Page 117 of Wicked Rivals
“You are mine. I will show you what that means until my dying breath.” There was a deep solemnity lightened only by love in his eyes as he held her gaze.
She sniffed and nodded. “You won’t cry off then? About the wedding?” She’d been so afraid that he’d wake up from this wound only to realize she hadn’t been worth any of this, certainly not almost dying over.
His eyes twinkled. “I walked alone into a castle with those brutes you call brothers to win you back. What do you think?”
A laugh escaped her. “I suppose that’s true. You did face quite the odds.” She knew he never took risks, not unless he’d secured his chances of winning first. But there had been no guarantee she would go back to London with him, or that her brothers would let him walk away with all his teeth.
The bedchamber door opened, and Cedric appeared. “I heard voices… Oh, thank heavens.” He grinned at seeing them. Then he angled his head out to the hallway. “Wake up, you lot, Ash’s come around.”
Rosalind raised her brows as Cedric entered the room. The viscount shrugged. “We were in the hall, scattered about.”
“But we have plenty of good beds…”
The rest of the League filed in behind Cedric, their fine clothes rumpled and hair mussed, each of them sporting bandages. They, like she, hadn’t slept much the last two days, and it showed in their faces.
“We wanted to be within shouting distance in case you needed anything,” Cedric explained.
Charles broke from the group and came over to Ashton’s bed. “Glad to see you’re awake.” He looked between Rosalind and Ashton, smiling. She was no longer Charles’s enemy, it seemed. The shy but welcoming smile reassured her of that.
“How’s your shoulder?” Lucien inquired as he and the other rogues gathered around the bed.
“Like the devil himself is burning a hole through my body,” said Ashton.
“I’ll summon the doctor. He’s sleeping upstairs.” Godric departed, his limp still pronounced.
“Where are my brothers?” Rosalind asked, realizing she hadn’t seen them in at least a day.
“Lord Kincade has been handling the inquiry regarding the deaths of the men, and he has also handled the investigation into the other men as well,” Lucien said. “He advised us not to inquire further, and I’m more than happy to oblige. What occurs in Scotland should stay here. I’ve no interest in this trouble following us back to London.”
“What about Brodie and Aiden?” she asked. “Did they find the ones who escaped?”
The others exchanged glances before Lucien continued. “Your brothers arrived back two hours ago, the horses exhausted.”
A flicker of unease moved through her at Lucien’s careful deflection. “Are they well?”
Lucien nodded. “They are, but they failed. The three men eluded them. The trail went cold a couple of miles away. They may have split up.”
Ashton sighed wearily. “Then we failed.”
Rosalind held her breath, wondering when the right time would be to bring this up. It seemed there would be no better time than now. She reached into the secret pocket in her skirt and pulled out a single letter.
“Here…” She held it out to Ashton, and he took the letter. Then he raised his stunned eyes to hers.
“Is this is what I think it is?” he asked.
“Yes.” She blushed. “I kept one before I handed the packet to you. When we return to Lennox House, we can figure out how to decode it using the cipher.”
“Good Lord.” Lucien whistled softly. The others had all learned about the letters and what they represented. Even one might have the power to expose Hugo’s dealings. But it would also blacken her family’s name and possibly ruin it forever.
Ashton clutched the letter but made no move to open it. “Thank you, Rosalind,” he said.
She only nodded, burying her fears. She knew what was at stake now. The weight of Hugo’s sins far outweighed her family’s name. If she wished to be Ashton’s wife, she had to be prepared to help protect their families and one another from Waverly. They could in time perhaps repair their name if they shined a bright enough light on where the blame truly lay.
But what would that do to England and Scotland? she wondered.
“We’ll let you rest, Ash,” Cedric said. The men departed the bedchamber, but Ashton gripped Rosalind’s hand as she returned to her seat.
“Come and rest beside me,” he said. “I feel better when you are close.”
