“Number 5, Portman Square,” Murry informed the driver.He handed Edwina up into the cabin, then climbed in behind her and pulled the door shut.“You’ll receive a hot bath and clean clothes when we arrive at Croft House, after which we’ll send for your brother.”
He dropped to the opposite bench and the carriage set off.
Edwina sank against the squabs, tears of relief filling her eyes.They’d done it.They’d evaded capture, possibly worse, but what did that mean, exactly?
She’d no idea, but she realized she was shaking all over.Not from cold, but because of the awful awareness of what might have happened to her had Murry not arrived when he did.The killing she’d done without even blinking.
Although she’d managed to wipe Mr.Grover’s blood from her hands, she could still feel it there.Sticky and wet.
“If it’s any consolation,” Murry said, his voice gruff, “you did what you had to back there.”
The understanding she found in his words nearly undid her.He’d clearly sensed the cause of her distress, though only part of it.
A quivering breath vibrated all the way up her throat.She would soon return to Wrengate House, to Sebastian.
Her heart stuttered at the realization of what this meant.
There would be questions.Her brother would want to know every detail of what had occurred.
A flash of memory filled her mind’s eye, of Mr.Grover’s mouth over hers, of the smoke she’d been forced to inhale.Her stomach clenched and the shivering worsened.If only she had that pipe with her now, to help calm her nerves.What she would not give for a brief moment of oblivion — a chance to escape what came next.
“I can’t,” she muttered, the words clawing their way past her lips.
If Murry heard her, he didn’t respond.She glanced toward him and frowned.His eyes were closed behind the mask he still wore and he sagged against the side of the cabin as though all his strength were depleted.
The sight unsettled her.In fact, now that her senses were focused on him, she also realized his breaths were ragged.Not normal.Something was wrong.
“Mr.Murry.”She spoke above a whisper, though not quite as loud as she normally would.
He answered with a grunt while squinting one eye in her direction.
“Are you unwell?”she asked, her own concerns completely forgotten for now.
The carriage bounced over uneven ground and Murry winced.“I’ll be fine.”
“You sound like you’re in pain,” she said, searching his body for possible wounds but finding none.Perhaps he’d hurt his hands while holding that door closed?
“It’s nothing,” he muttered and shut his eyes once more.“I’ll deal with it after we reach our destination.”
The comment made her stomach tighten with increased foreboding.The tremors pricking her skin intensified.“Please don’t make me go home.”
Both of his eyes shot open.“What?”
“I cannot face my brother like this.”Oh, God.Sebastian would blame her for what had happened and then he’d marry her off to the first respectable option, just to ensure her reputation remained intact.“He’ll do what he thinks best, which will surely wreck me even more.”
“To oppose him would be to oppose Mr.Croft,” Murry rasped.He paused for a moment, then added, “I cannot do that.”
Her throat closed in response to those words, and the tears that had welled in her eyes spilled over.“My brother will never forgive me for this.”
She knew it in her heart, as surely as she knew her own name.With Ryan missing and Claire’s affliction, the family’s continuation fell upon her and Sebastian.It was vital neither compromise that, yet she’d stupidly chosen to go for a walk unescorted.
“Your brother is a hard man,” Murry said, his voice weak, “but he cares for you.Enough for me to believe that you’re wrong.”
“I’m not.”There would be rage for her to contend with if she returned home, along with the guilt she’d be forced to endure every day for the rest of her life.
And what of Claire?
How could Edwina return to her and not tell her what had transpired?Yet how could she share the experience she’d had, knowing that Claire would forevermore look at her differently?
