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Fourteen

QUARTER OF MIDNIGHT~ THAT SAME NIGHT

Hairstill damp after bathing and tending his battered face, Fletcher approached Siobhan’s chamber. Eager to speak with her, he only wore trousers, an untucked shirt, and the house shoes he’d slipped on at the last minute.

Agolden glow beneath her door revealed she hadn’t yet gone to bed.

Aself-deprecating smile bent his mouth upward.

Hisnightly rounds through his club might’ve also included passing hers and the children’s chambers. To reassure himself all was well with them. Thus, he’d learned her habits.

Shedidn’t sleep with a lamp lit. Probably a luxury her family couldn’t afford.

Hisefficient staff reported that Siobhan had seen her siblings settled into bed after a cup of hot chocolate. She’d bathed but refused the tray he’d asked Mrs. Dough to prepare for her.

Siobhan’sanger wasn’t unexpected.

Afterall, her spirit was much of what Fletcher admired about her.

Intruth, he’d anticipated her fury but had gambled that she would eventually forgive him.

Hemight’ve lost that wager, and it gutted him that he’d hurt her.

Thedevastation she’d tried to hide in his study earlier tonight lashed him like a saber.

Fletcheralso hadn’t counted on her whispering that she hadn’t told him how she felt about him or LadyHuxley proclaiming Siobhan loved him. Already prepared to give his life to protect her, everything had shifted after that.

He’dbecome determined to live, to confess his love for her too.

Inthe ensuing days since discovering she was a woman, though he’d fought it with every bit of integrity and common sense, he’d done the untenable and fallen in love with his Irish lass. Sensing she wasn’t ready for his declaration and hadn’t come to trust Fletcher yet, he’d determined to bide his time.

However, tonight changed everything.

Lookingdown the barrel of a gun swiftly convinced him that life was too short to dawdle when it came to matters of the heart. He must tell her his feelings and convince her he’d kept the truth from her to protect her.

Thelatter would be far more difficult to do.

Tonightwas no longer about apprehending the viscountess and her mealy-mouthed wimp of a husband who had been all too willing to toss his maniacal wife under the proverbial carriage if it meant a less severe penalty for him. No, this night had become about forging a future with the most remarkable, delightful, and magnificent woman Fletcher had ever met.

Havingstopped praying when he left the medical profession, he paused outside her door and bowed his head.

I don’t deserve it, but I need your help, Lord. Please give me the words to say.

Ifhis brothers could see him now, they’d howl in mirth.

Holdinghis breath, he rapped once.

“Siobhan? I need to speak with you.”

Rustlingon the other side suggested she’d risen from bed or perhaps an armchair.

“Why?” Her distrustful voice filtered through the walnut door.

Heleaned his forehead against the cool wood. “BecauseI hurt you, which was the last thing I intended to do.”

“Did you set the fire too?” The wood muffled her words but not the accusation behind them.

Hesighed. She might as well know everything. “Yes. I had my men stage a fire in the building next door in a fireproof container so it would not spread, and it was my man who announced it in the club. All the hullabaloo outside was also fabricated. ArmondChambeau, my theater director, recruited actors and actresses. Chandler convinced the viscountess the plan was his idea.”