“I won’t take up your time.” She hesitated on the threshold. If Jacob had been at that desk, he would have yelled at her to leave him alone. “I just wanted to see you for a moment. I’ll leave you to your work.”
“A moment isn’t enough. It’ll never be.” Ethan opened his arms, and she ran to him.
She sat on his lap and snuggled closer to his warmth. His heartbeat quickened as she rested her cheek on his chest.
“You should never fear coming to me.” The deep rumble of his voice reverberated inside her. “I always want you by my side.”
Always. Could they have always? They loved each other, but her situation was complicated at best and uncertain at worst. He was a marquess, who would need to marry and produce an heir one day. She couldn’t give anything to him aside from her heart.
“I’m sorry. If I hadn’t asked for your help, Jacob would have never attacked you.” She wrapped her arm around his neck.
“No, he would have. He’s never approved of my management of the centre. He doesn’t scare me. This battle with him has nothing to do with yours. We’ll win, and he’ll remain alone and forgotten with his bitterness.”
She pulled away from him, needing to see his face. “What if I can’t get an annulment? What will happen to us?”
He ran a finger over the curve of her jaw. “No matter what Quigley says, no matter what Roxbury does, no matter what theentire world thinks, we’ll be together. And if you can’t get an annulment or you’ll be forced to leave England, I’ll come with you.” A shadow crossed his face.
“But you can’t leave England. Your life and responsibilities are here.”
He pressed his lips in a grim line.
She caressed his cleft chin. “I understand. I can’t ask you to sacrifice your life for me. I don’t want you to.”
“I’d gladly do it.”
“No.” She gripped the lapel of his jacket. “If I’m forced to leave England, the law will be against me. A countess can’t leave her husband, an earl, taking his son and heir with her. David will be the next Earl of Roxbury, even if Jacob doesn’t like it. He won’t simply let him go.” A chill crept down her back.
“I will never, ever let Roxbury take David.” A hard glint flashed in his gaze. “David will stay with you. Legally or otherwise. If you must leave, I’ll provide for you and David and visit you every time I can.”
Gosh, it sounded like an uncertain future made of stolen moments of happiness and the constant threat of Jacob finding them.
“I know how the prospect sounds.” He kissed her temple. “But we both agree that David is our priority. His safety is our first concern.”
“Yes, it’s—” She jolted as a loud thud came from the hallway. She gripped his arm. “What is it?”
“Ha! I hit you.” Harry’s voice thundered.
“You cheated.” That was David.
Another thud came, followed by Mrs. Parker’s scream and her inaudible words.
Ethan exhaled and pitched the bridge of his nose. “I think that answers your question.”
Ethan walkedwith Cora by his arm, heading to Judge Quigley’s house after the short drive on the carriage. The emotions of the past few days had turned his life upside down, both in a good and bad fashion.
As he held Cora’s hand, he knew no other woman would ever take her place in his heart. But her fear was justified. The law would be against her if an annulment wasn’t possible. She might escape Roxbury’s clutches, but she would remain his wife and live with the constant fear of being found and dragged to him or in prison. And David would be caught in the middle of the war between his parents.
Too many things could go wrong. Too many lives could be destroyed. Including those of the soldiers at his centre because Roxbury would take his revenge against whatever he saw fit. Cora remained silent. Since last night, a little crease wrinkled the space between her eyebrows.
He wanted to smooth her worry lines with his lips and forget their happiness was at stake. “Is your shoulder painful? I hope the swim didn’t cause any stress.”
“Only a sting, but I’m fine. Really. I don’t need the bandage anymore.”
“Good.” He ignored the worry clenching his stomach.
A nagging feeling bothered him. Or maybe he cared too much about her and David, and no bad omen was on the horizon.
Judge Quigley’s white cottage rose from the top of a hill, surrounded by trees and wisteria. With the sea in the background and the puffy clouds overhead, the view was breathtaking, but it did nothing to soothe Ethan’s inner turmoil.He’d been afraid for his life before at the edge of a battle, but losing Cora was a new type of fear. More visceral. More intimate.
