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Noel slid up to rest against the headboard. “He did?”
Graham nodded. “Does Reese need to obtain a special license?”
Noel blushed and glanced down to pick at the blanket. On this topic, she would stay silent. She wouldn’t share information about the time she had spent with Gregory with anyone.
Graham stretched out his legs. “I’ll take your silence as a yes. However, after your fiancé’s swift departure last night, it leaves me to wonder if he will be as agreeable. Would you care to explain, dear sister?”
“A slight misunderstanding,” Noel muttered.
“Hmm. I only inquire because he became a crazed man when we held him back from entering the forest to search for you. When you appeared at the edge of the forest, he started for you but stopped when Kincaid picked you up. Kincaid tried to pass you into Ravencroft’s arms, but you clung to Kincaid as if he were your savior. Even when Ravencroft rasped out your name, you wouldn’t release your hold. The poor bloke holds my sympathies.”
She didn’t remember Kincaid trying to pass her over to Ravencroft because despair had overwhelmed her into a distraught soul. After listening to her brother describe her actions, she understood why Ravencroft had walked away from her.
“Did he injure himself?” Noel asked.
“Nothing that will not heal. Do you know how he received the nasty bruises covering his face?”
“An altercation with a guard before we escaped, protecting my honor,” Noel explained, now understanding the beating Ravencroft had endured for her. “And Lady Langdale?”
Graham sighed. “By the time we reached the cottage, she had escaped. At least she took the drawings. Now we have an advantage over her.”
“Will she trust them?”
“She has no other choice. She will go underground again until she is ready to seek her revenge.” Graham stood. “If you are ready, Reese and Dracott are waiting to return home. If not, Gemma has offered to stay until you are ready to leave.”
“Is Reese horribly upset?”
“Livid.” Graham’s eyes twinkled. “But he is grateful for your safe return. So enjoy the time he grants you to soak up his sympathy before he delivers his lecture.”
Noel stood up and hugged her brother. “You are the best.”
He returned her hug, squeezing her. “Please, I beg of you to never scare me again.”
“I promise,” Noel whispered.
“Also, I stand by your decision. Even more so after his act of bravery to bring you home to us. Whatever you require from me to convince him of your love, I will help,” Graham swore to Noel.
She pulled back. “Even if I request your help to sneak over to see him again?”
Graham moaned. “Even that. Now hurry, brat. You know how Reese acts after he is away from Evelyn too long.”
Noel giggled as her brother left. She dressed in a gown Gemma had left for her to wear. She sighed as the silky fabric caressed her soft skin. After a week of wearing breeches and the coarse shirt, she enjoyed the simple pleasure of the dress. She never wanted to dress like a boy again.
With her future shining brightly before her, Noel’s heavy heart felt lighter from when she fell asleep. Leave it to Graham to show her how every obstacle led her along a different path. A path of happiness leading to the only true love of her life.
She only hoped Gregory felt the same.
~~~~~
RAVENCROFT HAD TURNEDstark raving mad after a day without Noel. His every thought filled with images of them together. Her fragrance still clung to him, even after soaking in a bath. Noel haunted his dreams when he fell asleep. How would he survive another day without her?
He had waited outside on his terrace for the return of their carriage, then he called on Worthington without running into Noel and offered to withdraw his engagement contract. Worthington never argued against it. The earl could’ve forced Ravencroft to marry Noel due to how he had ruined her.
Instead, Worthington had only stared at him and stated, “If that is your wish, who am I to deny you? It is probably for the best since Noel deserves a man who is worthy enough for her love. And obviously, that is not you, Ravencroft.” Then Worthington had the audacity to dismiss him with the sweep of his hand toward the door.
Ravencroft snarled at the memory. How dare that pompous arse state he wasn’t worthy enough of Noel’s love? He had bowed out of the engagement because Noel deserved better than him. He was dissolute in every form a man could be. A penniless man who seduced innocent victims for a depraved lady’s agenda. A man so battered and bruised, he didn’t understand what love even meant. He didn’t even hold the ability to declare his love to the woman of his dreams. If Noel married him, she would realize what a mistake she had made soon after the wedding vows.
He looked at the bottle on his desk he had avoided all day. His dry throat begged for a drink of the tempting nectar. His thoughts begged for him to forget them. Ravencroft’s heart bled for a taste to wipe away every emotion he held for Noel. He wrapped his fingers around the whiskey and lifted it to his lips. He closed his eyes as the warm liquid burned a path to his gut. Each lick of fire helped to soothe his troubled soul. After another long pull, he kicked his feet up on the desk. It might not wipe Noel from his thoughts, but it eased the ache of missing her.
