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“Please let me explain.”
“No. There is nothing to say.”
“Of course there is! I’ve been gone for three days. Can I at least tell you why?”
She laughed, then wiped at her eyes. Her hand shook. “You think I don’t know? I know you better than you know yourself, Roman. Some great catastrophe requires you to dutifully run to your master. Well, you’ve always said you loved her. Why was I so foolish to think you had changed?”
“Ihavechanged. And this is different. I am doing this to protect you.”
“Sending me to Spain is protecting me? It seems as if you are running away from me.”
He debated the wisdom of telling her the full truth, but it was the only way she would understand his motivation.
“Your uncle has escaped.” He waited for her reaction, but there was none. “One of his operatives killed one of my men three days ago. It is best if we are not together until I can resolve the matter. He holds me responsible,amada.”
“So, chasing that mad hatter across Europe will be your life’s work? He would never harm me.”
“He is insane, Shelene. He is angry and he is crazed. He’s also very powerful with far-reaching influence. I don’t think he would spare a moment’s thought to hurting you if he knew we were married. I have hired two men to escort you home. And you will not argue with me about it.”
“Joaquin can see me home.”
“He’s going with me. Home Office believes Belgrano fled to South America, and I will need a second while I’m there.”
“He’s a boy.”
“Who will never grow up wrapped in his mother’s skirts.”
“So, it was all a ruse, looking for Papa and Oliver?”
“You know that’s not true.”
He’d eased closer and was able to reach her, pulling her into his arms. She resisted, braced her arms against his chest and attempted to wiggle free. He gripped her wrists. Aside from the fire in her gaze, her feelings were now hidden by a mask of apathy, accepting that he would betray her and trying her damnedest to feel nothing.
“Don’t! Listen to me. Please. I am going to find out what happened. I am also going to do what I can to prevent Belgrano from hurting anyone else. To do that, I need you to be safe. At home, with your friends and family. It is my obligation to you as a man and as your husband.”
“Don’t confuse me with England.”
“He’s dangerous. Your safety is my highest concern.”
“Your duty is to me. Only me. My uncle can rot in hell. You made a vow on our wedding day. Two weeks ago. Am I so inconsequential that now your vow can so easily be broken?”
He took a short breath and stared her in the eye. He rubbed the back of his hand along her jaw and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “No. Not inconsequential. You are the most important person in my life. You always have been. Especially when I am farthest from you.”
“And how long must I wait this time? Until I hear you have died in your quest? Until I am too old to have children? Until there is no love left? I am tired, Roman. I am tired of waiting. I am tired of chasing after you.”
“You’ve never chased after me. It might have been easier if you had.” He gave her a tight smile, but it was enough.
She stopped struggling. He cupped her face, then slid his fingers through her hair. “That will never happen to us. We will be together. I know it is painful now. I know, and I’m sorry.”
“Send someone else. It doesn’t have to be you,” she pled, clutching his jacket lapels and causing pain at his wound.
“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have to go. But it is our family whom I now serve, not the Crown. Your father. My brother. Your uncle. Please understand. And please forgive me for breaking my word.”
“Then let me go with you. I promise I will not be in your way. Nothing will happen to me. We’ll be together as we should be. There will be no danger. We can discover the truth of Papa’s last voyage. My uncle won’t even know we are there or that you are searching for him.”
“No, Shelene.”
She laughed, a struggling, choking sound that might have held a hint of mockery and much anger, then straightened her shoulders again. “I can’t do it, Roman. I won’t. I will request an annulment when I arrive in Spain. You will have no more obligation to me and what family I have left.”
