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Tall, dark hessian boots appeared before her. They moved toward Mick and paused.
Jo didn’t dare raise her gaze.
“Touch her again and I’ll kill you,” the man growled.
Richard?
Jo raised her head and had to blink twice to believe what she was seeing.
Richard.
Mick scrambled up and rushed toward him, but Richard took him by the lapels of his coat and propelled him toward the other wall. Mick hit the wall with his face, and turned, his bloody mouth twisted in a sneer. Richard didn’t wait for the man to retaliate. He planted a fist in his face.
Blood rushed out of his nose, and Mick covered his face with his hands. “You bastard!” His voice was oddly nasal. “You’ll pay for it in court!”
“Me? A viscount? I very much doubt it,” Richard spat. He didn’t look winded. Neither did he look frightened of Mick’s threats.
Mick swayed, then looked at Jo and spat a mouthful of blood. “You shall both regret this!” he growled before walking away.
Jo still sat curled against her vanity table, shaking as Richard stepped toward her. His brows were furrowed, his nostrils flaring, his mouth set in a grim line. But as their eyes met, his gaze immediately softened.
He extended his arm, waiting patiently as Jo came to her senses.
She still shook as she placed both her hands in his one large one and he tugged her up.
“Are you hurt?” he barked. And even his rough question sounded like music to her ears.
Jo took an unsteady step before crashing into his arms.
His arms immediately went around her, holding her close, anchoring her against his chest. Tears trickled down her cheeks and sobs tore out of her lungs as she clung to him, curling her fingers into his cloak.
“Shh…” he soothed her. “I am here. You’re fine now.”
She cried her heart out into his coat, her body shaking, holding on to him as if he was the only thing keeping her upright. And he probably was.
He was running his hands up and down her body, whispering soothing nonsense in her ears.
They stood like that for what seemed like a lifetime.
And then he kissed her on her hair, and that was what snapped her out of the moment.
She eased away from him and wiped at her tears.
Richard handed her a handkerchief, and she gratefully accepted it, wiping away the moisture from her face.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the handkerchief, unable to face him just yet.
“I came to take you away from all this.”
Jo’s head shot up. Her mouth was opened in shock, and she nervously licked her lips. They were salty with her tears.
Richard’s throat worked on a swallow, his scowling face grim. “You didn’t answer any of my missives… I understood it to mean that either you didn’t get any of them or you didn’t forgive me. So I came to… I came to personally apologize for being a hard-headed fool. I can’t marry anyone else, Jo. It’s… it’s only you. It’s always been you.”
Jo had to pinch herself to make certain she wasn’t dreaming because it looked and felt very much like one of her dreams. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying…” He took her hands in his and peered into her eyes. “I’m saying that there is only one woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. And it’s you.”
Jo stared at him in sheer disbelief, not certain what to say.
