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“You did entirely too well. Tell me you want me.”

“I want you. I want you inside me, filling me with your love.”

He groaned and loomed over her; her legs spread for him, and when he entered her in one swift thrust, it was like Guy Fawkes Night behind his eyes. He thrust madly as if he would never have her again. He wanted her to climax too, but he wasn’t sure he could hang on, and then she cried out his name, and he spilled inside her as wave after wave of ecstasy took him over the edge. He was alive; he had a wife who loved him. What more could he want?

“I’m sorry, I have to leave you,” he said as he kissed her neck.

“You can make it up to me later.” She raked her fingers through his hair. “You need to go and help Lord Ashton. At least you will know all of it; maybe it explains why that man deceived you.”

“You are right, but I don’t want to leave you again on your own.”

“I want you to go. I will be fine here by myself for a few hours. Find out the truth and then you can come to terms with it.” She sighed sadly as he gazed at her with a haunted look in his eyes. “I wish I could fix what is going on in your head. If only there was an herb or remedy that could help you.”

Thomas looked up at her. “Just never keep any secrets from me. We must be absolutely honest with each other.”

“Of course, what secrets can I have? I am happy to hear any of your secrets if you feel you must unburden yourself.”

“I am not proud of some things I have done over the years, but they are my sins to bear.”

“If you ever want to talk about those sins, consider me your priest for confession.”

“Will you make me say Hail Marys?”

She rolled her eyes. “I would if I thought you would actually do it.”

He laughed and hugged her closer. “I never want to leave this bed.”

“I do have a remedy for that.”

“You do?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s called a red-hot poker.”

He gasped in mock horror. “Such violence from a doctor. I’m appalled.”

He laughed again when she made a face and poked out her tongue.

Chapter Eighteen

Thomas sat in Tony’s office in Pall Mall surrounded by boxes and boxes of what he could only imagine were old reports.

“Sorry about the mess. I have not quite settled in. I had a wedding to prepare for.”

“How long, exactly, have you been married to my ward.”

“Two whole weeks. I know I have to explain myself and I will, I promise.”

“Ah. Now I must apologize for having dragged you away from your bride.”

“As I have dragged you away from yours.” Tony opened a drawer and took out a folder, flipping the cover open. “I know all this has come as a shock to you, and I wish I had a better understanding of why he picked you. Perhaps he thought you were smart enough to elude them or at least fight your way out.”

“Or maybe he sent me there never to return and thwart his efforts to get the secret himself.” Thomas looked Tony in the eye. “They took my bloody finger and mailed it to him. I suspect as proof that I had been captured and killed, as he planned. And for what? A ring?”

“We were all as shocked and disgusted as you when we found out what Stafford was up to, I assure you. No one more than me. He had no care for Lucinda either. Once he had what he wanted, he planned to kill her too.”

Thomas shook his head and clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt. “I wish he was not dead so I could kill him myself.”

“Yes, well you would have to stand in line.”