Page 74 of Claiming His Lost Duchess
She buried her face in his chest and shook her head, muttering loud enough for his ears to catch her words.
“Don’t get hurt again, Papa.”
Graham smiled, thankful that she was all right.
“I promise I’ll be more careful.”
She didn’t leave his embrace and he was comfortable with keeping her there, raising his gaze to glance around his room.
That was when he realized there were three other guests around his bed side, consisting of his worried wife, his sister Margaret and her husband, Lysander.
“You gave us quite a scare, Graham. I wondered if you’d finally met your match,” Lysander teased with a grin.
Graham glanced at his wife, noting how upset she looked before he replied,
“Against a senile old man? If the bullet did not finish me, there was no chance for him to do so. Was he taken in?”
Lysander nodded. “I supervised the entire process myself. You did quite a number on him, so a physician had to be called to tend to his injuries in order to ensure his statements were collected. But he's been imprisoned, and he’ll be there for a very long time for what he’s done. Luckily, we found Sophia in one of the estates his daughter had listed and her retrieval went as seamlessly as you can imagine — and you can see, she is as tight as rain. Though I cannot say that your state did not upset her greatly, but at least you seem somewhat fine now.”
Graham sent an appreciative nod in the direction of his friend, grateful to have someone as loyal and dependable as Lysander offering his support.
“Thank you,” Graham told his brother-in-law honestly. “There will never be enough words to express how thankful I am for your kindness. Thank you for finding my daughter and ensuring that that bastard is out right where he should be. He must suffer for all that he has done.”
He kept stroking Sophia’s hair gently, while his harsh tone depicted a different mood from his actions.
Margaret took the silence and her cue to state her own gripes with the situation.
“Are you trying to worry me to death, Graham? That man had a gun! What if you had been gravely hurt?” she scolded.
“I wasn’t. I had no intention of letting him cause any harm to me, not when I had a score to settle with him. I survived, did I not?” he shot back.
The look in her eye told him his only saving grace was the fact that her niece was nestled comfortably in his arms, toying with the bandage wrapped around his arm.
“What if he had actually managed to land a decent shot? What must I do to get you to behave yourself? How did you even manage to find Joan? Why didn’t you take someone along with you?”
Graham glanced at his wife and shrugged.
“Lysander was the one who discovered the property. Georgina Brooks had written three other estates that belonged to her father, but Lysander believed that with how little he cared for his daughter, he wouldn’t simply leave information that could thwart his plans so carelessly with her. So we looked in it and discovered he had an additional property that he had won in a gambling match from a friend — which was suspicious because Georgina did not seem to know about it. Recovering Sophia was paramount, so we decided to investigate separately. Lysander, Julian and Sampson opted to take the other estates that were listed, and I decided to search the secret property he had kept from his daughter.”
“It was actually Julian who had found her. Once he did, he sent word to me and I decided to go after you, since I was theclosest to that location,” Lysander added, looking quite proud of himself.
Graham felt thankful once more to have such dependable friends who would go above and beyond for his sake. It was not a common thing, unwavering loyalty that stood against adversity fearlessly, but Graham was one of the lucky few who had found it.
“Thank you. I have no idea how I will repay you for helping me save my family, but I hope you will accept my gratitude,” Graham told him earnestly.
Your gratitude has been accepted, but you can expect me to request some fine spirits in the future as my reward for successfully completing this quest,” Lysander teased.
Graham nodded with a grin. “That, I can do.”
Margaret sighed, patting Graham’s knee.
“It seems I was silly to have worried. You look as right as rain.”
“I certainly will be. Thank you, sister. For being here.”
Margaret glared at him in contempt. “Do not be ridiculous.”
Graham nodded, raising his voice slightly to address his sister and her husband, “I really am grateful for this. Thank you. If you do not mind, I’d like to have a moment with my wife.”
