Page 125 of Three Weeks with a Princess
Lia scooted over and patted the mattress. “Here, sit down while you tell me about it. I haven’t a clue what happened after you sent me home.”
“All right, but let me take off these boots. You know how filthy that brothel was. And I saw a great deal more of it than I wanted to.”
“As did I,” she said wryly.
After he wrestled off his boots, he climbed onto the bed and propped himself against the headboard, stretching out his long legs with a weary sigh. “I hate that you had to see even one inch of that benighted place. The Runners and I made a sweep of the entire building, just to make sure there were no other women being held there against their will.”
“I’m so glad you thought of that. Were there any others?”
“No, thank God. In fact, most of the ladies seemed quite annoyed by the disturbance, their customers even more so. I will say, however, that very few of the women were distressed to see the back end of Mrs. Grace. She was clearly not well-liked by her, er, employees.”
“I’m not surprised. She’s a horrid woman.”
When he slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, everything inside her finally settled. As he held her, it felt like the rhythm of their hearts slowed and started to beat as one. For a few precious moments, Lia allowed herself to rest in a place of perfect contentment, as if floating in infinite sunlight.
She was reluctant to reenter the world, but there were too many unanswered questions and too many decisions yet to make. “Why was Dominic going to Carlton House? That seems rather odd.”
“He thought it best to report to the Prince Regent on tonight’s events before rumors started circulating.”
She frowned. “Why would the prince care? Sir Nathan is only a baronet, one without much power, it seems.”
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Not because of him, sweetheart, because of you. You’re the daughter of a royal duke, and both the Duke of York and the Regent will certainly want to know about tonight’s unfortunate events.”
She twisted in his embrace to stare up at him. “That seems unlikely. My father has never even met me.” It felt odd to even use the term.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not interested in your welfare.”
“Jack, not once in my entire life has he shown an iota of interest, nor did he ever give Mama any money for support after their affair ended.”
“I suspect that’s about to change, thanks to your half brother—whoisquite close to the duke. Captain Endicott is very concerned for your welfare and has written to York about you.” Jack smiled. “I’m sure Sir Dominic will have something to say about it, too, as a member of York’s inner circle. Don’t be surprised if your royal father begins to take an interest in you, especially after tonight.”
Apparently she was acquiring family by leaps and bounds. It would take getting used to, but it also felt quite lovely. “Better late than never, I suppose.”
He pulled her back into his embrace. “Not that it truly matters, because I’ll be taking care of you from now on.”
“Jack, about that—”
“Although you’re obviously capable of taking care of yourself,” he said, sounding a bit disgruntled. “I was all set to charge in, your knight in shining armor, only to discover you’d dispatched the villain quite handily.”
She patted his chest. “You’ll always be my knight in shining armor. And I cannot tell you how happy I was to see you burst through that door. I must admit I was stunned, though. How did you know we were there?”
“Your little friend Sammy heard your screams in the alley. He rushed out in time to see you being hauled off to Prudhoe’s carriage. He bravely followed and managed to keep the carriage in sight, thank God.”
“He’s a very quick and clever lad.” And Lia could never be grateful enough for his courage.
“He is at that and shall be amply rewarded, I assure you.”
“So, he followed us to the brothel. Then what did he do?”
“He knew where you lived, so he came here. That showed on uncommon presence of mind, and I now suspect Sir Dominic will take the boy under his wing. Sammy deserves a better future than hanging about the back door of a theater.”
“Ah, so that’s why Gillian was with you. We’d planned to meet here for tea.”
“Yes. In fact, your cousin wanted to storm the barricades with only her groom’s assistance. Fortunately, your aunt was able to hold her back until she could send for me. It took a little longer to track down Dominic, though, and we decided not to wait for him. Thank God,” he added with a mutter, giving her a squeeze.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back. “Yes, poor Amy was in a very bad fix. If you’d been much later, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“Yes, we had to scramble. Lady Hunter dispatched word to Bow Street, but I had to make sure we had enough men for the job because I had no idea what we would be facing. Charles would have murdered me if anything happened to Gillian.” He shook his head. “She was quite annoyed with myblasted caution, as she termed it. As ifIdidn’t want to go charging straight in there myself, pistols firing.”
