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Chapter 19
Richard was getting ready for bed when the frantic knock at the door of the townhouse reached his ears. Usually, visitors would use the knocker, and it would fall a few times before the half-deaf butler had a chance to hear it.
But the insistent knocking at the door could not be attributed to a frustrated visitor who had been ignored by Doyle after a few polite knocks.
No, this visitor was desperate to enter Richard’s townhouse, and judging by how this was the middle of the night, he deduced that the matter must have been of grave importance.
The butler answered, and there was a muted, but rather alarming, conversation. A woman—judging by the high-pitched tone of the guest—was imploring Doyle to let her in, or help her, Richard couldn’t hear which.
It didn’t matter. Someone was in distress. One of his sisters?
Richard threw a banyan over his half-clad body, rushed out of the room, and flew down the stairs. Only when he reached the bottom did he realize that his sisters probably wouldn’t have frantic conversations with his butler. They would just fly past him and go straight to Richard. But that didn’t matter anymore, because now he saw exactly who had appeared on his doorstep.
Jo.
She looked up at that moment, her eyes panicked.
“Come in.” Richard reached her in three strides and took her by the arm. The butler closed the door behind them as Richard led her farther into the hall. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Jo looked up at him, and a smile threatened to break out on her lips, but she pursed them together. Her eyes were still smiling, though. She was happy to see him.
He was happy to see her as well.
“I need your help. Can we talk privately?” she asked, leaning closer to him.
The scent of rosewater permeated his nostrils, and he took in a deep breath. “Of course. Come.”
He led her into his study and helped her into a chair by the hearth. He offered her whisky since she was shaking, but she refused it. Instead, she huddled into her cloak, her teeth chattering. He called for tea to be brought in and settled across from her.
“Tell me what happened,” he prompted.
“I need…” She licked her lips. His gaze caught the motion, his body almost screaming with agony. His mind knew it wasn’t time for lurid thoughts, but having Jo in the same room with him again, breathing the same air, had his heart singing. “This is a matter of utmost urgency but is also quite delicate. I need this done in absolute secrecy.”
Richard frowned. “Whatever you need.”
She swallowed. “I need a doctor. An abortionist.”
Richard’s heart stopped for one long moment, his mind frantic. An abortionist? Was she—?
“But a very good one. And very discreet. I don’t have a lot of money, but I will spare no expense—”
“You are with child?” Richard’s voice grew hoarse.Is it mine?His heart screamed. The words slipped out before he had a chance to think. “Ourchild?”
A blush flooded Jo’s cheeks. “Oh, no! We didn’t…” She shook her head, her face getting an even darker shade of red. “If you remember what we did, it wouldn’t—”
Richard let out a hoarse chuckle. “Right. Of course. It’s just… I panicked, I suppose.”
Jo bit her lower lip, trying to hold the smile that threatened to erupt. “I am sorry, I should have clarified. I know I don’t have the right to ask you for anything after our last conversation—”
Richard put up a staying hand. “You don’t need to explain.” And she didn’t. He would do anything for her. No matter whose babe she was carrying.
Was it someone before him? Did it matter? He tried to convince himself that it didn’t. But he needed to know the name of the culprit so he could smash his face in. Was it that bastard Mick? His blood started boiling, but he forced himself to calm down.
Not now.Jo needs me now.That she came to him and not some other man meant the world. And he would not disappoint her.
Richard took her cold hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over them. “Jo, I will help you do anything you want. But if you want to keep the babe, I can help you with that, too.”We can raise the babe together.He didn’t say those words out loud. Their future was too uncertain.
Jo peered at him, as if trying to gauge his thoughts, a small smile threatening to erupt. “Richard,” she said slowly. “I am not with child.”
