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In answer, Alaric turned the key in the lock and put it in his waistcoat pocket. The look in his eyes was nearly feral, and she instinctively moved towards the window, even knowing there was no place to run.

‘Charlotte!’ Evelyn called out.

‘It’s all right,’ she told her sister shakily. ‘I need to talk to my husband.’

It took a moment, but she heard Evelyn’s footsteps retreating at last.

Alaric’s gaze held uncertainty. ‘Is that really what you want, Charlotte?’ he asked softly. ‘For me to stay away?’

She stared outside at the melting snow. ‘I don’t know.’

But that wasn’t true at all. She did know what she wanted—for Alaric to love her. Her emotions spilled over until she was barely holding on to her composure.

‘Why are you hurt?’ she asked, stalling.

‘Mr Virdon brought his men to our townhouse a few nights ago, but Thornton and I held them off until the Bow Street Runners arrived.’

She let out a shuddering breath. ‘Dear God.’

‘He looks as bad as I do, but at least it’s over. Virdon has had charges placed against him from several members of the ton. He was trying to blackmail other families besides ours, but he’s finally in custody now.’ With a dark smile, he added, ‘It felt rather good to play my part in putting an end to all this.’ He flexed his hand. ‘It’s why I couldn’t come to you again after that first day.’

Her shoulders lowered slightly, but she was glad to hear that the danger was over. She walked closer to him, studying his bruises. ‘Thornton told me he’d repaid his debts. Why would they still try and attack you?’

‘To intimidate us,’ he admitted. ‘It was hardly better than a robbery.’ He closed the distance between them, his gaze filled with roiling emotions. ‘But I’m not worried about those men any more. All my thoughts are on you.’

She lowered her gaze, wanting so badly to lean back against his powerful frame, to be in his arms.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

Without warning, her tears spilled over. ‘No, Alaric,’ she whispered. ‘I’m not all right.’

She’d wanted things to be so different. Her shoulders bowed over with the unspoken pain. She was torn between her bruised feelings and the knowledge that she had still missed her husband terribly. If he was willing to give their marriage another chance, she knew it could become something wonderful. She wanted to try, even though she dreaded letting herself become vulnerable, for fear he would reject her again.

There was tension in every part of his body. ‘Is it…the baby?’

Her sobs broke forth as she let go of her anguish. He pulled her into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin. ‘Don’t cry, Charlotte. I’m here.’

But he wasn’t. Not truly, if he was still unhappy at the thought of becoming a father. She wept against his shirt, and he gave her a handkerchief.

‘What can I do?’ he murmured. ‘Should I send for another doctor?’

She took the handkerchief and blew her nose, wiping at her tears. ‘A doctor won’t help me with this.’ She placed her hands on his chest and gave him a slight push, needing space. She’d never imagined it would hurt so much to face him again.

‘Why did you come for me, Alaric?’ she asked wearily.

‘You’re my wife. I will always take care of you,’ he said gently. He took a breath and confessed, ‘I blame myself for your fall. It never should have happened. You could have lost…’ His grey eyes were clouded with unhappiness.

She dared to look at him then. ‘But you don’t even want this baby, do you?’

He let out a slow breath. ‘I thought you were going to tell me that you’d miscarried.’ Relief seemed to lift an enormous weight from his shoulders. ‘Yes, I do want the baby, Charlotte. So very much. But the thought of you enduring childbirth terrifies me.’

‘Why?’

He hesitated before answering. ‘Because my mother died giving birth to our youngest brother.’ There was bleakness in his tone as he admitted, ‘They both died, mother and son, when the doctor couldn’t stop the bleeding.’

She hadn’t known that. A tinge of guilt caught her, for she should have suspected such a thing. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘It happened over ten years ago,’ he admitted. ‘But our father was never the same afterwards.’