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“What is it?”
“The doll. It’s gone.”
She jolted upright and tried to push to her feet. “Oh no!”
He snatched her arm before she could go anywhere. “What are you doing?”
“Going back in. We must find it!”
He shook his head, grinning. This woman. What was he going to do with her? “I do not need it,” he assured her.
She dropped back down to the ground with a weary sigh. “I-I am so sorry, Blake.”
“I’m not.” He leaned over her, the tempting warmth of her breath luring him in. “I don’t need it because I have you, sweeting. What more could a man want?”
Epilogue
Aunt Sarah thrust a glass of what Demeter suspected was brandy into her hand. Cassie tucked a blanket up around her shoulders. Meanwhile, her sister’s husbands argued over what they should do about Mr. Foster and who should tear him apart limb by limb first. Chastity leaped into the fray and informed them all it would be her doing the tearing. Even Eleanor would not cease fussing over her, gnawing on the end of the thumb and muttering about whether Demeter would sicken from her dip in the Thames.
“I’m perfectly fine,” she assured Eleanor, shrugging off the blanket. She’d already dried, changed, and even taken a precautionary tonic in the several hours since being flung in the water.
The only person who remained quiet was Blake, who wore an oddly determined expression while he leaned against the writing desk, his borrowed shirt open at the collar and his hair a disheveled mess. Bruises were appearing under his eyes and his arm was bound in a fabric sling.
He was a mess. A beautiful, wonderful mess.
She met his gaze and a warm, delicious sensation jolted through her. If she survived her ordeal, she wanted to marry him, to love him forever.
And she had.
So now she just had to figure out how to bring the matter up.
Once her family left her alone, that was.
“Foster will not return,” Blake told Chastity. “I know it.”
She peered at him, her chin forming a determined point. “How do you know?” She touched Valentine’s arm. “We should hire men across the country. Have them look for him and bring him back. He brought this upon Demeter and he needs to pay.”
Blake shook his head. “The men who took Demeter have already confessed to forging the will for him in the hopes of escaping the noose.”
“The noose is too good for them,” Chastity muttered. “They nearly killed my sister!”
Valentine rubbed a soothing hand up and down Chastity’s back. “We shall do whatever you want, Chastity, but do try to remain calm. For the baby’s sake.” He met Demeter’s gaze and gave a wry smile. “And for mine,” he added quietly.
Demeter suppressed a giggle. Valentine had his hands full with her determined older sister but she knew he loved having a handful for a wife.
“If Foster returns,” Blake said calmly, “we shall have him brought up on charges of fraud. I already plan to have the will contested.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “Who knows if we shall find the real will but I knew most of my aunt’s requests. I can ensure her fortune is distributed close to her wishes.”
“And now he has fled, he has no resources, no friends,” Demeter added. “For such a man, that will be punishment enough.”
Cassie made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. “He should have been the one to end up in the Thames.” She eyed Blake. “He stole your inheritance. Surely you feel more strongly on the matter of justice?”
A smile curved his lips. “Funnily enough, I do not.” His gaze connected with Demeter’s. “I have other things to worry about now.”
Demeter couldn’t be certain what he meant but hope flared in her chest.
Aunt Sarah gave Cassie a gentle push toward the door. “Perhaps we should leave these two alone to...recover. They have had quite the ordeal.”
Chastity made a sound of protest when their aunt grabbed her arm but Eleanor and Cassie followed quietly and Luke and Valentine seemed happy to leave, despite their argument about who was going to hunt down Mr. Foster starting again. Aunt Sarah turned around, winked, and shut the double doors firmly behind her.
