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Gabrielle almost laughed. “Thank you, Mr. Skivvit. I assure you, if I am ever in need of a loan, Mr. Pin is the last man I will approach.”
Skivvit puffed up his chest with indignation, but Gabrielle shut the door on him. “Can you believe it?” she said to Ramsey. “Do you think the Scarlet Pimpernel paid him?”
“I think the Scarlet Pimpernel paid all of your creditors. You did him a great service, and it’s the least he owes you.”
“But I didn’t ask for anything.”
Ramsey took her hand, kissed it. “Of course not. You always think of yourself last.”
“You make me sound far more noble than I am. In fact, I am not noble at all. I would beg you again to leave London.”
“Gabrielle—“
“And take me with you.”
His eyes closed for a moment, and she knew she had swayed him. “Please, Ramsey. I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done. I just want you to live.”
His eyes opened, so green and clear. “And what kind of life would that be? My one regret in turning myself in would be that I would not be here to take care of you. But the Pimpernel has seen to that. If he’s paid off Pin, he’s paid off all of your creditors. You’re finally free. I won’t condemn you to a life of running and hiding, a life of exile from family and friends.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “If that is the price I pay to be with you, it is nothing. I’ll pay it in an instant.”
He shook his head. “It’s not your debt to pay. I came to tell you goodbye. Will you give me a kiss before I go?”
Her eyes widened. “You mean to go now? Tonight? Surely the king can wait until tomorrow to imprison you.”
“I’d rather go than be taken.”
She grabbed his arms. “Then go at first light. Stay with me tonight. One last night.”
“I shouldn’t.”
“I’m begging you.”
With a sigh, his arms came around her. “How can I refuse you?”
He lifted her in his arms and carried her up the stairs and to the bedroom. She had one night left to plead and cajole and finally capitulate. Though he made love to her with a fervor that left her breathless and weak, he would not be dissuaded. Before the sun’s first light, his lips brushed her temple, and he was gone.
—
Ramsey walked out of the king’s chambers feeling dazed. He still did not understand what had happened or how he had walked out on his own and not in chains.
The king had forgiven him.
Apparently, word of Ramsey’s valor in France had reached the king’s ear. Ramsey had been surprised, but after seeing Gabrielle’s debts paid by the Pimpernel, he had not been shocked.
What had shocked him was his reward.
After much throat clearing, the king had suggested that with all the hubbub in France at the moment, this might not be the best time to show the British peerage in a bad light. Did anyone really need to know that Ramsey had impersonated an earl? It was the royal opinion that Ramsey had earned a title by his acts of bravery, and why not simply bestow the title of Earl of Sedgwick upon him, as there were no heirs. And might the new earl be willing to keep his recent demotion and elevation to himself?
The new earl was more than willing to do so.
He was free. He was finally free, and he no longer had to pretend to be Sedgwick. HewasSedgwick. The first thing he would do would be to go to his family in Cumbria and tell them the good news. He’d move them into the earl’s estate there and let a town house in London for them. After all, he was the earl now, and he’d worked damn hard to bring the earl’s estate back from ruin.
And then he saw Gabrielle.
And he realized he’d been mistaken. The first thing he would do wouldn’t be to go to his family.
“The comte de Tonnerre just told me the good news,” she said, moving toward him.
