Page 158 of The Lyon Whisperer
He turned to face her. “I questioned Tully last night.”
“Yes, and he knew nothing of the arsons.”
“Correct. I also asked after his tailor. He gave me Hoby’s name, and, as an aside, mentioned Millicent saw to all his wardrobe needs for him. This morning, everything clicked into place. The blonde angel with access to fine fabrics who just happened to disappear after the last fire? A woman who made herself into the perfect mate for Dodd?”
Amelia slid him a knowing look. “Just as she did for both you and Tully.”
“I realized it must have been she who warned Hoby off of helping you—to protect herself from discovery.”
“But why do it at all, Chase? Why the fires?”
“I asked her that myself, this morning. She admitted to everything, by the way. She said she wanted the one thing she could never achieve. Tully’s love.”
“Ah.” She nodded in dawning understanding. “She thought if she ruined you she might finally win his affection.”
“It didn’t work. Neither her attempt to bankrupt me, nor her attempt to please Tully—”
“Nor her attempt to turn me against you,” Amelia said softly.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Then why in God’s name did you dress in your Lady MacIvor widows weed’s and ride alone to London? You wanted to dot I’s and cross T’s by visiting a gambling hell and sometimes brothel?”
She bristled and rose to her feet. “Brothel? I wasn’t aware. Have you frequented this brothel, my lord?”
He glared at her. “I have not. We stray from the point.”
Absurdly gratified by his immediate denial, she moved to close the distance between them. “What is the point of this argument, Chase? If you were not angry—”
“I just said I was. Am.”
She gave him a gentle smile. “After first balking at the notion.” She lay her palm on his chest, needing to touch him, to soothe him.
A tremor went through him. A moment later he dragged her into his arms. “You were gone far too long. No one knew where. Visions of a riding accident, of you being hurt and alone had me half crazed.
“When I finally learned you’d taken off in your widow’s garb, I knew you had to have gone to London. But I didn’t know why. You didn’t even leave a note. I only knew it had been hours.Hours.Anything could have happened to you, Amelia. Don’t you see?”
She thought she did. Hope bloomed in her chest. She cupped his hot cheek in one hand.
He twisted his head to press a kiss to her palm, then regarded her with tortured, dark eyes. “Promise me, Amelia.Promise meyou won’t ever do something so dangerous, ever again, regardless of whether or not you think you’re justified.”
She smiled at him, her eyes misting for what seemed the hundredth time today. “Why?” she whispered.
He released her only to grasp her shoulders. He stared at her with wild eyes. “Why? That’s all you can say?”
She nodded. “There must be a reason, my lord.”
He huffed out a laugh. “There is. Because I’m mad for you. Because I love you so completely, so desperately, I don’t think I could ev—”
His words cut off as she threw herself into his chest and twined her arms around his neck. “You love me?” she exclaimed.
He gave a muffled sound of frustration, though his arms tightened around her. “What do you think I’ve been saying for the last hour, madam? What else could it be? What else would drive me to London to secure the loan to pay off the debt between my uncle and your father?”
“You didn’t want me to know what my father had done.”
“I also didn’t want you to think I chose to marry you for the sake of the estates.”
She leaned back. “It’s all right. I understand you did, at first.”
He shook his head with vehemence. “Maybe that’s what your father thought, and maybe I tried to convince myself of the same thing. But the truth is, from the moment I heard your voice, cooing to your beloved puppies, I was lost. Then I looked into your eyes and…” He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “For the next several days all I could think about was finding a reason to call on Fallsgate so I could see you again.”
