Page 63 of Dangerous Games of a Broken Lady
“I worry that I have not been as attentive a husband as I might have been,” he replied. “I ought to have told you that I loved you. I ought to have said so every morning and night, from our first day to our last. Fear prevented me. We were not brought together by love and I always wondered if you might have preferred another in my stead.”
“I have loved you for a long time now, Ephraim. Perhaps, in those first weeks, I did not. I would be a liar if I said otherwise. But you have given me the gift of the most wonderful daughter, and you have been kind and generous all these years,” she said, tears glinting in her eyes. “I have told you every night that I love you, though I say it so you do not hear. I have done so because my fears are the same as yours.”
He laughed tightly. “We have been fools.”
“We have.”
“Might I hold you, my darling?” He walked towards her as she rose from her seat. Her arms slid around his neck as his encircled her, holding her tightly. Never had anywhere, or anyone, felt so like home.
“Do you promise me that everything is fine?” she whispered. “Only, you do not seem to be yourself.”
He buried his face in her shoulder, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume. “All will be well, my love.”
“Willbe?”
“It is already, my dear. As I say, I found myself hit with a bout of nostalgia and regret that I could not shake,” he said softly. “I hate to think that we have wasted so much time, hiding the truth from one another. For I have loved you always. You have been more than a wife to me—you have been a friend, a companion, a business partner. You are everything to me.”
“Tell me everything is well, Ephraim?” She pulled away, holding his face in her hands.
He nodded slowly. “It will be, my love.”
Without another word, he kissed her and left the room. No matter what happened that night, his wife would know that she was loved. He had longed to tell Adelaide, too, but her maid had informed him that she was sleeping away a headache. Still, she would surely know how grateful he was to have had them both in his life.
Exiting the townhouse, two horses awaited. Jasper sat astride one of them—a silver mare—whilst a dark chestnut gelding stood proud beside. Ephraim mounted the horse and turned it towards Westminster Abbey, its hooves thundering along the cobbles as he headed for his fate.
They arrived as darkness fell. It would be many hours before the peers left parliament, but they had anticipated that. Leaving the horses tied to a post, close to the old court entrance, they stole through a side-gate and hurried across the empty expanse. In the near-distance, the bells of Westminster Abbey chimed six o’clock. It would be a long night for everyone.
They made their way through the labyrinth of halls and corridors, until they came to one of the storage rooms in the northernmost wing of the Houses of Parliament. Ephraim had placed several documents in here, once upon a time, and knew it would be the ideal place to hide until midnight arrived. They ducked in unseen and moved to the back of the dim room. Nobody would find them here.
As they sat in the darkness, Ephraim glanced at Jasper. “You seem rather distracted,” he said. The young man had been sullen all the way from the townhouse, his manner fidgety and awkward.
“Do I?” he asked, half frightened out of his skin.
“Yes, you do. Are you having second thoughts?”
“About this? No.”
“But about something?”
Jasper sighed heavily. “It is not I who is having second thoughts, My Lord. It is Lady Adelaide. She came to me two days ago and told me of her confusion,” he replied. “I should not be telling you this, as it was spoken in confidence, but I feel Imustspeak up. She is no longer certain of the Duke. Her resolve is waning.”
Ephraim gasped. “How could you keep this from me?”
“It was not my place to say anything.”
“I wish you had not said a word,” he muttered. “The plan was to have Adelaide marry the Duke, in the event that things went awry tonight. What am I to do now, if such a disaster should occur? I cannot have her marry the Duke if she does not wish it. That has never been my intention. I went along with it because I thought she was content.”
“She thinks she is protecting you, My Lord. She wishes to secure her family’s future.” Jasper dropped his gaze. “As you know, it is her cousin Charles who shall inherit if something were to happen to you. She wants to ensure that her mother is well taken care of, as well as herself.”
“Could you not dissuade her?”
“I tried,” Jasper replied fervently. “Goodness, I tried. She is doing what she thinks is best. You know Lady Adelaide—she is stubborn as a mule when she wants to be.”
“Then what is to be the plan?”
Jasper shrugged. “I shall take her and her mother away, as we have agreed. After that… we must consider another course of action, unless she insists on going ahead with the union.”
“Why did you not make her an offer of marriage?” Ephraim asked sharply. “You adore one another, it is plain for all to see. True, it might not be a romantic sort of love, but that can blossom over time. Especially with foundations such as yours.”
