Page 69 of The Last Chance
“It’s too much to contemplate when my heart is heavy.” He straightened. All that mattered was proving Joanna’s innocence. “There is much to do tomorrow. I need to rest for a few hours, though I doubt I’ll sleep.”
Delphine laughed. “We both know sleep isn’t on your agenda. I heard you say you’re following Miss Lovelace to ensure she arrives at the destination.”
Aaron smiled. “As far as you know, I’m asleep upstairs with my door locked.” Not clambering over the high wall in the yard and claiming his tethered horse from St James’ churchyard. “Once I know Joanna has made the first leg of the journey, I’ll return home to demand our brothers move into their old rooms.”
“Is Miss Lovelace staying at an inn?”
Aaron tapped his finger to his lips. “The less you know, the better.”
“You might have said goodbye there and had an hour’s privacy. You might have shown her how deep your passions runwithout saying it in words. Given her a memory to treasure.” She tapped his arm playfully before walking away and calling, “Just a thought.”
It was a thought he couldn’t shake from his mind as he dressed. A thought he considered as he scaled the wall and broke curfew. A thought that plagued him every mile on the ride to Gravesend.
Joanna wasn’t staying in the popular Pier Hotel but in the quieter Pope’s Head tavern. Sigmund was in the taproom when Aaron arrived, supping ale at a table by the window, watching the schooners and barges navigate the Thames. Dawn was upon them, the sunrise slowly illuminating the river in a soft, misty glow.
Aaron threw off his heavy riding coat and pulled up a chair. “How is she?”
“As anyone would be when they feel they’ve lost everything.”
“Did you find McMillan?”
Sigmund nodded and downed a mouthful of ale. “He took the cab and horse as payment for passage. We’re leaving for Southend at nine and boarding a ship to Ostend at high tide tonight. I’ll know more when McMillan returns.”
“When you reach Ostend, send a blank letter to Godby’s sister.” Then Aaron would know they had arrived at their destination. “Find a remote hotel while you look for permanent lodgings. I’ll come for you once I’ve buried the Earl of Berridge.”
Sigmund shifted in the seat. “There’s something different about this one—a bad feeling gnawing away in my gut. You need me at home, not miles across the North Sea.”
Aaron could feel Sigmund’s frustration but needed him to concentrate on the task. “If I’m to fight to the death, I need you here. I can’t be a ruthless bastard when she consumes my thoughts.”
Sigmund gripped his tankard in his meaty paws like it wasthe villain’s scrawny neck. “I hate feeling helpless. You know that.”
Aaron reached across the table and gripped Sigmund’s arm. “You’ve been a loyal friend all these years. Protect her like you would me. That’s all I ask of you.”
Sigmund sighed and then offered every reassurance. “Will you visit her before you return to London?”
No! It would add to the torment.
“I’m not sure that’s wise.”
He had an hour to spare before taking to the road. Saying goodbye would be harder this time, and he was already dying inside.
“There’s nothing wise about any of this, but happen you know that already.” Sigmund glanced at the ceiling. “Remember, some memories have to last a lifetime. A few good ones might keep the nightmares away. Nothing destroys a man like the pain of regret.”
Aaron forced a grin. “When did you become the voice of reason?”
“When you cracked a smile for the first time in ten years.”
Chapter Fourteen
Joanna lay on the bed in the quaint room, trying to stem the flow of tears. Her white handkerchief was a damp, crumpled mess. Her heart hurt, and her eyes stung from rubbing them dry. She sniffed while still wondering how she had veered onto this treacherous path when she had planned each step with such care and precision.
Take control of her inheritance.
Earn money to pay for new furniture and repairs.
Open a club for ladies in need, a sanctuary for those without friends or family. Somewhere she might have found solace from scoundrels and the endless nights spent alone.
She’d been focused on her future. Determined to succeed.
