You didn’t?”
Lydia stepped closer. “No. You left before I could tell you that any night you are in Moscow, I will come with you.” She pressed her palm to his chest. “I thought you may have regretted it.”
His heart squeezed. That muscle in his chest that had pumped ice through his veins for so many years came to life. Every part of his body was suddenly still, entirely calm. “I thought I hurt you.”
Her features softened in understanding. “I was with you until the moment you shut the door.” Her hand pressed to his cheek, palm warm against his skin. “And I liked it.”
Gabriel sought some falsehood in her expression; he had grown too used to liars. But the gleam of desire in her countenance was unmistakable. Wonder filled him as he marveled at this beautiful woman who accepted every broken shard of his past and every jagged edge of his thoughts. This woman who would be hurt if his enemies ever came for them.
The thought doused his ardor. There was a reason the thieves, criminals, and killers in the Syndicate had a code against wives. They became liabilities.
Lydia frowned, as if sensing the sudden distance of his thoughts. But before she could say anything, several carriages proceeded up the drive bearing the Montgomery crest.
“That will be Wentworth and Callihan,” Gabriel said, stepping away. “You might be pleased to know that they are accompanied by some more items from your wardrobe.”
Lydia dropped her hand, an unreadable look crossing her features. “Of course.” But then her expression changed as she noticed something out the window. “Wait a moment, is that my aunt’s carriage?”
Sure enough, one of the carriages stopping in front of the house bore the crest of the Earl of Derby. Gabriel couldn’t believe it. The last thing he needed was Lady Derby visiting when Medvedev’s men might attack.
“Get rid of her,” Gabriel said, striding to the door.
“She’s my aunt,” Lydia replied sharply.
Gabriel threw open the door. “And if she stays, she might become your murdered aunt.”
Lydia cringed. “Point well made.”
Gabriel and Lydia exited Langdon Manor, and he watched her rush to welcome Lady Derby as the elderly woman emerged from her carriage.
As the two women exuberantly greeted each other, Gabriel walked over to where Wentworth and Callihan stood with the horses. “Which one of you is responsible for bringing Lady Derby?” he asked with quiet malice. The question might as well have been:which one of you am I murdering later?
“Don’t look at me,” Callihan said, patting the flank of one of the carriage horses. “I don’t bring grannies into my operations.”
Wentworth passed him a glare. “As if I had a choice. She was on the road to Meadowcroft, and I had just been attacked by five of Medvedev’s men. Was I supposed to leave her vulnerable?”
“You could have lied,” Callihan said.
“You could have told her that Lady Montgomery and I are still on our honeymoon,” Gabriel added.
Wentworth’s gaze flickered over to where the countess embraced Lydia. “There’s one small problem with both of those suggestions.”
Callihan looked interested. “What’s that?”
“Lady Derby is fucking terrifying.”
At that precise moment, the matron in question extricated herself from her niece’s embrace and approached Gabriel. “Lord Montgomery,” she said in greeting. “How wonderful to see you. And such a distance from where I expected.”
