Page 77 of The Duke's Carriage Window
“Come now, Mr. Crell, we both know what you did. Why don’t you simply admit it?”
“I admit nothing.” He glanced around. “And you’ve made a terrible mistake attempting to blackmail me.”
Crell’s words gave Meredith a sudden burst of inspiration. “Of course it’s a mistake.”
That threw him for a loop. “Pardon?”
“Blackmail is never a one-time thing, is it?” said Meredith. “Blackmailers demand regular payments, and even when they say a payment is the last one, you never truly know if that’s the last you’ll hear of them. It’s a prison, Mr. Crell.”
Crell frowned, not knowing where Meredith was going with this. Chances were Mr. Doyle and Warren were equally baffled, but she pressed on.
“And you’ve only just escaped one prison, haven’t you? Life with Minerva couldn’t have been easy for you. Always requiring attention. Unable to care for herself. Even when you had staff to take care of her for you, the extra cost must have been draining. All for a woman you didn’t even have feelings for, and who taxed your patience every single day.
“But you found a way out, didn’t you? One small act, and you could finally escape from your prison. You could finally be free. Have you enjoyed your freedom, Mr. Crell? Or have you found yet another prison? One of your own design?”
Crell looked uncomfortable, his teeth braced in rising anger. Meredith was on the right track. “Do you still see her face at night, Mr. Crell? Is it one of shock and horror? Does she call your name? Does she ask you why?”
Crell lunged for her. Meredith leapt back, but not quickly enough. He latched onto her left arm and yanked her toward him. She screamed as he wrapped his hand around her throat. Crell slammed her against the garden wall and began to squeeze the life out of her.
“Stupid woman, you couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you!” he snarled.
Meredith clawed at his hands, her vision dotting with stars as her lungs screamed for air. Crell loomed above her, his face twisted with a violent sneer. It was so hard to think, so hard to keep struggling against the hands that were squeezing the very life out of her, until her mind blurred with a torrent of memories.
Uncle Ben walking with her in the gardens. Her mother laughing in the sunlight as she chased Meredith along the beach. Her first sight of Darius in the doorway. Darius making love to her in the gardens. Darius smiling at her, holding her, telling her that she owned him body and soul. Darius loving her…
All went dark.
The moment the coach arrived at Knightley Street, Darius leapt from the coach while it was still moving and ran for his townhouse. Kit and the others were right behind him as he burst through the front door, nearly knocking Chelsea over as he hurried to the back gardens.
A scream pierced the air, followed by shouting. Darius ran blindly, madly toward the direction of the scream. When he reached the back garden wall he leapt onto the bench and vaulted over the garden wall just as Frances stood frantically beside the bench trying to see what was happening. Darius landed in crouch, pain shooting up his bad leg, but that pain paled in comparison in comparison to the sight that met his eyes.
Warren and Doyle had Crell’s arms and were attempting to pin him down on the ground, but the man was struggling, nearly tossing them off. Meredith lay inert a few feet away, her face was an unnaturally dark color and her eyes closed.
Oh God…
“Darius!” Warren shouted. “See to Meredith! This bastard is stronger than he looks—” he grunted as Crell threw his body up, nearly tossing Warren onto his backside.
Darius knelt by Meredith’s body, lifting her up into his arms and cradling her against his chest.
“Come on, my darling, breathe,” he gasped. It felt like he couldn’t breathe either, like he was dying just as she seemed to be.
No…please no… He choked on the thought that he might have lost her.
He should have been here with her, protecting her, loving her, proving that he believed in her, not keeping secrets from her.
Suddenly Meredith gasped and descended into a fit of coughing, her body curling up in a ball.
“Thank Christ.” He held her even closer, oblivious to everything else around him. All that mattered was that she was alive. “Easy, sweetheart, just breathe.”
“Help us lift him up.” Doyle’s voice intruded on Darius’s focus. He turned up to see Felix help Warren and Doyle get Crell onto his feet.
“Louis Crell, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Miss Montague. But rest assured, that won’t be the only charge.” Crell was barely conscious now, wavering on his feet. Then the man was escorted away, but Darius did not care. All that mattered was the woman he held in his arms. Meredith’s lashes fluttered as she gazed up at him.
“D—Darius?” she wheezed. “I didn’t think…I’d get to see you before…”
“Hush darling,” he said, noting the deep red marks around her neck. “You need to rest. That man nearly killed you. Your vocal cords will likely be damaged.” He stood up, lifting her in the cradle of his arms.
“Take me home,” she whispered, and slipped into unconsciousness again.
