Page 73 of Claiming His Lost Duchess
Graham froze and she watched his shoulders rise and fall as he breathed heavily , worried he would ignore her and continue what he was doing.
But he actually rose to his feet, the sight of him shocking her as he turned to face her. He was covered… in so much blood. Streaks of it were splattered across his face and his shirt, and his hands were practically covered in it.
He wiped them against his trousers and he approached her, gingerly taking her hands in his before studying her silently. Graham’s thorough examination stretched out for long, silent minutes, which prompted in Joan realizing that he had managed to knock her uncle conscious.
“I…” she swallowed and pressed closer to him. “I am all right. Can we leave this place? Please?”
He nodded and gingerly led her out by the hand, the night air feeling crisp against her skin as they step outside.
Joan inhaled, the air in her lungs a needed reminder that she has survived the ordeal, had slipped out of that man’s greasy grasp again, only because her husband had come to her aid, quite literally.
She stared at him as he continued to run his eyes over her, his brows pinched in worry, the calm demeanor a far cry from the crazed man who had likely done some permanent damage to the face of the man on the floor in the house.
This man had unflinchingly taken on a bullet for her, bravely stepping forward to put himself between her and the danger that had haunted her for so long. Her heart was beating so fiercely within her as she realized how badly he could have gotten hurt, and how noble it was that he had saved her the way that he did.
She couldn’t imagine that he had done so callously, for someone who was nothing more than the mother of his child.
Joan’s lips parted to assure him of her well-being, but before she could, the constables arrived.
“Your Grace! Are you all right?” one of them asked, alarmed by the sight of him.
Graham nodded, then jerked his head in the direction of the house.
“The bastard in there is the one who took my daughter and he was also holding my wife hostage. I want him punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
The men nodded and went to retrieve her uncle, which caused her to be struck by a realization.
“Sophia! Only he knows where she is! We must —”
“Do not worry,” he told her gently, reaching out to softly stroke her arm. “The others are already looking for her. I am sure they will find her in no…”
He trailed off, his gaze looking slightly unfocused for a moment. Worried, Joan reached for him, gasping as she noticed that aside from the blood on his hand and face, there was a gash along his arm that was bleeding profusely.
Before she could point it out, Graham tilted in her direction and collapsed in her arms. Joan could barely hold him up, dropping onto the floor with him, panic flooding her veins as she noticed just how pale he looked.
No… nothing could happen to him. She couldn’t lose him, not now. Not after all they had been through.
“H-Help,” she whispered, scared as the love of her life lay in her arms, bleeding. “Someone, help me!”
Graham’s body felt like lead when he woke.
It was as though he had run a marathon, only to crumble at the finish line with his muscles a fierce warning that he likely shouldn’t embark on such a journey again so soon.
When he opened his eyes, he noticed two things rather quickly.
The first was that his right arm had a bandage wrapped around it, just above his elbow, and similar work had been done around the knuckles of that hand.
The second was the face of his daughter staring down at him.
“Papa!” Sophia cried, flinging her little body against his.
Graham coughed, caught off guard by the impact, but relieved that she was all right.
“Papa, why are you hurt? You always tell me not to get hurt!” she complained, her beautiful eyes welling up with tears.
Graham held onto her for a moment longer, his heart calming in relief to see her looking unarmed.
“I’m sorry, my darling. I was not as careful as I could have been. Please forgive me,” he told her gently, pressing fleeting kisses along the crown of her head.
